Chapter 6

1. You have been asked by the manager of software development to lead a small group of software developers in an attempt to reengineer the latest release of the software by your leading competitor. The goal of the group is to identify features that could be implemented into the next few releases of your firm software. You are told that the group would relocate from the United States to the island of Antigua, in the Caribbean Sea, to “reduce the risk the group being destructed by the daily pressures associated with developing fixes and enhancements with the current software release.” What sort of legal and/or ethical questions might be raised by the reengineering effort? Would you consider taking this position?

ANSWER: In this scenario, the legal and/or ethical questions that might be raised were “How much effort and money to invest to ensure high-quality software and whether products could cause damage and what the legal exposure would be if they did? These are the ethical questions concerned in developing software with high quality. As an employee being asked by my manager to lead a small group of software developers, I would consider this position only if certain conditions would be met. First, the manager must give us the guarantee that there are adequate equipment and functional facilities needed in developing the software. Aside from that, there should also be the important things needed to support us as developers like food, water and etc. Second and the most important, they must make sure that we are secure in the place where we are to be destined. And lastly, they should take liable on what might happen to our team while we are making the software. If these were not granted, of course I will not take the said position because it could put me and the developers’ team in risks.

2. You have procrastinated to long and now your final paper for your English course is due in just 5 days- right in the middle of the final exam week! The paper counts for half your grade for the term and would probably take you at least 20hrs. Of research and write. Your roommate, an English major with a 3.8GPA, has suggested 2 options. (1) He will write an original paper for you for $100, or (2) he will show you 2 of 3 “paper mill” websites, from which you can download a paper for less than $35. You wanted to do the right thing, but writing the paper will take away from the time you have available to study for your final exam in 3 other courses. What would you do?

ANSWER: This is a hard situation for me because as a student it is certain that we will do whatever it takes for the sake of having good grades. In this case that I have to make a final paper for my English course in a very limited length of time while studying for the final exam, it is somewhat enticing to choose the easiest way just to finish my final paper. But I still have to consider what is right and just, therefore I might refuse what my roommate has suggested. The best alternative that I must do is to manage my time well for studying and making my final paper. I could also use some references for my research and get ideas on it that I will be using as I begin to write my final paper then recognize the author afterwards. In this way, I could have my final paper done in a right way. It shows a different feeling of success and fulfillment when you know that you have done your work at your own.

3. You are beginning to feel very uncomfortable in your new position as a computer hardware salesperson for a firm that is the major competitor of your previous employer. Today for the second time, someone has mentioned to you how valuable it would be to know what the marketing a new product development plans whereof your ex-employer. You stated that you are unable to discuss such information under the non disclosure contract signed with your former employer, but you know your response did not satisfy your new co-workers. You fear that the pressure to reveal information about the plans of your former company is only going to increase over the next few weeks. What do you do?

ANSWER: Following the most ethical way is the thing that I should do in this kind of situation. I have to keep confidential what my previous employer and I have been contracted. It is not just concealing the information from my previous employer’s firm but also preventing me from the possible cases that my previous employer might file against me if I discuss to them such information. I have to be firm on my decision because I know that it is the best thing to do. If it will cause for working uncomfortably, I think it’s time to find another employer and job for me because it will degrade my performance in the workplace if it will continue to upset me. 

4. You have been asked to lead your company’s new competitive intelligence organization. What would you do to ensure that members of the new organization obey applicable law and the company’s’ own ethical policies.

ANSWER:  Competitive Intelligence is gathering of legally obtainable information to help a company gain an advantage over rivals. It is often integrated into a company’s strategic plans and decision making. To lead the company’s competitive intelligence organization, I would make guidelines checking if certain competitive intelligence operation is ethical. The following are some examples of these guidelines:

ü  The competitive intelligence organization must develop a mission statement, objectives, goals, and a code of ethics.

ü  The company’s legal department must approve a mission statement, objectives, goals, and a code of ethics.

ü  The analysts and members must understand all applicable laws.

ü  The analysts and members must understand that everything in the firm learns about the competition must be obtain legally.

ü  The analysts and members must respect all requests for anonymity and confidentiality of information.

ü  The company’s legal department must first approve the processes for gathering data.

ü  The use of third parties to gather competitive intelligence must review and manage carefully.

5. You are the vice president for software development at a small, private firm. Sales of your firm’s products have been strong, but you recently detected a patent infringement by one of your larger competitors. Your in-house legal stuff has identified 3 options: (1) ignore the infringement out of fear that your larger competitor will file numerous countersuits; (2) threaten to file suite, but try to negotiate an out-of-court settlement of an amount of money. 

ANSWER: As a Vice President, I would follow the 2^nd option suggested by my in-house legal stuff which is to threaten to file suite, but try to negotiate an out-of-court settlement of an amount of money. The reason behind my decision is that I wanted to be more practical and I don’t want to waste so much time, effort and money going to court every time there will be a hearing for filing a case against them.  

Chapter 7

1. Apple Guidelines for App Approval

Apple’s App Store has been a huge success ever since it was launched in 2008. As of the end of 2010, the app store offered more than 250, 000 applications available for sale to owners of apple, iPhone, iPad and iPod devices, with more than 6.5 Billion downloads since it opened.

Before software applications can be solved through the App Store, they must go through a review process. Apple has been accused by some of using clandestine and capricious rules to reject some programs and thus blocking them from reaching the very large and growing market of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users. One application developer complained: “ if you submit an app, you have no idea whats going to happen. You have no idea it’s going to be approved or if it’s going to be disapproved.” The developers of an app called “South Park” complained that their app was rejected because the content was deemed “potentially offensive ,” even though episodes of the award-winning animated sitcom are available at the Apple iTunes  Store. In September 2010, after more than two years of complains, apple finally provided applications developers the guidelines it uses to review software.

Most guidelines seem to be aimed at ensuring that Apple users can only access high quality and non-controversials Apps from its Apps Store. Some of the Apple guidelines are clear and their rationale is easy to understand, such as “ apps that rapidly drain the device’s battery or generate excessive eat will be rejected.” However, other guidelines are unclear and highly subjective, such as “ we will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line.” What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said ,“ I’ll know it when i see it. ‘ and we think that you will also know it when you cross it. (“ I know it when I see it” was the phrase used by U.S Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart to describe his ability to recognize rather than to provide a precise definition of hard core pornography and his opinion in the cae Jacobellis v. Ohio in 1964.)

The electronic frontier foundation believes that while the guidelines are helpful, in some cases apple is defining the content of third-party software and placing limits on what is available to customers of Apple’s App Store.

By way of comparison, Google places few restrictions and developers of software for its competing Android Marketplace. However, there have been many low-quality applications offered to Android Marketplace customers, including some that include unwanted malware. Indeed by early 2011, google had pulled 21 Android applications from its Android Marketplace because, once downloaded, the applications not only stole users’ information and device data but also created a back door for even more harmful attacks. Apple’s decision to finally share applications guidelines may have been an attempt to combat the rapidly increasing popularity the android. It may also have been a response to a U.S Federal Trade Commissions investigations of a complaint for Adobe concerning Apples banning of the flash software from devices that run using Apple’s iOS operating system (Adobe Flash player is a browser-based applications that runs in many computer hardware/ operating system combination and support the viewing of called “rich, expressive applications,” content, the videos across screens and browsers .)

Discussion Questions:

1. Should Apple conduct extensive screening of Apps before they are allowed to be sold on the App Store? Why or why not?

ANSWER: Yes, I agree that Apple should conduct extensive screening of Apps before they are allowed to be sold on the App Store because it means that they are making sure if certain Apps were safety to customers and if it possesses high quality. It is somehow giving an assurance that the Apps sold on the App Store could not harm its users and the devices/gadgets being used by them.

2. Do research to determine the current status of the FCC investigation of Apple for banning use of the Adobe Flash software and devices that use the iOS operating system.

ANSWER: The Apple and Adobe Flash controversy refers to an ongoing controversy between Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems over the Adobe Flash technology, and specifically the Adobe Flash Player and its usage on Apple iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad. In April 2010, Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. published an open letter explaining why Apple wouldn't allow Flash on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. In the letter he cited the rapid energy consumption, poor performance on mobile devices, abysmal security, lack of touch support, and desire to avoid "a third party layer of software coming between the platform and the developer". He also touched on the idea of Flash being "Open", claiming that "By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system".

Jobs also tried to dismiss the idea that Apple customers are missing out by being sold devices without Flash compatibility. He quoted a number of statistics and concluded with "Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content." The "Thoughts on Flash" post drew immediate and harsh criticism with Steve Jobs being accused of hypocrisy or of deliberately misleading. Jobs' assertion that Flash is not open, or closed and proprietary, attracted a great deal of attention with references to open source projects that take advantage of Adobe making the Flash specification open for developers to build on.

Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayen responded by saying, "If Flash is the number one reason that Macs crash, which I'm not aware of, it has as much to do with the Apple operating system."

Some members of the industry claimed that Steve Jobs rejected Flash on the iPhone for business reasons, rather than the technical reasons he mentions in his letter:

3. What do you think of Apple’s guidelines that say it will reject an App for any content or behavior that they believe is over the line? Could such statement be construed as a violation of the developer’s freedom of speech? Why or why not?

ANSWER:  For me, I think that Apple’s guidelines are right and just because of its good intention. I don’t see it as a violation of the developer’s freedom of speech because what Apple has done is also their right as an organization. It is their willpower on how they will carry their company including their policies and guidelines.

Chapter 4

4. As the information systems manager for a small manufacturing plant, you are responsible for anything relating to the use of information technology. A new inventory control system is being implemented to track the quantity and movement of all finished products stored in a local warehouse. Each time a forklift operator moves a case of product, he or she must first scan the product identifier code on the case. The product information is captured, as is the day, time, and forklift operator identification number. This data is transmitted over a local area network (LAN) to the inventory control computer, which then displays information about the case and where it should be placed in the warehouse.

The warehouse manager is excited about using case movement data to monitor worker productivity. He will be able to tell how many cases per shift each operator moves and he plans to use this data to provide feedback that could result in pay increases or termination. He has asked you if there are any potential problems with using the data in this manner and, if so, what should be done to avoid them. How would you respond?

ANSWER: Being a systems manager I am responsible for the system and how it was being used. In this case, we are task to develop an inventory control system that could monitor the quantity and movement of all finished product stored in a warehouse. The warehouse manager then wants to use the system to monitor the worker productivity. As a result, it could arise some problems because the case inventory system functions not that suitable for monitoring the productivity of the workers. However, if the warehouse manager really wants that kind of feature for the system which could also improve their organization, we can put some additional features that would know the workers productivity.

5.You have been ask to help develop a company policy on what should be done in the event of a data breach, such as unauthorized access to your firm’s customer database, which contains some 1.5 million records. What sort of process would you use to develop such a policy? What resources would you call on?

ANSWER: Base on the definition, data breach is the intentional or unintentional release of secure information to an untrusted environment. Other terms for this phenomenon include unintentional information disclosure, data leak and also data spill. In this event I would follow the proper security procedures in developing such policy because failure to follow this will result to data breaches of large databases. Aside from that, I would also develop a process that from the perspective of security prevention, the risk analysis process is an appropriate method of identifying threats and vulnerabilities to medical information and determining if existing privacy and security controls are sufficient to prevent security breach from occurring. A proper risk analysis involves a three-step process identifying, evaluating, and eliminating or reducing risk.    

6. You are a new brand manager for a product line of coach purses. You are considering purchasing customer data from a company that sells a large variety of women products online. In addition to providing a list of names, mailing addresses, and email addresses the data includes an approximate estimate of customer’s annual income based on the z code in which they live, census data and highest level of education achieved. You could use the estimate of annual income to identify likely purchasers of your high-end purses, and use email addresses to send emails announcing the new product line and touting its many features. List the advantages and disadvantages of such a marketing strategy. Would you recommend this means of promotion in this instance? Why or why not?

ANSWER: The advantage of this is the fact that it is less time consuming for promoting or making an advertisement for their product because when they somehow ‘endorse’ their product together with its new features, the information of it will automatically be sent to those customers. The disadvantage of this is that if there are only few customers’ data that they’d buy, there are also few people that could know their new product. Also, the customer data that I bought are obviously more on women, therefore, it just simply mean that the promotion of products are limited to women only because they are only the ones who could view the ‘ad’ on their emails. As a brand manager, I will not recommend this means of promotion because aside from the fact that it is not ethical because this is a sort of data breaching, it is not also practical and effective for making promotions for product since this marketing strategy depends on the customer data that you have been purchased and comparing its relation or connection to your product.

7. Your company is rolling out a training program to ensure that everyone is familiar with the company’s IT usage policy. As a member of the Human Resources department, you have been asked to develop a key piece of the training relating to why this policy is needed. What kind of concerns can you expect your audience to raise? How can you deal with the anticipated resistance to the policy?

ANSWER: Being a part of the human resources department, I could anticipate that not all of the employees would agree to the policy, but in order for them to better understand the said policy, I would give them further explanations that this policy could help them to perform effectively and responsibly. This training could also develop their personality and working ability in the workplace and not just that, it could also help improve the organization.

Chapter 5

1. A former high school classmate of yours who has returned to China, emails you that he has offered a part-time job monitoring a Chinese Web site and posting comments favorable to the government. How would you respond?

ANSWER: As a response, I will tell her that it is nice that she has that kind of job but as a friend I will suggest that she must be aware what she was writing on her comments. She should see to it that her comments will not harm other people’s feelings or the other party involved. Though we have the thing we called freedom of expression we should still take responsible of the things we are expressing. I will also tell her that she should think  many times before writing any comments.

2. Your 15-year-old nephew exclaims “Oh wow!” and proceeds to tell you about a very revealing photo attachment he just received in a text message from his 14-year-old girlfriend of three months. He can’t wait to forward the message to others in his school. What would you say to your nephew? Are further steps needed beside a discussion on sexting?

ANSWER: I would tell my nephew that what he plans to do was unethical that it could destroy someone’s life. Also I would discuss to him the risk if he will do such thing, that it may cause his girlfriend to encounter social consequences. Images can easily escape their control through being shared more broadly than they had anticipated. This can have a long-term impact on their digital reputation. Those images can also potentially be used for cyber bullying or cyber stalking, or they may attract unwanted attention from others.

3. A college friend of yours approaches you about an idea to start a PR firm that would specialize in monitoring the internet for “Bad PR” about a company and “fixing” it. One tactic the firm would use is to threaten negative posters with a libel lawsuit unless they remove their posting.  Should that fail, the Pr firm will generate dozens of positive postings to outweigh the negative posting.  What would you say to your friend about her idea?

ANSWER: As a friend, I am going to tell her that I commend her idea because of its good intention for the company since it could monitor the internet for “Bad PR” and try to fix it. But somehow, there should also be limitations on her actions regarding threatening negative posters. She should also observe ethical values in this kind of job.

4. You are the computer technical resource for country’s public library system. The library is making plans to install internet Filtering Software so that it will conform to the children’s Internet Protection Act and be eligible for federal funding. What sort of objections can you expect regarding implementation of internet filters? How might you deal with such objections?

ANSWER:Pornography on public library computers is a real problem, but a seemingly obvious solution, filtering technology, comes with issues of its own.

When Internet access came to public libraries, the issue of whether and how to filter out access to pornography followed close behind – and just won’t go away.But there are some parties who recommends against the use of automated filters, arguing they make too many mistakes and are inconsistent with a library’s commitment to intellectual freedom. But while many library directors fight to keep filters out, or minimize their use, others have had to fight to defend their Internet filtering policies. As a computer technical resource for country’s public library system I will weigh both sides’ opinion involved in the issue. I will see to it that whatever my decision is, it is for the betterment and welfare of the children. With these, I will still consider internet filtering software to conform the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

5. Imagine that you received a hate email at your school or job. What would you do? Does your school or workplace have a policy that covers such issues?

ANSWER:  The thing that I would do is to know who sends hate email to me. Then, I would tell my parents about this email. And at school, there might be a policy that covers this issue since they care about our welfare and so, I will tell my teachers about it so that the one who have been sending the emails could be tracked and this problem will be solved.

6. A worker confides to you that he is going to begin sending emails to your employer’s internal corporate blog site, which serves as a suggestion box. He plans to use an anonymous remailer and sign the message “Anonymous”. Your friend is afraid of retribution from superiors but wishes to call attention to instances of racial and sexual discrimination observed during his five years as an employee with him. What would you say to your friend?

ANSWER: I would tell my friend that he could express his feelings by sending emails to our employer’s internal corporate blog but still hiding his identity by signing his message as “Anonymous”. In this way, he could protect himself and his identity from the possible retribution from the superiors. I support his eagerness to expose his observance on racial and sexual discrimination that happened in their workplace and I think sending his emails was a right move for the concerns to take an action to this kind of problem in the organization.

CASE STUDY IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

1. There are many ethical issues about which people hold very strong opinions-abortion,  guncontrol, and the death penalty, to name a few. If you were a team member on a project  with someone whom you know held an opinion different from yours on one of these issues,  would it affect your ability to work effectively with this person? Why or why not?

ANSWER : No, it will not affect my ability to work effectively with this person because as a human being guided with a will, I have to respect each others opinion. Every person is diverse, that includes our differences in the way we think, act , speak and etc. The enviroment where we lived in also affects in making our decisions and opinions. Therefore, in order to have an effective and healthy working relationship to our workmates the key there is just RESPECT.

2. Identify two of life experiences that helped you define your own personal code of ethics.
ANSWER : The two important life experiences that helped me define my own personal code of ethics is  as follows:

First, when I chose to focus on my study and decided to never have a boyfriend until having a degree. This shows my clear perception to my priorities which is study and of course my family. I believed that I cannot do my best doing multiple things in the same time, and so I decided to chose study over a relationship with someone. I know that I made the right choice because this is what my parents want for me as well. Obeying them was an ethical thing to do and following their will is never gonna be wrong. They want what is best for us.

Second, is being a person who keeps my word. Everytime I speak words of commitment, I make sure that I can stand on it. Failing to do some of my commitments somehow bring me so much things to think and lets me feel ashamed of not fulfilling it. This just shows that I have care on the words that I have had spoken specially in making commitments. 

By these experiences , I have defined my own personal code of ethics. First is by obeying my parents and setting my priorities in life and secondly, by honoring my commitments with someone and hold accountable for failing to do some of my these commitments.

3. Do you think that the importance of ethical behavior in business is increasing or decreasing? 

ANSWER : For me, the importance of ethical behavior in business is decreasing because the  risk associated with inappropriate behavior have increased, both in the livelihood and  potential negative impact. Several trends have increased the likelihood of unethical  behavior in business world. Some organizations are tempted to resort to unethical behavior  just to maintain profits in their business. Also, employees may be encouraged to do “whatever  it takes” to get the job done. These cases represents the decreasing trend of ethical behavior.

4. Do you believe that an organization should be able to escape criminal liability for the acts of its employees if it has acted as responsible corporate citizen, making strong efforts to prevent and detect misconduct in the workplace? Why or why not?
ANSWER : No, because as an organization, and as individuals they must value  integrity , honesty and responsibity. They must be committed to their customers  and partners and have a passion to their work. They must hold accountable to  their customers, shareholders, and partners by honoring their commitments and  that includes taking full responsibility to their employees with regards to the  unethical behavior committed by them.

5. Is it possible to an employee to be successful in the workplace without acting ethically?
   ANSWER :  Hypothetically, Yes, it is possible but there is a some sort of guilt inside  knowing that your success didn’t come from a “clean or good work”. Good work here  means that you know to yourself that all you have done to your job was rightful and ethical.  By doing these “good works”, you already know to yourself that you are successful in your  job.

6. Should software piracy within the boundaries of third-world countries be tolerated to allow  opportunities of those countries to move into the information age?

ANSWER :  No, it should not be tolerated because it is against to the code of ethics. We  know that software piracy is unethical because it is a sort of stealing one’s intellectual  property. If they want to move into information age, they must strive to make their own  software or encourage buying a software which is acceptable and ethical thing to do in  order to pay the hardworks of the manufacturers who made the software.

7. Is ethics training  really just a waste of time that will not change the behavior of employees?
ANSWER :  No, ethics training is not a waste of time because it is during in this  training that employees get to know their ethical responsibility. It is believed that  personal convictions about right and wrong behavior can be improved through  education. Some researchers like Kohlberg, the late Harvard psychlogist, have  repeatedly supported the idea that people can continue their moral development  through further education, such as working through case studies and examining  contemporary issues. Thus, it just simply means that code of ethics in an organization  should be encouraged. It is possible for an organization to do this by showing  employees the good examples of how to apply the code of ethics in real situations in life.  One effective way is through a comprehensive  education program for ethics that  promotes workers or employees to act ethically and responsibly. These programs are  often presented in small workshop formats in which employees apply the organization’s  code of ethics to hypothetical but realistic case studies. Therefore, we can say that  training for employees was never gonna be a waste of time instead it is necessary for  them to work ethically by which it promotes order to workplace.

When we say “Licensure” it means that a restricted practice is requiring a license which gives a person a "permission to practice" their specific field of knowledge or skill. These licenses are issued  to regulate some activity that is deemed to be dangerous or a threat to the people or to the public in which it involves a high level of specialized skill. The governments used this “licensing rule” as an aide to those undesirable act that may happen involving professionals. They see that licensing is the best method to regulate these activities in a more established and convenient way. Licensing includes such things as teaching licenses, medical licenses, license for engineers, licenses to play professional sports,driving and many more. A professional body or a licensing board is the one that grants licensing for a certain occupations and professions. It is composed of advanced practitioners who oversee the applications for licenses. This typically involves accredited training and examinations, but it varies in some other way for different activities and in different countries. In this regulation, practicing without a license may carry civil or criminal penalties. But in the world of Information Technology practitioners, they have an exception to this regulation because of the fact that there were no licensure examination intended for an IT profession. Due to this issue, some may ask the following questions :“Why there was no licensure exam for IT? What are the reasons behind this exception?”

There are many reasons why there were no licensure exam for IT profession and one of which is because of the very fact that it is unclear who should manage the content and administration of licensing exams. There were a lot of different organizations that may handle and manage IT professionals but there wasn’t really this what we call a “huge umbrella” that could compressed the large population of IT practitioners as one in order to completely control and manipulate them. Due to the separate forming of distinct IT organizations,  no one could clearly state if who should manage the the content, process and administer the licensing exams, if ever there will be. And because of that, it also follows that no body will do the accreditation of professional education programs and no body will assess and assure competence of individual professionals. Next reason is because of the continuous and rapid evolution of technology. In other words, we can say that there is no constant study with regards to the field of information technology courses. Therefore it would be useless and impractical to still undergo a licensure exam.

Education is a never ending process, same as technology must undergo a never ending innovation as well. As IT professionals in the future, we should not stop learning and innovating. Even though we don’t have a licensure examination to take for us to have a license, still we should have this good virtues within us when working in each of our workplace. We should be ethical enough and should be honest to our work.