...Here) Module 1 Case 1 ETH 501 Business Ethics (Professor’s Name Here) (Date Here) First and foremost, I will introduce the two companies or parties: Bank of America and Wikileaks. Bank of America is the nation’s largest bank holding company and financial company that serves individual consumers, small and middle market business, corporations and governments. The services provide range from banking, investing, and asset and risk management. (Bank of America) On the other hand, Wikileaks is an international non-profit organization that publish private, secret, and classified media derives from anonymous news sources, leaks, and whistleblowers. (2011, Wikileaks) According to Webster’s (1996) ethics is defined as the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment. The manner in which a company does business tells how competent and trusty worthy people can deal with the company. A company that not only promotes an ethical environment, but that lives the company’s goals, policies, and values is a company that when controversy and tough times occur will make the right decisions and weather the storm. If the company not only promotes a fair and positive environment, but also values and foster this environment, the company will be around a long...long time. If Bank of America were to use the words that define what ethics is as a basis for their decision whether to process payments and do business with Wikileaks, this would...
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...Can WikiLeaks be Found Guilty of a Crime for Its Release Of the Iraq War Materials, Afghanistan War Materials and Diplomatic Cables? In 2010, WikiLeaks released three large groups of information – classified documents concerning the Iraqi war, classified Pentagon documents concerning the conflict in Afghanistan, and U.S. State Department diplomatic cables. There was an outcry from members in the U.S. government, U.S. lawmakers, and U.S. citizens as they questioned how WikiLeaks could have legally obtained and released this information. There were also those who applauded WikiLeaks and saw them as part of the new media, simply carrying on the struggle between the people’s right to know versus national security. In this new Internet age, where data can be immediately published to an enormous audience from anywhere in the world with the simple push of a button, and where wars are no longer declared on a country but on generalized “terror,” is a site like WikiLeaks protected? WikiLeaks Background WikiLeaks states on its website: WikiLeaks is a non-profit media organization dedicated to bringing important news and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure and anonymous way for independent sources around the world to leak information to our journalists. We publish material of ethical, political and historical significance while keeping the identity of our sources anonymous, thus providing a universal way for revealing of supposed and censored injustices. WikiLeaks...
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...Module 1 – Case Study ETH501 – Business Ethics Introduction Making moral decisions in today’s workplace is sometimes a very difficult task. In the business world of today, society expects that large corporations will make moral decisions that will positively affect its business and its patrons. Recently, Wikileaks (not affiliated with Wikipedia) has been in the national and world spotlight as a corporate bad guy because it made the decision to release what is considered vital information on several large businesses that could adversely affect those said businesses. Reportedly, the information on Wikileaks is not just assumed authentic but is actually authentic and has been vetted so that the innocent are protected. With this being said, Wikileaks reportedly has in its possession a hard drive possibly belonging to an executive with Bank of America and plans to release the information contained on the hard drive to “take down” the bank and expose an “ecosystem of corruption” (Schwartz, 2011). In today’s world, freedom of press and freedom of speech is something that is held in the highest regard and is supported fully. The question is when does this freedom go too far and cross the line of moral acceptance. In addition, does the information in question violate the privacy of those involved and is it something that is just being used to draw attention to a particular person or organization. It is possible that by releasing confidential information about a large corporation...
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...The Whistleblowing Case Studies There are various cases about whistleblowing, one of them is the case of Motorola CFO, Paul Liska.1 He has been fired after giving a presentation. In the presentation, Liska pointed out to Motorola directors that the cell phone unit, Mobile Devices, missed its sales projection for the preceding three months. Liska intended to attack Sanjay Jha, the head of Motorola’s cell phone division, by doing the presentation at the board meeting. The whistleblowing occurred because Liska and Jha did not get along well, and Liska tried to save the situation with an attack on Jha. Liska objected to Jha’s hiring, his compensation package and the co-CEO agreement. Liska’s behavior markedly deteriorated after Jha’s hiring, implying that he was unhappy to be outranked by the new co-CEO. The reason behind Liska’s inflammatory presentation is a matter of contention. Liska says he was trying to fulfill his duty to the company by raising a red flag about the cellphone unit’s projections. Motorola says Liska knew he was on his way out, and he tried to extort the company by setting himself up as a whistle-blower who was being fired for speaking out. Another famous whistleblowing case is the case of WikiLeaks.2 WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization which aims to publish online submissions of classified information, news leaks 3 from anonymous news sources and whistleblowers.4 It unleashed the wrath of the U.S. government and a wave of recrimination and...
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...Wikileaks 2006 saw the formation of what would soon become a world player in journalism. Julian Assange created Wikileaks as a whistle-blower's resource, a place where those with something important to share could do so without retribution and with full anonymity. Information dumps from the United States government, corporations, and even private groups and individuals drew mixed results and painted a strange picture of this organization. Its proponents tout it as returning to journalism's roots, a second Pentagon Papers. Its opponents cite damaged international relations and mass invasions of privacy as grounds to declare this organization anathema. This paper will explore the impact that Mr. Assange has had on the last decade of world development. What has Wikileaks done to garner such ire from its opponents? George Washington (1777) once wrote to Elias Dayton that “upon secrecy, success depends in most enterprizes [sic] of the kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated.“ Unfortunately, Wikileaks facilitated the release of over half a million documents from the American government, to include hundreds of thousands on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Diplomatic emails released by Assange stirred controversy and saw the international opinion of the States plummet. Some say that these releases spurred change and transparency in the government. Others would argue, successfully, that they changed the methods used to keep the secrets rather than...
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...CRICOS Provider No. 00103D ITECH1005 - Business Information Systems Tutorial 11 Ethics, Privacy, and Information Security Weight 1% The tutorial assessment each week is generally based on your understanding of the week’s course content and group interaction in discussing your answers. ASSESSABLE TASKS OF THE WEEK The tutorial tasks for this week will help you to develop more understanding of the importance of ethics, privacy, and information security in business environments. The due date for providing answers to this week’s tutorial tasks is Thursday, Week 12. Submit your answer using Moodle by its due date. On-campus students make sure to take with you a printed copy of your answers to the tutorial session. Before attempting the following tutorial activities, you need to learn this week’s lecture slides first. To gain more understanding of the topics covered in this week’s lecture read Chapter 11 of your textbook. Case Study : WikiLeaks Read textbook, pp. 472-473 and answer the followings. 1. The two conflicting aspects of WikiLeaks would appear to be privacy and freedom of information. Where do you stand on the issue? Discuss your views with your class. 2. One of your ethical obligations as an information security professional is confidentiality of information. Does this obligation change your position with regard to the previous question? 3. As a citizen of a democratic country, you are also concerned with freedom of information. How does this requirement affect...
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...identifiable, and sensitive information to many people rapidly. In this era of revelation—dominated by portable electronics, intemet social media, reality television, and traditional talk radio—^many of us are losing our sense of privacy, our taste for privacy, and our willingness to respect privacy. Is this set of losses a bad thing? If it is a bad thing, what can be done about it? My refiections on these questions begin with a series of diverse examples from the past several years. The examples illustrate the emergent ethos of our revelatory era. The first and second examples portray voluntary self-revelation for amusement and monetary gain; a third and fourth example depict revelations conceming others, motivated by a desire for amusement in one case and geopolitical justice in another. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives elected by the people of New Anita L. Allen, J.D., Ph.D.,...
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...Whistleblowing and the global impact. Table of Contents ESSAY Introduction The importance and understanding of whistleblowing The notion of whistleblowing Whistleblowing – an act of good will Whistleblowing – an act of revenge The role of the government Government whistleblowing How Snowden formed society Introduction Whistleblowing, an act of certain controversy, has provided material for many a discussion. It has filled our newspapers, televisions and radios on a daily basis, since Wikileaks went public with its first act of exposing illegal activity. ‘Whistleblowing’ is a dynamic process involving at least three social actors; the wrongdoer, the whistleblower and the recipient, each of whom takes actions in response to the other’ (Near et al., p 509, 1996), while accepting the associated dangers and risks. Current events relating to Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning have sparked intense debate throughout the world regarding policy changes, creation of new laws and the conduct of government and corporations. It is widely agreed that whistleblowing exists and happens on a daily basis. Scholars have examined the topic over the years narrowing it down to ethnical divergences or even to how the act of wrongdoing can impact a whistleblower. The importance and understanding of whistleblowing Age has a significant impact...
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...founding, the website Amazon.com has attracted criticism and controversy from multiple sources, where the ethics of certain business practices and policies have been drawn into question. Amazon has faced numerous allegations of anti-competitive or monopolistic behavior, both in and out of court. This includes documented instances of price differentiation, enforcement of controversial patents against competitors, attempts to prevent discounted direct selling by publishers, and a declared intention to cease working with third-party print on demand services in favour of its own. Questions have been raised concerning the company's legal compliance. In 2002, Amazon faced a challenge to the legitimacy of their Canadian operations, although that case was subsequently dropped. A 2009 ruling in Japan found that the company, which had tried to avoid paying corporate tax in the country, was in fact liable to pay. Controversy over taxation has arisen on multiple occasions: It was reported in 2012 that Amazon is under investigation in the UK, while in the US the company has attracted criticism for only collecting sales tax from customers in five states. Compounding these problems, there have been reports of poor treatment of workers, with allegations of summary dismissals for health problems and anti-unionization tactics including mass layoffs. Some controversies have centered around content. The bookstore has carried titles such as The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure and cock-fighting...
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...Case Study 3: Boss, I Think Someone Stole Our Customer Data Evaluate the obligation Flayton Electronics has to its customers to protect their private data. Develop the communication strategy you would take to notify the customers of the potential security breach. Recommend procedures that Flayton Electronics should take to prevent future security breaches http://hbr.org/product/boss-i-think-someone-stole-our-customer-data-harva/an/R0709A-PDF-ENG Flayton Electronics is showing up as a common point of purchase for a large number of fraudulent credit card transactions. It's not clear how responsible the company and its less than airtight systems are for the apparent data breach. Law enforcement wants Flayton to stay mute for now, but customers have come to respect this firm for its straight talk and square deals. A hard-earned reputation is at stake, and the path to preserving it is difficult to see. Four experts comment on this fictional case study in R0709A and R0709Z. James E. Lee, of ChoicePoint, offers lessons from his firm's experience with a large-scale fraud scheme. He advises early and frank external and internal communications, elimination of security weaknesses, and development of a brand-restoration strategy. Bill Boni, of Motorola, stresses prevention: comprehensive risk management for data, full compliance with payment card industry standards, and putting digital experts on staff. For the inadequately prepared Flayton, he suggests consulting an established...
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...Abstract: Advanced cyberattacks on the public and private sectors at the local, national, and international level have prompted an increase in funding and support for the study of emerging cybersecurity technologies. The considerations for this paper are to discuss the emerging technologies and strategies that can be integrated across the public and private sector to improve cybersecurity on a local, national, and international level. New technologies need to dynamically assess networks real-time such as with the use of Remote Agents and Real-time forensic analysis. These technologies also need to make the attack space less predictable and constantly evolving such as through the use of moving target defense. Emerging Cybersecurity Technologies The E-government Act of 2000 was signed by President Bush to move toward a more 24-7 government. The dream was to eliminate the need to have to stand in line at the DMV for half a day just to pay annual vehicle registration fees (Barker, 2011). Security was certainly a concern, but it was not at the forefront of the move as government agencies would go through massive changes in equipment, manning, and practices in order to move information and programs online. Now, over a decade later we still see moves and changes taking place, such as the department of Veterans Affairs recently moving all of their applications, forms and records online. The expensive cost of getting the government caught up was expected with such an overhaul...
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...THE MAN OF STEEL AND THE DRAGON: AUSTRALIA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA DURING THE HOWARD ERA PROPOSAL INTRODUCTION On consecutive days in October 2003, President George W Bush of the United States of America and President Hu Jintao of People’s Republic of China addressed joint sittings of both houses of the Australian Parliament. This historic occasion symbolises how Australia conducted its foreign relations with ‘East’ and ‘West’ during the Howard Era. The pragmatic decision to allow Hu Jintao to become the first non-American foreigner to address both houses demonstrates how Howard viewed Sino-Australian relations. It showed the world that it was possible to have warm relations with both the United States and China. By the end of the Howard Era in 2007, China had become Australia’s major trading partner. This was a far cry from 1996, when in the first months of the newly elected Howard Government a series of events caused severe tensions in Sino-Australian relations, as described below. This culminated in the Chinese response of banning visits to China by Australian ministers, a serious manoeuvre in the nuanced world of diplomacy. From these frosty beginnings, the relationship between the two nations strengthened considerably, for a variety of reasons, some of them outside Australia’s control. Paul Keating may have sown the seeds to Australia’s ‘pivot’ to Asia, but it was the Howard Government that undertook the most significant shift in orientation, cumulating in...
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...rotest against unfair laws and business practices could not have imagined the modernday equivalent: computer "hacktivists" (hacker + activist) leveraging exploits against digital networks to accomplish more or less the same thing. This case study explores the ways in which the general public, news media, lawmakers, and law enforcement have reacted to the more contentious hacktivist incidents that have transpired in the United States since 2009. The impact of these attacks has ranged from minor to catastrophic, and the most clever perpetrators have been able to evade apprehension. In response, the United States judicial system has strategically given severe punishments to the few hacktivists it can manage to catch. As other forms of disruptive activism are being punished with slaps on the wrist, these hacktivists and their allies are pleading their case to the public that these incommensurate punishments are cause for concern. Command Prompt Through a discussion about the facts and the positions of the actors involved with regard to hacktivism, it will become clear that the lack of a plain and fair legal doctrine is indeed to blame for the pervasive confusion among plaintiffs and defendants alike. The goal of this study is to show just that: to highlight the ambiguity of the law through examples, to discuss the stiff legal repercussions these hacktivists have faced, and to consider the dialogue between the news media and the general public about the app...
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...Bhopal disaster Co o r din at es: 2 3 °1 6 ′ 5 1 ″ N 7 7 °2 4 ′ 3 8 ″ E From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Bhopal dis as te r (commonly referred to as Bhopal gas trage dy) was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial catastrophes.[1] It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[3] Others estimate 3,000 died within weeks and another 8,000 have since died from gas- related diseases.[4][5] A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.[6] UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), with Indian Government controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 percent stake. In 1994, the Supreme Court of India allowed UCC to sell its 50.9 percent share. Union Carbide sold UCIL, the Bhopal plant operator, to Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994. The Bhopal plant was later sold to McLeod...
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...2.0 New technology disrupts the old model – Modern Day Challenges 2.1 Preamble With the increase in technological innovation we can observe how these forces are disrupting the conventional business models and marketing strategies of industries. These innovations have shaken core of the business world where several venerable facets of the media industry such as newspapers, radio and television are clamoring for their breadth under the impact of innovative giants such as Google and TIVO with large chunk of ad revenue shifting from conventional channels to more topical channels (refer graph 2.1). Why? Primarily, conventional media industries were not poised for changes, as we observed the break neck speed at which we have proceeded from web 1.0 to 3.0 within the last decade. Could the companies have avoided the wreckage if they had prepared for this pace of change? That is questionable. Graph 2.1 We can observe several strategic inflection points which have diminished the prominence of media industries; primarily, the ability of internet based technologies to deliver richer content in a cost effective manner in comparison to the high legacy cost of running a newspaper (i.e. office buildings, printing press, editors, photographers etc.). Second is the failure of the media companies to keep pace with the evolving changes around them, and the final elements of this downward spiral is the industries disregard for the customer base or the target market, i.e. producing content...
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