What does Information Systems Ethics mean?

Information technology is now being perceived as the driving force in today’s globalization.  This is because of the various roles played by information technology leading to a competitive world. These roles are:

Information Technology has helped in changing the global marketplace (international trade)  by enabling marketers to overcome some significant barriers like lack of common ethical standard, transportation cost, and delay in information exchange. Information Technology has achieved this by allowing software experts to work collaboratively over the network with companies from around the world and quickly establish operating standards and frequently keep in touch. Thus, this technological advancement has equally fostered research and development and has helped markets to manage globally at a rapid pace, as indicated by several kinds of trade extended to foreign countries (Lamba & Malhotra,  2009).

Information technology has fostered communication and connections. Here, the emergence of numerous Internet services, websites, blogs, instant messaging systems, e-mail, social networking sites, and other Internet-based communication systems have made it easy to gather news and efficiently disseminate information, store large amounts of data and have universal access to the data (www.globalization101.org).  More so, this has transformed education at all levels and eased research, thereby enhancing globalization (Bourgeois, 2014).
Information technology has driven the world to become more innovative and more efficient in exchanging and sharing experiences all over countries, and cultures thus creating efficient and effective channels to exchange information. More so, information technologies which are now used in nearly every aspect of life enable customers to make transactions at their convenience via mobile phones and related apps. Information technology has equally made it possible for job seekers and recruiters to find one another making the world, a global village (Information technology, 2016).


The “digital divide” was propagated by Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. and was posted in his Alertbox, on November 20, 2006, which was then published in the U.S. News & World Report in the article’  world’s leading expert on Web usability’. It “refers to the fact that certain parts of the population have substantially better opportunities to benefit from the new economy than other parts of the population” (Nielsen, 2006). That is the separation between those who have access to global network access (effective digital technology) and those who do not and can occur between countries, regions, or even neighborhoods (Sharbo, n.d). The Three Stages of the digital divide.”
Stage 1: Economic Divide. In this stage, some people cannot afford to buy a computer irrespective of the cost (Sharbo, n.d).
Stage 2: Usability Divide. Here, technology remains so complicated that many people are unable to use a computer even if they got one for free (Nielsen, 2006), to some people while to others, they can use computers, but they do not achieve the modern world’s full benefits because most of the available services are too difficult for them to understand (Nielsen, 2006). This is due to lower literacy skills, and senior citizens generally have an accessibility problem (Nielsen, 2006).
Stage 3: Empowerment Divide: Here, even if computers and the Internet were extraordinarily easy to use, not everybody would make full use of the opportunities because of participation inequality which is an exponent of the empowerment divide that has held constant throughout all the years of Internet growth (Nielsen, 2006). That is, “in social networks and community systems, about 90% of users don’t contribute, 9% contribute sporadically, and a tiny minority of 1% accounts for most contributions” (Nielsen, 2006).
As users searches are usually tentative and incomplete as such, most users do not ever learn the extent of their searching capabilities or how to maneuver the applications available to them (Nielsen, 2006).


Ethics is a branch of philosophy, that consists of a set of moral principles that guide personal or group behavior, business activities, institutions, and organizations (A Framework for Ethical Decision Making, 2015).  Ethics could relate to any aspect of life or any discipline like business ethics, which is the study of moral standards, applicable to both individuals within an organization and the organization at large that are applied to the production, distribution, and utilization of goods and services (Mallor et al. 2010).

Ethics equally pertains to information systems ethics, which covers some ethical issues like privacy, which targets the type of information about one’s self which can be revealed to others alongside specific conditions to disclose such information and security concerns (Ethics In Management Information Systems Information, 2013).

It equally covers accuracy in terms of ensuring the authenticity, fidelity, and accuracy of information while overseeing how errors in data can be dealt with. Information system ethics equally relates to the property. That is, it identifies the owners of knowledge, their just and fair prices for its exchange. More so, it covers aspects of determining who owns channels like airways, through which information is transmitted. Besides, information system ethics deals with accessibility in terms of determining the kind of information a person or an organization might have a right or a privilege to obtain alongside conditions for such and related security issues (Ethics In Management Information Systems Information, 2013).

Summarily, information system ethics explores and evaluates: the development of moral values in the information field, the creation of new power structures in the information field, information myths, the hidden contradictions, and intentionality in information theories and practices, the development of ethical conflicts in the information field (The Ethics In Management Information Systems Information, 2013).

References
A Framework for Ethical Decision Making (2015, Aug 1). Retrieved from: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/a-framework-for-ethical-decision-making/
Bourgeois, D. T., (2014). Information Systems for Business and Beyond. Saylor.org. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY) Attribution.
Globalization 101: Information technology. (2016). Retrieved from: http://www.globalization101.org/information-technology/
Lamba, T. & Malhotra, H. (2009). Role of Technology in Globalization concerning Business Continuity. Retrieved from: http://www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis/article/view/2956
Mallor, J., Barnes, J., Bower, T., & Langvardt. (2010). Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment (14th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Nielsen, J.   (November 20, 2006). Digital Divide: The 3 Stages. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/digital-divide-the-three-stages/
Sharbo, C. (n.d). The Digital Divide Retrieved from https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/user/csharbo/Public%20Portfolio%20Files/Position%20Paper%20%232.pdf.
The Ethics In Management Information Systems Information Technology Essay (November 2013). Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/information-technology/the-ethics-in-management-information-systems-information-technology-essay.php?vref=1