Social And Ethical Issues Of The Ameritech Cable Services
Social and Ethical Issues The social and ethical issues of an information system are dependent on a number or things including the specific information system described and each of the elements that are needed to make it all work.
Recently the social and ethical issues of the Ameritech Cable Services were challenged as they experienced a flaw in their online billing system called ¡¥E-Bill¡¦.
The Participants within the Information System The participants within the information system which carry out the information processes can be effected by these social and ethical issues.
The accuracy of the data is an important issue within this kind of system due to the handling of money via electronic means. A mistype from anyone of the participants can be recognised …show more content…
by the computer as a huge amount of money begin transferred by mistake. For example, a customer paying their phone bill via this information system¡¦s E-Bill program and typing in an amount of $200.00 can be misinterpreted by anyone of the participants as a $20,000 transaction by just leaving out one dot! Data accuracy can also be affected by software errors and database corruption. So making sure the participants do their job by having data backed up regularly can be a very important issue.
Data Security is very important to this online billing system due to its ¡¥online¡¦ nature. Being online means having a major database of sensitive material open to the public. Securing this database and only allowing the proper participants to access this database is a major issue in any online information system. This system must also be secure in only allowing people with proper permission to modify its database, software, security implements, and the entire processes themselves. For example, the system must be not allow participants in this information system to get copies of or divert sensitive material in order to allow advantages in themselves.
The act of privacy is important to keep peoples details safe and secure. Sensitive material of its customers must not be sold to third party companies or for use by its participants without any permission from the customers. For example, the credit card numbers must not be extracted from the E-Bill database and used by employees for any unlawful uses.
Therefore the use of personal information by any company or information system participants are always laid out on their conditions of privacy as a safeguard towards their customers.
Those with the Purpose The information system itself is used to provide a service to its consumers. In this case it¡¦s a online billing system with its purpose being to allow people to pay their bills online.
The people who use this information system also have social and ethical issues affecting it.
They also have to provide accurate data in the billing system including correct names and addresses and credit card details. Providing incorrect data is an unethical practice and also involves the law.
They must not access another person¡¦s account or attempt to view a person¡¦s login details, as this is also an unethical practice. A person¡¦s privacy is very important especially if it involves their personal details and money being dealt with. Even though it is up to the person to keep their details safe from preying eyes.
Those in the Environment This system may allow for a multilingual billing system allowing people who do not understand English to use this system with ease, as this is one of many social issues plaguing the Internet.
They must provide a clear and understandable way through each process of the billing system with no misleading questions or hidden conditions that apply.
The system must be safe and secure allowing customers to transfer or access information through a security encrypted connection. Allowing data to be safely transferred from one place to another without getting information
leaked.
The system must not allow unauthorized use of the system or allow other people to access your information through this system as it is unethical to do so and is the company¡¦s responsibility to do its job.
Bibliography Yahoo Search Engine www.yahoo.com.au Information Technology Business Law http://alpha7.curtin.edu.au/~nwillese/ Information Processes and Technology By G.K. Powers Communicating in an IT Environment By Kaye Burton & Karen Le Rossignol
Recently the social and ethical issues of the Ameritech Cable Services were challenged as they experienced a flaw in their online billing system called ¡¥E-Bill¡¦.
The Participants within the Information System The participants within the information system which carry out the information processes can be effected by these social and ethical issues.
The accuracy of the data is an important issue within this kind of system due to the handling of money via electronic means. A mistype from anyone of the participants can be recognised …show more content…
by the computer as a huge amount of money begin transferred by mistake. For example, a customer paying their phone bill via this information system¡¦s E-Bill program and typing in an amount of $200.00 can be misinterpreted by anyone of the participants as a $20,000 transaction by just leaving out one dot! Data accuracy can also be affected by software errors and database corruption. So making sure the participants do their job by having data backed up regularly can be a very important issue.
Data Security is very important to this online billing system due to its ¡¥online¡¦ nature. Being online means having a major database of sensitive material open to the public. Securing this database and only allowing the proper participants to access this database is a major issue in any online information system. This system must also be secure in only allowing people with proper permission to modify its database, software, security implements, and the entire processes themselves. For example, the system must be not allow participants in this information system to get copies of or divert sensitive material in order to allow advantages in themselves.
The act of privacy is important to keep peoples details safe and secure. Sensitive material of its customers must not be sold to third party companies or for use by its participants without any permission from the customers. For example, the credit card numbers must not be extracted from the E-Bill database and used by employees for any unlawful uses.
Therefore the use of personal information by any company or information system participants are always laid out on their conditions of privacy as a safeguard towards their customers.
Those with the Purpose The information system itself is used to provide a service to its consumers. In this case it¡¦s a online billing system with its purpose being to allow people to pay their bills online.
The people who use this information system also have social and ethical issues affecting it.
They also have to provide accurate data in the billing system including correct names and addresses and credit card details. Providing incorrect data is an unethical practice and also involves the law.
They must not access another person¡¦s account or attempt to view a person¡¦s login details, as this is also an unethical practice. A person¡¦s privacy is very important especially if it involves their personal details and money being dealt with. Even though it is up to the person to keep their details safe from preying eyes.
Those in the Environment This system may allow for a multilingual billing system allowing people who do not understand English to use this system with ease, as this is one of many social issues plaguing the Internet.
They must provide a clear and understandable way through each process of the billing system with no misleading questions or hidden conditions that apply.
The system must be safe and secure allowing customers to transfer or access information through a security encrypted connection. Allowing data to be safely transferred from one place to another without getting information
leaked.
The system must not allow unauthorized use of the system or allow other people to access your information through this system as it is unethical to do so and is the company¡¦s responsibility to do its job.
Bibliography Yahoo Search Engine www.yahoo.com.au Information Technology Business Law http://alpha7.curtin.edu.au/~nwillese/ Information Processes and Technology By G.K. Powers Communicating in an IT Environment By Kaye Burton & Karen Le Rossignol