BUS 206 - Project 2 Ethics & Social Responsibility PDF

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Project 2 on ethics and social responsibility and what to include in the paper....

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April Vince BUS 206 Professor Martin 8/1/21 Project 2 Ethics is the study and practice of decisions about what is good and right, guiding us when we are wondering what we should be doing in a particular situation (Kubasek et al., 2020). Business ethics is the application of ethics to the special problems and opportunities experienced by businesspeople (Kubasek et al., 2020). Ethics are shaped by peoples’ values, principles, and purpose rather than unthinking habits, social conventions, or self-interest. However, the law tries to create a basic, enforceable standard of behavior necessary for a community to succeed and in which all people are treated equally (Centre, 2016). Ethics often go hand in hand with laws regarding business decisions, at least for those who wish to conduct business ethically, by guiding our behavior. Corporate social responsibility is the responsibility of firms doing business within a community to meet the expectations that the community imposes on them (Kubasek et al., 2020). Business ethics and social responsibility are commonly used interchangeably. By practicing social responsibility, companies can be conscious of the kind of impact they are having on all aspects of society, including economic, social, and environmental (Fernando, 2021). Acting ethically and being socially responsible work best if the company has a code of ethics in which the company only acts in its best interests if it doesn’t damage their social responsibility.

There are both ethical and legal issues at hand in the situation that Mountain Top View is facing. Steve, the IT, lead discovered a breach of customer information on the company website. He did not report it as he found only those who placed an online order in the first quarter of the year were affected and the error was quickly corrected putting business before ethics. This is a clear violation as the breach should have been reported promptly so that the customers who were affected were made aware of what had happened. No matter how small the number of people affected were, any data breach needs to be reported promptly so that the customers are protected from identity theft and stolen credit card information. The stakeholders, Claire (the owner), the employees, and the customers whose information was hacked, are affected by the data breach. Clare, who is the sole proprietor, is liable for all losses incurred (Kubasek et al., 2020). Most affected, however, are those customers whose information was breached during the first quarter hack. These customers expected their information to be protected like the statement on the website said but their names, addresses, and phone numbers were accessed. Therefore, they are at risk of having their identities potentially stolen or at the very least, having their information sold on the web where people can use it to open credit cards, use healthcare, etc. The impact for the company is that, because of the breach, customers may be weary of using their website or shopping with the company in fear of something else happening resulting in loss of revenue and there may be civil suits. All 50 states have enacted legislation requiring private or governmental entities to notify individuals of security breaches of information involving personally identifiable information. Security breach laws typically have provisions regarding who must comply with the law; definitions of “personal information”; what constitutes a breach; requirements for notice; and exemptions (Greenberg, 2021). The first thing I would recommend is to alert all customers, not

just those directly affected. Then report the incident to the authorities as it is a violating of the Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984 (Kubasek et al., 2020). This is not only the ethical and socially responsible thing to do, but also the law. By doing this, the company can avoid any non-disclosure lawsuits and the customers are able to do what is necessary to protect their identities as soon as possible. Those responsible for the breach will be pursued by the alerted authorities to prevent future breaches. Advances in technology in today’s business world have had both legal and ethical implications. From personal privacy online, to the appropriate uses of new technology, to copyright and intellectual property on the Internet, the legal and ethical issues in technology are multifaceted and complex (Carnes, 2020). One of the biggest ethical concerns, which often also becomes a legal issue, is the appropriate use of technology. Privacy is a particularly hot-button issue in technology, considering the pervasive nature of the Internet in people's daily lives (Carnes, 2020). The framework I suggest the company starts with creating a code of ethics. I would also suggest utilizing the consequentialist framework within that code of ethics. In the Consequentialist framework, we focus on the future effects of the possible courses of action, considering the people who will be directly or indirectly affected. We ask about what outcomes are desirable in a given situation and consider ethical conduct to be whatever will achieve the best consequences. The person using the Consequences framework desires to produce the most good (Bonde, 2013). This will help employees make future decisions when ethical issues may arise. Applying the framework are the following steps: recognize an ethical issue, get the facts, evaluate alternative actions, make a decision and test it, and act and reflect on the outcome. This results in a set of rules to follow for any future issues that arise.

References

Brown University. A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions | Science and Technology Studies. (n.d.). https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/frameworkmaking-ethical-decisions.

Carnes, D. (2020, May 18). Implications of copyright law. Legal Beagle. https://legalbeagle.com/12717157-implications-of-copyright-law.html.

Centre, T. E. (2016, September 2). Ethics, morality, law – what's the difference? THE ETHICS CENTRE. https://ethics.org.au/ethics-morality-law-whats-the-difference/.

Ethics, morality, law – what's the difference? THE ETHICS CENTRE. (n.d.). https://ethics.org.au/ethics-morality-law-whats-the-difference/.

Fernando, J. (2021, July 28). Corporate social RESPONSIBILITY (CSR). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp.

Greenberg, P. (n.d.). Security Breach Notification Laws. Security breach notification laws. https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/securitybreach-notification-laws.aspx.

Kubasek, N. K., Browne, M. N., Dhooge, L. J., Herron, D. J., & Barkacs, L. L. (2020). Dynamic business law. McGraw-Hill Education....