Chapter I: Case Study # 3: Is There a Place for Ethics in IT?

   1.) Discuss how a CIO might handle Schrage’s scenarios using the suggested process for ethical decision making presented in this chapter.

     We are all faced with difficult decisions in our works and in our personal life. Most of us have developed a decision-making process that we execute automatically, without thinking about the steps we go through.Chief Information Officers (CIO) must gather and analyze facts to develop a good problem statement that Schrage’s article. Then seek information and opinions from a variety of people to broaden the frame reference. During the process, CIO must be extremely careful not to make assumptions about the situation. Simple situations can sometimes turn into complex controversies because no one takes the time to gather the facts.

   2.)   Discuss the possible short-term losses and long-term gains in implementing ethical solutions for each of Schrage’s scenarios.

    Some readers argued that CIO’s must consider the company’s long-term need rather than just the current needs of a specific project. Others argued that engaging in unethical behavior, even for the best of purposes, crosses a line that eventually leads to more serious transgressions. Some readers suspected that Schrage had published the article to provoke outrage. Another reader agreed with Schrage, arguing that ethics has to “take a back seat to budgets and schedules” in a large organization. This reader explained, “At the end, IT is business”.

   3.) Must businesses choose between good ethics and financial benefits? Explain your answer using Schrage’s scenarios as examples.

      A company is developing a customer is developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and the staff is working very hard to meet the deadline. The company plans to outscore the maintenance and support of the CRM system once it is developed, meaning that there is a good chance that two-thirds of the IT staff will be laid off. They would consider deliberately withholding important information from their boss if they knew that is disclosure would provoke his or her immediate counterproductive intervention in an important project. Business involves competing values, and trade-offs must be made to keep business operations from becoming paralyzed.