Business Ethics Case Study Information Technology Essay

Business Ethics Case Study Information Technology Essay   Many people believe that the World Wide Web can offer a great deal of anonymity and security from censorship but, they are dead wrong. Governments, the intelligence machinery, legal structures and any other relevant bodies can access information, censor, examine and even trace materials on the web because they have been granted the subpoena powers. These powers allow the aforementioned bodies to comb through computer servers in search of the identity of the person that created a specific file in question. People may see this as the infringement of their rights to privacy, however, threats posed by cyber criminals necessitate this ‘invasion of privacy’. In June 2000, a software program called Publius was created and launched. This program has the capacity to encrypt files into secret codes which are then, in effect, scattered all over the World Wide Web. This encrypting of published files by the software made the use of the subpoena powers granted to government and r elevant bodies almost irrelevant because anyone wanting to trace the origin of a particular file to be censored or, examine the contents of a specific file must have the help of the person that created the files, in order to decode the files’ encryption. Because of its ability to effectively ‘hide’ files on the internet, the software came as a relief to people who felt that their right to privacy was being infringed upon and they welcomed the software as they felt it could enhance their freedom of expression on the web. The software definitely promotes the anonymity of people using web resources but, one question that arises is why would anyone with so-called ‘good intentions’ want to remain anonymous? It is the criminals, terrorists, child pornographers and cyber stalkers who would like to remain anonymous and who, arguably, could benefit the most from this type of web encryption. The creators of the software aimed at helping people in repressive re gimes where freedom of expression was being curtailed but, the software is also being marketed in countries that do not have repressive elements. Is the marketing of this software really ethical? One may argue that the software benefits people whose privacy is being threatened but, looking at the other side of the coin, there are also losers in this debate. To determine whether it is ethical to market this software, it is important to look at the utilitarian ethical theory. What is utilitarianism? Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that holds that the moral worth of any action can only be determined by its usefulness or utility. This utility is judged by the ability of the action to provide happiness and pleasure to the majority. Simply put, the theories hold that the moral worth of an action is determinable by its outcome. Utilitarianism is also refereed to as the greatest happiness principle and it focuses on the ability of an action to provide the greatest good to the greatest n umber of people (Lyons, 1995). Thus, the guiding principle in utilitarianism is the maximization of the good whether it be measured by individuals, the society or the government. Utilitarianism provides a code that determines the worth of public actions and even personal actions. If an action is bound to create significant harm to a bigger percentage of the society, then utilitarianism holds that that action has no moral worth and therefore reductionist policies or intervention measures need to be put in place to mitigate or prevent that harm. If an action is bound to benefit a larger percentage of the society, then that action is said to be ethical and has moral worth from a utilitarian view point. An action may be moral and even in accordance with the law but if that action does not benefit the majority; it is unethical from a utilitarian point of view. On the other hand, an action may be immoral and even against the law but if it serves public good by benefiting the majority, the n that action is ethical (Lyons, 1995).

George Washington's Farewell Address Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

George Washington's Farewell Address - Essay Example From the essay "Farewell Address" it is clear that in the beginning section of the letter he addressed his concerns of the various security threats that the nationals of America might face in different sects of life. He stated and believed that the American population was secure all over the world including the United States itself if the various states of the country stay united and left peacefully with each other. He added that the constitution that created all the states of USA is experiencing and was going to experience continuous threat from enemies located both locally and internationally. He advised the American people that they should not support those who were looking forward to breaking the union and they should give importance to the unity of the United States over all other factors such as religion, culture and behavior. In his address, he even gave supports to the new government that will be taking over and emphasized the importance of constitution whenever the people of America wish to change the government. He even stated that the government should operate in accordance with the constitution and any changes to the constitution should only be made if the majority of the population of America votes in the favor of the change. Another warning given by Washington through his address was that there are certain political elements that will become an obstacle in the governemnt’s right to use their power and make the decision. These elements will try to persuade the citizens that such activities are in the best interest of the American’s.... These elements will try to persuade the citizens that such activities are in the best interest of the American’s, but the rel intention of these elements is to take power from the hands of the government and transfer this power in the hands of the unfair individuals (Hargrove, 2000, p.14). Washington warned the American people about the creation of political parties as political parties devide the population into groups by saveguarding and represnting the interest of a small portion of the entire population. He even pointed out that the activities of these parties face various obstacles from the government as government beilieves that these parties are their enemies. On the other hand these parties even try to crfeate differences and break governments that have been elected by the majority vote. Washington states that the constitution is very important to keep a track of changes in parties and to ensure that parties that are working for the interest of only one group do not se ek governmental powers. He even states that if certain authority that the government has is unjust, then changes can be made through constitution and not force. Through his letter, he even gave imporftance to religion and morality anad stated that religion is very important to live morally. Washinton supported the creation of balanced federal budget through his letter and stated that government credit should be used wisely, all debts acccumulated during the time of war should be repaid immediately to ensure that the burden of these debts do not fall on the shoulders of the generations that have yet to come. He even emphazied that in certain scanrios such as while safeguarding United States more expenditure needs to

The Home Depot in Chinese Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Home Depot in Chinese Market - Essay Example With this, home improvement comes up and there are numerous stores and companies that supply products and advice on how to make one’s home better by installing additional hardware and items to it. This is widely appreciated throughout the world, but in some cases it is only done by contractors based on the economic status of the people involved. One such company that provides these supplies Home Depot which operates across North America. However, attempts to venture into Asia failed miserably when the company attempted to establish itself in China by providing supplies for home improvement through do it yourself antics. Different reasons have cited for this failure, but there is no full consensus on the key causes of the failure of such a large company that was unable to replicate the success of its north American operations in China. This makes it necessary to look into the causes of this failure and how they served to drive the company out of China. Background The history of Home Depot spans over three decades since its inception in the year 1976 in Atlanta Georgia, where the initial Home Depot store was inaugurated in the same year. The main concept of opening the store was to provide comprehensive supplies to all clients who sought after home improvement equipment and provisions in the name of â€Å"do it yourself†. This made the company into a di it yourself supply chain across the state of Georgia after the establishment of additional stores. Besides this, there was also the provision of giving advice on home improvement to their clients and other customers purchasing supplies from their stores. With this home improvement target market focussing on do it yourself population types, it supplied partial and full components and products such as building, plumbing and electrical supplies. This is in addition to having a large selection of hand and power tools catering to both customers who preferred the traditional feel of hand tools over electri city powered tools (Miller 2). These also included an assortment of brands for maximum variety that even went beyond convention in regard to stocking gardening tools, where home improvement did not just imply the house or its aspects but the home in totality. The expansion of the store over the years has featured its listing in the New York Stock Exchange and even opening stores to hit a 100 in the year 1989 across all of the United States. Further expansion has gone to an extent of having over 2200 stores across the North American continent ranging from USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, Mexico and the US Virgin Island, and with these, expansion still continues (â€Å"Home Improvement Industry Profile†). With the success of the company across the continent, there were talks of further expansion into the world most populous nation, China. Reasons for the expansion into China was due to the large population that China has and the saturated retail market across the US, which saw t he company seek to expand into China. Another factor in consideration was the high amount of competition in China, where economic indicators were supportive of Home Depots expansion into China due to rapid growth of the Chinese economy especially following reforms after Mao’s reign as the Chinese communist leader. As such, the housing market had a lot of potential at the time of the feasibility for Home Depot to expand into China in that most of the houses in China were hardly complete or rather finished in that they needed further addition of features so that clients or home owners are charged with