Legal and Ethical Issues Relating to Business Information
Introduction
I this task I’m going to explain the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of businesses information and also I’m going to explain operational issues as well in the last park of the task i going to analyse the legal ethical and operational issues using appropriate examples .
Most people do not feel safe in putting or giving their personal details on different social networks like Facebook and Twitter and another organization who uses the personal detail from the people or customers , the reason being of many hackers invading other people's privacy this also can happen with many businesses as well such as Tesco ,Asda e.g. if they do not have a security
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There are some exemptions for this Act. E.g. if the cost of a request for information exceeds the appropriate limit, the public authority may decide whether a greater public interest is being served by denying a request or supplying the information.
Computer Misuse Act 1990 is also a legal issue used for business information.
This is a law in the UK that legislates against certain activities using computers, such as hacking into other people's systems, misusing software or helping a person to gain access to protected files on someone else's computer. It is split into 3 sections and makes illegal:
✓ Unauthorised access to computer material ✓ Unauthorised access to computer systems with intent to commit another offence ✓ Unauthorised modification of computer material
Ethical Issues
Business ethics are moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behavior by businesses. Codes of practice exist in organisations to maintain business ethics on:
✓ Use of email ✓ Internet ✓ Whistle-blowing ✓ Organisational policies ✓ Information ownership ✓ Picture
Use of email
Many organisations today have a code of practice on the correct use of email.
Internet
Many companies also have a code of practice on the use of the internet and what their employees can and cannot use the internet for. There are also codes of practice which govern selling on the internet, which many businesses adhere to.
Whistle-blowing
Business Ethics are defined as “moral principles that guide the way a business behaves” (Businesscasestudies, 2017). In order for any business or individual to act in an ethical
Business ethics is the application of right and wrong, good and bad in a business setting.
According to Omidyar & Branson (2016), business ethics are called as corporate ethics which is a set of rules that define the right and wrong behaviour. From the research, ethics are a form of applied ethic that can be used to evaluate whether the conduct of the people are considered acceptable and appropriate. Besides, business ethics are the collective values of a business organization that can be used to evaluate whether the behaviour of the collective members of the organization are considered acceptable and appropriate. In the most basic term, a definition for business ethics boils down to knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right.
In the business world companies will run into times that they have to make decision based on ethics. This outcome may not be illegal, but unethical, which is just as important when running a business. Business Ethics is the concept of distinguishing between right and wrong and then making the right choice. The right choice may not always be the easiest or best alternative for the organization financially, but it is the greatest option for the company and its shareholders overall. The idea of business ethics is important to create trust between consumers, the community, and others involved with a given organization.
Ethics are principles of behaviour that distinguish between right and wrong. Resnik (2011) defines ethics as” a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analysing complex problems and issues” (p.1). People face ethical decisions; however, People working in business frequently face ethical decisions. Business ethics is the evaluation of business activities and behaviour as right or wrong (Society for Business Ethics, 1991).
Personal data should be processed fairly and lawfully, this can be achieved by asking the employees to use their information, on the employment contract.
Business ethics is a vital element to the growth and success of any business. To be ethical means to have a system of moral principles. Ethics alone is a branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. To have business ethics you would take the meaning of ethics and apply it to the things that go on it the work place. We are going to take
Business Ethics is a set of moral principles applied in the commercial world. Business ethics provide guidelines for acceptable behavior by organizations in both their strategy formulation and day-to-day operations. An ethical approach is becoming necessary both for corporate success and a positive corporate image. Following pressure from
Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.
Therefore, Market West accepted the corporation stock as partial debt. Hooper and Yoder agreed to add Brian Bradley who worked for Market West as the third director. Hooper colluded with Bradley and violated a fiduciary duty to Yoder by issuing 95 shares of stock to himself, 5 shares to Bradley, and none to Yoder. Furthermore, Hooper got paid $141,000 salary from the business without Yoder knowing. More importantly, Hooper and Bradly voted to force Yoder to leave the corporation. After Yoder found out that Hooper broke their agreement, violated Yoder’s rights and duties, acted dishonestly, and made unethical decisions, Yoder sued Hooper and Beautiful Daydreams in the District Court. Under the common law, with these facts, the court supported Yoder and ordered Hooper to give back one-half of the salary plus one-half of the shares of stock to Yoder.
The main principle behind freedom of information legislation is that people have a right to know about the activities of public authorities.
The data protection act protects people who are identifiable from their information and data being shared. The information will be bank details, address and billing and some other personal details.
2. Ethical Issues in Business. It seems that every day in the news we are hearing of new company that has acted at least unethically and possibly illegally in the operation and financial reporting of their company's business dealings. There are many ethical issues in business. One major issue that we see is over and under reporting net income. Companies like to show that every quarter the net income of the business has an increase or profit. In order to show this they adopt unethical or illegal means in the operation and financial reporting. One such method is the indiscriminate use of stock options for employees that enable companies to take employment costs off balance sheet and inflate earnings. With the recent ethical issues we have
Codes of conduct are policies including rules such as maintaining honesty, attitude, and respect (Traveler, 2009) for co-workers, the organization and customers. Only by separation of personal ethical choices in the work place, will an organization succeed and flourish. It is never appropriate for any employee, management or otherwise, to conduct business for personal gain. The people who become harmed lose trust, confidence, and the expectation of themselves and of the people who chose to put their personal ethical choice before the needs of the customer and business.
“As a branch of ethics the field of business ethics is interested in how judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, moral obligation and responsibility, rights and duties, and the like, are made and justified” (Gill, David). As a descriptive enterprise, business ethics is an analytical exercise in understanding and explaining how people and businesses make their ethical judgments and decisions. If your business does not carry the proper ethics it cannot thrive. It takes the necessary steps within the business management to enforce these ethics upon their business. The field of business ethics is interested in more than just social and environmental responsibilities but those are certainly critical component areas.