The Computer Revolution/Computer and Business Ethics

Computer and Business Ethics



Ethics are moral standards that are based up on a society, workplace or an environment you live in. Something ethical is abiding by the moral code and anything unethical is going against the moral code in any specific environment. Ethics play a huge part in the world of Computers and Businesses. Hence, there are computer ethics and business ethics, each defined within their own environments.

Computer and Business Ethics are standards of moral conduct related to computer use and business decision making. Unethical use of computers can be defined as downloading songs, movies, software's and etc from the internet illegally. This also includes violating copyright and plagiarism; using someone else's work as your own without giving any credit to the original author. These ethical standards in America are set by the government and it is important to abide by these rules. It often becomes a problem for users who lean more towards unethical use of computers. For any of these illegal computer activities, users can be sentenced to jail and heavy fines. This is very unethical to do so. Because, if we think about it, people who work so hard to make a software, song or an article, downloading it for free means they don't get paid for their hard work they've put into it. It's stealing their work, which is by all means wrong! We often see users at schools and businesses that misuse computers. A good example of this would be jobs where someone has access to the internet, and they use it for social networking websites like Twitter or Facebook. Even at schools and businesses, users may use work or school computers and printers for personal use which may lead to consequences such as getting fired or being banned from using these resources. This has become a very common problem amongst jobs which require the employee to use a computer with internet access. One should respect the computer rights given by a particular business or school and not misuse it.

Reference: Morely, Deborah, and Charles Parker. Understanding Computers Today and Tomorrow. Boston: Course Technology, 2011. Print



Computer and business ethics are standards of moral conduct related to computer use and business decision making. Unethical and ethical behaviors include: Plagiarism is copying someone else’s work and presenting as your own, whether it’s from a book, document, or article online. Downloading music or movies from websites for free, or singers using lyrics of previously released songs is unethical use of music and movies. Often users at schools and businesses misuse the resources, such as computers, printers, or software. Users may use work or school computers and printers for personal use which may lead to consequences such as getting fired or being banned from using these resources. Computer Hoax is inaccurate statements or stories spread through the use of computers. Digital manipulation is altering digital text or photographs.

Parker, D. M. (2011). Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow. Boston, MA: Course Technology. Cengage Learning.