Ethics and Sustainability in Information Technology and International Business

This report discusses the ethics and sustainability in information technology and international business. It explores the importance of privacy, reliability, and reputation in IT. It also highlights the need to close the digital divide and the ethical principles relevant to international business. The report includes research reports on labor practices in large brands and insights from KnowTheChain's research on human rights in businesses.

Ethics and sustainability

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
A Ethics in information technology.............................................................................................3
B. ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS...........................................................6
1. Ethical principles relevant to international business................................................................6
2. Research report........................................................................................................................6
3. KnowTheChain........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Ethics are necessary and must have to be follow by every company and sustainability
ensure survival of company for long run. This report will discuss ethics related to information
technology and what measures legal authority should be taken before accessing private
information of uses on digital platforms. Further it will discuss ethical issues over international
business.
MAIN BODY
A Ethics in information technology
Law enforcement agencies should allow unrestricted access to intrusive information to
people's lives.
Law enforcement agencies are the government agencies which follow constitutional rules
and regulations (Phukan, 2020). Yes the law enforcement agencies can be allowed to have access
over the information of digital users as digital crimes are increasing day by day so to solve the
investigation and to catch the culprit the agency have to access private information. If these
agencies are taking access of the information then they have to make sure that the information
does not leak because it is the confidential information of users and must not to be leaked. After
retrieving the data it should be stored in the secure system so that those people who does not
have permission cannot access it. If the information of users gets leaked then what is use of
privacy information on social media. It can also be said that the agencies can access data but not
complete data of users, as only those informations should be taken which is needed.
Unnecessarily all the information should not to be retrieved.
The Worst case scenario which can happen in regard to unrestricted access to digital
communication of general public.
Worst case scenario for the people if their personal information is accessed without their
permission. Users can be blackmailed if their confidential information comes out. Blackmailing
can be in various ways like demanding for money and if money will not provide then the
personal information can be leaked. It will increase criminal activities and insecurity among
digital users. Data breach can be related to financial information, health related information,
legal information, security data etc. it can increase threat amongst users or users can even stop
using digital media. Personal data if consists of account details and get in the hands of criminal
then they can cause cyber crime, where user have to face loss of money. Theft can also occur

regarding intellectual property in that case regulatory body should notify before taking private
information and in the case of any mishappening users should have given rights for the
compensation. If hackers get the personal data of users then they can purchase something from
user's name or can sell data in the web marketplaces.
Should afford data if stored in private email account and should law enforcement agencies
need a warrant to access the personal information.
If the enforcement agencies have to access private information of public then they should
have court warrant do carry this activity (Jafari and Shamsi, 2017). This will restrict agency to
not access information of all the users. As agency can access only information of those users on
which court has given permission. As data is very important and if leaked then can cause huge
damage. Leaked data can also destroy reputation of the person. If court is also involved then it
increases security of the information because agency will take care about the data then it will not
easy to leak and if also it has leaked then with the help of court user can demand for the
compensation against the leaked information. If the information will out easily then it can break
the trust of users from email accounts. This is digital era and more people are connecting daily
and this is giving many benefits so securing data is very important.
Ethical principles of information technology:
IT is massively used by the society and some of the ethical principles are:
Privacy:
privacy is the foremost principle of Information technology. It states that personal data of the
user is their private thing and that should be remained private only. Example if anyone has
posted his or her image on social media then any company or community is not allowed to use
personal image for their use (Fabris, 2018).
Reliability:
reliability is the important principle which means the quality of trustworthy. Example if user
feels that the his or her private information which is their at digital platform is safe and no wrong
will ever happen. Then in this case user will not fear before sharing any information on digital
platforms.
Reputation:

it is one of the main ethical principle, as reputation is of an individual is very important. Example
authorities when taking out private data of any user must ensure that they do not hurt the user's
reputation and if in the case reputation is hurt then appropriate actions must be taken to correct it.
Closing digital divide is important
It is not possible to close the digital divide completely. As more and more population
worldwide is using digital media like internet. Digitalization is evolving so have merits and
demerits both. Digital divide policy is more focusing on physical access. Now digital skills are
improvising, usage benefits of internet are getting (Langarizadeh, Moghbeli and Aliabadi, 2017).
Awareness of internet are building so to reduce all negative aspect over internet. Digital divide if
close then will bring many benefits as more people will start using internet then will upgrade
people and it will also serve in the economic growth. If digital divide will close then it will
reduce social and digital inequality. Covi8d 19 is reinforcing social inequality and digital
inequality. Over internet people are getting useful and important information related to covid 19
which is helping them to fight against the pandemic. Mobile phone is resulting best to reduce
digital inequality and helping to fight against the virus.

B. ETHICAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
1. Ethical principles relevant to international business
Cultural tradition and values have to be present in an organization so that there would be
higher operations and working which would be present. Human rights, religion, political arena,
environment, bribery, corruption, child labour, equal opportunity, trust and integrity, etc. These
factors are going to help the organization be able to have a stable working and efficiency which
would be present so that there is effective growth (Farooq and De Villiers, 2017). There would
be better judgement of the behaviour and justification of the processing which is present so that
the individuals will be able to improve them. Rules and values is present in firm which would get
in better sense of direction and make the most from this factor which would be a great factor.
Ethical principles would get in better working environment and benefits for the businesses in
order to be able to match the demands and needs of clients. Needs and expectations of the clients
is changing and trending for the businesses to follow so that there is going to be higher
functioning which would be present.
2. Research report
Research method and were they sound
There is a mixture of two kinds of data collection which are primary and secondary
which makes the report stand out even more. There are surveys which have been summarized in
this report so that there would be higher understanding which would be present. The data which
was presented in the report was effective and understanding for the readers as well which made
the knowledge and passing of the information more effective.
Key messages
Key message which is gained from the research is that there must be an end to bad labour
practices which are present in large brands and profits must be shared equality. Labour is hired
for very low wages who are putting in their best. Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Tirupur and other cities
in which low wage labour is found easily are being taken advantage of by large organization
(Burke, Hoitash and Hoitash, 2019). NGOs, unions and government is taking the right actions in
order to be able to find the right path which would help businesses to be able to gain competitive
advantage. Working conditions have to be improved upon for the workers and environment and

health factor have to be given importance so that there would be higher operations and
productivity which is present. Examples used in this research are Walmart, H&M, Adidas, Nike,
etc. for the audience to be able to understand to the information which is being passed on.
Experts have been named in the research like professor Genevieve LeBaron and Andrew Crane
which is getting in equal authenticity in the research which is a great factor (Mahmood and et.al.,
2018).
3. KnowTheChain
Research method and were they sound
There is use of secondary data throughout the research which is putting together a lot of
statistics about labour and internal working of large businesses which are present in the market.
Detailed understanding and strong statements with evidence have been used in the research so
that there would be authenticity which is present. Report has been divided and references are
provided to the audience after each segment so that the audience can get in more clarity which
would be a great factor for the overall performance. There is a survey which has been included in
this report as well which is a primary data collection and that getting in better outcomes.
Key messages
Improvement which has come in businesses for the rights of human which was not
present before are being improved upon so that businesses would be able to have a higher
functioning. Training is being provided to the employees so that the standards and brand value of
the company is present which is going to make the satisfaction level of the stakeholders be
higher (Schaltegger, Hörisch and Freeman, 2019). Monitoring of recruitment factor also has to
be present and also make the benchmarking be present for the workforce. There are a lot of risks
and force pressure which is present on the labour which is there and needs to be removed so that
there is going to be higher understanding. Risk assessments and traceability is also discussed in
the report so that there are right actions and planning which can take place accordingly. Number
of companies in market are low which want to understand this factor which is impacting the
working and right of human which are being given effectively (Kourula, Pisani and Kolk, 2017).
Common observation of both reports

Both the researches discuss human rights and misusing them in business which is not a
good factor for the businesses to be able to grow further. There are a lot of actions which
government has taken and that would make the company be able to have a stronger and better
brand value in market. Transportation services and manufacturing process is discussed of
different organization and different examples are provided to the audience in both the reports so
that there would higher understanding of this factor (Sharma, 2017). Walmart is one of the
common example which is present in both the reports which is going to make the audience be
able to compare the different point of views to be able to gain the right information and
knowledge. The examples of the misused cities and countries are also similar which can be
observed.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that there are a lot of issues which can rise
when ethical considerations is absent. Sustainable decisions have to be taken into account so that
there would be higher operations and functioning of the business which are present. Information
technology ethics are very essential because this industry is developing and making sure that
there are right actions and measures which are been taken is essential. Portfolio and brand image
in market must be strong in order to be able to enter into international market which would be
highly beneficial and profitable.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Burke, J.J., Hoitash, R. and Hoitash, U., 2019. The heterogeneity of board-level sustainability
committees and corporate social performance. Journal of Business Ethics. 154(4).
pp.1161-1186.
Fabris, A., 2018. Ethics of information and communication technologies. Springer.
Farooq, M.B. and De Villiers, C., 2017. The market for sustainability assurance services. Pacific
Accounting Review.
Jafari, S.M. and Shamsi, F., 2017. Studying The Influential Factors on Observing the Ethics of
Information Technology. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. 28. pp.69-87.
Kourula, A., Pisani, N. and Kolk, A., 2017. Corporate sustainability and inclusive development:
highlights from international business and management research. Current opinion in
environmental sustainability. 24. pp.14-18.
Langarizadeh, M., Moghbeli, F. and Aliabadi, A., 2017. Application of ethics for providing
telemedicine services and information technology. Medical Archives. 71(5). p.351.
Mahmood, Z and et.al., 2018. Does corporate governance affect sustainability disclosure? A
mixed methods study. Sustainability. 10(1). p.207.
Phukan, S., 2020. Ethics in Information Systems: A Framework for Evaluation. Journal of
Information Systems Education.7(2), p.1.
Schaltegger, S., Hörisch, J. and Freeman, R.E., 2019. Business cases for sustainability: A
stakeholder theory perspective. Organization & Environment. 32(3). pp.191-212.
Sharma, R.R., 2017. A competency model for management education for sustainability.
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