IT Service Management Assesment

Running head: IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT 1 1
Assessment 1: IT Service Management
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT 1 2
Assessment 1: IT Service Management
Part 1
An ethical dilemma occurs when we have a choice in decision making. At times we have
two options in a situation, and we have to accept one option, and it may not be ethically
acceptable. Robotic surgery is usually safe, and its effectiveness and efficiency are growing with
time (Kang & Nortman, 2015). There are always some chances of human error, and it is said that
an experienced surgeon's potentially human hand may cause mistakes and vitiate the surgery
(Hagn et al., 2018). On the other hand, the robot can have such precision that the operation
carried out by it can be expected to be entirely smooth. But, there is an ethical dilemma as
technology is not always risk-free. There have been cases in the past where patients’ surgery
went wrong, and the robot arm carrier out nearly fatal surgery due to some error. As per Nash
(2013), it was removing the prostate gland through keyhole surgery destroys the patient’s bowels
leading to organ failure.
Having seen the risk-benefit analysis of using information technology and the robotic
surgery, we can now review the ethical theories presented in lectures such as deontology,
character-based ethics, utilitarianism and social contract theory, character-based ethics (Barrow,
2015). We can now review each method and offer a brief overview of each of the four ethical
theories (Burmeister, 2017). While discussing these theories, we can propose a solution for the
dilemma, from the standpoint of each of the four ethical methods.
Within a Utilitarianism theory, the people would deem the procedure as not very moral
because it is not helpful or safe as they believe that even though good can come out of it, the
unfortunate result is a much worse outcome (Mill, 2016). They are under the stance that if an

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT 1 3
adverse effect results in a neutral or positive outcome, then it is ethical. In this case, the result
would be death if the machine had a mishap. If the person were guaranteed to live after a
procedure, then it would be deemed ethical and safe (Ebenstein, 2018).
Within the social contract theory, it would be deemed moral because the person is
agreeing and knowing the dangers ahead of time (Hsieh, 2015). Thus, the doctors take the
signature of the patient explaining the risks, like complications if the robot arm goes haywire.
Character-based ethics would deem it to be ethical because the action can benefit for the best
(Moehler, 2018). The problem is that it is not good.
Deontology would say that it would be moral because the intentions are good, and
this theory has a focus more on the intent of the action rather than the consequence of the work.
Even this theory can be applied to justify as the doctors can say that the intention was good,
though the outcome did not happen as anticipated (Chan, 2019). There are both benefits and
adverse risks of any technology.
The ethical theory of Deontology is an accepted theory as the intentions can be
transparent. The purpose was not to dupe or cheat a person, but it had a clear plan to save the
patient, both financially and expose to lesser risks with keyhole surgery (Sacco et al., 2017).
There are other good intentions for technology. Information technology has made many strides in
the areas of patient care, communication, and record storage. Through information technology,
physicians can perform laparoscopic surgeries and bypass invasive procedures. This not only
cuts the cost for the patient and facility but also decreases the amount of complication the patient
could receive from a more extensive surgery (Funk, 2015). In terms of patient care, there is also
an electronic medical record. Health team members can view patient information and clinical
data even from a remote area. This has expedited patient care, as providers can make prompt