Topic
Surveillance and computer monitoring
Due Date
Refer to Course Description
Worth
20% (40 marks – ITECH 7203)
Course Objectives
This assessment task relates to the following course objectives:
understand the principles of the Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics to IT professional practice
value and understand the legal, social and ethical issues involved in IT professional practice within a cultural context
Background
Businesses use workplace surveillance as a way of monitoring the activities of their employees. According to Tavani (2011), organisations may monitor their employees to determine participation in activities such as e-mail usage, websites visited, quality of working, speed of work, workplace practices (health and safety), and interaction with others.
There is much controversy surrounding surveillance and computer monitoring. Tavani (2011, p.323) discusses both the perceived benefits and issues resulting from surveillance and computer monitoring. Some benefits include reduction of employee theft, elimination of waste, useful training tool, motivation tool, increased competitiveness and others. Some issues include increase of employee stress, reduction in autonomy, invasion of privacy, reduces morale and others.
Requirements
Students are required to undertake an ethical analysis of the benefits and issues associated with surveillance and computer monitoring in a community and/or business context. Students will prepare an essay which analyses surveillance and computer monitoring through the lens of each of the FOUR (4) ethical philosophies presented in lectures, and ONE (1) value selected from the Australian Computer Society’s (ACS) code of ethics.
When analysing surveillance and computer monitoring, consider ONE (1) of the following ethical dilemmas:
Is the practise of surveillance and computer monitoring appropriate?
How should the practise of surveillance and computer monitoring be governed?
Do the benefits of surveillance…