What do ethics have to do with information age? The answer is with more and more people having access to the internet and everyone’s information being readily available we have to incorporate ethics and establish rights when it comes to people’s information. With information technology growing at a rapid pace a few “thinkers” view ethics in information technology not so much a right or wrong issues as a step in evolution for the human race. A philosopher at the University of Hertfordshire in England, Luciano Fioridi, believes humans will develop, “a new ecological approach to the whole reality,” which will include information systems rights. The belief is that as technology develops the human race will continue to improve.

The not so new

The ethical issues we face today in the information age are nothing new. If someone answers your email or views your person information over the internet is the same unethical behavior that was present when someone would answer your telephone without your authorization. Being technology has changed every aspect of our lives we do not have new ethics only new ethical issues. Micheal Lotti, the author of “Ethics and the Information Age” states when we need to answer a new ethical question; we don’t really need to invent new categories, because the familiar terms apply. Information shouldn’t be looked at as a revolution but a tool, which can be used justly or unjustly, express people’s truth or lies, and explore and find needed information.

Making a Choice to Remain Ethical

The more technology we have and use the more we actually lose one vital part of our being; human-to-human interaction. Quentin J. Schultze, the author of the Habits of the High-Tech Heart (Eerdmans, 2002) is not against the information age, but he feels “we should be just as concerned about the kinds of persons we are becoming as we are with being able to send messages quickly. In fact, our technologies will reflect our weaknesses as human beings if we don’t address our weaknesses up front.” Technology does not just provide us with more ways to communicate but it can alter a person personality, it can provide people with ways to cross the lines ethically. Even though technology can influence and disrupt our values we need to use what we know to be ethical when using these new technology devices. With so much information and ways to communicate we seem to lose what people’s boundaries are and the difference between what is right and wrong when are on the internet. We will always have new technologies but our ethics will remain the same it’s just a matter of applying the ethics we use in our everyday face-to-face life when we are using our technical devices.

http://www.larsonallen.com/EFFECT/Ethics_and_the_Information_Age.aspx

In this blog we will talk about “How Top Business are Using RFID to Track their Assets.”  RFID refers to Radio Frequency Identification.  RFID has really taken off in the past 10 years, many businesses are interested in this new technology as a way to keep track of their assets.  Because this is a new age technology it is too expensive to be used in stores, currently it is only used in manufacturing.  However, the ideal way of using RFID would be to track products on the store shelves.  RFID is a tracking device similar to scanning a bar code.  The difference is that RFID does not require an actual person to scan the products. RFID chips are attached to the asset and stores information about that data, when the chip or tag is activated the RFID reader, reads the information about the asset. This is done through radio waves.  There are two types of Radio Frequency Identification.  The first type is passive tags which is a small tag that cost only about a dollar; it is used on small, inexpensive items because it only transmits a few feet.  This type of RFID is not commonly used because of the short-range of transmission and lack of security.  The second type is active tags which cost upward of five dollar, can transmit a few hundred feet, and contains a battery.  This type of RFID would be better when securing assets however it is currently to costly for businesses.

Currently the majority of RFID users are government-owned industries.  Governments are able to use RFID to track supply shipments, guns, and citizens that have RFID on new passports.  Other industries that are using RFID are libraries, museums, and payment methods.  Although, many companies are not able to afford RFID in its current stage they understand the importance of tracking their assets.  Companies that do not have RFID typically do audits, however, audits can be a time-consuming process and allow room for error.  By having RFID companies would not have to hand count their inventory because RFID would store this information for them.  In the long run this would save companies time and money.

The above link will take you to an article titled “Businesses Use Twitter to Communicate with Customers”. This article discusses how businesses are using social networking to communicate directly with their customer’s more and more. With social media’s such as Twitter companies are able to communicate to a large group of customers quicker, respond to complaints more efficiently, and it has allowed call centers to lighten their load and not be so bogged down with so many calls. By using these social networking tools, employees are also able to be more productive during their work time. Not only do these tools help the customers find out information quicker, it allows the actually company to learn more about their clients. They are able to see their customer complaints in real time and see how the customer feels about the company. People tend to be more honest and open when they are using the virtual world to get their voice heard. Any business, from restaurants, to motorcycle shops, or to airline companies, could use these tools to their benefit and their customers benefit. Twitter is not the only social media that companies are using. They are also using MySpace, FaceBook, Yahoo, etc. Though these are wonderful tools for companies to use there are a lot of people left in the world who like to pick up the telephone and speak to a human being. Companies should not over look this fact and continue advancements with their call centers.

Some of us were involved with a local project to raise money for a little boy who needed a surgery that his family could not afford. Those of us involved posted information about the fund raiser on our FaceBook’s and MySpace’s, including how people could help, what the money was being raised for, and information about the family we were helping. The responses we received were overwhelming. If we used the traditional methods of calling people or talking to them in person, we would not have reached as many people as we did or raised as much money as we did. These social networks were a huge part to the success of the fundraiser. This is just a prime example as to how companies, non-proft organizations, and fundraising events can use these social media’s to extend their reach to the public.

These advancements in communication tools are forcing businesses to change certain practices in the way they offer communication to customers. It requires them to develop and staff the proper IT Department, if they haven’t already done so. They also need employees who are well versed in these different media’s and know how to use them to properly communicate with clients. The company has to also remain professional in the communication channels they use.