The ethics of business intelligence

A review of the strategic management, policy, information management, and the marketing literature reveals that many large and medium sized companies now collect and use business intelligence. The number of firms engaging in these activities is increasing rapidly.While the whys and hows of this practice have been discussed in the academic and professional literature, the ethics of intelligence gathering have not been adequately discussed in a public forum. This paper is intended to generate discussion by advancing criteria which could be used as the basis for judging actions of those involved in business intelligence and for creating reasonable policies in this sensitive area of practice.Norm Schultz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Colorado State University.Allison Collins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting and Taxation at Colorado State University.Mike McCulloch is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Colorado State University.     

The crisis of American business

This paper is a response to the preceding papers. It is maintained that American business is failing to live up to its obligations to society. One reason for this is acceptance of what De George calls the Myth of Amoral Business. Businessmen believe that morality is either not applicable to business or that business has a special morality of its own. Several arguments are advanced to show why this is not true. A second reason business is failing to fulfill its obligations is that egoism seems to be an essential feature of capitalism. Harrington believes that this should be changed, but that attempts to change it are bringing about a more collectivist society. Kirk sees no need for change because he believes capitalism the best possible economic system. It is argued in reply that they are both mistaken because their analyses are based on outmoded ideologies which impede rather than aid us in solving problems caused by the irresponsibility of business. Gene G. James is Professor of Philosophy at Memphis State University. He is Managing Editor of The Southern Journal of Philosophy. He is the author of a number of articles on ethics and political philosophy, and is co-author of a logic text.     

The crisis of business intelligence: On the necessity of training reform

One can probably misjudge or misunderstand more critical history-making international events, patterns, and trends than contemporary intelligence analysts have, but it is hard to imagine how. The crisis of intelligence, including business intelligence, is part of the larger crisis of incompetence within the social sciences generally. It is a systemic problem involving, as an internal CIA review says, an inability to think “how the other guy thought,” a chronic failure of imagination and personnel, and flaws in information gathering, training, and analysis. Senator Helms says, “Our foreign policy institutions are a complete mess,” and many congressmen, scholars, and practitioners agree.     

The sociology of knowledge: Toward an existential view of business ethics

Business ethics is the study of ethics as it applies to a particular sphere of human activity. As such, business ethics presupposes a difference between an individual's experience within a business organization and his or her experience outside the organization. But how do we examine this difference? How do we discuss an individual's experience of “everyday reality”? What processes create and sustain this reality, and how does one's version of “reality” affect what is, and what is not, ethical? This paper outlines an approach to these questions based on theory from the sociology of knowledge, an approach which makes some progress towards making business ethics more existential. The sociology of knowledge, and particularly the social constructionist perspective, is concerned with how an institution creates “knowledge” and how this “knowledge” affects the cognitive processes of the individuals who make up the institution. The dialectic nature of the interdependent processes which shape both the individual and the organization are important in understanding how business ethics, as one kind of social knowledge, are enacted. Examining these processes leads to several interesting hypotheses about the nature of both the study and practice of business ethics. XXX“Only individuals have a sense of responsibility.” — Friedrich Nietzsche     

A systems approach to business intelligence

As one company found to its cost, there's more to business intelligence than the mere accumulation of data. Here's how one firm went about converting raw data to useful intelligence by setting targets and priorities and developing procedures for the evaluation, storage, and dissemination of information.     

The rising tide of artificial intelligence and business automation: Developing an ethical framework

Recent advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and sensors now enable machines to automate activities that once seemed safe from disruption—including tasks that rely on higher-level thinking, learning, tacit judgment, emotion sensing, and even disease detection. Despite these advancements, the ethical issues of business automation and artificial intelligence—and who will be affected and how—are less understood. In this article, we clarify and assess the cultural and ethical implications of business automation for stakeholders ranging from laborers to nations. We define business automation and introduce a novel framework that integrates stakeholder theory and social contracts theory. By integrating these theoretical models, our framework identifies the ethical implications of business automation, highlights best practices, offers recommendations, and uncovers areas for future research. Our discussion invites firms, policymakers, and researchers to consider the ethical implications of business automation and artificial intelligence when approaching these burgeoning and potentially disruptive business practices.     

The movement for reforming American business ethics: A twenty-year perspective

This paper presents a succinct review of the movement for moral genesis in business that arose in the 1970s. The moral genesis movement is characterized by: (a) the rejection of the premise that business and ethics are antagonistic; (b) the rise of the Issues Management approach, which stresses the social responsibility of the corporation: (c) disdain of government regulation as a means of business moralization, and (d) a search for control measures aimed at improving organization moral behavior. This movement now begins to give rise to a new organizational model, the Self-Moralizing Corporation, which transcends existing paradigms of corporate rectitude. The tenets of the Self-Moralizing Corporation are that: (a) the moral behavior of members is a requisite to the attainment of organization goals; (b) individual moral behavior is an asset which must be managed and developed by the corporation; (c) individual moral development is a collectively and individually shared responsibility; and, (d) the maintenance of moral values is more important than the preservation of organization structure.Simcha B. Werner has published in Israeli, British and American professional journals in the areas of government ethics, administrative reform and public enterprise.     

Managing the embedded multinational: a business network view

This response welcomes A. Godley and H. Hang's comment on N. Alexander's recent article. It acknowledges those theoretical issues on which there is broad agreement and explores theoretical issues around which debate is likely to focus in the future. Consideration is given to international retailing in the first and second global economies and the problems surrounding the evaluation of longer term trends. It explores the nature of innovation and the international transfer of retail innovation in an international retail firm and market context. Market structural conditions and their impact on international retail activity are considered. Further areas for historically based research are suggested.     

Plato's Statesman and the nature of business leadership: An analysis from an ethical point of view

Plato's paradigm for statesmanship in the Statesman, the “weaving” of temperate and courageous properties, provides the contemporary business ethics theorist with an aid for determining certain problems and solutions with regard to business leadership. The history of American business values manifests the destructive, and especially unethical, effects of deviating from this paradigm by over-emphasizing one or the other of the above types of qualities. However, with the aid of Plato's model for leadership in the Statesman and suggestions from Peters and Waterman's In Search of Excellence, progress can be made towards constructing an adequate model for corporate leadership, especially from an ethical standpoint.     

The American executive and Colombian violence: Social relatedness and business ethics

Three models of the response of American managers both to the violence of Colombian society and to the demands made by the Colombian narcotrafficker are identified: (1) conflict, (2) compartment, and (3) complementarity. The foundations of the models and their managerial consequences are decribed. Finally, the concepts underlying complementarity lead to social relatedness, both a new model of the business and society relationship and a guide for business ethics.John Barnett, associate professor of business administration at the University of New Hampshire, combines an industrial background as a management consultant and as a venture capitalist with a career as a business educator. He is a certified public accountant and a co-founder of Corroboree, a center for self-learning through service and study.     

Retail supply chain management practices in India: A business intelligence perspective

The study surveyed executives of a major food retailer in India and explored their perspectives on supply chain management practices, competitive advantage and firm performance; to assess the importance accorded to application of business intelligence (BI) in their operations. Nine dimensions for SCM practices and four dimensions for competitive advantage are identified which are found to strongly relate to each other. The dimensions of SCM also strongly relate to firm performance. Though information sharing with suppliers and their inclusion in strategic decision-making emerge as key dimensions of SCM, their impact on competitive advantage is perceived to be insignificant by retailers.     

Leveraging collective intelligence: How to design and manage crowd-based business models

Advances in digital technologies have increased the possibilities for outsourcing business activities to crowds of independent contributors. Using the collective intelligence of a crowd opens a new range of business opportunities. In fact, crowdsourcing has led to the emergence of entirely new business models. Such crowd-based business models (CBBMs) can lead to an important competitive advantage while simultaneously presenting new challenges to entrepreneurs and executives. This article identifies and discusses three key challenges in designing and managing CBBMs: determining (1) the crowd's value to the firm, (2) how to create superior value for the crowd, and (3) how to capture value from the crowd effectively. Building on the crowd capital perspective and an analysis of the tactics and practices of successful CBBMs, this article offers propositions on how to overcome these challenges and manage such business models effectively. The identified practices can inspire decision makers when designing innovative CBBMs for their industries. Finally, the article concludes with a framework with the key decisions and tactics for effectively managing CBBMs.     

The moral legitimacy of intellectual property claims: American business and developing country perspectives

Private property forms the bedrock of the business/society relationship in a market economy. In one way or another most societies limitwhat people can claim as property as well as theextent of claims they can make regarding it. In the international arena today intellectual property rights are a focal point of debate. Many developing countries do not recognize the monopoly claims of patents and copyrights asserted by business as legitimate. This paper reviews contemporary areas of dispute and then presents the tasks facing the construction of a fair intellectual property rights regime.Paul Steidlmeier is Associate Professor of business policy at the State University of New York in Binghamton. He is the author of a number of articles on business and society and of a recent book,People and Profits: The Ethics of Capitalism (Prentice Hall).