Assingments % - How to Address Ethical and Legal Obligations in Business Data Breach Scenarios

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

Differentiate between matters of law and matters of ethics in business situations

Scenario

A few years ago Clare Applewood started a small outdoor equipment business called Mountain Top View. The company is a sole proprietorship. The company began as a single storefront and has grown rapidly to include online ordering through the company website. The company’s website includes the statement, “We are committed to keeping customer information secure and protected.” Clare also uses social media sites to market the company.

Carlos Rodriguez has worked for the company since the beginning. He oversees both store and online operations. Clare and Carlos make most decisions together.

Steve, the company’s Information Technology lead, discovered that the company database of customer information was hacked. Customer names, addresses, and phone numbers were accessed for only those customers who placed online orders in the first quarter of the year. Steve was able to correct the code that allowed the hack and is confident that the database is now secure.

When Carlos overhears Steve talking about the database fix in the store break room, he questions Steve about why he did not bring the breach to anyone’s attention. Steve explains that because he was able to quickly correct the code that led to the breach, and because only address and phone number information for a handful of customers was accessed, he didn’t think it was necessary to say anything.

Clare asks Carlos to evaluate whether the company has an ethical and/or legal obligation to report the breach to their customers and to recommend a course of action. She also asks Carlos to select an ethical test or framework that all employees can use in the future to help guide their decisions.

Directions

Report
Evaluate whether the company has an ethical and/or legal obligation to report the breach to its customers. Your evaluation should be framed as a report for the owner, Clare, that includes the following sections and information. Cite your sources using APA style.

Introduction
1. Include a definition of ethics and explanation of how ethics compares to law.
2. Provide an explanation of corporate social responsibility and how it relates to ethical business practices.
Analysis
1. Provide a summary of the ethical and/or legal issues involved in this situation.
2. Briefly describe the relevant stakeholders, the key facts, and the potential implications or impact of the situation.
Recommendation
1. Provide your recommendation for a course of action supported by relevant resources, such as specific laws and commonly accepted ethical practices.
2. Explain the reasoning behind your recommendation and use reliable sources, such as the textbook and other course resources, to support your position.
Conclusion: Describe how advances in technology in today’s business world have both legal and ethical implications.

Ethical Test or Framework
Select a test or framework for all employees in this company to use. Demonstrate how it can be used when faced with an ethical dilemma. Cite your sources using APA style.

Test or framework
1. Select a test or framework option from among those described in the textbook.
2. Name the option you selected and describe the test or framework, including its advantages and potential shortcomings.
3. Explain why the test or framework that you selected is appropriate for this company; justify your selection.
Apply the test or framework to the scenario to demonstrate how Steve could have used it to guide his decision making and actions.

What to Submit

To complete this project, you must submit the following:

Report
Your submission should be a 3- to 5-page Word document with 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Ethical Test or Framework
Your submission should be a 1- to 2-page Word document with 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Project Two Rubric

CriteriaExemplary (100%)Proficient (85%)Needs Improvement (55%)Not Evident (0%)ValueIntroductionExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerAccurately defines ethics and its comparison to law; includes an explanation of social corporate responsibility and how it relates to ethical business practicesShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include accuracy in content, scope of content, and greater insight about the relationships among ethics, law, and corporate social responsibilityDoes not attempt criterion15AnalysisExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerProvides a complete and accurate summary of the ethical and/or legal issues, relevant stakeholders, key facts, and potential implications or impact of the situationShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include accuracy in content, scope of content, and greater insights into the ethical and legal implicationsDoes not attempt criterion15RecommendationExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerIncludes a viable recommended course of action that is supported by relevant resourcesShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include justification for the recommended course of action, supported by specific laws and accepted ethical practicesDoes not attempt criterion15ConclusionExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerIncludes a clear description of how advances in technology have both legal and ethical implications for businessesShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include greater insights into the legal and ethical implications of advancing technology in businessDoes not attempt criterion15Test or FrameworkExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerProvides a logical justification for the selection of a test or framework and includes an accurate description of that selectionShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include justification for the test or framework selection and greater insights into the description of the test or framework advantages and potential shortcomings in relation to the scenarioDoes not attempt criterion15Application of Ethical Test or FrameworkExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerClearly demonstrates how text or framework could have been used in the scenario to guide decision making and actionsShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include greater insights into the use of the test or framework in the scenario situationDoes not attempt criterion15Articulation of ResponseExceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, or sophisticated mannerClearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, demonstrating an understanding of audience and purposeShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readabilitySubmission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of ideas5Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution5

Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step 1: Understand the Assignment

This assignment is designed to evaluate your ability to differentiate between ethical and legal obligations in a business context, particularly in the case of a customer data breach. You’ll be tasked with writing two main reports:

Report on Ethical and Legal Obligations (3-5 pages)
- This report will require you to evaluate whether the company has a legal and/or ethical obligation to inform customers about a data breach.
- Your report should be divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analysis, Recommendation, Conclusion, and Ethical Test or Framework.
Ethical Test or Framework (1-2 pages)
- In this section, you’ll choose an ethical test or framework to apply to the scenario, explain its advantages and shortcomings, and demonstrate how it could guide decisions in the situation at hand.

Let’s break down how you can structure each part of your report and the ethical framework section to make sure you’re on the right track.

Step 2: Write the Report on Ethical and Legal Obligations

Introduction

Start by defining ethics and law and explaining how they differ:

Ethics refers to the moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.
Law refers to a system of rules that are created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior.

Discuss the relationship between ethics and law, especially in business practices, and define corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR refers to a company’s commitment to operating in ways that enhance society and the environment, rather than merely seeking profits. This will set the stage for your analysis, showing that business decisions should not only comply with laws but should also adhere to ethical standards.

Analysis

Here, analyze the ethical and legal aspects of the scenario:

Ethical Issues: Steve’s decision to not report the breach raises ethical concerns. Did Steve act responsibly in deciding not to inform the customers or Clare? What could be the consequences if customers discovered the breach later, or if their information was misused?
Legal Issues: You’ll need to investigate whether the company has a legal obligation to report the breach. In many places, laws like data protection regulations (such as the GDPR in Europe or CCPA in California) require businesses to inform affected individuals if their personal data is compromised.
Stakeholders: Consider Clare (the owner), Carlos (the operations manager), Steve (the IT lead), and the customers whose data was compromised. The consequences for each group should be considered, including trust issues with customers and potential legal penalties for Clare’s company.

Recommendation

In this section, propose whether or not the company should report the breach:

Legal and Ethical Recommendation: If legal regulations require reporting, Clare must do so. Even if the breach seems minor, transparency and honesty are ethical business practices. You can use examples of similar cases or business best practices to back up your suggestion.
Action Plan: Recommend steps to improve data security, including revising policies on how to handle breaches in the future, and implementing employee training on data protection.

Conclusion

Summarize the importance of understanding how advances in technology impact both legal and ethical decisions. Technology presents new challenges for data protection, and businesses need to stay up to date with evolving laws (like data privacy laws) and ethical expectations (such as maintaining customer trust).

Step 3: Write the Ethical Test or Framework Report

Choose and Explain an Ethical Test or Framework

In this part, select an ethical framework to guide decision-making. Here are some options you might consider:

Utilitarianism: This framework focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Steve’s decision might be questioned using this framework—does not informing customers lead to a greater harm?
Deontological Ethics (Duty-Based Ethics): This framework focuses on duty and rules. According to this view, Steve should have reported the breach because it is his duty to uphold the company’s commitment to data security, regardless of the consequences.
Virtue Ethics: This framework emphasizes character traits like honesty and integrity. From this perspective, Clare and Carlos should make decisions based on fostering trust and transparency with customers.

Justify Your Selection

Justify why you think the chosen framework fits the company’s needs. For example, if you choose Deontological Ethics, explain that this framework would ensure clear rules about data protection and reporting breaches, making it easier for employees to make ethical decisions in ambiguous situations.

Apply the Framework to the Scenario

Use the framework to show how Steve could have handled the situation differently:

Utilitarianism Example: Would informing the customers lead to a better outcome for the majority? The greater harm could be caused by not informing the customers, as their personal data could be misused, which could lead to public distrust and financial loss.
Deontological Ethics Example: Steve’s decision violates the duty of transparency, and under this framework, he should have reported the breach immediately, no matter how minor he thought the issue was.

Step 4: Revise and Proofread

After drafting your reports, make sure they are clearly organized, free from grammar and spelling errors, and effectively communicate the ethical and legal points.

Ensure clarity: Double-check that each section of the report answers the relevant question and provides strong reasoning to support your recommendations.
Check citations: Be sure to cite all resources properly in APA format. This includes referencing your textbook, any laws mentioned (like GDPR or CCPA), and additional resources you consulted.

Step 5: Submit

Once you’ve completed the report and the ethical test section, save your work and submit the project according to the submission guidelines provided by your instructor.