1. Running head: GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS 1
GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS 5
GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS
1.0 Introduction
In the modern world, information technology has become part of
people lives. New and advanced information systems are
developed every day. As result, new issues and concerns
regarding the IT are constantly emerging as well, thus
necessitating formulation of various regulatory policies.
Further, the IT stakeholders have moved speedily to develop IT
code of ethics in order to manage the field better. In essence,
public managers and policy analysts should be aware of the
contemporary issues in IT in order to not only avoid law
violation but also understand various IT responsibilities hasto
its stakeholders.
2.0 Regulation and technology in IT
The purpose of regulation and technology in IT is to ensure that
organizations adhere to set standards, guidelines and rules that

2. govern how technology is applied within IT fields with the aim
of protecting individual organizational stakeholders. For
instance, there are regulations guiding entities on various
procedures and security standards to ensure that publics’
information is protected. Government policies and ethics are the
main regulatory strategies in the industry.
(a) Government and Information Technology
The purpose of government in IT field is to establish a formal
framework for providing an organizational structure to make
sure that investments in IT are in support of business
objectives. The importance of governance in IT practices in
American organizations was driven by the passage of
regulations and laws including SOX Act and GLB Act which
emanated from the fallout regarding various high-profile
deception and corporate fraud cases (Falzone, 2013).
(b) Ethics and Information Technology
The aim of ethics in IT field is to create a culture of
responsibility, integrity, excellence and trust while using the
organizational resources. In addition, ethics enhances
confidentiality and privacy of information as well as reducing
unauthorized access with regard to computer systems thereby
preventing dishonesty and conflicts. The research will address
issues of ethical violations in IT such as unauthorized access to
servers; systems administrator’s account thus violating the
principle of privacy and confidentiality, among others.
2.2 Ethics and Responsibilities in IT
(a) Code of Ethics in an Organization
Codes of ethics are implemented within an organization with the
aim of highlighting the ethical responsibilities with regard to
users while utilizing information technology. Basically, codes
of ethics provide written and formalized guidelines that govern
the behavior of employees in relation to the application of
information technology. This means that while ethics focuses on
what is right or wrong, codes of ethics give guidelines for

3. enhancing the correctness of a certain behavior within the
organization (Lindros, 2017). It is a legal responsibility because
failure to protect such data may invite lawsuits against an
organization. For example, a client whose information is leaked
and distributed to third parties could sue the company on the
basis of privacy violation.
(b) Standards of Oversight in IT
Oversight standards in IT encompass all the legal, community,
individual and societal standards that make sure that the
computer systems and networks remain intact or a system
failure is not experienced. In other words, these are the
standards that assist IT professionals in ensuring that the
systems are protected from any possible compromises. These
oversight standards involve physical, technical and
administrative guidelines regarding IT.
(i) Legal IT Responsibilities
One of the major legal IT responsibilities is to ensure that the
privacy, integrity and confidentiality of corporate data are
protected. This data could include financials, clients’
information, information on investors etc. It should be noted
that privacy is pretty much recognized even in the US
constitution in that every individual has a right to privacy that
also covers information(Falzone, 2013). This is a legal
responsibility because failure to protect such data may invite
lawsuits against the company in question. For example, a client
whose information is leaked and distributed to third parties
could sue the company on the basis of privacy violation.
(ii) Societal IT Responsibility
The IT is responsible for protecting the society against various
societal threats or issues that are related to and which can be
mitigated through using IT-related strategies. Although, IT has
proved to be very beneficial to the society in terms of
facilitating communication, travelling, doing business and
learning, it has also caused various problems(Lindros, 2017).
For example, IT has the responsibility of reducing cybercrime
since it is also caused by it by improving cyber-security

4. measures. Cybercrime is a societal issue because it affects the
peace and harmony of members of the society especially in the
event of cyber terrorism.
(iii) Community IT Responsibility
IT owes the community a responsibility of promoting access and
awareness with regard to how community members can utilize
information with the aim of increasing efficiency in their
operations, for example, pertaining to generation of
income(Falzone, 2013). IT is enabling community members to
learn and acquire knowledge regarding important things as well
as distributing political and other public concerns information.
(iv) Individual IT Responsibility
IT has the responsibility of improving the lives of individuals
through various ways that relate to acquiring and distribution of
information. For example, through the internet, there is only a
lot that an individual can learn including showcasing one’s
talents, advertising individual products, seeking medical help
etc. This is because through efficiency and effectiveness in
information flow, an individual is able to benefit at a personal
level.
3.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, to prevent both public managers and policy
analysts from acting against various regulations concerning
information technology, and understand different
responsibilities of IT to its stakeholders, it is important to
educate them about the same. This way, they will be more
effective in employing information technology in their day-to-
day activities.
References
CFalzone, A. (2013). Regulation and Technology. Retrieved
from http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/publications/regulation-and-
technology.
Lindros, K. (2017). What is IT Governance? A Formal Way to
Align IT and Business Strategy. Retrieved from

5. http://www.cio.com/article/2438931/governance/it-governance-
definition-and-solutions.html.