Utilitarianism is a principle, which approves or disapproves of every action according to whether it increases or diminishes the amount of happiness or good of the interested party. This issue is deeply imbedded in the ever-expanding world of information technology. New technologies like personnel monitoring hit this issue directly. Employers may see short-term benefits of monitoring employees, such as insider trading, efficiency, or performance. But, employers must consider what effect that the monitoring will have on the employees. The overall happiness or good for all the parties involved are not always addressed. The company may see results from their end but the employees may receive an adverse effect. To successfully make a utility-based decision managers mu

Rights based ethics focuses on the rights of individuals and respect of people's rights. There are two different types of rights in this theory. Negative rights are rights that are free from outside interference. Therefore these rights allow people to have certain rights without someone interfering. Positive rights on the other hand are rights that people are entitled to. Examining ethical aspects using this theory people consider whether the action will impede on human or legal rights. Information management has great rights implications. Consumer's information is located on many databases throughout the nation. Companies have to ensure that consumer's rights to privacy maintained. Companies often sell information to marketing organizations who put you on other lists that they may sell. Many organizations make a point of telling consumers that their information will remain private. Consumers also want their information to be current and accurate. Information about peoples credit histories and financial information need to be accurate otherwise the customer may be negatively impacted.

Pluralism or duty based ethical principles outline some different ideas. Immanuael Kant say the worth of an action is not found in what the person is trying to accomplish but rather the intention that they had. People must perform actions as a function of duty regardless of the consequences. Duty is an obligation to follow universal moral laws. These moral laws are outlined to make sure that projects or objectives do not superceded the worth of human beings. An important IT example would be the use of private customer information in a negative manner.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Immanuael Kant, Normative Ethics, moral ethical, normative ethics, ethical theories, informed decision, rights based ethics, ethics utilitarianism, ethics based ought, monitoring employees, view decision, customer information, ethical principles, outlook life,
Approximate Word count = 1121
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)