Concern about Fairness, Ethical Idealism and Demand for Formal Procedures of Information Management

INTRODUCTION Information management activities in organizations continue to be increasingly more dependent on computerized databases and networks that connect computers. As organizations computerize their information intensive processes, ethical tensions between organizations and individuals affected by organizational practices related to the management of personal data gain heightened importance. Individuals' concern about fairness of information management (X1) in organizations (Smith & Milberg, 1996) has been identified as one of the important considerations facing knowledge workers ranging from law enforcement officers to e-commerce managers and database administrators responsible for managing organizational information resources. Since it is common for information technologists to be more process oriented than people-oriented, it is important to note that emphasis on process over what customers want has been identified as a concern that can be responsible for failure of programs such as customer relationship management programs and database marketing programs. As organizations become more information-based (Drucker, 1988), concerns related to fairness of information management becomes a more relevant factor for keeping the information management functions of organizations customer-centered. This concern is stronger among individuals who are ethically idealistic. Concern about fairness of information management can lead consumers such as students of a university to demand that universities put in place formal procedures to protect students from harm. The dependent variable in this study is students' demand that universities put in place formal procedures for managing student related information resources (Y).The research question we ask is: do concern about fairness of information management and individuals' ethical idealism positively correlate with students' demand that administrators put in place formal procedures to handle student information stored at universities? There are at least two reasons that make this question timely and relevant for information managers at organizations such as universities. First, students at universities in the United States who come from all over the world are subjected to practices of personal data collection. Second, legislation such as the USA Patriot Act has relevant implications for information exchange relationships between organizations and individuals (Rackow, 2002) and between universities and external agencies and organizations. The contrived acronym stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001. This public law 107-56 increases the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone, e-mail communications, medical, financial, and other records. It eases restrictions on foreign intelligence gathering within the United States and expands the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to regulate financial transactions, particularly those involving foreign individuals and entities; and enhances the discretion of law enforcement and immigration authorities in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism-related acts. By expanding the definition of terrorism to include domestic terrorism, this statute enlarges the number of activities to which the USA PATRIOT Act's expanded law enforcement powers can be applied. The question asked in this study is timely and can be relevant to managers of information intensive organizations such as universities and hospitals. LITERATURE REVIEW It is important to show continuity of the current study with prior studies related to the relationships among the two independent variables and the dependent variable in this study. To create the stream of consciousness for understanding the effects or outcome variables associated with individuals' concern about fairness of information management by organizations and ethical idealism, we review relevant prior literature. …