Incorporating an ethical perspective into problem formulation: implications for decision support systems design

Authors:
Bongsug Chae;David Paradice;James F. Courtney;Carol J. Cagle
Affiliations:
Department of Management, College of Business Administration, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS;Management Information Systems Department, College of Business, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL;Management Information Systems Department, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL;Cagle & Co., LLC, Houston, TX
Venue:
Decision Support Systems
Year:
2005

Citing 7
Cited 6

Ethical attitudes of entry-level MIS personnel

Information and Management
Studies in managerial problem formulation systems

Decision Support Systems
Applying ethics to information technology issues

Communications of the ACM
Decision making and knowledge management in inquiring organizations: toward a new decision-making paradigm for DSS

Decision Support Systems - Knowledge management support of decision making
Ethics of Information Management

Ethics of Information Management
The internet, sustainable development and ecosystems management

Internet management issues
Ethical Issues in Information Systems Development: The Analyst as Moral Agent

Proceedings of the IFIP WG8.2 Working Group on Information Systems Development: Human, Social, and Organizational Aspects: Human, Organizational, and Social Dimensions of Information Systems Development

Theoretical principles for knowledge management system design: application to pediatric bipolar disorder

Decision Support Systems
The effect of system feedback and decision context on value-based decision-making behavior

Decision Support Systems
How do mediated and non-mediated power affect electronic supply chain management system adoption? The mediating effects of trust and institutional pressures

Decision Support Systems
The policy, structure and evaluation of long-term care networks: the differentiated requirements referred to the example of integrated long-term care in Austria

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations
Analyzing the London ambulance service's computer aided despatch (LASCAD) failure as a case of administrative evil

Proceedings of the special interest group on management information system's 47th annual conference on Computer personnel research
The impact of corporate social responsibility in supply chain management: Multicriteria decision-making approach

Decision Support Systems

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.01

Visualization

Abstract

As organizations become ever larger and increasingly complex, they become more reliant on information systems and decision support systems (DSS), and their decisions and operations affect a growing number of stakeholders. This paper argues that DSS design and problem formulation in such a context raises ethical issues, as DSS development and use puts one party, the designers, in the position of imposing order on the behavior of others. Thus, decision support systems are more than technical artifacts and their implications for affected parties should be considered in their design and development. The paper integrates Jones' model [Acad. Manage. Rev. 16 (1991) 366] of moral intensity with Mitroff's five strategies for avoiding Type III errors [I.I. Mitroff, Smart Thinking for Crazy Times: The Art of Solving the Right Problems, Barrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, 1997], solving the wrong problem [H. Raiffa, Decision Analysis, Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1968], and proposes a model for incorporating ethical issues into DSS design and problem formulation. A survey of managers is used to assess the current situation regarding use of elements of the integrated model. The results are somewhat encouraging in that 40% of the respondents felt that their organizations did follow the model reasonably well, yet 23% felt their organizations did not.