On March 15, 2005, Michael Schrage published an article in CIO magazine entitled “Ethics, Schmethics,” which stirred up a great deal of controversy in the IT community. In the article, Schrage proposed that CIOs (chief information officers) “should stop trying to do the ‘right thing’ when implementing IT and focus instead on getting their implementations right.” Schrage argued that ethics had become a buzzword, just like quality in the 1980s; he asserted that the demand for ethical behaviour interferes with business efficiency. In the article, Schrage provided a few scenarios to back up his opinion. In one such example, a company is developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and the staff is working very hard to meet the deadline. The company plans to outsource the maintenance and support of the CRM system once it is developed, meaning that there is a good chance that two-thirds of the IT staff will be laid off. Would you disclose this information? Schrage answered, “I don’t think so.” In another scenario, Schrage asked readers if they would consider deliberately withholding important information from their boss if they knew that its disclosure would provoke his or her immediate counterproductive intervention in an important project. Schrage said he would withhold Business involves competing values, he argued, and trade-offs must be made to keep business operations from becoming paralyzed. Schrage was hit with a barrage of responses accusing him of being dishonourable, short-sighted, and lazy. Other feedback provided new perspectives on his scenarios that Schrage had not considered in his article. For example, an IT manager at Boise State University argued that doing the right thing is good for business. Not disclosing layoffs, she argued, is a trick that only works once. Remaining employees will no longer trust the company and may pursue jobs where they can feel more secure. New job applicants will think twice before joining a company with a reputation for exploiting employees. Other readers responded to that scenario by suggesting that the company could try to maintain loyalty by offering incentives for those who stayed or by providing job-placement services to departing employees. Addressing the second scenario, another reader, Dewey, suggested that not giving the boss important information could backfire on the employee: “What if your boss finds out the truth? What if you were wrong and the boss could have helped? Once your boss knows that you lied once, will he believe you the next time?” Another reader had actually worked under an unproductive, reactive, meddling boss. Based on his experience, he suggested speaking to the boss about the problem at an appropriate time and place. In addition, the reader explained that as situations arose that required him to convey. important information that might elicit interference, he developed action plans and made firm presentations to his boss. The boss, the reader assured Schrage, will adapt. Some readers argued that CIOs must consider the company’s long-term needs rather than just the current needs of a specific project. Others argued that engaging in unethical behaviour, even for the best of purposes, crosses a line that eventually leads to more serious transgressions. Some readers suspected that Schrage had published the article to provoke outrage. Another reader agreed with Schrage, arguing that ethics has to “take a back seat to budgets and schedules” in a large organization. This reader explained, “At the end of the day, IT is business.” Discuss how a CIO might handle Schrage’s scenarios using the suggested process for ethical decision making presented in this chapter. Discuss the possible short-term losses and long-term gains in implementing ethical solutions for each of Schrage’s scenarios. Must businesses choose between good ethics and financial benefits? Explain your answer using Schrage’s scenarios as examples. What do you think Schrage means when he says that CIOs “should stop trying to do the
On March 15, 2005, Michael Schrage published an article in CIO magazine entitled “Ethics,
Schmethics,” which stirred up a great deal of controversy in the IT community. In the article,
Schrage proposed that CIOs (chief information officers) “should stop trying to do the ‘right thing’
when implementing IT and focus instead on getting their implementations right.” Schrage argued
that ethics had become a buzzword, just like quality in the 1980s; he asserted that the demand
for ethical behaviour interferes with business efficiency.
In the article, Schrage provided a few scenarios to back up his opinion. In one such example,
a company is developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system, and the staff
is working very hard to meet the deadline. The company plans to outsource the maintenance
and support of the CRM system once it is developed, meaning that there is a good chance that
two-thirds of the IT staff will be laid off. Would you disclose this information? Schrage answered,
“I don’t think so.”
In another scenario, Schrage asked readers if they would consider deliberately withholding
important information from their boss if they knew that its disclosure would provoke his or her
immediate counterproductive intervention in an important project. Schrage said he would withhold
- Business involves competing values, he argued, and trade-offs must be made to keep
business operations from becoming paralyzed.
Schrage was hit with a barrage of responses accusing him of being dishonourable, short-sighted,
and lazy. Other feedback provided new perspectives on his scenarios that Schrage had
not considered in his article. For example, an IT manager at Boise State University argued that
doing the right thing is good for business. Not disclosing layoffs, she argued, is a trick that only
works once. Remaining employees will no longer trust the company and may pursue jobs where
they can feel more secure. New job applicants will think twice before joining a company with a
reputation for exploiting employees. Other readers responded to that scenario by suggesting
that the company could try to maintain loyalty by offering incentives for those who stayed or by
providing job-placement services to departing employees.
Addressing the second scenario, another reader, Dewey, suggested that not giving the
boss important information could backfire on the employee: “What if your boss finds out the
truth? What if you were wrong and the boss could have helped? Once your boss knows that
you lied once, will he believe you the next time?”
Another reader had actually worked under an unproductive, reactive, meddling boss. Based
on his experience, he suggested speaking to the boss about the problem at an appropriate time
and place. In addition, the reader explained that as situations arose that required him to convey.
important information that might elicit interference, he developed action plans and made firm
presentations to his boss. The boss, the reader assured Schrage, will adapt.
Some readers argued that CIOs must consider the company’s long-term needs rather than
just the current needs of a specific project. Others argued that engaging in unethical behaviour,
even for the best of purposes, crosses a line that eventually leads to more serious transgressions.
Some readers suspected that Schrage had published the article to provoke outrage. Another
reader agreed with Schrage, arguing that ethics has to “take a back seat to budgets and
schedules” in a large organization. This reader explained, “At the end of the day, IT is business.”
- Discuss how a CIO might handle Schrage’s scenarios using the suggested process for
ethical decision making presented in this chapter.
- Discuss the possible short-term losses and long-term gains in implementing ethical solutions
for each of Schrage’s scenarios.
- Must businesses choose between good ethics and financial benefits? Explain your answer
using Schrage’s scenarios as examples.
- What do you think Schrage means when he says that CIOs “should stop trying to do the
‘right thing’ when implementing IT and focus instead on getting their implementations right”?
Do you agree?
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