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All records and information management professionals are faced with routine decisions that have ethical implications. Therefore, it is important to understand the approaches to creating solutions to records-related ethical dilemmas.
Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate debacles have generated a substantial interest in the role of ethics in business, and the fallout from these scandals touches every records manager. Records managers recognize that the compliance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) are designed to provide documentation that an organization is, in fact, acting ethically and correctly documenting its financial integrity. Despite the fact that the SOX requirements strictly apply only to publicly traded businesses operating within the United States, in actual fact they have become the "golden standard" not only in the United States, but also in Europe and Asia. Increasingly, these requirements are also being applied by private companies and not-for-profit organizations to demonstrate that they are conducting their business ethically and in a financially sound manner.
Other events around the world further demonstrate the tight links between ethical actions and the appropriate management of information. In Australia, for example, the Heiner case (see www.caldeson.com/RIMOS/ heiner.html) highlighted inappropriate destruction of documents by a government agency to avoid embarrassment and litigation. In Canada, records were hidden and later destroyed to prevent the discovery that supplies of blood had been tainted with the HIV virus.
One of the roles of ethics is to provide a framework for sound decision-making, whether in ordinary daily life or in specific business instances. Thus, it is important for records managers to have some basic knowledge about ethics and the different ethical approaches available to assist them in daily decision-making.
Ethics Defined
Ethics involves defining, evaluating, and understanding concepts of right and wrong behavior. Contrary to popular opinion, what is ethical and what is legal are not always the same thing. Ethics often outline conduct that exceeds what may be the legal requirements of society.
Ethics are usually divided into three aspects: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics investigates where ethical principles have their source[s] and how they are explained. Normative ethics defines moral standards or guidelines that regulate right and wrong conduct. Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as animal rights, environmental concerns, or nuclear...