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Explain the Legal and ethical issues in relation to the use of business

information.

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Contents page

Introduction

What are legal issues

Data protection act 1998

Computer misuse act

Freedom of information

What are ethical issues

Use of email , internet

What is whistleblowing

Organisational policies

Code of practise

Data protection act breach

Computer misuse act breach

Freedom of information breach

Code of conduct for footlocker

Conclusion

Bibliography

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In Assignment I will explain how footlocker administers the legal and ethical issues in

relation to the use of information.

Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an American sportswear and footwear

retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York

City and operating in approximately 20 countries worldwide.

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What are legal issues?

These are various items of legislation (law) to protect the use of business

information.

There are many types of law items that businesses use to protect their information

and ensure that there information is kept within the business.

Data Protection Act 1998

Many businesses including footlocker store and use information about people. The Data Protection Act protects information held about people from being misused. The information stored by businesses on databases must be:

Obtained fairly and lawfully

Used only for the purposes stated during collection

Adequate, relevant and not excessive In relation to the intended use

Accurate and up to date Not kept for longer than necessary Processed in line with your rights

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Computer Misuse Act 1990

This is a law in the UK that legislates against certain activities using computers, such as hacking into other people's systems, misusing software or helping a person to gain access to protected files on someone else's computer. It is split into 3 sections and makes illegal:

Unauthorised access to computer material

Unauthorised access to computer systems With intent to commit another offence

Unauthorised modification of computer material

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Freedom of Information Act 2000

This Act provides individuals or organisations with the right to request information held by a public authority. The public authority must tell the applicant whether it holds the information, which it must supply within 20 working days, in the requested format. There are some exemptions to this Act. E.g. if the cost of a request for info exceeds the appropriate limit, the public authority may decide whether a greater public interest is being served by denying a request or supplying the info.

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Ethical Issues

Business ethics are moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by businesses. Codes of practice exist in organisations to maintain business ethics on: use of email internet whistle-blowing

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the ways in which people should live

their lives. Ethical issues must be dealt with when examining these philosophies.

Ethical issues often deal with what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what

is bad, and what rights and responsibilities people should have. The general goal of

ethics is to enable people to live good lives.

An ethical decision is one that is both legal and meets the shared ethical standards of the community. Businesses face ethical issues and decisions almost every day.

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Many organisations today have a code of practice on the correct use of email.

Usually ban threatening, harassing emails

also spamming or producing large number of unsolicited emails

Limited use of email for personal uses is often permitted

Internet

Many companies also have a code of practice on the use of the internet and what

their employees can and cannot use the internet for. There are also codes of

practice which govern selling on the internet, which many businesses adhere to.

Access to inappropriate websites usually banned or filtered out

Control over company web servers

Limited use of internet for personal purpose is often permitted

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This is an employee who raises a concern about a business practice - either to

management within the company or to an outside organisation (e.g. the press) the

concern may relate to fraud, crime, danger or any other serious risk that could

impact on customers, colleagues or any other stakeholder or the organisation's

reputation.

Whistle-blowers may receive legal protection through the Public Interest Disclosure

Act, but the offence being reported must constitute a deliberate attempt to break the

law.

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Organisational policies

Organisations may have many policies to ensure that their businesses practices with regard to information can be done more ethically. This could be anything from how they manage information to ensuring marketing and other business practices are fair and just.

Code of practice

A code of practice is a set of written rules which explains how people working in a

particular profession should behave.

Data protection Act

My company footlocker has not breached the data protection service down to their

tightness in security and business awareness. Unlike footlocker, Sony is a company

with has before breached the data protection act.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been fined £250,000 ($396,100) following a "serious breach" of the Data Protection Act.

UK authorities said a hack in April 2011 "could have been prevented".

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) criticised the entertainment giant for not having up-to-date security software.

Sony told the BBC it "strongly disagreed" with the ruling and planned to appeal.

"Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient," a spokesman for the firm added.

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Computer misuse act

Once again my company had not breached the computer misuse act as they have a

high security and employee awareness level. They also have tight control over what

their employees are doing and how they are doing it. But another group of people

within a banking company had breached this code.

Six people have been arrested over a scam which police believe compromised the security of more than 20,000 bank accounts and credit cards.

Fake websites and spam e-mails are thought to have been used to try to steal an estimated £4m using victims' passwords and card numbers.

The arrests were made in London and in Navan, County Meath, Ireland.

Five men and a woman, all aged between 25 and 40, are being questioned by officers.

They were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit online banking fraud and crimes under the Computer Misuse Act.

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Freedom of information

Footlocker has also not breached the freedom of information act but the government themselves had. A common accusation against ministers since the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) came into force is that they have ignored the public interest in order to protect sensitive information. So it is perhaps appropriate that an executive agency of the very department responsible for the legislation should be the first recipient of a practice recommendation from the Information Commissioners' Office (ICO).

According to a review carried out by the watchdog, the Government has breached its own legislation, with the National Offender Management Service (Noms) "repeatedly failing to respond to information requests in line with its obligations under the FOI".

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Code of conduct for footlocker.

How footlocker respond to ethical issues by means of policies and code of practice

Foot Locker has a strong, positive culture, built on fundamental values that we all believe in and share. As we continue to work on executing our strategies to achieve our long-term strategic plan, it is very Important to remember our core values, which drive our behaviours on a daily basis. OUR CORE VALUES Integrity Service Leadership Community Team Work Excellence Innovation Staying true to our core values and never losing sight of the importance of conducting business Ethically and with integrity is critical to our success. Upholding and living our seven core values takes commitment from each of us, as these values are our compass, moving us forward to achieve our Vision to be “The leading global retailer of athletically inspired shoes and

apparel.”

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Confidential information about the Company’s business strategies, plans, products and Services is an extremely valuable asset. All non-public information about the Company should Be treated confidentially. The unauthorized disclosure of confidential information is strictly Prohibited. This policy covers disclosure in any manner -- for example, through reports, copies Of reports, any form of written summary, conversations, pictures or through chat rooms over The Internet. Additionally, all personally identifiable healthcare information about the Company's associates must be treated confidentially. The Company's documents, reports and records are the property of the Company. As such, They should not regularly be taken from or stored off Company premises, and they must be Returned to the Company at its request or if your employment with the Company ends for any Reason.

Personal Use of Company Property Company assets, services, premises and equipment, whether owned or leased, are intended To be used for business purposes only. However, we recognize there may be times when Limited personal use of the telephone, fax, computer, e-mail, or photocopying machines is Necessary. All personal use must be of reasonable duration and frequency and must not Cause embarrassment to the Company. You will be expected to use your judgment in these Situations.

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In conclusion footlocker administers the legal and ethical issues in relation to the use

of information very positively and very well as their business loyalty and knowledge

both play a huge part in their a positive delivery of their business services.

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information.

In this assignment I will be explaining the operational issues in

relation to the use of business information within footlocker.

Operational issues

What are operational issues?

Operational issues are the problems and faults that business face

when carrying out tasks to abide with their ethical issues and the

legal issues set by the government. For many business day-to-day

operational issues such as communication, government regulatory

compliance become very important. Improving product and

services quality remains the most important for business. Also

limited resources, such as money, people and time are constant

issues for business.

There are 6 main topics that build up the operational issues that my

business footlocker follows and operate by.

These are:

Security of information

Back up

Health and safety issues

Organizational policies

Business continuance plan

Cost increasing sophistication

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Security of information

What is it?

Security of information in business is the different software used to

protect the businesses data so that it is not leaked, or hacked into.

Safe-guarding an organization's data from unauthorized access or

modification to ensure its availability, confidentiality, and integrity.

How do footlocker use security of information?

Footlocker receive many details and personal information from

individuals as secure this by using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) and

a Verisign SSL to safeguard internet transactions. This is a large

security database which is highly reliable and footlocker have used

to prevent their customers personals information being leaked or

hacked into.

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Back up of information

What is it?

Backup is the activity of copying files or databases so that

they will be preserved in case of equipment failure or other

catastrophe. Backup is usually a routine part of the operation

of large businesses with mainframes as well as the

administrators of smaller business computers. For personal

computer users, backup is also necessary but often

neglected. The retrieval of files you backed up is called

restoring them.

How do footlocker back up information?

When footlocker collect information is immediately backed up so they can

handle orders, deliver products, process payments, communicate with you

and prevent or detect fraud or abuses. They back up your data by sharing with

carefully selected third parties who will help assist them for certain services

such as technical, logistical support or other function. This third party allows

data to be backed up so if lost in the business it can be easily retrieved back.

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Health and safety

What is it?

Health and safety

issues can be seen as

hazards

A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work. Basically, a hazard can cause harm or adverse effects (to individuals as health effects or to organizations as property or equipment losses).

How do footlocker deal with this?

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Organizational policies

What is it?

A course or method of action selected, usually by an organization, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions and positions on matters of public interest or social concern.

How do footlocker use it?

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Footlocker clearly show their organizational policies within their code of conduct page. Their clearly discuss their policies in every department and situation that could occur within the business and displays the things they will do to get with them.

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Business continuance plan

What is it?

The creation of a strategy through the recognition of threats and risks facing a company, with an eye to ensure that personnel and assets are protected and able to function in the event of a disaster.

How does footlocker use it?

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Cost increasing sophistication

What is it?

The increase of sophistication of a system is most likely going to have a great effect on the organisations employees. This is due to a more sophisticated and newer system having much more complex software which helps the efficiency of the organisation however employees are likely to be unfamiliar with it. This now means the current employees do need additional training in order for them to be able to work with the new system. For example, they would need to know what has been changed and what the new way of doing things such as transactions are. By training the staff correctly on the operation of the new system, means there are likely to be fewer issues such as mistakes being made.

How does footlocker use it?

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Footlocker regular increase their IT to allow the company to become much more sophisticated and allow them to reach their goals of becoming the world’s number one sport retailer as they will have the depth and materials to reach this goals. This is what cost increase in sophistication can bring to my business footlocker.

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Conclusion –

To conclude we learn how my business footlocker go about with their operational issues and the way they are able to manage their actions within :

Security of information

Back up

Health and safety issues

Organizational policies

Business continuance plan

Cost increasing sophistication

Thank you for reading