"None of our Business?" by Roberta Fusaro
Raydar Electronics is a technology firm which makes radio frequency identification tags and readers. This article describes the use of RFIDs and where they are placed, what their intended purpose is, and why it has stirred commotion to people. Dante Sorella, a CEO of a technology firm informs the readers of some presentations that were given as well. One quick example of this that places such as the US military which have been experimenting with RFIDs on tires for vehicles they use. Further into the article, Marketing director at KoolKids incorporated Carol Sullivan and the CEO of KK Craig Davis took an interest in Raydar to know what is going in and out of the warehouse. Consequently, Dante was told that KK's caps and visors were their best selling product. RFID tag placement on these caps were suggested to help customers have a greater experience when shopping at KK. Soon after, it appeared that certain actions begin to cross the line as they knew they could violate the law. • What data would be collected? Who controls the data that would be gathered, Raydar or KK? As soon as the KK company started struggling in their business with complications such as miscounts in the warehouse as well as theft started taking a toll on things. Data that has been collected in the back end of the company includes tags onto pallets containing products along with readers in the exit areas to allow the information collector to know what is still remaining and what had been received. Raydar's RFID tags are the ones that collect information for KK. The KK company wants to go as far as to collect information about customers and how many items they purchase and where in the store they go. The data that is collected has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the top advantages of using RFIDs for KK's plan is that goods can be shipped faster and the tags will notify KK of any shortage of any product to avoid being out of stock. Additionally, customer service will be more efficient. A quick disadvantage to note is that this raises ethical issues since there are different alternatives to choose within the plans of KK. The main issue is privacy and it shows integrity to put the customers and their comfort first over business profit. • What are the ethical concerns in this case? What legal concerns are there? Trust issues? Privacy issues? How should these concerns shape the decision? Chapter 10 page 290 in the Introductions to Information Systems tells us the meaning of ethics and how it may not always be easy doing the "right" as in some cases it is difficult to understand what is right from wrong. People normally consider respecting privacy as a good thing. The Fourth Amendment as described in the text book says "about protection from unreasonable search and seizure, helps shape expectations about privacy" (Wallace, p 179). I see the main ethical issue is being honest with customers. A good company in my eyes is knowing there isn't anything customers are unaware of that they should probably know. A company with honesty and …show more content…
Having this set up, KK expects to retrieve information regarding the following as read in text "amount spent, items bought, size, method of payment. When the shopper next visited a KK outlet wearing the hat, readers mounted at the store entrance would recognize the tag." (Fusaro, 2004). Although these factors are to help strengthen the business strategies, I believe tracking them all around the store is a bit too much. Plus there are several customers purchasing the product so it sounds like a heavy amount of tracking and video watching. A business that keeps track of their inventory sounds reasonable, but a business that needs to know who you are and all that you're purchasing becomes a bit too personal. This plan may even cause these people to get in trouble with the law. It is good to note that even Craig understands a thing or two about invading privacy. He knows the distinction between trying to give consumers the best experience possible versus learning where they go and what they do outside of business
Raydar Electronics is a technology firm which makes radio frequency identification tags and readers. This article describes the use of RFIDs and where they are placed, what their intended purpose is, and why it has stirred commotion to people. Dante Sorella, a CEO of a technology firm informs the readers of some presentations that were given as well. One quick example of this that places such as the US military which have been experimenting with RFIDs on tires for vehicles they use. Further into the article, Marketing director at KoolKids incorporated Carol Sullivan and the CEO of KK Craig Davis took an interest in Raydar to know what is going in and out of the warehouse. Consequently, Dante was told that KK's caps and visors were their best selling product. RFID tag placement on these caps were suggested to help customers have a greater experience when shopping at KK. Soon after, it appeared that certain actions begin to cross the line as they knew they could violate the law. • What data would be collected? Who controls the data that would be gathered, Raydar or KK? As soon as the KK company started struggling in their business with complications such as miscounts in the warehouse as well as theft started taking a toll on things. Data that has been collected in the back end of the company includes tags onto pallets containing products along with readers in the exit areas to allow the information collector to know what is still remaining and what had been received. Raydar's RFID tags are the ones that collect information for KK. The KK company wants to go as far as to collect information about customers and how many items they purchase and where in the store they go. The data that is collected has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the top advantages of using RFIDs for KK's plan is that goods can be shipped faster and the tags will notify KK of any shortage of any product to avoid being out of stock. Additionally, customer service will be more efficient. A quick disadvantage to note is that this raises ethical issues since there are different alternatives to choose within the plans of KK. The main issue is privacy and it shows integrity to put the customers and their comfort first over business profit. • What are the ethical concerns in this case? What legal concerns are there? Trust issues? Privacy issues? How should these concerns shape the decision? Chapter 10 page 290 in the Introductions to Information Systems tells us the meaning of ethics and how it may not always be easy doing the "right" as in some cases it is difficult to understand what is right from wrong. People normally consider respecting privacy as a good thing. The Fourth Amendment as described in the text book says "about protection from unreasonable search and seizure, helps shape expectations about privacy" (Wallace, p 179). I see the main ethical issue is being honest with customers. A good company in my eyes is knowing there isn't anything customers are unaware of that they should probably know. A company with honesty and …show more content…
Having this set up, KK expects to retrieve information regarding the following as read in text "amount spent, items bought, size, method of payment. When the shopper next visited a KK outlet wearing the hat, readers mounted at the store entrance would recognize the tag." (Fusaro, 2004). Although these factors are to help strengthen the business strategies, I believe tracking them all around the store is a bit too much. Plus there are several customers purchasing the product so it sounds like a heavy amount of tracking and video watching. A business that keeps track of their inventory sounds reasonable, but a business that needs to know who you are and all that you're purchasing becomes a bit too personal. This plan may even cause these people to get in trouble with the law. It is good to note that even Craig understands a thing or two about invading privacy. He knows the distinction between trying to give consumers the best experience possible versus learning where they go and what they do outside of business