Writing Homework Help

Discussion 1: David

Good morning class,

It has been widely known that in the modern age of computers, data is constantly collected and analyzed for insights into marketing, sales, and research. “Association Rule Mining (also called as Association Rule Learning) is a common technique used to find associations between many variables” (Kadimisetty, 2018). Discovering patterns in predicting the likelihood that customers will buy a product such as new exercise equipment, relies on association rules analysis. As a question of ethics, most consumers realize their online activities are tracked and their data is stored for marketing purposes; however, inappropriate or illegal means of data collection is not ethical and should not be considered as a means for data collection. If the information can personally identify an individual or compromise the identity of an individual, it is clearly not ethical for a web advertising company to sell that information to other companies without the consent of the user. Otherwise, data that is collected in relation to a user’s interest for products and services can certainly benefit the user in terms of providing the user with products or services that would then meet their needs, as long as data is collected and handled appropriately. From a Christian perspective, advertising products and services based on a user’s search history can certainly benefit Christians and non-Christians alike as long as it does not directly violate their privacy and does not risk compromising identity. Overall, if user data was collected using inappropriate or illegal means and would benefit the customer, it would ultimately fall under unethical practice.

Reference:

Kadimisetty, A. (2018, May 11). Association Rule Mining in R. Retrieved from https://towardsdatascience.com/association-rule-mi…

Discussion 2: Cornilus

Data subjects must be allowed to give explicit, unambiguous consent before the collection of personal data. Personal data includes information collected through the use of cookies. Some information not usually considered “personal information” in the United States, such as the user’s computer IP address, is considered to be “personal data” according to the GDPR.

Collecting user data on-line without consent is NOT ethical and is equally against the data protection act.

In a situation where the data subject gives consent to collect personal information, addition consent is required for the right to data portability. Data subjects can have their data transferred from one electronic system to another at any time safely and securely without disrupting its usability.

Data subjects can equally object to how their information is used for marketing, sales, or non-service-related purposes. The right to object does not apply where legal or official authority is carried out, a task is carried out for public interest, or when the organization needs to process data to provide you with a service for which you signed up. So it doesn’t affect the ethics of the situation if the product the exercise company wants to sell is one that can benefit the customer but customers must be notified on data transfer and usability.

Christian communities may sometimes receive critiques based on particular sets of values they have in handling data, and there is enormous potential to be harnessed in bringing Non-Christians into dialogue with data subjects the respect of ethics when it comes to data protection

References

https://www.osano.com/articles/data-privacy-laws

file:///C:/Users/cornilus.bawak/Downloads/religions-08-00088-v2%20(1).pdf

Discussion 3: Arcelia

Ethics in marketing continues to be a much-discussed topic as advances in machine learning and technology provide new ways of acquiring insights on consumer behavior. Pribanic (2020) writes that due to the rise in low-cost market research options, even the smallest businesses can conduct market research that can easily impact customers and fall prey to unethical practices. Concerns about ethics in marketing often focus on privacy violations, consumer rights and obligations, confidentiality, and the use of deceptive practices.

For the example given above, tracking consumer activity without permission is frowned upon and violates the CalOPPA (within the United States) and the European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) privacy laws (Privacy Policies, 2021). While these privacy laws may only cover citizens living in specific zones, if a website or online entity attracts traffic from these citizens, and the website is not compliant, they can be in violation. Violation of privacy laws often includes monetary fines and loss of consumer trust, costing loss of revenue and traffic overall. Even if the outcomes of the ill-gotten research would be beneficial to the consumer, the negative effects of having violated privacy, confidentiality, and consumer rights completely outweigh the benefits. When it comes to market research, a business should always err on the side of caution and ensure that insights gained from the study of consumer behavior have been obtained ethically and legally.

References

Pribanic, E. (2020, February 3). Why ethics is important in marketing research. Techfunnel. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.techfunnel.com/martech/why-ethics-is-important-in-marketing-research/

Privacy Policies. (2021, May 6). Are legally required. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.privacypolicies.com/blog/privacy-policies-legally-required/