James is a systems analyst on a new account manage-

ment system for Hometown National Bank. At a recent

meeting with the project sponsor, James learned about

some new ideas for the system that were not a part of the

original project scope. Specifically, the bank’s marketing

director has asked that some of the data that will be col-

lected by the new system from customers who open new

checking and savings accounts also be used as the basis

of a marketing campaign for various loan products the bank offers.

James is uncomfortable with the request. He is not

sure the bank has the right to use a person’s data for pur-

poses other than the original intent. Who “owns” this

data, the bank that collected it as a part of a customer

opening an account, or the customer who the data

describes? Should James insist that the customers give

authorization to use “their” data in this way? Or should

he say nothing and ignore the issue? Is it necessary (or

appropriate) for a systems analyst to be an ethical watch-

dog in a systems development project? Why or why not?