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Ethics for IT Workers and IT Users (What key characteristics distinguish a…
Ethics for IT Workers and IT Users
What relationships must an IT worker manage, and what key ethical issues can arise in each?
IT workers have many different relationships with:
Employers
IT workers must set an example and enforce policies regarding the ethical use of IT in:
Software piracy
Act of illegally making copies of software or enabling access to software to which they are not entitled
Area in which IT workers can be tempted to violate laws and policies
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a trade group representing the world’s largest software and hardware manufacturers; mission is to stop the unauthorized copying of software
Trade secrets
Business information generally unknown to public
Company takes actions to keep confidential
Require cost or effort to develop
Have some degree of uniqueness or novelty
Whistle-blowing
Employee attracts attention to a negligent, illegal, unethical, abusive, or dangerous act that threatens the public interest
Clients
IT worker provides:
Hardware, software, or services at a certain cost and
within a given time frame
Client provides:
Compensation
Access to key contacts
Work space
Relationship is usually documented in contractual terms
Ethical problems arise if a company recommends its own products and services to remedy problems they have detected
A company is unable to provide full and accurate reporting of a project’s status
Fraud
Crime of obtaining goods, services, or property
through deception or trickery
Fraud is proven in court
Misrepresentation :
Misstatement or incomplete statement of material fact
Problem if causes entry into contract
Breach of contract
One party fails to meet the terms of a contract
IT projects are joint efforts in which vendors and
customers work together
Difficult to assign blame
Suppliers
Develop good working relationships with suppliers:
To encourage flow of useful information and ideas
By dealing fairly with them
By not making unreasonable demands
Bribery
Providing money, property, or favors to obtain a
business advantage
U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): crime to
bribe a foreign official, a foreign political party official,
or a candidate for foreign political office
At what point does a gift become a bribe?
No gift should be hidden
Perceptions of donor and recipient can differ
Other professionals
Professionals owe each other adherence to a
profession’s code of conduct
Ethical problems among the IT profession
Résumé inflation
Inappropriate sharing of corporate information
IT users
IT user: person using a hardware or software product
IT workers’ duties
Understand users’ needs and capabilities
Deliver products and services that meet those needs
Establish environment that supports ethical behavior:
To discourages software piracy
To minimize inappropriate use of corporate
computing resources
To avoid inappropriate sharing of information
Society at large
Society expects members of a profession:
To provide significant benefits
To not cause harm through their actions
Actions of an IT worker can affect society
Professional organizations provide codes of ethics
to guide IT workers’ actions
What key characteristics distinguish a professional from other kinds of workers, and is an IT worker considered a professional?
Profession is a calling that requires:
Specialized knowledge
Long and intensive academic preparation
Professionals
Require advanced training and experience
Must exercise discretion and judgment in their work
Cannot standardize their work
Carry special rights and responsibilities
Are IT Workers Professionals?
Partial list of IT specialists
Programmers
Systems analysts
Software engineers
Database administrators
Local area network (LAN) administrators
Chief information officers (CIOs)
Legal perspective
IT workers are not recognized as professionals
Not licensed by state or federal government
IT workers are not liable for malpractice
What factors are transforming the professional services industry?
The Changing Professional Services
Industry
Although not legally classified as professionals, IT workers are considered part of the professional services industry
Seven forces are changing professional services
Client sophistication (able to drive hard bargains)
Governance (due to major scandals)
Connectivity (instant communications)
Transparency (real-time work in progress)
Modularization (able to outsource modules)
Globalization (industry extremely competitive)
Commoditization (for low-end services)
How do codes of ethics, professional organizations, certification, and licensing affect the ethical behavior of IT professionals?
Professional Codes of Ethics
State the principles and core values that are
essential to the work of an occupational group
Most codes of ethics include:
What the organization aspires to become
Rules and principles by which members of the
organization are expected to abide
Many codes also include commitment to continuing
education for those who practice the profession
Benefits individual, profession, and society as a
whole
Ethical decision making
High standards of practice and ethical behavior
Trust and respect from general public
Evaluation benchmark for self-assessment
Professional Organizations
No universal code of ethics for IT professionals
No single, formal organization of IT professionals
has emerged as preeminent
Five of the most prominent organizations include:
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Association of IT Professionals (AITP)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Computer Society (IEEE-CS)
Project Management Institute (PMI)
SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute
Certification
Indicates that a professional possesses a particular
set of skills, knowledge, or abilities in the opinion of
a certifying organization
Can also apply to products
Generally voluntary
Carries no requirement to adhere to a code of ethics
Employers view as benchmark of knowledge
Opinions are divided on value of certification
Vendor certifications
Some certifications substantially improve IT workers’
salaries and career prospects
Relevant for narrowly defined roles or certain aspects
of broader roles
Require passing a written exam
Can take years to obtain experience
Training can be expensive
Workers are commonly recertified as newer
technologies become available
Industry association certifications
Require a higher level of experience and a broader
perspective than vendor certifications
Lag in developing tests that cover new technologies
Are moving from purely technical content to a broader
mix of technical, business, and behavioral
competencies
Government Licensing
Generally administered at the state level in the
United States
Requires that recipient pass a test
Case for licensing IT workers
Encourages following highest standards of profession
Encourages practicing a code of ethics
Violators would be punished
Without licensing, no requirements for heightened
care and no concept of professional malpractice
Issues with government licensing of IT workers
No universally accepted core body of knowledge
Unclear who should manage content and
administration of licensing exams
No administrative body to accredit professional
education programs
No administrative body to assess and ensure
competence of individual workers
What are the key tenets of five different codes of ethics that provide guidance for IT professionals?