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Topic 8 (Professional Ethics and Responsibilities) - Coggle Diagram
Topic 8
(Professional Ethics and Responsibilities)
9.1 What is "Professional Ethics"?
Honesty is one of the most fundamental ethical values
Lies can have many negative consequences
Professional ethics includes relationships with and responsibilities toward customers, clients, co-workers, employees, employers, people who use one’s products and services, and others whom one’s products affect
Falsifying research or other forms of work is an indirect form of theft of research funds and other payments
The costs and indirect effects of lies can cascade and do much harm.
There are special aspects to making ethical decisions in a professional context, but the decisions are based on general ethical principles and theories
9.2 Ethical Guidelines for Computer
9.2.1 Special Aspects of Professional Ethics
Professional ethics have several characteristics different from general ethics
The role of the professional is special in several ways
ii) Second, the products of many professionals profoundly affect large numbers of people
i) First, the professional is an expert in a field, be it computer science or medicine, that most customers know little about
Computer professionals have special responsibilities, not only to their customers, but also to the general public
ii) Safety
iii) Reliability
i) Thinking about potential risks to privacy and security of data
iv) Ease of use
v) Taking action to diminish risks that are too high.
Professional responsibility includes knowing or learning enough about the application field to do a good job
Responsibility for a noncomputer professional who manages or uses a sophisticated computer system includes knowing or learning enough about the system to understand potential problems
9.2.2 Professional Codes of Ethics
The codes provide reminders about specific professional responsibilities
There are several organizations for the range of professions included in the general term “computer professional.”
i) The main ones are the ACM and the IEEE Computer
Society (IEEE CS)
ii) They developed the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice (adopted jointly by the ACM and IEEE CS) and the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (both in Appendix A).
Many professional organizations have codes of professional conduct
They provide a general statement of ethical values and remind people in the profession that ethical behavior is an essential part of their job
The Codes emphasize the basic ethical values of honesty and fairness
The Codes put special emphasis on areas that are particularly (but not uniquely) vulnerable from computer systems
The SE Code covers many specific points about software development
It is available in several languages, and various organizations have adopted
it as their internal professional standard.
Managers have special responsibility because they oversee projects and set the ethical standards for employees
9.2.3 Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities
Do a thorough, careful job when planning and scheduling a project and when writing bids or contracts
Include users in the design and testing stages to provide safe and useful systems
Understand what success means
Design for real users
Do not assume existing software is safe or correct.
Be open and honest about capabilities, safety, and limitations of software
Require a convincing case for safety
Pay attention to defaults
Develop communications skills