Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users

Facilitator
Mary Komunte
 Chapter 3- Objectives
1. Identify the key characteristics that distinguish a professional
from other kinds of workers.
2. Understand various professional relationships and associated
key ethical issues.
3. Discuss how codes of ethics, professional organizations, and
certifications and licensing affect the ethical behavior of IT
professionals.
4. Identify the key tenets of 4 different codes of ethics that
provide guidance for IT professionals.
5. Identify the common ethical issues that face IT users.
6. Discuss approaches for supporting the ethical practices of IT
users.
 IT Professionals
• Profession is a calling requiring specialized knowledge and
often long intensive academic preparation.
• US Code of Federal Regulations defines a professional as
someone who meets these criteria:

– Duties require advanced studies in a recognized field.

– One’s instruction, study, or work is original and creative.
– Job requires consistent exercise of discretion and
judgment.
– Job is predominately intellectual and varied in character.
 Information Technology
Professionals
• Many workers in the IT industry are
considered to be professionals. A partial
list includes:
– Programmers/Analysts
– Software engineers
– Database administrators
– Network administrators
– Chief information officers
– Data scientists
 What is “Professional Ethics”?
• Concerns one's conduct of behavior and practice when carrying out
professional work, e.g., consulting, researching, teaching, writing,
practicing, and etc.

• Professional ethics includes relationships with and responsibilities

toward customers or clients, employees, employers, others who
use one’s products and services, and others whom they affect.

• A professional has a responsibility to act ethically. Many

professions have a code of ethics that professionals are expected
to abide by
 Medical doctors
 Lawyers and judges
 Accountants
 Computer scientists
 Professional Relationships
• IT professionals become involved in many
different types of relationships.
– Professional-employer
– Professional-client
– Professional-supplier
– Professional-professional
– Professional-IT user
– Professional-society
 IT Professional-Client

• In this relationship, the professional and

client each agree to provide something of
value to each other.

• The IT professional usually provides a

hardware or software product or services
and the client provides compensation.
 IT Professional-Supplier

• IT professionals may have many different

relationships with many software,
hardware, and service providers.

• The IT professional must be on guard to

keep the relationships honest and business
related.
 IT Professional-Professional

• Professionals feel a degree of loyalty to other

members in the profession.

• Professionals help support each other

publicly.

• Professionals owe one another an adherence

to the profession’s code of conduct.
 IT Professional-IT User

• An IT user is a person for whom the hardware or

software is designed.

• Professionals have a duty to understand the needs

and capabilities of users.

• Professionals have a responsibility to deliver their

product or service on time and within budget.

• Promotion of an ethical environment

 IT Professional-Society

• IT professionals develop and support

systems that interact with the world around
them.

• The public expects that the members of the

IT profession will practice the profession in
a way that will not bring harm to society.
 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals

Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities

 Honesty is one of the most fundamental ethical

values; however, many ethical problems are more
subtle than the choice of being honest or
dishonest

 However, some ethical issues are controversial

 Ethical Guidelines for Computer
Professionals
Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities Cont’d….

 A professional is an expert in a field

 Customers rely on the knowledge, expertise, and

honesty of the professional

 The work of many professionals profoundly

affect large numbers of people, some indirectly

 Professionals must maintain up to date skills and

knowledge
 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals
Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities cont’d

Professional Codes of Ethics

 Provide a general statement of ethical values

 Remind people in the profession that ethical

behavior is an essential part of their job

 Provide guidance for new or young members

 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals

Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities cont’d

 Understand what success means
 Include users (such as medical staff,
technicians, pilots, office workers) in the
design and testing stages to provide safe and
useful systems
 Do a thorough, careful job when planning and
scheduling a project and when writing bids or
contracts
 Design for real users
 Ethical Guidelines for Computer Professionals
Guidelines and Professional Responsibilities cont’d…..
 Software and hardware Testing
 Don’t assume existing software is safe or
correct; review and test it
 Be open and honest about capabilities, safety,
and limitations of software
 Require a convincing case for safety
 Pay attention to defaults
 Develop communication skills
 How Well Developed Are the Computing
Professions?
Characteristics of a profession
• professional education
• Accreditation
• Skills development
• Certification
• Licensing
• Professional development
• Code of ethics
• Professional society
How Well Developed Are the Computing Professions?
 Certified Public Accountants
• Bachelor’s degree
– 150+ semester hours
– 24+ hours of accounting-related classes
• Two years’ experience working under supervision
of a CPA
• CPA exam
• To retain certification
– Continuing education
– Follow code of ethics
 Computer-Related Careers
• Certification and licensing required
• College degree optional
• Apprenticeship optional
• Membership in professional society optional
• No specific requirements for continuing
education
• Most computer programmers, system analysts,
etc. are part of teams
 Professional Codes of Conduct

• When groups of people claim to be

professionals;

• they take on special rights and obligations

because of their special claims to
knowledge, wisdom, and respect.
 Association of Professionals

• Professional groups are responsible for the partial

regulation of their profession by determining
entrance qualification and competence.

• Every established professional association

struggles with code of ethics
 Codes of Ethics

• Code of Ethics: Refers to rules and

guidelines followed by members of the
respective domains.
• Depending on the domain ethical codes
can take any of the following forms.

Chapter 3- Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users

 Observance of a code of conduct
• i)The professional code: a set of guidelines
provided to the professional by the profession
spelling out what a professional ought to do and
not do.

• A professional code protects both the image of

the profession and that of the individual
members. Thus, it is a requirement for the
profession that members adhere to the code.
 Observance of a code of conduct
ii) A personal code: a set of individual moral
guidelines on which professionals operate. In
many ways these guidelines are acquired by
professionals from the cultural environment in
which they grow up or live in and the religious
beliefs they may practice.

• A personal code supplements the professional

code significantly.
 Observance of a code of conduct
iii) The community code: a community standard
code developed over a period of time based on
either the religion or culture of the indigenous
people in the area.

• It may be imposed by civil law or the culture of

the community in which the professional works.
 Observance of a code of conduct

(iv) institutional code: a code imposed by the

institution for which the professional is
working.

• This code is meant to build and maintain the

public’s confidence in the institution and its
employees.
 Codes of Conduct
• For this class we consider the code of ethics of
the following societies;

– Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

– Association of Information Technology
Professionals (AITP)
– Computer Society of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE-CS)
 Current IT Certifications

• Institute for Certification of Computing

Professionals (ICCP)
• Associate Computing Professional (ACP)
• Certified Computing Professional (CCP)
• American Society for Quality Control
(ASQC)
 The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
(from the Computer Ethics Institute)
1. Thou shall not use a computer to harm other
people
2. Thou shall not interfere with other people's
computer work
3. Thou shall not snoop around in other people's
computer files
4. Thou shall not use a computer to steal
5. Thou shall not use a computer to bear false
witness
 The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
(from the Computer Ethics Institute
6. Thou shall not copy or use proprietary software for
which you have not paid
7. Thou shall not use other people's computer resources
without authorization or proper compensation
8. Thou shall not appropriate other people's intellectual
output
9. Thou shall think about the social consequences of the
program you are writing or the system you are
designing
10. Thou shall always use a computer in ways that ensure
consideration and respect for your fellow humans
 Objectives of Codes of Ethics
• 1. Disciplinary:
• by instilling discipline, the group of profession ensures
professionalism and integrity of its members.
• 2. Advisory:
• the codes are usually the good source of tips to members and
offer advice & guidance in areas where there are unclear moral
issues.
• 3. Educational:
• Ethical codes are good educational tools for members of the
domain especially the new ones, who have to learn the dos and
don'ts of the new profession.
• Codes are also source of renewal to older members needing to
refresh and polish their morals.
 Objectives of Codes of Ethics(2)
• 4. Inspirational:
• The codes should also carry hidden and concealed
messages to the users to inspire them to be “good”.
• 5. Publicity:
• One way for professionals to create a good
clientele is to show that they have a strong code of
ethics and hence their members are committed to
basic values and are responsible.
 IT Users
• Common IT users ethical issues:
– Software piracy.
– Inappropriate use of computing
resources.
– Inappropriate sharing of information.
 Summary
• A professional is someone:
– who requires advanced training and
experience.
– who exercises discretion and judgment during
work.
– whose work cannot be standardized.
• IT professionals have many different
relationships that have different ethical
issues.
 Summary
• A professional code of ethics states the
principles and core values essential to the
work of a particular occupational group.
• Licensing and certification of IT
professionals would increase the reliability
and effectiveness of information systems.
 Summary
• IT users encounter many ethical issues,
including:
– Software piracy.
– Inappropriate use of IT resources.
– Inappropriate sharing of private and secret
data.
• An IT usage policy helps users understand
how to appropriately use IT resources.