Chapter 2 - Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users 1

Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users

22ChapterChapter

Chapter 2 - Ethics for IT Professionals and IT Users 2

Chapter 2 - 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.

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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.

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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– IT Architects

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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

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Stewards of IT Resources• IT professionals must set the

example and enforce the policies that promote ethical use of IT resources.

• Software piracy is the act of illegally making copies of software.

• Trade secret is a piece of information that is generally not known to the public that is held confidential.

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Whistle-blowing• Whistle-blowing is an effort by an

employee of a company to attract the attention of others to a negligent, illegal, unethical, abusive, or dangerous act by the company that threatens the public interest.

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IT Professional-Employer• The relationship between a

professional and an employer requires ongoing efforts by both parties to keep it strong.

• Professionals and employers discuss many job aspects before employment begins.

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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 and the client provides compensation.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Codes of Ethics• A professional code of ethics

states the principles and core values essential to the work of a particular occupational group.

• Code of ethics has two main parts:1.Aspirations of the organization2.Rules and/or principles for the

members

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Benefits of a Code of Ethics• Improves ethical decision-

making.• Promotes high standards of

practice and ethical behavior. • Enhances trust and respect from

the general public.• Provides an evaluation

benchmark.

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Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct • Association for Computing

Machinery (ACM)• Association of Information

Technology Professionals (AITP)• Computer Society of the Institute

of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-CS)

• Canadian Information Processing Society – CIPS – www.cips.ca

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Certification & Licensing• Certification is a process administered

by a profession or organization that one undertakes voluntarily to prove competency in a set of skills.

• Licensing is a process generally administered by the province that professionals must undertake to prove that they can practice their profession in a way that is ethical and safe to the public.

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Issues Associated with Licensing IT Professionals

• No universally accepted core body of knowledge.

• It is unclear who should manage the content and administration of licensing exams.

• No body to do accreditation of professional education programs.

• No body to assess and assure competence of individual professionals.

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Current IT Certifications• Institute for Certification of

Computing Professionals (ICCP)• Associate Computing Professional

(ACP)• Certified Computing Professional

(CCP)• American Society for Quality Control

(ASQC) • Information Systems Professional (ISP)

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Legal Overview • Negligence is the omission to do

something which a reasonable person would do, or something which a prudent and reasonable person would not do.

• Duty of care refers to the obligation that we not cause any unreasonable harm to others.

• Professional malpractice is when a professional breaches duty of care - commonly referred to as liability.

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IT Users • Common IT users ethical issues:

– Software piracy.– Inappropriate use of

computing resources.– Inappropriate sharing of

information.

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Supporting Ethical Practices of IT Users

• Define and limit the appropriate use of IT resources.

• Establish guidelines for the use of company software.

• Structure information systems to protect data and information.

• Install and maintain a corporate firewall.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Case 1 Online Brokers

Experience Problems • The office of Compliance

Inspections and Examinations of the Securities and Exchange Commission released a report calling for brokerage and security dealers to evaluate their online trading programs.

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Case 2General Policy on the Use of IT

• An overview of the IT usage policy at the University of Cincinnati– Guiding principles– Applicable laws and regulations – Resource limits– Privacy– Access– Security – Plagiarism and copyright – Enforcement