Codes
of Practice and Professional Standards
In the exam you are expected to:
·
Discuss the social, moral and ethical
issues associated with the introduction and use of information and
communication technology systems, which affect a professional working within
the industry.
·
Understand that ‘codes of practice’
exist which are separate from any legal requirements with which professional
organisations are expected to comply.
·
Understand the need for a code of
practice for ICT users in an organisation.
Employee code of conduct
·
Understand what is meant by an employee
code of conduct, e.g. responsibilities; authorisation; security; penalties for
misuse.
·
Describe the contents of such a code of
conduct.
Ethics are about making the choice between right and wrong. In our daily
lives we are called upon to make such choices.
Some decisions are clear; the choice of
wrong is clearly illegal. For example it is illegal to use bootleg
software, or to put a logic bomb onto a computer network. Consider a
software consultant who puts a logic bomb onto a client network, because he is
concerned that the client might not pay. On payment, he quietly removes
it. If that consultant is discovered, he could well face action under the
Computer Misuse Act. At best his reputation is blasted.
Is it ethical to help a friend with his ICT project, without which he
would fail his ICT A level exam? Of course you want him to pass.
However he has not got the skills to do the project on his own and satisfy the
exam board’s requirements.
When you accept a job with a company, you have to accept that there are
certain moral responsibilities that define appropriate behaviour in the
job. These are called professional ethics. As a teacher I
have standards that I have to accept that define my behaviour as a teacher,
among which are that:
· I must set a good adult example to the young people I
serve;
· I must set and mark work constructively to prepare my
students for their exam;
· I must dress appropriately;
· I must not use foul, threatening, or abusive language.
· I must not criticise the work of other colleagues in a
way that would undermine them.
Failures in any of the above are not illegal; I won’t be up before the
beak for not marking my A2 ICT homework. However I would soon have
college management chasing me.
If I were to hit a student, clearly that is illegal and I would be
liable for a criminal offence of assault.
There are two primary factors that apply to all professionals:
- Professional relationships –
getting on with colleagues so that the job is done. This doesn’t
mean that you have to have your colleagues as your friends, but you do
have to be able to work with them. This can be difficult at times,
but self discipline is needed on all sides.
- Professional efficacy – doing the
job well.
The professional standards and ethics in the ICT and Computing Industry
are governed by the professional bodies such as the British Computer Society (BCS) and
the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The statements of
professional standards expected of professional in health informatics (people
who use ICT in delivery of health services) are listed below as an example:
- HIPs have a
duty always to act in such a fashion as not to bring the profession into
disrepute.
- HIPs have a
duty to assist in the development of the highest possible standards of
professional competence, to ensure that these standards are publicly
known, and to see that they are applied in an impartial and transparent
manner.
- HIPs will
refrain from impugning the reputation of colleagues but will report to the
appropriate authority any unprofessional conduct by a colleague.
- HIPs have a
duty to assist their colleagues in living up to the highest technical and
ethical standards of the profession.
- HIPs have a
duty to promote the understanding, appropriate utilization, and ethical
use of health information technologies, and to advance and further the
discipline of Health Informatics.
In summary it states:
1.5 Honour property rights including
copyrights and patent.
1.6 Give proper credit for intellectual property.
1.7 Respect the privacy of others.
1.8 Honour confidentiality.
As for the standards for computer professionals, it demands:
2.1 Strive to achieve
the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products
of professional work.
2.2
Acquire and maintain professional
competence.
2.3
Know and respect existing laws
pertaining to professional work.
2.4
Accept and provide appropriate
professional review.
2.5 Give comprehensive
and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts, including
analysis of possible risks.
2.6
Honour contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities.
2.8
Access computing and communication resources
only when authorized to do so.
For leadership standards:
3.1 Articulate social
responsibilities of members of an organizational unit and encourage full
acceptance of those responsibilities.
3.2 Manage personnel and resources to design and build information
systems that enhance the quality of working life.
3.3 Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an
organization's computing and communication resources.
3.4 Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity
of users and others affected by a computing system.
3.5 Create opportunities for members of the organization to
learn the principles and limitations of computer systems.
All ACM members are
expected to uphold the code, and treat unethical behaviour as a violation of the code which is incompatible with ACM
membership.
Employee Codes of Conduct
All employees should be expected to abide by these standards.
Unfortunately not all do.
In October 2004 Barry Dickenson, 34, was sent to prison for five months;
working for the DVLA, he had accessed personal details of the registered
keepers of vehicles whose numbers had been passed to him by animal rights extremists
in Staffordshire. These details had been passed to his friends who then
used the information to threaten the owners of these vehicles.
Potential employees who are going to have access to data must:
· be checked out to ensure that they are trustworthy;
· sign a contract setting out the circumstances in which
computer misuse will result in instant dismissal.
Once employed,
training must be given to:
· raise awareness of company security
policies;
· raise awareness of computer misuse,
including illegal software and illegal programming;
· avoid reading other people’s
e-mails;
· draw attention to the privacy issues
under the Data Protection Act.
The employee can
also us informal guidelines to help in making decisions as to what is
ethical and what is not. These include:
· The Golden Rule – Do to others
what you would wish them do to you. Put yourself in the position of the
one you will affect;
· The Greatest Good/Least Harm
– when choosing what to do, choose the on that does the most good to most
people (or the least harm to the fewest people.
· Kant’s Categorical Imperative – If the action
is not right for everyone to take, then it’s not right for anyone to take;
· The Slippery Slope Rule.
Actions that result in a small acceptable change may lead to unacceptable
changes. These should not be taken in the first place.
Most things that
end up as ethical issues are the result of selfish and inconsiderate behaviour.
