CP3349 and CP4018

Professionalism

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this week you will be able to:

 Define a professional
 Apply the British Computer Society Code of Conduct and Practice
 Apply the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct
 Explain the alternative, often conflicting, arguments in the debate on whether it is
reasonable to regard software development in its current state as an engineering discipline
 List non-computing professions and their respective professional bodies
 Describe the importance of the ten common themes that emerge as the core for ethical
behaviour for computer professionals
 Describes the Hippocratic Oath

Introduction
Professional Ethics
In the last few years there has been increasing concern in the computer industry about a neglect
of professional ethics, which has become manifest in various computer disasters. Why is there a
need to talk about professional ethics at all? It is argued that if a person is confronted with an
ethical dilemma, they should think it through by making a rational appeal to traditional ethical
principals and theories, try to understand what rules and principles are at stake, and then act
accordingly.

The computer ethicist Deborah Johnson states that the domain of professional ethics is special in
several respects. Professional roles often carry special rights and responsibilities. Johnson
supplies the example of the doctors who are allowed to prescribe drugs, keep confidential
information and are expected to respond when individuals are hurt in emergencies. Laypersons
are not allowed to do
�What doctors may do, nor are they expected to behave in the way doctors are expected to
do.�

Some professional roles are more strongly differentiated than others. Strongly differentiated roles
are those that involve powers and privilege that are exceptions to ordinary morality. Goldman
provides the examples of the

�Lawyer's obligation not to reveal confidential information given to her by a client, even when
the information would affect the outcome of the trial; or think of the physical harm that police
officers may inflict in the course of their work.�

These are behaviours that are prohibited by ordinary morality but allowed when performed by
certain professionals directed in their professional role.

Even when professional roles carry no special powers or privileges, Johnson (1995) advocates
that professional ethics can be thought of as a special domain in at least two respects. Firstly,
professionals function in a special context, a context that typically includes relationships with
employers, clients, fellow professionals and the public. The context also involves legal, political
and economic constraints, for example:

�Private corporations seeking a profit often employ computer professionals, are constrained by
law in a variety of ways, operating in a highly competitive environment, and so on. This context
is usually very rich in complexity, and this cannot be ignored in analysing ethical decision
making.�

Secondly, professional ethics can be thought of as a special domain because of the power that
professionals have to affect the world. Professionals generally have some skill or knowledge that
they use to produce a product or provide a service. This can be done on an individual basis, for
example, when the doctor supplies diagnosis and prescribes a treatment. However, more often
than not, professionals offer their skill and knowledge to a larger organisation wherein their
contribution, together with that of others, leads to a product or a service. Although skill and
knowledge are an important part of the power a professional possesses, Johnson argues it may
not be enough to produce an effect:

�One must exercise the skill and use the knowledge, and in most professions this cannot be
done in isolation. One needs a business, clients, consumers, equipment, legal protection, and so
on.�

Thus professionals, especially computer professionals, create

�Their own business or obtain employment in companies or government agencies.�

Such circumstances give professionals the opportunity to exercise their professional skills and
knowledge and in doing so affect the world in some way, for example, by creating software for
military applications, education applications, business applications, etc. Because professionals
have this power to affect the world, they are seen as bearing a special responsibility. Johnson
(1995) concludes:

�They acquire duties to behave in ways that do not harm individuals or public goods precisely
because they have the capacity to do so.�

1. What is a Profession?
According to Jennifer Davies, typically, in order for an occupation to be defined as a profession
it should possess five traits:

1. A body of specialised knowledge upon which practice is based.

2. A code of conduct which emphasizes public duty. This is established and maintained by a
professional association.
3. A high degree of autonomy, i.e. self governing. the professional association controls
entry to the profession and training.
4. A sense of dedication.
5. The professional body is established either by Royal Charter or Act of parliament
(statute). It is a criminal offence to pretend to be a member of any profession licensed
under statute. Under Royal Charter, an imposter would have to be sued by the
professional body itself, rather than prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Alternative definitions of a profession are given below:

1.1 Deborah Johnson

A review of current literature suggests that there is no hard and fast definition for defining a
professional. Often, doctors, lawyers and architects are used as paradigms. Deborah Johnson,
pictured above suggests the following list of characteristics is often associated with professions.

1. Professions require mastery of an esoteric body of knowledge, usually acquired through

higher education. Only members of the profession possess this knowledge.
 2. Members of professions typically have a good deal of autonomy in their work compared
to other occupations in which members simply act on orders given.
3. Professions usually have a professional organisation, recognised by state government,
that controls admission to the profession and sets standards for practice.
4. Professions fulfill an important social function or are committed to a social good, for
example, health as in the case of medicine.

Deborah Johnson proposes other characteristics sometimes associated with professions. These
include that: a profession has a division between those who are practitioners and those who do
research; members of professions are bound by a code of professional conduct or ethics; and
members are seen as making a life commitment to the field of their profession. A rational appeal
is made to these characteristics to justify the higher salaries associated with these special
professions.

1.2 Abraham Flexner

In 1915 Dr. Abraham Flexner described criteria of a profession, developed initially for the
American Medical Association:

 a professional possesses and draws on a store of knowledge that is more than ordinary
 a professional possesses a theoretical and intellectual grasp that is different from a
technician's practice
 a professional applies theoretical and intellectual knowledge to solving human and social
problems
 a profession strives to add to and improve its body of knowledge through research
 a profession passes on the body of knowledge to novice generations, for the most part in
a university setting
 a profession is imbued with an altruistic spirit

1.3 Ronald Pavalko

Ronald M. Pavalko (1988) describes certain qualities that are attributed to professions:

1. A unique knowledge base justifying the claim to special expertise

2. A long training period requiring specialised knowledge and indoctrination into the
occupational subculture
3. Relevance of work to social values
4. A service versus a profit motivation
5. Occupational autonomy. The profession is self-regulating and self-controlling. Only
members of the profession judge and certify who is competent to practice
6. A strong sense of commitment and loyalty to the profession
7. A strong sense of common identity resulting in a significant subculture
 8. A code of ethics and system of norms that are parts of the subculture, reinforcing
motivation, autonomy and commitment

Pavalko argues that because of these attributes, professions are perceived to exhibit that high
quality of work in terms of requisite expertise, experience, and dedication to service, which
justifies public respect and trust.

2. Are Computer Professionals Professional?

Forestor and Morrison (1990) argues that the computer profession does not have the same status
as medicine or the law. Computing, with its sub-disciplines, for example, software engineering,
has not, as yet, emerged as a fully fledged profession. However, computer professionals certainly
possess some of the appropriate characteristics.

 Most have, for example, mastered an esoteric body of knowledge and have done so via
higher education.
 Computer professionals have varying degrees of autonomy. Those who own their own
consulting practice, managers in industry or decision makers in government departments
may have a good deal of autonomy. On the other hand many computer professionals have
little autonomy. For example, programmers may simply implement the design of others.
Additionally they usually work in teams or on small sections of large projects and thereby
are distanced from the effects of their work.
 Computer professionals face all sorts of ethical dilemmas in their everyday working life.
They have four types of obligations to: (1) society, (2) their employers, (3) their clients
and (4) co-professionals and their organisation. Ethical conflicts may arise through dual
obligations but are most likely to occur between the interests of society and employer.
Increasingly employed by large organisations, professional employees are less able to
pursue the interests of their profession. Indeed, they are expected to be loyal first and
foremost to their employer.
 There are professional bodies for computer specialists, for example, the British Computer
Society (BCS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the International Federation for
Information Processing (IFIP). However, in the UK for example, although the BCS
possesses a Royal Charter, there is no single organisation recognised as the legal body in
charge of admission or standards in the field of computing. These organisations are
viewed as offering assistance to computer professionals to cope with ethical conflicts that
maybe invoked in their everyday working life.
 As for fulfilling a social function, it seems clear that computing is now a crucial part of
society, but computing is not a good in itself in the way health and justice are. Computing
is an activity that supports social institutions and professions, which in turn are aimed at
fulfilling a variety of social functions.
In conclusion, it seems that computing does not fit in the classic paradigm as do medicine and
law. However, computing professionals are much closer to the paradigm than, for example,
stockbrokers or carpenters or bus drivers.

3. Computing as an Engineering Discipline

Ayres (1999) considers whether it is reasonable to regard software development in its current
state as an engineering discipline. He defines engineering as

�Appearing to have as its objective the construction of artefacts for the benefit of people and to
rely on a systematised body of knowledge, much of which is derived from scientific research.�

Ayres believes that the drive to make software development a more rigorous and engineering-
like activity is motivated by the poor performance of the software industry in general (as
evidenced by the number of failed IS cases). Also the potential liability of software developers
for the software they develop implies that it is very much in their interests to

�Achieve the same degree of rigour and predictability of performance as other branches of
engineering.�

One view of how engineering disciplines (for example, civil engineering) have developed,
postulates three main stages:

1. An initial craft stage which relies on trial and error approach

2. A more intensive stage when commercial pressures result in standardised practices, and
3. A final professional stage where engineers undergo lengthy training and the discipline
makes use of scientific and codified knowledge and approaches.

One of the most important aspects of engineering is the use of careful measurement and analysis;
this is crucial in enabling engineers to learn from their mistakes. A similar concern with
quantification and analysis appears in modern approaches to quality management. Ayres (1999)
argues that these have been so successful that so called Total Quality Management is now a
widely used approach for improving performance.

�Careful monitoring and measuring along with considered attempts to improve are an
important aspect of the transition from an ad hoc approach to one that is consistent with
engineering.�

Ayres cites the example of the Space Shuttle software, which has achieved high levels of
reliability in the software that was delivered and can also be regarded as having advanced far
beyond a stage of craft practice. In addition, other engineers often have to deal with enormous
complexity and can also run into problems due to design faults or lack of experience, implying
that the differences between software development and traditional engineering practice may not
be as great as often supposed.

Ayres believes that modern ideas on quality, in particular the emphasis on defining and
continually improving processes, appear to have produced considerable improvements where
they have been deployed on software projects. An approach along these lines is an important part
of progressing from ad hoc, craft style techniques to a proper engineering discipline of software
development. Ayres (1999) considers the ISO 9000 standards for quality and the Software
Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model as particularly important because they
represent a considered attempt to apply quality management ideas to software. It is when the
defining and continually improving processes can be deployed and assessed that software
development becomes a professional engineering discipline.

4. Professional Bodies
4.1 The British Computer Society
The British Computer Society (BCS) was founded in 1957 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1984.
It seeks to promote computing as a profession. Part of its work is in the maintaining and raising
of standards, both academically and from the point of view of professional behaviour.

1. A certain minimum level of qualifications is necessary to belong to the BCS:

 professional grades, for example, member and fellow, require academic qualifications
and appropriate experience
 non-professional grades, for example, Associate, Student and Affiliate generally contain
people from a variety of backgrounds: graduates who are completing their qualification
period of experience; students; professionals from other disciplines; and persons with
approved qualifications and experience only at a lower level
 it is also necessary to obtain sponsorship from existing Member(s) and for one's
application to be considered by a panel

2. The BCS accredits certain degree, diploma and certificate courses. Accredited courses must
demonstrate that they foster professionalism; the BCS publishes a list of topics in this area that it
expects to be covered

3. In addition, the BCS runs exams of its own. Its qualifications are recognised internationally

4. The BCS runs a continuing professional development Scheme to maintain quality control

5. The BCS provides a voice for the profession:

 it has registers of expert witnesses and consultants

  it organises a Strategy Review Panel where, together with government, users, industry
and academe, the BCS considers social aspects and how they affect management
 it lobbies the government and the EC
 it advises the government and parliament

6. The BCS promotes education and training:

 it publishes journals, hold conferences and seminars. It supports over 50 specialist groups
and has 42 local branches covering the entire country
 there is a young professionals group for those aged between 18 and 30

7. The BCS has produced a Code of Conduct, which concerns behaviour. It ensures that
members uphold the standards of the profession and is consistent with public interest. It is
concerned with issues such as honesty, not disclosing confidential information and impartiality.
Miscreants can be bought before a Disciplinary Committee and dismissed from the BCS fro
professional misconduct. However this does not carry the same force as a doctor being struck off
the General Medical Council

8. The BCS has similarly produced a Code of Practice, which is concerned with technical
competence

4.2 International Professional Computing Bodies

United States of America

Association of Computing Machinery Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Code of Ethics

Data Processing Management Association Code of Ethics

Australia

Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics

A library of codes from around the world

A library of codes of conduct, codes of practice, or codes of ethics from around the world have
been collected, as part of an International Federation for Information Processing study of codes
led by Dr. Jacques Berleur, pictured above, who is professor at the Computer Science Faculty of
the University of Namur, Belgium.

5. Non-Computing Professional Bodies

The General Medical Council (GMC) guidance describes the principles of good medical practice
and standards of competence, care and conduct expected of doctors in all aspects of their
professional work

The Law Society's definitive authority on the rules and principles of professional conduct for
practicing solicitors

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants' (ACCA) rulebook for defining the
regulations of professional conduct for practicing accountants

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Legal and Ethical Information Service provides information
to pharmacists on legal matters relating to pharmacy activity and on professional conduct.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the regulatory body of the dental profession issues
guidance on standards of practice and conduct

6. Ten Common Ethical Themes Found in

Codes of Conduct
Areas addressed by professional codes are areas of concern in computer ethics, and the
professional codes provide guidance related to making ethical decisions. Though a number of
codes exist, reference to a specific code is a shortcoming because it fails to take into
consideration cultural differences. The professional codes of different countries may vary. Hence
the professional guidelines referenced should be as universal as possible. A rational appeal to the
ten common ethical themes identified by the researchers David Martin and Dianne Martin (1990)
present in a number of codes could be made.

In a comparison of the ethical codes of four computer societies:

1. Association for Computing Machinery

2. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
3. Data Processing Managers Association
4. Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals

Martin and Martin found ten common themes that emerged as the core for ethical behaviour for
computer professionals:

1. Personal integrity/claim of competence

2. Personal responsibility for work
3. Responsibility to employer/client
4. Responsibility to profession
5. Confidentiality of information
6. Conflict of interest
7. Dignity/worth of people
8. Public safety, health, and welfare
9. Participation in professional societies
10. Increasing public knowledge about technology

7. Hippocratic Oath

Hippocrates, pictured above is viewed as the father of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath, is taken
by most physicians upon graduation from medical school (Edelstein,1943):
�I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and
goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment
this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership
with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring
as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it -
without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other
learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed
the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I
will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this
effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will
guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men
as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all
intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and
male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard
to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding
such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being
honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may
the opposite of all this be my lot.�