Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ethics & Professional Issues in Information Systems Development
Ethics & Professional Issues in Information Systems Development
Bonds of alliance
Political dimensions
Developments in government sector can provide examples of externally set deadlines Political, commercial implications Inadequate testing Decision-making
Almost every worker in industrialised countries use ISs for daily work Development & implementation of systems is responsibility of IS professionals Conduct influenced by ethical attitudes Throughout duration of IS development project Numerous activities and decisions to be made Most will have an ethical dimension
What is Ethics?
The discipline dealing with what is good & bad & with moral duty & obligation Individual human opinions and beliefs Hard to define most of our moral responses seem to be more a matter of intuitions and feelings than of reasoning and logical deduction we are not always the rational creatures we would like to be Gross, (1996)
What is professionalism?
To meet standards set by a professional body in terms of individual conduct, competence & integrity A commitment to interests of all end-users and other stakeholders
Solutions
Produce ethical tools SoDIS Ethically negotiated ethical triangle Need to address Means of education for IS developers who are able to integrate the ethical dimension into their work
Starting Point
Consider how professional issues in Computing are taught Address & raise awareness of teaching professional issues in computing curriculum Investigate differing approaches to delivery
Essential issues need to be addressed to produce computing professionals in line with Engineering, Law, Medicine
Professional Bodies
QAA Subject Benchmark Professional consideration Recognise the professional, moral & ethical issues involved in exploitation of computer technology & be guided by adoption of appropriate professional, ethical & legal practices
Critical importance to improve students perspective of professional issues Integration into their learning experience In line with other professions
Naivety amongst organisation & some academics concerning benefits of codes of conduct that an ethical code makes an unethical company ethical McCusker, (1998)
many in the criminal fraternity operate under a self-regulated and strictly enforced code of conduct. One would be unlikely to conclude that the mafia for example was an ethical organisation in consequence McCusker, (1998)
I cannot imagine any conditions which could cause this ship to flounder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel
I am amazed when I meet computer professionals in business and industry or even computer science teachers in colleges and universities who fail to recognise that their profession has social and ethical consequences Terrell Ward Bynum (2003)