TITLE: IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS AMONG THE IT PROFESSIONALS
Abstract
The rapid of development in information technology has created big changes in life especially. In work environment also be effected. Therefore, the company has an ethics to avoid from ethical issues in information technology. Ethics is the common rules or approach for all professionals need to obey in order to achieve a great environment in an organization. Most of people think that ethics and morals is something that share the same meaning but actually they are not. Ethics is not same with morals because morals are towards the personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behaviour expected by the group to which the individual belongs. Some examples of ethics are national ethics, social ethics, company ethics, professional ethics, or even family ethics.
Introduction
Referring to The Business Ethics Blog by Chris MacDonald (2010) at his blog “Ethics” can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how we should behave — in particular, how we should constrain the pursuit of self-interest when our actions affect others.
Ethics is one of moral philosophy branch which including things in systemizing, defending and recommending concepts on right or wrong. The words ethics is come from Greek word, ‘ethikos’ where it gives almost same meaning to ethics which is ‘morality’. The word ‘morality’ comes from Latin word and it gives meaning to behaviour. Ethic – moral actions would bring a definition as a set of action by the characters and expressed through behaviours.
Ethics is viewed as a set of standards or code who worked out from human resources and experiences. Ethics also part of human actions that will determine either it is right or wrong actions. Code of principle that most of us use generally refers to ethics. For specific view of IT professionals, ethics is the study of good and bad, just and unjust action of IT professionals.
Improved relationship and decreased Vulnerability.
According to Jackman (2012), ethics are important because it refers to the prescribed standard of conduct that the members of a certain organization and business should apply in their work relationships. Ethics are derived from human values such as respect, responsibility, integrity and the personal behavioural standards a person holds. Upholding ethics in the workplace allows employees to maintain respectable boundaries by respecting the personal space and work space of others. So, it can improve relationship between IT workers with others. First is relationship between IT workers and employee having a critical relationship that requires ongoing effort by both parties to keep it strong. The issues between IT workers and employee include protection of company secrets, vacation policy and use of company resources, including computers and network. Therefore, IT workers must set an example and enforce policies regarding the ethical use of IT to avoid from criminal and unethical act such as unauthorized copying of software by the members.
Secondly, relationship IT works with client/suppliers need ethics in documented in contractual terms. The IT worker and client must trust each other to be successfully. Thus, adherence to a code of ethics enhances trust and respect between them. A code explicitly outlines the rights and responsibilities of staff members and helps guard against capricious and preferential treatment of employees. Moreover, as companies to empower their workforce, it is imperative for them to develop ethics practices that provide the necessary training and tools to assure that their employees throughout the world can make ethical decisions.
In addition, according to RICS, 2000, “the need for professional ethics is based upon the vulnerability of others. The client (and where relevant, opposing negotiators) must be protected from exploitation in a situation in which they are unable to protect themselves because they lack the relevant knowledge to do so. For example, Negotiator ‘A’ would be at an unfair disadvantage if negotiator ‘B’ claimed to have figures supporting his argument that were, in fact, fabricated but which ‘A’ was not able to verify.” This decreases a company's vulnerability to misconduct and the harm it can cause to profitability, brand image and management focus.
Confidential and privacy
Moreover, importance of Ethics among the IT professionals are for confidentially and privacy. The growth of internet will increased the risk that information technology will be use unethically. According to RICS, 2000, Employee also needs to keep the appropriate information top-secret. Every employee is prohibiting disclosure of information to anyone inside or outside our firm without the legal or professional right to know.Here are some problems about the ethical issues such as many employees might have their email and internet accesses monitored while work, as employers their need to manage important company assets and work time with employees’ desire for privacy and self-direction. Another example are violent of copyright laws because millions of people get information through internet and organization usually use email to contact with millions of people worldwide because it is a low-cost marketing approach.
Therefore, a code of ethics helps prevent IT professionals from behaving in a malicious or harmful manner with company information and equipment. IT professionals must adhere to strict confidentiality rules regarding privacy and proprietary matters. Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records. Lastly, Confidentiality and Access Protection are similar and very important. As an IT professional with professional ethics, customer’s confidential information must be protected because that is customer’s privacy.
Originality of Information Technology
There's no denying the internet can disseminate that information more quickly and instantaneously. Therefore ethics in the world of information technology is very important in keeping the originality and value of such information. In the world of modern technologies, many of the bad that can occur and result in a lot of corporate companies fell due to individual or group of envy. Things that are often done by the rogue are money extortion and intimidation spread sex video. This blogger writer has expressed some code of ethics in the use of information technology include:
Therefore based on that fact, then ethics were necessary to curb human behaviour unpredictable actions.
Authorization in Computing
There are many challenges have to face in ethical issues of information technology. The information in a nature of minds being expands and increases to achieve certain goal. One of the ethical issues in information technology is about authorization. Authorization is a process giving permission that belongs to a person or system. For a multi user computer system, the administrators will defines who are allowed to access the system.
When it comes to authorization issues in computing, it will be related to concepts of accessibility. Normally, access will be interpreted as restriction to a certain people only to access a material. In access, things that mostly worried are, about access on academic and research in electronic journals. There are 2 academic’s communities who concern on this issue; there are the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and The Open Archives Initiative.
Intellectual Property Right
Property right in information technology view is known as intellectual property where it is about a unique product of human intellect that has commercial value. Intellectual property right is creation of human’s mind. This property right may include things such as books, songs, drawings, computer program, and inventions. In ethics side of it, property right is one of the main ethical issues. There are 3 sources of ethical issues which concerns about the pervasive role and capacity of systems for collecting, storing and retrieving information, the information technology complexity and the intangible nature of information and digital goods. The licensed software is one of the intellectual property is clearly protected by several legal mechanism. The common types of protections are copyrights, patents, trademark and trade secret. According to Zwass (2003), argues that major individual rights in democratic societies are the right to life and safety, the right of free consent, right to private property, right of free speech and fair treatment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ethics very instrumental in ensuring that safeguard human behaviour. Every country there is a law and ethics according to the culture of society own the place. So do not wonder when we are working in a foreign country, there are some things that we consider to violate ethics but not for them. Ethics is also logical to be true but we are the one to determine whether the actions are good or bad. Even though an ethical standards are already exist to have an ethical IT professionals, but there are still disregarded on the ethical standards. Self-awareness should be in each IT professionals to support help in solving the ethical issues.
References
- Originality of Information Technology. [online] Available at http://ipkent.edu.my/ppgbmm1/bidppg/?p=53 [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- Authorization in computing. [online] Available at http://kb.iu.edu/data/alql.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Concepts of accessibility. [online] Available at http://informationr.net/ir/10-3/paper230.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Human intellectual property right. [online] Available at http://informationr.net/ir/10-3/paper230.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Jackman, 2012.M10 Ethics: Creating Personal and Professional Boundaries. [online] Available at https://m360.servicecoordinator.org/event/session.aspx?id=59254 [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- BSR Education Fund, 1991.The Importance of Being Ethical. [online] Available at: http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/11/14278.html [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- W.Reynolds, 2009.Ethics in Information Technology. [online] Available at: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=xZhwj4VjHfkC&pg=PA33&source=gbs_toc_r&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- RICS, 2000. Professional Ethics Guidance Note: Part 1introduction. [online] Available at: http://www.joinricsineurope.eu/uploads/files/Ethics%20part%201.pdf [Accessed 30 October 2012].
Abstract
The rapid of development in information technology has created big changes in life especially. In work environment also be effected. Therefore, the company has an ethics to avoid from ethical issues in information technology. Ethics is the common rules or approach for all professionals need to obey in order to achieve a great environment in an organization. Most of people think that ethics and morals is something that share the same meaning but actually they are not. Ethics is not same with morals because morals are towards the personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behaviour expected by the group to which the individual belongs. Some examples of ethics are national ethics, social ethics, company ethics, professional ethics, or even family ethics.
The basis of this project was created based on data collection from many sources such as webs, articles, and books. So, this paper describes on the importance of ethics among the IT professionals and it will be explaining the beneficial of applying ethics to IT professionals in an organization.
Keywords: Importance of ethics, Ethics, Morals, IT professionals
Introduction
Referring to The Business Ethics Blog by Chris MacDonald (2010) at his blog “Ethics” can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how we should behave — in particular, how we should constrain the pursuit of self-interest when our actions affect others.
Ethics is one of moral philosophy branch which including things in systemizing, defending and recommending concepts on right or wrong. The words ethics is come from Greek word, ‘ethikos’ where it gives almost same meaning to ethics which is ‘morality’. The word ‘morality’ comes from Latin word and it gives meaning to behaviour. Ethic – moral actions would bring a definition as a set of action by the characters and expressed through behaviours.
Ethics is viewed as a set of standards or code who worked out from human resources and experiences. Ethics also part of human actions that will determine either it is right or wrong actions. Code of principle that most of us use generally refers to ethics. For specific view of IT professionals, ethics is the study of good and bad, just and unjust action of IT professionals.
Improved relationship and decreased Vulnerability.
According to Jackman (2012), ethics are important because it refers to the prescribed standard of conduct that the members of a certain organization and business should apply in their work relationships. Ethics are derived from human values such as respect, responsibility, integrity and the personal behavioural standards a person holds. Upholding ethics in the workplace allows employees to maintain respectable boundaries by respecting the personal space and work space of others. So, it can improve relationship between IT workers with others. First is relationship between IT workers and employee having a critical relationship that requires ongoing effort by both parties to keep it strong. The issues between IT workers and employee include protection of company secrets, vacation policy and use of company resources, including computers and network. Therefore, IT workers must set an example and enforce policies regarding the ethical use of IT to avoid from criminal and unethical act such as unauthorized copying of software by the members.
Secondly, relationship IT works with client/suppliers need ethics in documented in contractual terms. The IT worker and client must trust each other to be successfully. Thus, adherence to a code of ethics enhances trust and respect between them. A code explicitly outlines the rights and responsibilities of staff members and helps guard against capricious and preferential treatment of employees. Moreover, as companies to empower their workforce, it is imperative for them to develop ethics practices that provide the necessary training and tools to assure that their employees throughout the world can make ethical decisions.
In addition, according to RICS, 2000, “the need for professional ethics is based upon the vulnerability of others. The client (and where relevant, opposing negotiators) must be protected from exploitation in a situation in which they are unable to protect themselves because they lack the relevant knowledge to do so. For example, Negotiator ‘A’ would be at an unfair disadvantage if negotiator ‘B’ claimed to have figures supporting his argument that were, in fact, fabricated but which ‘A’ was not able to verify.” This decreases a company's vulnerability to misconduct and the harm it can cause to profitability, brand image and management focus.
Confidential and privacy
Moreover, importance of Ethics among the IT professionals are for confidentially and privacy. The growth of internet will increased the risk that information technology will be use unethically. According to RICS, 2000, Employee also needs to keep the appropriate information top-secret. Every employee is prohibiting disclosure of information to anyone inside or outside our firm without the legal or professional right to know.Here are some problems about the ethical issues such as many employees might have their email and internet accesses monitored while work, as employers their need to manage important company assets and work time with employees’ desire for privacy and self-direction. Another example are violent of copyright laws because millions of people get information through internet and organization usually use email to contact with millions of people worldwide because it is a low-cost marketing approach.
Therefore, a code of ethics helps prevent IT professionals from behaving in a malicious or harmful manner with company information and equipment. IT professionals must adhere to strict confidentiality rules regarding privacy and proprietary matters. Protect confidential communications, such as papers or grants submitted for publication, personnel records, trade or military secrets, and patient records. Lastly, Confidentiality and Access Protection are similar and very important. As an IT professional with professional ethics, customer’s confidential information must be protected because that is customer’s privacy.
Originality of Information Technology
There's no denying the internet can disseminate that information more quickly and instantaneously. Therefore ethics in the world of information technology is very important in keeping the originality and value of such information. In the world of modern technologies, many of the bad that can occur and result in a lot of corporate companies fell due to individual or group of envy. Things that are often done by the rogue are money extortion and intimidation spread sex video. This blogger writer has expressed some code of ethics in the use of information technology include:
· Do not use a computer to threaten others.
· Not disturb other people's computers.
· Not invade other computer files.
· Do not use a computer to steal and cheat
· Not use or copy software not purchased legally.
· No use of computer resources without authorization.
· Do not take another's intellectual outcome for yourself.
· Thinking about the social impact of the program or system.
Therefore based on that fact, then ethics were necessary to curb human behaviour unpredictable actions.
Authorization in Computing
There are many challenges have to face in ethical issues of information technology. The information in a nature of minds being expands and increases to achieve certain goal. One of the ethical issues in information technology is about authorization. Authorization is a process giving permission that belongs to a person or system. For a multi user computer system, the administrators will defines who are allowed to access the system.
When it comes to authorization issues in computing, it will be related to concepts of accessibility. Normally, access will be interpreted as restriction to a certain people only to access a material. In access, things that mostly worried are, about access on academic and research in electronic journals. There are 2 academic’s communities who concern on this issue; there are the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) and The Open Archives Initiative.
Intellectual Property Right
Property right in information technology view is known as intellectual property where it is about a unique product of human intellect that has commercial value. Intellectual property right is creation of human’s mind. This property right may include things such as books, songs, drawings, computer program, and inventions. In ethics side of it, property right is one of the main ethical issues. There are 3 sources of ethical issues which concerns about the pervasive role and capacity of systems for collecting, storing and retrieving information, the information technology complexity and the intangible nature of information and digital goods. The licensed software is one of the intellectual property is clearly protected by several legal mechanism. The common types of protections are copyrights, patents, trademark and trade secret. According to Zwass (2003), argues that major individual rights in democratic societies are the right to life and safety, the right of free consent, right to private property, right of free speech and fair treatment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ethics very instrumental in ensuring that safeguard human behaviour. Every country there is a law and ethics according to the culture of society own the place. So do not wonder when we are working in a foreign country, there are some things that we consider to violate ethics but not for them. Ethics is also logical to be true but we are the one to determine whether the actions are good or bad. Even though an ethical standards are already exist to have an ethical IT professionals, but there are still disregarded on the ethical standards. Self-awareness should be in each IT professionals to support help in solving the ethical issues.
References
- Originality of Information Technology. [online] Available at http://ipkent.edu.my/ppgbmm1/bidppg/?p=53 [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- Authorization in computing. [online] Available at http://kb.iu.edu/data/alql.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Concepts of accessibility. [online] Available at http://informationr.net/ir/10-3/paper230.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Human intellectual property right. [online] Available at http://informationr.net/ir/10-3/paper230.html [Accessed 31 October 2012].
- Jackman, 2012.M10 Ethics: Creating Personal and Professional Boundaries. [online] Available at https://m360.servicecoordinator.org/event/session.aspx?id=59254 [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- BSR Education Fund, 1991.The Importance of Being Ethical. [online] Available at: http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/11/14278.html [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- W.Reynolds, 2009.Ethics in Information Technology. [online] Available at: http://books.google.com.my/books?id=xZhwj4VjHfkC&pg=PA33&source=gbs_toc_r&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 30 October 2012].
- RICS, 2000. Professional Ethics Guidance Note: Part 1introduction. [online] Available at: http://www.joinricsineurope.eu/uploads/files/Ethics%20part%201.pdf [Accessed 30 October 2012].
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