Computing Professions and

Professional Ethics
Code of Ethics
• A written set of guidelines issued by an organization to its workers
and management to help them conduct their actions in accordance
with its primary values and ethical standards
Why does it matter?
• A code of ethics is important because it clearly lays out the rules for
behavior and provides a preemptive warning. Regardless of size,
businesses count on their management staff to set a standard
of ethical conduct for other employees to follow.
CODES OF ETHICS

The primary aspect

of codes of ethics is
to provide the basic
framework for
ethical judgment for
a professional.
Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?
Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?

Shows being
responsible.
Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?

Shows
customers you
value
integrity.
Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?

Prevents
‘innocent’
violations of
ethics
Why should you develop a Code of Ethics?

Provides a clear
point of reference
when enforcing
corrective action
Example: IT Administrator
• An IT Admin oversees the IT
infrastructure. In charge of creating and
managing the IT infrastructure.
• For every computer system there is at
least one person who has access to all
its file.
• For every database there is at least one
person who has access to all it’s data.
• For every access to the Internet there is
at least one person who has access to
data that is sent and received.
Why does it matter for an IT Administrator?
• An IT administrator needs to be reminded, not policed, that with
great power comes great responsibilities.
• A code of ethics helps us to check ourselves if what we are going to
do next will be right or wrong.
Profession
A vocation founded upon specialized high educational training, the
purpose of which is to supply objective counsel and service to others,
for a direct and definite compensation.
Bayle Definition of Profession
• Requires extensive training.
• Involves significant intellectual effort
• Provides an important service to society

Bayles then identifies three other features common to most

professions.
• Certification or licensing
• Organization of members
• Autonomy in one’s work
Kultgen’s wheel of attributes of profession
1. Involves a skill based on a theoretical foundation
2. Requires extensive education
3. Requires passing an exam
4. Is organized and represented by one or more professional
organization
5. Adheres to a code of conduct
6. Provides humane service
7. Requires members to assume responsibility for the affairs of others.
8. Is indispensable for the public good.
Kultgen’s wheel of attributes of profession
10. Members are licensed, so their work is sanctioned be the
community
11. Members are independent practitioners, serving individual
12. Members do their best to serve their clients impartially without
regard to any special relationship
13. Members are compensated by fees or fixed charges
14. Members are highly loyal to their colleagues
Kultgen’s wheel of attributes of profession
• The meaning of “Professional” is “fuzzy”
• Difficult to understand.
• The boundaries of it’s meaning is not clear.
Professional is fuzzy
We use the term professional in many ways, Here are just a few
examples:
• In 1913, the legendary Jim Thorpe was brought under scrutiny for
having played semi-professional baseball before his extraordinary
performance in the 1912 Olympics. Because he had received money
for playing baseball, he was ruled a professional.
Professional is fuzzy
• On a television program, police are investigating a murder. The
murder has the earmarks of a planned assassination. The investigator
remarks to his associate.” This was a professional job.”
What is Professional Ethics?
• The scope of the term “computer ethics” varies considerably.
• It include such social and political issues as the impact of computers on employment,
government, military, developed and poor countries.
• It include dilemmas about what to post on the Internet and what to download.
What is Professional Ethics?
• Professional ethics includes relationships and responsibilities toward
customers, clients, coworkers, employees, employers, and others who
use products and services.
• Encompass the personal and corporate standards of behaviour
expected of professionals
Why we care about Professional Standards of
Computing
• The privacy, safety and well being of the general public are often
affected by computers and the software that runs on computer.
Rules, principles, ideals
Ethical standards, according to Davis, may take the form of rules,
principles and ideals.
• Rules tells us certain things we must do (obligations) and certain
things we must not do (prohibitions)
• Principles are truths that are to be consistently maintained unless
there is a compelling reason to do otherwise.
Principles
The ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Code of ethics and Professional Practice
specifies eight principle:
1. PUBLIC – Software engineers shall act consistently with the public
interest.
2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER – Software engineers shall act in a manner that is
in the best interest of their client and employer consistent with the
public interest.
3. PRODUCT- Software engineers shall ensure that their products and
related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
4. JUDGMENT – Software engineers shall maintain integrity and
independence in their professional judgment.
Principles
5. MANAGEMENT- Software engineering managers and leaders shall
subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of
software development and maintenance.
6. PROFESSION- Software engineers shall advance the integrity and
reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest.
7. COLLEAGUES – Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of
their colleagues.
8. SELF- Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning
regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical
approach to the practice of the profession.
IDEALS
• IDEALS are goals that are inherently good to achieve. Failure to
achieve them is not necessarily wrong. Sometimes an ideal actually
cannot be fully achieved, but even then it is good to strive to achieve
it.

“Computer professional develop systems that use technology in such a

way as to satisfy the interest of the user”.(Dahlbam)
Guidelines and professional responsibilities
• Understand what success means
• Include users in the design and testing stages to provide safe and
useful systems
• Do a thorough, careful job when planning and scheduling a project
and when writing bids and contracts.
• Design for real users
• Don’t assume existing software is safe or correct
Guidelines and professional responsibilities
• Be open and honest about capabilities, safety and limitations of
software
• Pay attention to defaults
• Develop communication skills
Scenarios
IDEALS
• IDEALS are goals that are inherently good to achieve. Failure to
achieve them is not necessarily wrong. Sometimes an ideal actually
cannot be fully achieved, but even then it is good to strive to achieve
it.

“Computer professional develop systems that use technology in such a

way as to satisfy the interest of the user”.(Dahlbam)
PROFESSIONALISM and LAW
There are generally three components to establishing one’s credentials
for a profession:
1. Education
2. Experience
3. Examination
Guidelines and professional responsibilities
• Understand what success means
• Include users in the design and testing stages to provide safe and
useful systems
• Do a thorough, careful job when planning and scheduling a project
and when writing bids and contracts.
• Design for real users
• Don’t assume existing software is safe or correct
Guidelines and professional responsibilities
• Be open and honest about capabilities, safety and limitations of
software
• Pay attention to defaults
• Develop communication skills
SPECIFICATIONS

• You are relatively junior programmer

working on modules that collect data from
loan application forms and convert them to
formats required by the module of the
program that evaluate the applications. You
find that some data are missing from some
forms, particularly race and age. What
should you do?
SPECIFICATIONS
• Consult the specifications for the program. Any project should have
specification documents approved by the client or managers of the
company developing the project. Your company ahs an ethical and
business obligation to ensure that the specifications are complete and
to produce a program that meets them.
SPECIFICATIONS
• Suppose the manager tells you “Just make the program assume
‘white’ for race if it’s missing”.

Do you accept your manager’s decision?

SPECIFICATIONS
• Banks should not discriminate based on race. You do not have the
authority to make a decision not covered by specifications without
consulting the client or higher level managers in your company. Your
company must document whatever decision it makes. Specifications
need a revision so that they will be complete.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
• Your company has 25 licenses for a computer program, but you
discover that it has been copied onto 80 computers.

What should you do?

COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
The first step here is to inform your supervisor that the copies violate
the license agreement.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
Suppose the supervisor is not willing to take any action?

What if you bring the problem to the attention of higher level people
in the company and no one cares?
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
Several possible actions:
• Give up; you did your best to correct the problem.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION
Several possible actions:
• Call the software vendor and report the offense
• Quit your job
END