Ethical Principles for IT Professionals

The concept of ethics and IT morals is crucial for professionals in the Information Technology (IT) sector. Professor Kimberly Blackerby's presentations have helped to clarify the importance of IT ethics, social impact, and responsibility. A personal ethical framework can be developed by critically reviewing the IT profession's Codes of Ethics and Conduct, which are essential for ensuring moral correctness in one's work. The report highlights the significance of IT professionals being ethically and morally correct in their workplace to avoid wrong deeds and promote success.

Running head: IT PROFESSIONAL AND SOCIETY
IT Professional and Society
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................2
Discussion......................................................................................................................................................2
IT Ethics.....................................................................................................................................................2
Ethical Responsibilities..............................................................................................................................2
Codes of Conduct.......................................................................................................................................3
Stakeholders...............................................................................................................................................3
Cross Cultural Issues.................................................................................................................................4
Organizational Responsibilities of IT Professionals..................................................................................4
Types of IT Roles.......................................................................................................................................5
ACS Code of Professional Conduct...........................................................................................................5
Corporate Social Responsibility................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Ethics are the certain and specific rules and regulations of conduct that are recognized and
identified with respect to a specific class of human activities or a specific group or culture (Frederickson
and Rohr 2015). I have learnt from the presentations and tutorials that ethics are the right and the correct
thing to be done by social system. We often face several societal or peer disapproval while following
ethical ways. However, morals are certain habits or principles with respect to the correct or wrong
conducts (Dolgoff, Harrington and Loewenberg 2012). According to Professor Kimberly Blackerby,
morals can be defined as the procedure of the working of moral with respect to an individual’s principles
and ideals. When a person is involved in wrong deeds, I can clearly say that he is morally wrong. From
the presentation on information technology ethics and morals, I have learnt the information technology
professionals or the IT professionals should be ethically and morally correct in their work place, so that
they do not take any wrong route for their success in the organization.
The following report outlines the basic concept of ethics and morality, especially in the sector of
information technology. I have understood clearly that IT ethics is extremely important for the IT sector.
The report that I have provided is a reflection of the presentations of Professor Kimberly Blackerby
(Frankfurt 2013). The report given by me understand the social impact of information technology and the
social responsibility of IT professionals, critically review the IT profession’s Codes of Ethics and Codes
of Conduct, and develop a personal ethical framework, and to understand the role of the IT professional
and the legal and moral responsibility they have to that profession and society.
Discussion
IT Ethics
The word Ethics is derived from a Greek word “ethos”. The word ethos has the meaning of habit,
custom and the distinct way of living (Eshleman 2014). In simple words, ethics can be defined as the
practice or the discipline to apply value to the behavior of human beings. This results into reasonable
conduct. It is a specific branch of ethics, which deals with the relation between the organization and
utilization of information with various moral codes and ethical standards. I have learnt from the tutorials
and the presentations that IT ethics or information technology ethics can be defined as the application of
the four classical principles of ethics for the utilization of the computer technology (Otim et al., 2012).
There are several ethical problems that are related to IT. The first problem is the privacy. I have
understood that this privacy problem occurs whenever there is lack of security. Moreover, I have also
known that other IT related problem include the physical addresses and the properties of IP (Venkatesh,
Thong and Xu 2012). The illegal access to the computers, the interference of the systems without the
permission of the user, misuse of the devices and electrical fraud are also considered as ethical problems
in information technology sector.
Ethical Responsibilities
I have learnt from my tutorials and presentations that ethical responsibilities are the certain duties
that an individual should follow in his/her life. He/she should be on the correct path for achieving their
goals and objectives in life (Bošnjak and Marušić 2012). Moreover, he has various responsibilities
towards his family, friends and acquaintances. These social responsibilities should also be ethical and are
also claimed as ethical responsibilities. From the tutorials and presentations, I got to know that the ethical
responsibilities can be at various levels like the professional level, work level and business level. An
individual should be ethically and morally correct while performing all the ethical and moral
responsibilities at these several levels. Again the ethical responsibilities are also dependent on the codes
of ethics and codes of conduct in several organizations (Maryniak 2012). These ethical conducts help in

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understanding the behavior and character of an employee. I have known that there are various questions
that are related to ethics in an organization. These questions include time and money managers usually
spend on the privacy sector for the protection of their personal data and information, and the portion of
the knowledge of information technology that is belonging to the organization and the knowledge of the
information technology that is related to an employee (Smythe 2012). The other ethical questions include
whether the system owner is reliable for the security or not and the bulk amount of information that is to
be collected.
Codes of Conduct
I have known that codes of conduct are set of certain rules that outline the social and economic
standards, regulations, practices and responsibilities that help in conducting all types of ethical tasks and
activities. When an individual follows the codes of conduct, he or she is ethically or morally correct in his
terms and life (BEEmsTERBoER 2016). Even these codes of conduct are followed in the organizations
by all the employees or are expected to follow in the organizations. There are several and various
common traits with these codes of conduct. These are as follows:
i) Integrity: My professor helped me to understand that integrity is the most important feature in
the codes of conduct.
ii) Ethical Principles: The ethical principles are those principles that are followed by any
individual for staying on the ethical path.
iii) Values: Values are another common trait with codes of conducts. The values of an individual
should be correct.
iv) Professional Behavior: A person should be ethical in his professional field and this is another
common trait with the codes of conduct (Speight 2016).
v) Responsibilities of Individual/Company: I have also learnt that the responsibilities of an
individual or the company should be ethical.
Stakeholders
From the presentations and tutorials, I understood and identified the stakeholders of an
organization. In an IT organization, the stakeholder is a person impacted by the work or project of
information technology (Maryniak 2012). The various stakeholders of a company are as follows:
i) Clients: The clients or the customers are the most important stakeholders of an organization as
they are responsible for the overall positive impact on the organization.
ii) Managers, Directors, Senior Level Staff: These are the top level management of an
organization and the all the important decisions are taken by these people.
iii) Employees or Contractors: The employees or the contractors are responsible for the overall
growth and dev elopement of the organization.
iv) Communities: The communities again have an extremely strong impact on any organization.
v) Stockholders, Investors: The investors invest their money in the business and thus they are
responsible for the profit or loss of the organization.
vi) Competitors: I have learnt that the competitors of an organization help to work more actively
in the market and make their positions (Bošnjak and Marušić 2012). Therefore, they have an extremely
strong impact on the organization.

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vii) Software Companies: The software companies again have a strong impact on the
organization
viii) Other Support Groups: The other support groups are the contracts and accounting groups
(Smythe 2012). These people deal with the overall finance department of the organization and thus have a
strong impact on the organization.
Cross Cultural Issues
The cross cultural issues or problems create major problems in any organization. I have learnt
from the presentations and tutorials from my professors that these cross cultural issues or problems are
nothing but the several cultural factors arise in the several environments of work. The main problems
arise when there is a rift between the regional workplace and the global workplace (Tsourvakas 2015.). In
some cases, these types of problems occur when there is an outsourcing in the several regions. The other
problems or issues in the work place occur because of the several dilemmas in ethics. These issues even
affect the environment of the workplace. I am providing the description of the above mentioned cross
cultural factors in the following paragraphs.
i) Different Work Environments: These types of issues or problems occur due to several and
various reasons. The main reasons due to these problems and issues include the religious practices and
beliefs, the historical factors (Venkatesh, Thong and Xu 2012). Moreover, the beliefs from the upbringing
and overall culture of an individual are also major reasons for these types of problems. The language
barrier is another major reason for this type of cross cultural issues.
ii) Global vs Regional Workplaces: From the tutorials given by my professor, I understood that
the various regulations and laws are the main reasons for the rift in the global and regional workplaces.
Moreover, the various ethical decisions are also responsible for this. These decisions can be different for
the global workplace and the regional workplace (Perez-Batres et al. 2012). I have understood that every
country has its own culture and cultural values. The views of the individual persons and the roles and the
responsibilities of any individual are responsible for the rift in the global and the regional workplaces.
The work ethics and the time zone difference are other factors.
iii) Outsourcing in Different Regions: This is one of the major problem in the cross culture. The
main reasons for this problem are the ethics with the labor laws, the holiday or the work schedules. Time
can be the main problem in this type of cross cultural issues (BEEmsTERBoER 2016). Moreover, I have
learnt that the cultural barriers and differences are other important causes for the outsourcing in the
different regions.
iv) Ethical Dilemmas: This is again an important reason for the cross cultural issues or problems
(Bošnjak and Marušić 2012). The dilemmas in the ethics and the beliefs for taking the correct decisions
are the major causes for the cross cultural issues.
Organizational Responsibilities of IT Professionals
The organizational responsibilities are the most important factor for any information technology
professional (Speight 2016). My professor helped me to understand the basic roles and responsibilities
that an IT professional have towards his workplace. These responsibilities include the control and
management of the workplace and the also the responsibilities towards the clients, colleagues and
employers. The main responsibility that an IT professional has towards his workplace or organization is
to deliver maximum production to the workplace (Tai and Chuang 2014). I have understood that it is the
duty of that individual to know and understand their roles and responsibilities perfectly and execute them
properly.

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Types of IT Roles
My professor helped me to understand the several and different types of information technology
or IT roles in an organization. There are various types of roles. They are as follows:
i) Website Developers or App Developers
ii) Systems Consultants or Computer Consultants
iii) Database Services
iv) Network Administrators
v) Security Consultants
vi) IT Support Services
vii) Project Management
viii) Software Developer’s Systems Procurement
ix) Transactional Internet Services
x) Cloud Service Providers
I have understood that almost all organizations have the above mentioned roles in their IT
department (Perez-Batres et al. 2012).
ACS Code of Professional Conduct
From the lectures and the tutorials provided by my professor, I have also gained knowledge about
the ACS Code of Professional Conduct (Baker 2014). These codes of conduct comprises of six main
features. They are as follows:
i) The Primacy of the Public Interest
ii) The Enhancement of the Quality of Life
iii) Honesty
iv) Competence
v) Professional Development
vi) Professionalism
These above mentioned factors are the major reasons for the codes of conduct in the professional
background. These are known as the ACS Codes of Professional conduct (BEEmsTERBoER 2016). My
lecturer helped me in understanding this complex chapter easily with his lecture.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Corporate Social Responsibility or the CSR is the main factor or feature for the initiatives of
any corporation or individual for the welfare of the society or the environment. This responsibility is
expected to be found in every individual or organization as they are the parts of the society (Hopkins
2012). I got to know that these responsibilities have strong impact on the society. There are six major
principles involved in corporate social responsibility. These principles are as follows:

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i) Purpose: The purpose is to identify the need or the requirement of the corporate social
responsibility.
ii) Values: The values are the values of the global or the overall social responsibilities.
iii) Method: The method involves the way of the corporate social responsibility is executed.
iv) Research: The research section is based on concepts or the empirical.
v) Partnership: The partnership involves the collaboration and the involvement with the
businesses (Jin, Drozdenko and DeLoughy 2013).
vi) Dialog: The communications with the several and the various stakeholders on the problems of
the global social responsibility and the sustainability.
These above mentioned factors are the major factors of performing the corporate social
responsibility (Luning 2012). My professor has explained this CSR with relevant examples of Virgin
Atlantic and British Airways.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the report given above, I can simply conclude that Ethics are the certain and
specific rules and regulations of conduct that are recognized and identified with respect to a specific class
of human activities or a specific group or culture. I have learnt from the presentations and tutorials that
ethics are the right and the correct thing to be done by social system. We often face several societal or
peer disapproval while following ethical ways. However, morals are certain habits or principles with
respect to the correct or wrong conducts. According to Professor Kimberly Blackerby, morals can be
defined as the procedure of the working of moral with respect to an individual’s principles and ideals.
When a person is involved in wrong deeds, I can clearly say that he is morally wrong. From the
presentation on information technology ethics and morals, I have learnt the information technology
professionals or the IT professionals should be ethically and morally correct in their work place, so that
they do not take any wrong route for their success in the organization. The above report describes about
the concept of ethics and IT ethics and morals. I have understood clearly that IT ethics is extremely
important for the IT sector. The report that I have provided is a reflection of the presentations of Professor
Kimberly Blackerby. The report given by me understand the social impact of information technology and
the social responsibility of IT professionals, critically review the IT profession’s Codes of Ethics and
Codes of Conduct, and develop a personal ethical framework, and to understand the role of the IT
professional and the legal and moral responsibility they have to that profession and society. Professor
Kimberly Blackerby has helped me to clear my doubts and clarifications regarding IT ethics and morals
with his presentations.

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References
Baker, R., 2014. Codes of conduct. In Handbook of Global Bioethics (pp. 551-579). Springer
Netherlands.
BEEmsTERBoER, P.L., 2016. Codes of Ethics. Ethics and Law in Dental Hygiene-E-Book, p.65.
Bošnjak, L. and Marušić, A., 2012. Prescribed practices of authorship: review of codes of ethics from
professional bodies and journal guidelines across disciplines. Scientometrics, 93(3), pp.751-763.
Dolgoff, R., Harrington, D. and Loewenberg, F.M., 2012. Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Ethical
Decisions for Social Work Practice. Cengage Learning.
Eshleman, A., 2014. Moral responsibility.
Frankfurt, H.G., 2013. Alternate possibilities and moral responsibility. The Philosophy of Free Will:
Essential Readings from the Contemporary Debates, pp.139-148.
Frederickson, H.G. and Rohr, J.A., 2015. Ethics and public administration. Routledge.
Hopkins, M., 2012. The planetary bargain: Corporate social responsibility matters. Routledge.
Jin, K.G., Drozdenko, R. and DeLoughy, S., 2013. The role of corporate value clusters in ethics, social
responsibility, and performance: A study of financial professionals and implications for the financial
meltdown. Journal of business ethics, 112(1), pp.15-24.
Luning, S., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for exploration: Consultants, companies and
communities in processes of engagements. Resources policy, 37(2), pp.205-211.
Maryniak, I., 2012. Codes of conduct. Index on Censorship, 41(1), pp.85-95.
Otim, S., Dow, K.E., Grover, V. and Wong, J.A., 2012. The impact of information technology
investments on downside risk of the firm: alternative measurement of the business value of IT. Journal of
Management Information Systems, 29(1), pp.159-194.
Perez-Batres, L.A., Doh, J.P., Miller, V.V. and Pisani, M.J., 2012. Stakeholder pressures as determinants
of CSR strategic choice: Why do firms choose symbolic versus substantive self-regulatory codes of
conduct?. Journal of business ethics, 110(2), pp.157-172.
Smythe, V., 2012. Codes of ethics. Applied Ethics. Ed. Peter Bowden. Melbourne: Tilde UP, 62.
Speight, J.G., 2016 Codes of Ethics. Ethics in the University, pp.25-47.
Tai, F.M. and Chuang, S.H., 2014. Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6(03), p.117.
Tsourvakas, G., 2015. Codes of Conduct.
Venkatesh, V., Thong, J.Y. and Xu, X., 2012. Consumer acceptance and use of information technology:
extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology.