Analyzing the Role of Professional Ethics in the IT Profession

This essay emphasizes the critical role of professional ethics in the IT profession, highlighting how these ethics guide professionals in navigating moral dilemmas and ensuring accountability in their work. Unlike other professions with established regulatory bodies, the IT sector relies on individual responsibility and integrity, particularly due to its rapid technological advancements. The essay underscores the importance of IT professionals being mindful of their responsibilities, maintaining competence, upholding personal and professional integrity, and advancing human welfare. While a formal code of ethics may be lacking, the expectation is that IT professionals will act responsibly and ethically, ensuring public trust and maintaining the integrity of their work, especially when disputes arise.

Professional ethics in the IT profession
Name
Institution

The importance of professional ethics over the years cannot be overlooked. The main
reason for developing these ethics is to help professionals deal with problems that they encounter
in their different occupations. They are guidelines that help them make the correct decision when
faced with work problems that raise moral issues. These ethics keep checking on how
professionals use their skills and knowledge when they are of service to the public (Ugbogbo,
2016). The training that professionals receive makes them have the edge over ordinary people as
they are in a position where they can make a judgment and reach at informed decisions in certain
situations (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011).
The IT profession unlike the other professions is growing at a very high rate. This makes
it hard to set ethic code as the technological advancements and innovation brings about to new
situations. This factor has made the profession lack a body that makes the rules in the profession
something which is different from the other professions (Hamiti, Reka, & Baloghová, 2014). IT
professions are however required to be mindful of their work responsibilities, being competent,
upholding personal and professional integrity and human welfare advancement.
The basis of professional ethics in IT is to ensure that IT professionals are accountable to
their actions and have the freedom to think outside the box while conducting their job as it is
essential to their career (Stahl, 2013). The ethics are meant to give people the belief that although
there is nobody tasked with coming up with the rules in the profession, the IT professionals are
accountable and responsible just like those in other occupations. An IT professional is supposed
to have integrity in his or her work dealings, and this is put into consideration when a dispute
arises. Although IT ethics are not drafted in an IT professional code of ethics, a profession is
supposed to be mindful of any responsibility given to him or her (Corey et al. 2011).

References
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions.
Belmont, Calif: Brooks/Cole.
Hamiti, M., Reka, B., & Baloghová, A. (2014). Ethical Use of Information Technology in High
Education. 5th World Conference on Educational Sciences, 116, 4411–4415.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.957
Stahl, B. C. (2013). Virtual suicide and other ethical issues of emerging information
technologies. Exploring Future Business Visions Using Creative Fictional Prototypes, 50, 35–
43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2013.03.004
Ugbogbo, S. (2016). ETHICAL ISSUES IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY- A
CONCEPTUAL APPROACH. Igbinedion University Journal of Accounting, (Vol. 2), 174–242.