IT Professionalism: A Reflective Journal on Ethical Practice

This journal entry reflects on key learnings related to professional and ethical practices in the IT field. It begins by highlighting the importance of ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and compliance with regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The reflection covers ethical dilemmas face...Read More

Professional and Ethical Practise

Professional and Ethical Practise
Entry 1
In the week first, I learned about ethics and the importance of acting as per the code of
ethics. Ethics defines the way a person should behave in the society, and he/she should
maintain integrity by complying with a personal code of principles. The role of corporate
social responsibility (CSR) and ethics in the business world is learned in the same week. The
theory of CSR focuses on the implementation of ethical policies in the business while
operations to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and corporate
governance principles in Australia which resulted in promoting the growth of the business
(Zhang, Zhu, and Ding, 2013). In the second week, the significance of ethics in IT
professional was discussed along with key ethical dilemmas faced by IT workers. The code of
ethics and their impact on ethical behaviour of IT professionals were discussed in the same
week. Cybercrimes and their types were discussed in the third week, and case studies were
evaluated to understand the type of exploits which include virus, Trojan horse, worm, spam,
phishing and others (Sabillon et al., 2016). Many laws relating to cybercrimes were analysed
which provides provisions for companies and IT professionals as well. In the fourth week,
the key privacy breaches and privacy laws implemented in Australia are analysed to address
such issues. All these concepts are relevant to understand by an IT professional, and in the
future, this information will assist me in ethically discharging my duties by complying with a
personal code of principles to ensure the privacy of clients and avoid the threat of
cybercrimes.
Page 1

Professional and Ethical Practise
Entry 2
In the fifth week, the concept of freedom of expression is discussed along with
understanding different censorships imposed by the government on the internet and the IT
industry to ensure the security of individuals. Different intellectual properties such as
patent, copyrights, and trade markets are defined in the sixth week along with related laws.
Measures taken by the government to ensure the protection of intellectual property are
discussed as well which include GATT, PRO-IP, WIPO, DMCA, and others (Jandhyala, 2015).
In seventh week, we analysed the role of maintaining quality in software development along
with negative implications of poor quality software. Various theories are discussed such as
software product liability and quality assurance to understand how IT professionals can test
their software to ensure that it maintains a high standard of quality. In eighth week, we
learned how information technology affects the productivity and quality of life at a national
level. We learned how business cycles, outsourcing, competition and service-based
economy are influenced due to technological advancements. Various advantages and
disadvantages of teleworking for employees and organisations are learned along with
superiority of cell phones over personal computers. The role of these technologies in
healthcare industry is revolutionary as well. In ninth week, we discussed how social
networking is affecting individuals and organisations. We learned the ethical issues involved
in increasing use of social media sites and e-commerce services. As an IT professional, these
concepts will help me in the future by avoiding legal complexities and using technology to
improve my productivity. I learned about the negative side of information technology which
assist me in addressing ethical dilemmas in the future.
Page 2

Professional and Ethical Practise
References
Jandhyala, S. (2015) International and domestic dynamics of intellectual property
protection. Journal of World Business, 50(2), pp.284-293.
Sabillon, R., Cano, J., Cavaller, V. and Serra, J. (2016) Cybercrime and cybercriminals: a
comprehensive study. International journal of computer networks and communications
security, 4(6), p.159-167.
Zhang, J.Q., Zhu, H. and Ding, H.B. (2013) Board composition and corporate social
responsibility: An empirical investigation in the post Sarbanes-Oxley era. Journal of Business
Ethics, 114(3), pp.381-392.
Page 3