The Significance of P rofessionalism , IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice. ”

1. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of ProfessionalPractice.” 2017 Induction of New Members Prof.Adenike O. Osofisan

2. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of ProfessionalPractice.” Outline • Introduction • Significance • Professionalism • IT Ethics and Codes • Why both Professionalism and IT Ethics & Codes are significant in IT Professional Practice • Conclusion The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

3. Introduction • This topic addresses two major issues on professional practice in our industry. • (1) Significance of Professionalism and • (2) Significance of IT Ethics and Codes I will address the two issues by answering four questions The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

4. Questions to answer • (a) What is Significance • (b) What is Professionalism • (c) Who is an IT Professional • (d) What are the principles of IT Ethics & Codes The paper will then conclude by tying together all of the above The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

5. What is significance • The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, which determines its character. • A property or group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is. • Significance with respect to IT is a group of indispensable properties / qualities that guides IT practice. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

6. What is Professionalism • Professionalism is the competence or skill expected of a professional. • Thus Professionalism in IT is the competence or skill expected of an IT Professional The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

7. Who is an IT Professional? • Hardware Designers • Software Engineers • Database Administrators • System Analysts • Computer scientists. • Network Engineers etc. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

8. What IT Professionals do? • Design instructions for super scale processors • Write specifications for new computer systems • Diagnose timing anomalies in embedded software systems • Restructure the backend data bases of information systems • Test and validate software systems. • Recommend security policies for information systems • Analyze packet traffic in local area networks, etc. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

9. IT Profession • Resembles professions such as: • Medicine, law, engineering, architecture, pharmacy and accounting • That requires specialized knowledge and skills called a ‘‘body of knowledge,’’ • Gained through formal education and practical experience. • The University, and other institutions of higher learning teach the theoretical basis of IT profession which is difficult to learn without formal education • While bodies like CPN, NCS, ACM, IEEE-CS provide the values and practices of the profession. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

10. Requirement for becoming an IT Professional (1) Must acquire specialized knowledge about: • Discrete Algorithms • Relational database theory, • Computer language theory, • Computer Architecture • Digital Electronics • Artificial intelligence • Web Technologies The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

11. Requirement for becoming an IT Professional (2) • Computer Networks • Human Computer Interaction • Software development techniques • Digital system design. Etc. • The knowledge base for IT expands through research in IT related disciplines conducted in universities and in industrial and government laboratories. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

12. IT Professionals are not: • Users of application packages such as: • Word • Spreadsheet • Database Management software • Communication software • Mathlab etc. OR • Those who write few lines of working codes in computer programming languages to solve rudimentary tasks. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

13. Principles of IT Ethics & Codes • IT professional’s obligations to clients, employers, other professionals, and the public are explicitly stated in the profession’s Ethics & codes or code of professional conduct. • IT professional Ethics and codes of conduct have been formulated by the following Councils and Associations for their members: • Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) • Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) • Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) • British Computer Society (BCS) • Association of Information Technology Professional (AITP) • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Computer Society (IEEE-CS) • Australia Computer Society (ACS) The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

14. CPN code of Conduct • CPN code of conduct is composed of a preamble and five short principles that addresses: (1) The Public (2) Employer/Client (3) Fellow members of the profession (4) The Profession and (5) The Country. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

15. Highlights of some of these principles – Introduction • IT professionals work as consultants or as employee in organizations, and are obligated to perform assigned tasks competently, according to professional standards. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

16. Standards, accurate reporting, quality of life • These professional standards include not only attention to technical excellence but also concern for the social effects of IT equipment on users and the public. • IT professionals are expected to report all relevant findings honestly and accurately. • When designing a new system, the professional must consider not only the specifications of the client but also how the system might affect the quality of life of users and others. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

17. Privacy of individuals very important • For example, an IT professional who designs an Information System for a hospital and keep data of the hospital in Cloud should not only allow speedy access by physicians and nurses but must also protect patients’ medical records from unauthorized access. • Where the technical requirement to provide fast access conflict with the social obligation that ensures patients’ privacy, the privacy of such patient must be guaranteed. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

18. Trade off between IT values and biases • IT professionals enjoy considerable freedom in deciding how to meet the specifications of a system, provided that they meet the minimum performance requirements for speed, reliability, and functionality, within an overall budget. • Sometimes professionals may choose to invest resources to decrease the response time rather than enhance technical ease of use and vice versa. • Choices often involve tradeoffs between competing values, thus IT Professionals sometimes identify potential biases in their design choices . The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

19. Example of bias • For example, the designer of a search engine for an online Digital Enterprise might choose to display the most expensive items first. • This choice might favor the interest of the seller to maximize profit, over the interest of the buyer, to minimize cost. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

20. Confidentiality, Honesty • Professionals often have access to the employer’s proprietary information such as trade secrets, and the professional must keep this information confidential. • Besides trade secrets, the professional must also honor other forms of intellectual property owned by the employer. • The professional does not have the right to profit from independent sale or use of this intellectual property, including software developed with the employer’s resources. • Every employee is expected to work loyally on behalf of the employer. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

21. Loyalty & conflict of interest • In particular, professionals should be aware of potential conflicts of interest, in which loyalty might be owed to other parties besides the employer. • A conflict of interest may occur when a professional is asked to render a judgment, but the professional has personal or financial interests that may interfere with the exercise of that judgment. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

22. Example of conflict of interest • For instance, a professional may be responsible for ordering Cloud IT Equipment, and an equipment vendor owned by the professional’s spouse might submit a bid. • In this case, even if the spouse’s equipment would be the best choice, the professional’s judgment would not be seen as trustworthy. • Because this is a conflict of interest situation, the professional should excuse himself/herself and ask another qualified person to make the decision. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

23. Protection of Intellectual property right • Professionals are expected to respect members of the profession whenever they interact. • Whenever a professional uses the ideas of a second professional, the first should credit the second. • In a research article, an author gives credit by properly citing the sources of ideas from other authors in previously published articles. • Using these ideas without giving appropriate credit to former authors constitutes plagiarism. • Plagiarism is unethical because it represents theft of ideas. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

24. Apprenticeship • Senior professionals have an obligation to mentor junior professionals. • Although professionals are highly educated, junior members of a profession require additional learning and experience to develop professional judgment. • This learning is best accomplished under the tutelage of a senior professional. • Professionals should assist each other in continuing education and professional development, which are required for maintaining their license to practice. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

25. Genuine fear of violation of individual rights • IT has enabled the collection and exchange of personal information on a scale unprecedented in the history of civilization. • Thus there is increased potential for violating the privacy of individuals and groups. • It is the responsibility of professionals to maintain the privacy and integrity of data describing individuals. • This includes taking precautions to ensure the accuracy of data, as well as protecting it from unauthorized access or accidental disclosure to inappropriate individuals. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

26. Procedure for keeping personal information • Procedures must be established to allow individuals to review their records and correct inaccuracies. • Only the necessary amount of personal information be collected in a system • Retention and disposal periods for that information be clearly defined and enforced • Personal information gathered for a specific purpose must not be used for other purposes without consent of the individual(s). The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

27. Proper disclosure of information • User data observed during the normal duties of system operation and maintenance must be treated with strictest confidentiality, except in cases where it is evidence for the violation of law, organizational regulations, or the Code of Conduct. • In these cases, the nature or contents of that information must be disclosed only to proper authorities. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

28. Confidentiality /honesty • A professional is expected to be honest. • The principle of honesty extends to issues of confidentiality of information. • The ethical concern is to respect all obligations of confidentiality to employers, clients, and users unless discharged from such obligations by requirements of the law or other principles of the Code of Conduct The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

29. Excellence – regular knowledge upgrade • Excellence is one of the most important obligations of a professional. • The professional must strive to achieve quality and to be cognizant of the serious negative consequences that may result from poor quality in a system. • Excellence depends on individuals who take responsibility for acquiring and maintaining professional competence. • A professional must participate in setting standards for appropriate levels of competence, and strive to achieve those standards. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

30. Necessary regular self upgrade • Upgrading technical knowledge and competence can be achieved in several ways: • Doing independent study • Attending seminars, conferences, or courses • Being involved in professional organizations. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

31. Obedience • Policies and procedures of the organizations in which one participates must also be obeyed. • But compliance must be balanced with the recognition that sometimes existing laws and rules may be immoral or inappropriate and, therefore, must be challenged. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

32. Violation and consequences • Violation of a law or regulation may be unethical when that law or rule has inadequate moral basis or when it conflicts with another law judged to be more important. • If one decides to violate a law or rule because it is viewed as unethical, or for any other reason, one must fully accept responsibility for one’s actions and for the consequences. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

33. Peer review of work • Quality of professional work, especially in the IT profession, depends on professional reviewing and critiquing. • Whenever appropriate, individual members should seek and utilize peer review as well as provide critical review of the work of others. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

34. Objective • IT professionals must strive to be perceptive, thorough, and objective when evaluating, recommending, and presenting system descriptions and alternatives. • IT professionals are in a position of special trust, and therefore have a special responsibility to provide objective, credible evaluations to employers, clients, users, and the public. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

35. Dangers of systems must be reported • When providing evaluations the professional must also identify any relevant conflicts of interest. • Any sign of danger from systems must be reported to those who have opportunity and/or responsibility to resolve them. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

36. Honor commitment • Honoring one’s commitments is a matter of integrity and honesty. • This includes ensuring that system elements perform as intended. • Also, when one works with another party, one has an obligation to keep that party properly informed about progress toward completing that work. • A professional has a responsibility to request a change in any assignment that he or she feels cannot be completed as defined. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

37. Ethical Judgment • The professional’s ethical judgment should be the final guide in deciding whether or not to proceed. • Regardless of the decision, one must accept the responsibility for the consequences. • However, performing assignments ‘‘against one’s own judgment’’ does not relieve the professional of responsibility for any negative consequences. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

38. Share knowledge • IT professionals have a responsibility to share technical knowledge with the public by encouraging understanding of IT, including the impacts of IT systems and their limitations. • This imperative implies an obligation to counter any false views related to IT. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

39. Theft / Trespassing • Theft or destruction of tangible and electronic property is prohibited. • Trespassing and unauthorized use of an IT equipment or communication is also unethical. • Trespassing includes accessing communication networks and computer systems, or accounts and/or files associated with those systems, without explicit authorization to do so. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

40. Illegal use of others’ systems • Individuals and organizations have the right to restrict access to their systems so long as they do not violate privacy and individual rights ethics. • No one should enter or use another’s computer system, software, or data files without permission. • One must always have appropriate approval before using system resources, including communication ports, file space, other system peripherals, and computer time. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

41. Ethics and Code of Conduct only guide Professional Practice • No Ethics and code of conduct can cover all situations. • They only serve to: • Inspire members to strive for the profession’s ideals. • Educate new members about their professional obligations. • Tell nonmembers what they may expect members to do. • Set standards of conduct for professionals • Provide a basis for expelling members who violate these standards. • Support individuals in making difficult decisions. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

42. Conclusion (1) • Acting like a professional really means doing what it takes to make others think of you as reliable, respectful, and competent. • Depending on where you work and the type of job you have, this can take on many different forms. • Common qualities expected of professionals include the following: The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

43. Conclusion (2) • Competence. You are good at what you do and you have the skills and knowledge that enable you to do your job well. • Reliability. People can depend on you to show up on time, submit your work when it is supposed to be ready, etc. • Honesty. You tell the truth and are open about where things stand. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

44. Conclusion (3) • Integrity. You are known for your consistent principles. • Respect For Others. Treating all people as if they matter. • Self-Upgrading. Rather than letting your skills or knowledge become outdated, you seek out ways of staying current. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

45. Conclusion (4) • Being Positive. Having positive attitude and being a problem-solver. Not being a constant pessimist. • Supporting Others. You share the limelight with colleagues, take time to show others how to do things properly, and lend an ear when necessary. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

46. Conclusion (5) • Staying Work-Focused. Not letting your private life have an impact on your job, and not spending time at work attending to personal matters. • Listening Carefully. People want to be heard, so you give people a chance to explain their ideas properly. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

47. Conclusion (6) • The more you put into practice these qualities, the better your chances will be to create a positive reputation for yourself. • This can ultimately translate into raises and promotions, chances to work on more assignments that you enjoy, less likelihood of being downsized when layoffs are being considered, and the respect of peers and senior management. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

48. Conclusion (7) • You also benefit from the feelings of increased self-worth and dignity. • In addition you keep yourself marketable for the future. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan

49. Conclusion (8) • For some, being professional might mean dressing smartly at work, or doing a good job. • For others, being professional means having advanced degrees or other certifications, framed and hung on the office wall. • Professionalism, Ethics and Codes of Conduct include all of these essential and significant qualities for professional practice. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Eth.ics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof.Adenike O. Osofisan

50. Finally • Dear inductees the future of the IT profession depends on both Professionalism and Ethical excellence. • You have chosen to become part of the community that has drastically changed the way we live and work and will continue to do so in future. • I thank you all for listening. The Significance of Professionalism,IT Ethics & Codes of Professional Practice Prof. Adenike O. Osofisan