978-1285197159 Chapter 2 An important point to make is that although

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Chapter 2

Ethics for IT Workers and IT Users

At a Glance

Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents

Overview

Objectives

Teaching Tips

Quick Quizzes

Discussion Questions

Additional Projects

Additional Resources

Key Terms

Lecture Notes

Overview

Chapter 2 begins with a discussion of whether IT workers are professionals under the legal

definition of professional workers. It gives an overview of professional relationships between IT

workers and clients, suppliers, other IT professionals, and users, and ethical issues relevant to

Objectives

As students read this chapter, they should consider the following:

What key characteristics distinguish a professional from other kinds of workers, and is an

IT worker considered a professional?

What factors are transforming the professional services industry?

ethical behavior of IT professionals?

What is meant by compliance, and how does it help promote the right behaviors and

discourage undesirable ones?

Teaching Tips

Vignette—New York City Payroll Project Riddled with Fraud

1. Explain the main objective behind setting up the New York City payroll project.

2. Discuss the CityTime project fraud and its implications. Talk about some of the policies

that would have helped deter such fraudulent activities.

I. IT Professionals

1. Begin the discussion by explaining that the term profession is used to describe a calling

that requires specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.

2. Briefly discuss the four criteria that the United States Code of federal regulation uses to

A. Are IT Workers Professionals?

1. Not every IT role requires “knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or

B. Professional Relationships That Must Be Managed

1. Point out that IT workers typically become involved in many different relationships,

Relationships between IT Workers and Employers

1. Note that IT workers and employers have a critical, multifaceted relationship that

requires ongoing effort by both parties to keep it strong. An IT worker and an

employer typically agree on fundamental aspects of this relationship before the worker

accepts an employment offer.

2. An important point to make is that although end users often get the blame when it

comes to using illegal copies of commercial software, software piracy in a corporate

setting is sometimes directly traceable to IT staff members—either they allow it to

happen or they actively engage in it, often to reduce IT-related spending.

3. Introduce the term Business Software Alliance (BSA).

4. Note that failure to cooperate with the BSA can be extremely expensive. The cost of

criminal or civil penalties to a corporation and the people involved can easily be many

times more expensive than the cost of “getting legal” by acquiring the correct number

of software licenses.

5. Introduce the terms trade secret and whistle-blowing.

Relationships between IT Workers and Clients

1. IT workers provide services to clients; sometimes those “clients” are coworkers who

are part of the same organization as the IT worker. In other cases, the client is part of a

different organization. Note that in relationships between IT workers and clients, each

party agrees to provide something of value to the other.

2. Typically, the client makes decisions about a project on the basis of information,

alternatives, and recommendations provided by the IT worker. Explain that the client

trusts the IT worker to use his or her expertise and to act in the client’s best interests.

3. Introduce the term conflict of interest.

tools, or experience needed to perform an accurate assessment.

5. Introduce the term fraud.

6. Make sure students understand the elements involved in proving fraud in a court of

law.

Relationships between IT Workers and Suppliers

1. Explain that most IT workers understand that building a good working relationship

with suppliers encourages the flow of useful communication as well as the sharing of

ideas. Note that IT workers can develop good relationships with suppliers by dealing

fairly with them and not making unreasonable demands.

2. Point out that suppliers strive to maintain positive relationships with their customers in

order to make and increase sales. To achieve this goal, they may sometimes engage in

unethical actions—for example, offering an IT worker a gift that is actually intended

Relationships between IT Workers and Other Professionals

1. Professionals owe each other an adherence to the profession’s code of conduct. Note

that experienced professionals can also serve as mentors and help develop new

members of the profession.

2. Introduce the term résumé inflation. Use Table 2-2 to aid the discussion.

Teaching

Tip

Discuss the difference between presenting oneself in the most positive light and

overstating one’s skills.

3. Point out that an ethical issue that can arise in relationships between IT workers and

other professionals is the inappropriate sharing of corporate information.

Relationships between IT Workers and IT Users

1. Explain that the term IT user refers to a person who uses a hardware or software

product; the term distinguishes end users from the IT workers who develop, install,

Relationships between IT Workers and Society

1. Explain that society expects members of a profession to provide significant benefits

and to not cause harm through their actions.

Quick Quiz 1

1. (True or False) IT workers are not liable for malpractice because they do not meet the legal

definition of a professional.

2. _____ is that act of providing money, property, or favors to someone in business or

government in order to obtain a business advantage.

3. _____ occurs when one party fails to meet the terms of a contract.

4. _____ is the misstatement or incomplete statement of a material fact.

C. Professional Codes of Ethics

D. Professional Organizations

1. Note that no IT professional organization has emerged as preeminent, so there is no

universal code of ethics for IT workers. However, the existence of such organizations is

useful in a field that is rapidly growing and changing.

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

1. Introduce the class to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), a computing

society founded in 1947 with over 97,000 student and professional members in more

than 100 countries. It is international in scope—with an ACM Europe, ACM India, and

ACM China organization.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE-CS)

1. Explain that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) covers the

broad fields of electrical, electronic, and information technologies and sciences. The

Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)

1. Explain that the AITP started in Chicago in 1951, when a group of machine

accountants got together and decided that the future was bright for the IBM

punched-card tabulating machines they were operating—a precursor of the modern

electronic computer. They were members of a local group called the name Machine

Accountants Associations (MAA), which first evolved into the Data Processing

Management Association in 1962 and finally the AITP in 1996.

Teaching

Tip

Compare the ACM and the AITP to the IEEE, noting that IEEE includes a wide

number of professions and provides a variety of services to each.

2. Note that the AITP provides IT-related seminars and conferences, information on IT

Teaching

Tip

Point out that the mission of the AITP differs from that of the ACM, as the

AITP puts more emphasis on leadership and education.

SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute

1. Explain that SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security (SANS) Institute provides

information security training and certification for a wide range of individuals, such as

auditors, network administrators, and security managers.

2. Point out that SANS makes available, at no cost, a collection of some 1,200 research

documents about various topics of information security.

E. Certification

1. Certification indicates that a professional possesses a particular set of skills, knowledge,

or abilities, in the opinion of the certifying organization. Note that unlike licensing,

which applies only to people and is required by law, certification can also apply to

products (e.g., the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo assures that the product has met rigorous

interoperability testing to ensure that it will work with other Wi-Fi-certified products)

and is generally voluntary.

2. Students should understand that because certification is no substitute for experience and