978-1285197159 Chapter 2 Use this section to discuss a few common ethical issues

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Vendor Certifications

1. Many IT vendors—such as Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle—offer

certification programs for those who use their products. Explain that workers who

successfully complete a program can represent themselves as certified users of a

Industry Association Certifications

1. Point out that there are many available industry certifications in a variety of IT-related

subject areas. Their value varies greatly depending on where people are in their career

path, what other certifications they possess, and the nature of the IT job market. Use

Table 2-4 to aid the discussion.

F. Government Licensing

1. Explain that in the United States, a government license is government-issued permission

The Case for Licensing IT Workers

1. Explain that as a result of the increasing importance of IT in our everyday lives, the

development of reliable, effective information systems has become an area of

mounting public concern. This concern has led to a debate about whether the licensing

of IT workers would improve information systems.

Issues Associated with Government Licensing of IT Workers

1. Discuss the reasons why there are few international or national licensing programs for

IT workers in the United States:

There is no universally accepted core body of knowledge.

G. IT Professional Malpractice

1. Introduce the terms negligence, duty of care, reasonable person standard, reasonable

professional standard, breach of the duty of care, and professional malpractice.

2. Point out that courts have consistently rejected attempts to sue individual parties for

Quick Quiz 2

1. A(n) _____ is a government-issued permission to engage in an activity or to operate a

business.

2. _____ refers to the obligation to protect people against any unreasonable harm or risk.

3. _____ operates Internet Storm Center—a program that monitors malicious Internet

activity and provides a free early warning service to Internet users

4. The _____ 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

II. IT Users

1. Use this section to focus on encouraging employees’ ethical use of IT, which is an area of

growing concern as more companies provide employees with PCs, tablets, cellphones, and

other devices to access corporate information systems and data, and the Internet.

A. Common Ethical Issues for IT Users

1. Use this section to discuss a few common ethical issues for IT users.

Software Piracy

1. Point out that sometimes IT users are the ones who commit software piracy. A

common violation occurs when employees copy software from their work computers

for use at home.

Inappropriate Use of Computing Resources

1. Explain that some employees use their computers to surf popular Web sites that have

nothing to do with their jobs, participate in chat rooms, view pornographic sites, and

play computer games, which eat away at worker productivity and waste time.

Teaching

Tip

Emphasize that in addition to wasting time, sexually explicit material, lewd

jokes and hate e-mail create a hostile working environment, and can lead to

lawsuits.

Teaching

Tip

Remind students that inappropriate use of the computing resources can also

negatively affect professional credibility and peer relationships in the working

environment.

Inappropriate Sharing of Information

1. Discuss the difference between private and confidential information.

B. Supporting the Ethical Practices of IT Users

1. Explain that the growing use of IT has increased the potential for new ethical issues and

problems; thus, many organizations have recognized the need to develop policies that

protect against abuses.

Establishing Guidelines for Use of Company Software

1. Explain that company IT managers must provide clear rules about the use of home

computers and associated software. The goal should be to ensure that employees have

Defining the Appropriate Use of IT Resources

1. Note that effective guidelines allow some level of personal use while prohibiting

employees from visiting objectionable Internet sites or using company email to send

offensive or harassing messages.

Structuring Information Systems to Protect Data and Information

Installing and Maintaining a Corporate Firewall

1. Introduce the term firewall. Use Table 2-5 to aid the discussion.

C. Compliance

1. Students should be aware that in the legal system, compliance usually refers to behavior

in accordance with legislation—such as the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, which

established requirements for internal controls to govern the creation and documentation

of accurate and complete financial statements, or the U.S. Health Insurance Portability

and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which requires employers to ensure the

security and privacy of employee healthcare data. Failure to be in compliance to specific

pieces of legislation can lead to criminal or civil penalties specified in that legislation.

2. Introduce the term audit committee. Note that in some cases, audit committees have

uncovered violations of law and reported their findings to appropriate law enforcement

agencies.

Quick Quiz 3

1. A(n) _____ is a hardware or software device that serves as a barrier between an

organization’s network and the Internet.

2. The term _____ means to be in accordance with established policies, guidelines,

specifications, or legislation.

3. (True or False) A firewall can also serve as an effective barrier to incoming email from

certain Web sites, companies, or users.

4. (True or False) In 1992, the SEC recommended that publicly held organizations establish

audit committees.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the possible repercussions, in terms of morale, of allowing or restricting employee

access to the Web?

2. What strategies can a company employ to maintain trade secrecy, given the high turnover

among IT workers?

3. Do you consider the perks that politicians receive from lobbyists (golf vacations and hunting

excursions) to be gifts or bribes? Does the value of the gift influence whether a gift is a

bribe?

Additional Projects

1. Write a paper researching various ways companies monitor employee use of computing

resources, including access to the Internet and e-mail.

2. Design an IT use policy for a software company that develops banner ads for a search

engine, tailored to the subject for which the user is searching. Keep in mind that the

employees of such a company would need unlimited access to the Web.

3. Write a paper surveying vendor certifications, and discuss the tradeoff between the

usefulness and cost of each certificate.

Additional Resources

Key Terms

Audit committee—a subgroup of the board of directors that provides assistance to the

board in fulfilling its responsibilities with respect to the oversight of the quality and

integrity of the organization’s accounting and reporting practices and controls including:

financial statements and reports; the organization’s compliance with legal and regulatory

requirements; the qualifications, independence, and performance of the company’s

independent auditor; and the performance of the company’s internal audit team

Body of knowledge—it outlines the agreed-upon sets of skills and abilities that all licensed

professionals must possess

Certification—indicates that a professional possesses a particular set of skills, knowledge,

or abilities, in the opinion of the certifying organization

Compliance—to be in accordance with established policies, guidelines, specifications, or

legislation

Conflict of interest—a conflict between the IT worker’s (or the IT firm’s) self-interest and

the interests of the client

Duty of care—an obligation to protect people against any unreasonable harm or risk

Firewall—a hardware or software that serves as a barrier between an organization’s

network and the Internet and limits access to the company’s network based on the

organization’s Internet-usage policy

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)—a federal law that makes it a crime to bribe a

foreign official, a foreign political party official, or a candidate for foreign political office

Material breach of contract—when a party fails to perform certain express or implied

obligations which impairs or destroys the essence of the contract

Misrepresentation—misstatement or incomplete statement of a material fact

Professional code of ethics—states the principles and core values that are essential to the

work of a particular occupational group

Professional malpractice— Professionals who breach the duty of care are liable for

injuries that their negligence causes; this liability is commonly referred to as professional

malpractice

Reasonable person standard—a standard by which the courts decide whether a party

owes a duty of care, by determining how an objective, careful, and conscientious person

would have acted in the same circumstances

Reasonable professional standard—analogous to a reasonable personal standard, but

applied to defendants who have particular expertise or competence

Résumé inflation—lying on a résumé by, for example, claiming competence in an IT skill

that is in high demand