Professional issues in IT Course overview, Schemes and Mind Maps of Computer Science

Download Professional issues in IT Course overview and more Schemes and Mind Maps Computer Science in PDF only on Docsity! The framework of employee relations law and changing management practices Employee relations • Employee relations is about the rules governing employment. Since people are employed to produce goods or services and such production entails a process, we may further say that employee relations is about the rules governing the work process. • These rules include anything from pay and normal hours of work to health and safety rules • There is a statutory obligation for the employer to provide a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment Professional Relationships That Must Be Managed • IT workers involved in relationships with: 1. Employers 2. Clients 3. Suppliers 4. Other professionals 5. IT users 6. Society at large IT Professionals • Profession is a calling that requires: – Specialized knowledge – Long and intensive academic preparation • Professionals-US Code of Federal Regulation: – Require advanced training and experience – Must exercise discretion and judgment in their work – Contribute to society, participate in lifelong training, assist other professionals – Carry special rights and responsibilities Are IT Workers Professionals? • Partial list of IT specialists – Programmers – Systems analysts – Software engineers – Database administrators – Local area network (LAN) administrators – Chief information officers (CIOs) The Changing Professional Services Industry • Although not legally classified as professionals, IT workers are considered part of the professional services industry, which is experiencing immense changes that impact how members of this industry must think and behave to be successful. The Changing Professional Services Industry • IT workers are considered part of the professional services industry • Seven forces are changing professional services – Client sophistication (able to drive hard bargains) • Clients are more aware of what they need from service providers, more willing to look outside their own organization to get the best possible services, and better able to drive a hard bargain to get the best possible services at the lowest possible cost – Governance (due to major scandals- less trust-more oversight over client-service relationship) – Connectivity (instant communications) – Transparency (view work-in-progress in real-time) – Modularization (able to outsource modules) – Globalization (worldwide sourcing-competitivness) – Commoditization (for low-end services) Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 11 Professional Relationships That Must Be Managed • IT workers involved in relationships with: 1. Employers 2. Clients 3. Suppliers 4. Other professionals 5. IT users 6. Society at large Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 12 Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d) • Software piracy – The Business Software Alliance (BSA) is a trade group representing the world’s largest software and hardware manufacturers; mission is to stop the unauthorized copying of software – Thousands of cases prosecuted each year(2500 piracy reports) – “know it, report it, reward it” – Reward $1 million cash – BSA is funded by member companies and also through settlements of cases Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 15 Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d) • In 2009, XMCO, a Michigan-based subsidiary of Koniag Development Corporation that writes and produces technical manuals for military equipment and vehicles, paid BSA $70,000 to settle a claim that it had installed unlicensed copies of Adobe, Corel, and Microsoft software on its computers. XMCO agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software, buy the necessary number of licenses to become compliant, and commit itself to implementing improved practices for managing software licenses. Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 16 Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 17 Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d.) http://www.bsa.org/country/BSA%20and%20Members/Our%20Members.aspx Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d.) – Trade secrets – In September 2006, a vice president of HP’s printer division was fired from his new job after just four months. Shortly after his employment began with HP, he e-mailed confidential information from his former employer, IBM, to two senior vice presidents at HP. The information was marked confidential on each page and included product costs and material data that could help the HP sales team understand the goals of IBM. HP quickly investigated, fired the employee, and reported him to IBM and law enforcement authorities. He faces a possible sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 20 Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d.) • IT workers must set an example and enforce policies regarding the ethical use of IT in: (cont’d.) – Whistle-blowing • Employee attracts attention to a negligent, illegal, unethical, abusive, or dangerous act that threatens the public interest • For example, an employee of a chip manufacturing company may know that the chemical process used to make the chips is dangerous to employees and the general public. Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 21 Relationships Between IT Workers and Employers (cont’d.) – Whistle-blowing – In May 2005, Oracle Corporation paid $8 million to settle charges that it fraudulently collected fees before providing training for clients and failed to comply with federal travel regulations in billing for travel and expenses. The charges arose from a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by a former Oracle vice president. As a result of the settlement, the whistleblower received $1.58 million of the $8 million total settlement. Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 22 Relationships Between IT Workers and Clients (cont’d.) • Ethical problems arise if a company recommends its own products and services to remedy problems they have detected – Creates a conflict of interest • Problems arise during a project if IT workers are unable to provide full and accurate reporting of a project’s status due to a lack of information, tools, or experience • the client may not be informed about the problem until it has become a crisis • needed to perform an accurate assessment • Finger pointing and heated discussions can about cost overruns, • missed schedules, and technical incompetence can lead to charges of fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of contract Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 25 Relationships Between IT Workers and Clients (cont’d.) • Fraud – Crime of obtaining goods, services, or property through deception or trickery • The wrongdoer made a false representation of material fact. • The wrongdoer intended to deceive the innocent part • The innocent party justifiably relied on the misrepresentation. • The innocent party was injured. • Misrepresentation – Misstatement or incomplete statement of material fact – If misrepresentation causes a party to enter into a contract, that party may have the right to cancel contract or seek reimbursement for damages Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 26 Relationships Between IT Workers and Clients (cont’d.) • Misrepresentation – As an example of misrepresentation, an Oracle marketing campaign claimed that retail companies using its software are “49.7 percent more profitable and 61.5 percent more capital efficient than peers.” The statement was based on analysis performed by Oracle on data provided by Stratascope, a market research firm. The Stratascope CEO demanded that Oracle issue a correction, claiming, “We have no knowledge of the validity of the criteria and the methodology [Oracle] used, particularly because several of its claims are based on a set of data we do not possess.” Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 27 Relationships Between IT Workers and Clients (cont’d.) • Breach of contract Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 30 3. Relationships Between IT Workers and Suppliers • Develop good working relationships with suppliers: – To encourage flow of useful information and ideas to develop innovative and cost-effective ways of using the supplier in ways that the IT worker may not have considered – By dealing fairly with them – By not making unreasonable demands – Threatening behaviour – Suppliers may strive to make good relationship-to increase sale – unethical actions to achieve this goal • Offering IT worker a gift - bribe Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 31 Relationships Between IT Workers and Suppliers (cont’d.) • Bribery – Providing money, property, or favors to obtain a business advantage – U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): crime to bribe a foreign official, a foreign political party official, or a candidate for foreign political office – At what point does a gift become a bribe? – No gift should be hidden – Perceptions of donor and recipient can differ – United Nations Convention Against Corruption is a global treaty to fight bribery and corruption Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 32 4. Relationships Between IT Workers and Other Professionals • Professionals feel a degree of loyalty to other members of their profession • Professionals owe each other adherence to their profession’s code of conduct • Senior members as mentors • Ethical problems among the IT profession – Résumé inflation on 30% of U.S. job applications • Short term benefit-but hurts profession – Inappropriate sharing of corporate information • Information might be sold intentionally or shared informally with those who have no need to know Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 35 5. Relationships Between IT Workers and IT Users • IT user: person using a hardware or software product • IT workers’ duties – Understand users’ needs and capabilities – Deliver products and services that meet those needs – Establish environment that supports ethical behavior: • To discourages software piracy • To minimize inappropriate use of corporate computing resources • To avoid inappropriate sharing of information Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 36 6. Relationships Between IT Workers and Society • Society expects members of a profession: – To provide significant benefits – To not cause harm through their actions • Actions of an IT worker can affect society • Professional organizations provide codes of ethics to guide IT workers’ actions • Maintain professional standards that protect public Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 37 Professional Codes of Ethics (cont’d.) • Following a professional code of ethics can produce benefits for the individual, the profession, and society as a whole – Ethical decision making • Common set of core values and beliefs – High standards of practice and ethical behavior – Trust and respect from general public • Tell the truth-avoid giving self serving advice-offer warnings about side possible side effects – Evaluation benchmark for self-assessment Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 40 IT Users • Employees’ ethical use of IT is an area of growing concern because of increased access to: – Personal computers – Corporate information systems and data – The Internet Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 41 Supporting the Ethical Practices of IT Users • Policy components include: – Establishing guidelines for use of company software • Negotiate contracts with software manufacturers to provide PCs and Software to work from home • Corporate discount rate – Defining appropriate use of IT resources – Structuring information systems to protect data and information – Installing and maintaining a corporate firewall Ethics in Information Technology, Fourth Edition 42