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Ethics In IT
chiefloko writes "I am presently taking a Business Ethics class while earning my MBA. For my final paper topic I have chosen 'Ethics within the Information Technology realm.' Over the past 13 years I have worked for three corporations and have seen everything from the typical BOFH to ungodly pirated software use. I also bore witness to a remote user logging in to a poorly administrated Sun station, finding out s/he was root, and then reading co-workers' emails. I am interested in what the norm is for ethics in the IT world and some of the stories and outcomes."
The Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) has a Code of Ethics. Have a look at it. It gives quite a lot of guidance converning professional conduct in IT.
from the to-stupid-for-words dept.
That's sociopaths, not psychopaths.
Think of it as the difference between a politician and a serial killer.
I've had to familiarise myself with Sarbanes Oxley (which applies only to US listed companies anyway) and that is the only piece of legislation which I am aware of which requires regular sign off of ethical conduct, and that only applies to the board I belive. Elsewhere, for IT workers, both the CISSP and CISA certifications require that a standard of ethical conduct is maintained, and a declaration of such is made by the applicant. I think ethics are only defined in this way, as a requirement for membership of specific professional organisations or for the holding of certain credentials, but these are the only ones I'm aware of. Beyond that, and this is the point, having conducted audits and reviews of a number of companies and the governance of their IT, I think this topic is universally ignored for IT staff specifically. I can not recall once seeing the discreet topic of "Ethics" enshrined within the IT policies and standards of any major company I have inspected. The best thing you can do is collect and review a number of general "End User" policies from different places and see to what degree promises to not view porn, sell secrets, access stuff you shouldn't, etc, etc, are reflected, and quantify them against the ethical requirements being taught on your MBA. IT User policies can be dredged up from the Internet ten a penny, and they should allow you to gather sufficient of them to launch an academic argument as to the provisions for ethical conduct they establish within companies or public bodies in general. The degree to which they are obeyed is impossible to measure, but you can certainly speculate on the need for regular training on ethics.
You may not agree with what I say, but you should fight to the death to allow me to say it, by modding me up.