IS110 module 8

• Profession


  Publicly acknowledged areas of expertise and service which exist within the workforce
• Professions


  • Individuals who commit to adhering to ethical standards of the profession and who are accepted based on their possession of special knowledge and skill set
• Characteristics of professions


  • Acceptance of an ideal of public duty and service which take priority over financial reward
  • Generally high level of a vocationally specific knowledge required by the member
  • Generally high level of public respect and confidence
  • Organisation of the members of the profession into a body or fellowship which represents the members and sets standards for entrance and continuing membership
  • Existence of an ethical framework which the member accepts and undertakes to work within
  • Guarantee of a high level of commitment to competence provided by the member to the public community
  • Ethical quality of personal life and personal integrity which could reasonably be expected by the public
• Personal integrity


  Consistency between one's own deepest beliefs and one's actions
• Personal integrity in a person becomes most obvious at time of great stress or difficulty in life
• Professional codes of ethics help a professional person to behave consistently and ethically within their area of service and expertise
• Professional codes of ethics are needed to guide a professional's behaviour and actions in the eyes of the public
• Qualities of professionals

  • Loyalty to certain public groups
  • Commitment to ongoing professional development
  • Excellence
  • Competence
  • Diligence
  • Dignity
  • Honesty
  • Confidentiality
• Integrity


  Doing the right thing, not for any personal, professional or financial reward, but simply because it is the right thing
• When my ethical convictions place me at odds with the law itself, we have what is known as "conscientious objection"
• Basis for ethical action


  Expression of moral values through the choice of moral goods in relationships which are balanced and just
• Codes of ethics


  Practical expressions of values encoded in statements which are usually vocationally specific
• Codes of ethics are usually developed within a profession which prefers to be self-regulatory rather than subject to an externally imposed legal or criminal code
• The ACS requires its members to subscribe to a set of values and ideals which uphold and advance the honour, dignity and effectiveness of the profession of information technology
• Codes of ethics have an educative role for members of the profession
• Code of ethics


  Sometimes referred to as a Value Statement, behaves like a Constitution with general principles to guide behavior
• Code of professional conduct


  Provides the specific details for principles outlined in the code of ethics, outlines relevant guidelines to different areas of professional operations