| In the first installment of this article we took a
quick look at why ethics – a sign of maturity in
any profession – has not developed proportionally
with IT’s growth in importance and complexity. Ethics
have not been at the forefront of the profession – rather,
they were hidden behind the technical and business issues
circumscribing IT. But in the last years, seeking the ethics
in IT has undoubtedly become a growing trend.
Why now?
And, what now?
Seek...
For one thing, Information Technology has now established
itself in the mainstream of business. It has gathered
acceptance, and
even status, coming a long way from its inception as an ivory tower
novelty some 40 years ago. IT practitioners have now reached that
moment in their professional lives when they look at other professions
to benchmark their own - many thinking of themselves as no less
trustworthy or important a professional than doctors, lawyers,
engineers and teachers. Since all these professionals are bound
by a strong code of ethics, so too should the IT professional.
Interestingly, a recent poll by Robert Half Technologies found
that IT professionals and medical doctors rank almost at par when
it comes to which professionals are most trusted by the public.
With the recent meltdown in IT, ethics is seen by some
as yet another selection criteria. Those IT professionals
or firms that abused it (e.g. overestimated, overpriced
Y2K work) surely felt the effects of poor professional
ethics.
The advent and expansion of the Internet, and the great
reliance of both individuals and businesses on this extremely
powerful technology, is undoubtedly a factor in the quest
for ethics in IT. Private citizens and corporations – big
or small – are becoming aware of the exposures and
vulnerabilities that can be the result of incompetent or
unscrupulous handling of data and technology. They are
now demanding that the professionals entrusted with those
tasks not only have technical credentials but ethical ones
as well.
With the outsourcing – and notably global outsourcing – of IT and
business operations, the question of ethics in IT becomes even of greater importance.
For profitability reasons, many big corporations are handing off data and know-how
to third parties in other jurisdictions and cultures. It is essential that
those IT decision makers have solid ethics so that they do not defy the purpose
of the outsourcing exercise in the long run. The trust of its clients is something
no company can afford to compromise.
Find...
In Canada, an expression of the growing concern of the
public, businesses and government with the ethical aspects
of handling data is the
passing into law of PIPEDA, (Personal Information Protection and
Electronics Document Act) on January 1, 2004.
The champion of ethics and professional standards for
the IT practitioner in Canada is CIPS (Canadian Information
Processing Society). For 45 years now, CIPS has gathered
individuals engaged in the IT practice that share an interest
for building the IT profession and abiding by an established
Code of Ethics. CIPS strives not only to define, but also
to administer this code coast-to-coast through its provincial
bodies. The code is accompanied by a set of rules (Standards
of Practice) and a disciplinary process that is mandatory
for its members.
Among other things, the code stipulates the obligation
of the IT professional to uphold the interest of the public.
At the same time, he is expected to uphold the interests
of his employer. Since the IT professional is not serving
the public directly, but through a business that employs
his services, this stipulation sets up an interesting dilemma:
What is the ethical IT professional to do when he realizes
that the best interests of the employer might conflict
with those of the public? The right thing – and by
doing, the IT professional distinguishes himself from a
mere “code mercenary”. While placing the burden
of ethics squarely on the shoulders of individual practitioners
may not add up to an ethics-centered profession, this surely
is a step in that direction.
It is interesting to note that the increased focus on
the ethical responsibilities of IT – as an industry
and as individual practitioners - comes at a time when
compensation and opportunities have (temporarily?) decreased,
and when many are speaking of the “commoditization” of
IT. The optimistic view is that the IT profession is just
having some of those unavoidable and necessary growing
pains.
Tatiana Andronache is IT technical staff
for a large information technology company in Toronto, Canada.
She can be reached at tatiana.andronache@sympatico.ca
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