Ethics in First Year Information Systems Robert Davison

First Year IS Courses Sem A: FB 2500 – Introduction to IS I Sem B: FB 2501 – Introduction to IS II Sem B: IS 2236 – Programming in VB

Layout Five Key Areas of Ethical Consideration Honesty/Integrity l Responsibility/Accountability l Fairness/Impartiality l Respect l Altruism l

Honesty/Integrity What can be achieved by a system How well a system meets user needs What users should be asking for (but didn’t) Originality of source code l l Be very careful with web sources Don’t resell what cost you nothing Professional Behaviour l E. g. Hacking, Computer Abuse, …

Responsibility/Accountability Taking responsibility for one’s work l The inevitability of bugs is not an excuse for poor quality systems (in fact bugs should not be inevitable at all) Setting up proper lines of evidence so as to be able to identify who did what Distinguishing individual from group work Acceptance of professional liability for a system

Fairness/Impartiality Treatment of all customers equally l Irrespective of their status, importance as customers, political power, financial clout, … Broad involvement of users in requirements analysis and design – before and during systems development Treatment of suppliers impartially l E. g. in the tendering process

Respect for customer requirements l Even if you don’t agree with them Respect for the values of the profession l Even if the customer doesn’t agree with them Respect for yourself l Don’t take on work that you are not qualified to do Respect for Intellectual Property l Whether digital or not

Altruism All systems should be designed so as to benefit someone Indeed, there may be a need for working without considering one’s own immediate benefits Many student projects are for charities – which have no budget, yet have a huge need

Conclusions Ethical principles are critical to the IS professional Becoming familiar with ethical principles as a student makes it easier to internalise them – and then deploy them in working life Ethical principles add value