Professionalism and Ethics in IT - Coursework Example

Professionalism and Ethics in IT Affiliation Professionalism and Ethics in IT Introduction The modern world revolves around Information Technology. The significance and relevance of IT in the world has grown steadily and rapidly over the years. The modern man is almost entirely dependable on IT. The increase in the use of IT systems in institutions that are highly reliable has increased the need to embrace the trend. Himma & Tavani (2008) cite that the advancing world is dependable on IT as desired changes are easily and efficiently achieved through the technology. Regardless of the human dependability on Information Technology, the field has increased in deficiencies that have limited professionalism and ethics. With advancing technology in the sector, professionalism and ethics levels are deteriorating. The effects of poor professionalism and ethics have been experienced by both users and recipients of IT services. The purpose of this paper is to analyze four factors that hinder ethics and professionalism in IT. The four factors selected for evaluation are privacy, accuracy, property and access. The paper will also provide solutions to curb the problems highlighted. I. Privacy Privacy refers to the ability to retain specific information from another person. In addition, privacy addresses the questions; what piece of information should a person or institution? Under which safeguards should a party reveal specific information? Under what conditions can a person be forced to reveal or conceal particular information? The greatest challenge to privacy has been the technology advancement in IT. In the modern IT field, technology has increased the available options for a person to access information that may be restricted. In addition, there have been increased advancements in surveillance, computation, communication, retrieval and storage. For this reason, the right to privacy could be easily infringed. In this factor, there is a minimal margin of separation between professionalism and ethics. For instance, in an organization one may point out that the executive depict the extent of privacy in the setting. The executive may create a surveillance system that monitors all areas of the organization including washrooms. From the executive point of view, the decision may be based on the need to increase security in the workplace. From the staff perspective, the strategy infringes on their rights to privacy. The right to privacy has also been made infrangible by the ability to hack personal or restricted gadgets. Reynolds (2014) is of the assumption that hacking has become a major problem in the modern society based on advanced retrieval technology. The access to personal or restricted information is unethical and unprofessional. For instance, a manager should not access personal files on an employee’s computer. However, the need to hack into restricted files may be justified by the argument of security. In an example, if the government is suspicious of a person activities, their phones and other personal gadgets may be hacked. The right to privacy hindered by the increasing value of information in regards to decision making and strategy development (Himma & Tavani, 2008). For instance, the installation of surveillance in a premise may be perceived as a professional way to understand consumer behavior to enhance satisfaction. However, the strategy infringes privacy rights of people unknowingly captured on camera. Migga (2010) is of the assumption that professionalism and ethics in regards to privacy can be argued from both the perspective of the affected and the person causing the harm. Addressing the problem Considering that the decision to acknowledge a decision as either professional or ethical may be difficult, guidelines protecting the right to privacy should be developed. For instance, the decision by the organization to install surveillance should be considerate of the right of the employees. To effectively develop the guidelines, consultation among the people to whom privacy is to be infringed for professional should be done (McMenemy, Poulter & Burton, 2014). In an instance, an employee should be able to give authority on when and what information to access from personal computers. This is an ethical IT behavior. Reynolds (2014) asserts that the problem of privacy requires the consideration of ethics over professionalism. The problem of hacking to private information may be addressed by increasing the security on valued information. It is the duty of the IT professional to analyze the security ability of their system. The security system should be occasionally developed to minimize the risk of hacking. Penny, Jones & Blundell (2008) point out that an IT professional has both an ethical and professional requirement not to hack into systems they are not authorized. To curb the problem, more stern laws should be developed to punish hackers. In addition, the laws should state clearly the definition of hacking or what is considered as hacking. Most importantly, the laws should be created in great consideration on the right to privacy. II. Accuracy The factor of accuracy defines the extent at which an IT professional is able to ensure reliability and dependability of their system. With the increasing its dependency on IT, accuracy has become a professional and ethical requirement for professional in the field. The fact may be defined by the question; how reliable is an IT system in carrying out its duties? What measurement polices have been put in place to evaluate the accuracy of the system? In the modern world, misinformation due to faulty IT systems has become a common occurrence. This depicts unethical and unprofessional behavior on the side of the operator. Recipients of IT services may not know the accuracy of the system used in the organization thus making the issue a sole responsibility of the operator. For instance, X purchases a house on mortgage basis. X is required to pay monthly installments of $200. The person pays his monthly installments for six months. During his visit to the bank on the seventh month, the teller fails to acquire his payment records and informs him that they have not paid installments for the past three months. From this perspective, X does not have the responsibility for ensuring that records of his payments are accurately recorded by the bank. In addition, they may require incurring the risks for as created by an inaccurate IT system. In this case, the bank lacks the professionalism and ethics to retain important information. Risks to accuracy may also emanate from errors in transmission from one station to another. In the causing factors, an IT professional may alter the information in the system to suit a particular desire. Migga (2010) is of the assumption that unethical IT behavior involving the deliberate manipulation of numbers has been recurrent in the modern world. The behavior is defined by unethical behavior. Addressing the Problem To ensure the accuracy of IT systems, the operator has the responsibility of ensuring reliability of the system. In organizations, IT systems should be occasionally evaluated to monitor its performance. The process should be carried out by professional. Himma & Tavani (2008) are of the assumption that the ensuring accuracy of IT systems is solely the responsibility of professional in the field. The authors further point out that the professional has the responsibility of citing any risks that may face the systems (Himma & Tavani, 2008). The personal performance of IT professional should also be done. This will address the problem of intentional manipulation of records. For instance, an IT professional provided with the mandate of maintaining employee payment systems should be responsible for the errors that may affect the system. Performance evaluation also minimizes the risks of using service from under qualified staff in the field. The process would also increase the ability of the executive in a particular setting to oversee the functions of IT professions. Migga (2010) points out that monitoring of personal performance minimizes the risk of information manipulation by IT personnel. III. Property In an argument by Reynolds (2014) the modern society in regards to Information Technology is frequented by cases challenging intellectual rights. Inventions in the field are increasing and intellectual theft precedes the innovations. The problem is further made significant from the fact that intellectual property rights are not tangible thus making it impossible to acknowledge ownership. The property issue may be depicted by the questions; who owns a particular piece of information? How should the information be transmitted or allocated? What channels can be used in the transmission of the information? The modern society is hugely affected by the issue of intellectual property rights. The modern IT system has to its disposal the technology to copy or retransmit information from a different source. With information hugely developed, the need to ensure ownership and restriction to reproduction has increased. For instance, a television channel may use a video clip used by another station without recognizing the origin of the information. This is an infringement of the intellectual property rights. Gold (2012) is of the assumption assimilation and reproduction of already created content depicts the unethical nature of the IT profession. The author further asserts that the increase in the mode of transmission channels increases intellectual property rights infringements cases (Gold, 2012). It is an ethical and professional requirement for an IT professional to develop original material. In addition, using already transmitted information without the consent of the developer is illegal in modern day copyright laws. Addressing the Problem Migga (2010) asserts that minimizing risks of reproduction may be a difficult task considering the technology accessible to offenders of intellectual property laws. For this reason, labeling of information would the most effective strategy. In this way, the original developer may prove ownership of the information. In this strategy, encryption could be used to minimize the risks of reproduction and copying. McMenemy, Poulter & Burton (2014) assert that the use of existing technology, such as encryptions, for security is mandatory considering that offenders utilize the same provisions. From a legal perspective, the use of copyrights and patents could be used. In this approach, the original creator legally claims ownership of the information before they could transmit. This is a proof of ownership. In addition, the instance where the information is reproduced, the proof of ownership could be used to sue the offenders and seek compensation. Patents function under the similar framework. Patents could be most effective in claiming ownership of transmitting channels that could be used in the conveyance of particular information (Gold, 2012). Similar to copyrights, patents functions as a proof ownership in case of an originality dispute. IV. Accessibility The problem accessibility develops from the trend that all significant institutions are using virtual portal and systems for service delivery. For instance, educational and medical institution use IT systems to conduct basic service such as information accessing, payment and packages that may be offered. The ethical and professional dilemma generates from the fact that not all person in need of these services have the ability to access the information systems. For instance, older adults may not be able to use online portals to access basic services such as medical care. This is influenced by illiteracy in the field and lack of appropriate tools. Penny, Jones & Blundell (2008) are of the assumption that most institutions are completely run by IT systems, a strategy that disregards the people that are unable to access the online services. For instance, the Obama Health Care Website bears significant information on the health system in the United States. Older adults who are benefit from the plan do not have the capacity to access the portal. Reynolds (2014) points out that advancing IT technology disconnects with the ethical requirement to offer equal access to information by all persons. In other cases, users of portal for services acquisition are required to pay accessing fees. From the trend, it is accurate to assert that the accessibility of information systems favor only a percentage of the society. In the age of IT dependency, this is a major problem since it widens the gap between the fortunate and less fortunate in regards to information accessibility on online portals. Addressing the problem Firstly, an institution using the online information dissemination technique should not shut down their physical information delivery system. This professional requirement would not hinder a particular population of people to access basic information. Additionally, the institution may carry out a survey on its online and physical access. From the results, the decision to use a particular strategy could be determined. Online service accessing portals should be made user friendly and less costly. For instance, institutions using the approach should develop mobile websites. In this way, the accessibility by consumers could be easier and efficient. Himma & Tavani (2008) argue that the development simpler online accessibility options increases the population that can be to access the available information. The use of free websites should also be sensitized. The solution to increase mass education on the use online portals is also effective. The development of an IT system varies from another. Consequently, users of particular services should be notified of the requirements for using the system (McMenemy, Poulter & Burton, 2014). In an instance where a person is unable to use the system, it is the professional and ethical responsibility of the IT profession to convey information accurately. For instance, the recipient in a medical institution should disseminate information from the system and provide it to a person when they place a request. Conclusion The increasing preference of information technology presents ethical and professional challenges that may hinder the effectiveness of the technology. The discussed problem factors of privacy, accuracy, property and accessibility depict the impact of the problems in the modern world. With increasing advancement in the field, rights to privacy could be easily breached and justified on professional grounds. The faulty nature of technology exposes the field to risks based on inaccurate data recording, storage and transmission. The cases of information theft are also escalating considering the modern day value of information. The accessibility challenges also depict the undesirable features of information technology. However, with effective solutions to the problems the relevance and significance of information technology are massive in the modern world. References Gold, T. (2012). Ethics in IT Outsourcing. Florida: CRC Press. Himma, K. & Tavani, H. (2008). The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics. New York: John Wiley & Sons. McMenemy, D., Poulter, A. & Burton, P. (2014). A Handbook of Ethical Practice: A Practical Guide to Dealing with Ethical Issues in information and Library Work. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Migga, J. (2010). Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. Boston: Springer Science & Business Media. Penny, D., Jones, S. & Blundell, B. (2008). Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Computing. New York: Cengage Learning. Reynolds, G. (2014). Ethics in Information Technology. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More