Ethical work practices

A 'code of ethics' guides the principles designed to help professionals conduct their business ethically and fills in the gaps that laws and regulations fail to reach. It considers the interests of the public, community and clients and ensures their rights are at the forefront of the professionals' actions.

The ITP Code of Ethics is a binding document issued under the authority of the Constitution of the Institute of IT Professionals NZ Inc (the formal name for ITP).

This membership provides trust and assurance to clients and the public as should an ITP member breach the Code of Ethics, the client or a member of the public have the right to complain to ITP, initiating a process for dealing with complaints.

The code of ethics is split into 3 categories:

1. The code
2. Guidelines and interpretations to support the principles
3. Disciplinary process explaining the steps taken to handle complaints.

Principles of ITP

There are 8 principles within the ITP:

1. good faith
2. integrity
3. community-focus
4. skills
5. continuous development
6. informed consent
7. managed conflict of interest
8. competence.

Good faith

Computer technicians should treat people with respect, dignity and good faith, and without discrimination. They must have consideration for their values and cultural sensitivities.

Integrity

Computer technicians should perform their duties with integrity, dignity and honour to merit the community's trust. They should always maintain honesty skills and take the initiative to contribute positively to the wellbeing of society.

Community-focus

Computer technicians should be community-focused and focus on the community's needs instead of private or professional interests to themselves or other members.

Skills

Computer technicians should apply their skills and knowledge in the interest of their clients or employers and not work to compromise their skills based on their interests.

Continuous improvement

Computer technicians should participate in continual improvement and professional development to develop their skills and expertise. This is to improve their wisdom and knowledge regarding their profession and to provide the best service to all clients.

Informed consent

Computer technicians shall take reasonable steps to inform their clients of the job task and what is involved before commencing work. They should inform them of economic, social, environmental or legal consequences which may arise from their actions.

Managed conflicts of interest

Technicians shall inform their clients or employers of any conflict of interest that may impact their quality of service.

Competence

Computer technicians should always follow professional practice and provide services only within their competence areas to ensure the quality of work is guaranteed.

All members must adhere to these practices within the Code of Ethics, or they may have to deal with disciplinary processes.

Complaints and disciplinary action

If an individual breaches the code of ethics, a complaint may be made against them, and disciplinary action will be taken.

The individual must complete the complaint by providing the details of the alleged breach and attaching any documentation. A hearing will then be conducted by the ITP discipline and professional conduct board, where they make a final decision having heard both parties involved.

How ethical practices affect IT professionals

Ethical issues such as how we treat others, use information, engage with employees, manage resources and approach sustainability can impact how employees and clients view organisations.

Businesses in IT need to adhere to any legal requirements. However, there are also ethical issues that laws and regulations may miss. IT professionals need to strive to ensure personal information and data are used appropriately, and professionalism is at the forefront of their roles.

Examples of ethical concerns within the IT industry may include:

• misuse of personal information
• personal privacy and unauthorised access
• misinformation
• lack of oversight
• taking advantage of consumers
  • incorrect pricing
  • providing them with service that is not quality
• respect for employees and customers
• moral use of data and resources.

Deloitte (the multinational professional services network) has created a 5-step holistic approach (illustrated above) to work through ethical issues within their organisation. 

1. Integrate across the business life cycle
   • Ensure alignment to purpose and values
   • Create feedback loops to incorporate learning
   • Alter project management practices
2. Invest in specialised ethics talent
   • Seek out strong external networks and education skills
   • Get applied as fast as possible
   • Build on existing organisational capabilities
3. Build and train from the top, the bottom, and across
   • Start with education programs for select groups
   • Identify board members and executives to lead
   • Connect the dots across the organisation
   • Modify performance plans and establish metrics
4. Be as predictive and extensive as possible
   • Engage in deep research at the beginning of projects
   • Assemble a diverse group of employees to help
   • Use formal tools and methods to explore ethical challenges
5. Collaborate with partners and competitors to improve the industry
   • Develop industry-wide research agendas, training and standards
   • Leverage neutral parties for facilitation
   • Create safe spaces for industry discussion
   • Look to overcome difficulties in cooperation

Some effective approaches include:

• ensuring the organisation's purpose and values are confidently shared and known to all employees
• implementing regular learning and training to support feedback and growth in ethical concerns and actions
• hiring professionals who can provide knowledge and experience in dealing with ethical dilemmas
• designing and facilitating regular educational programs
• understanding that everyone should be responsible for ethical decision-making.

Deloitte uses an ethical business life cycle that details how their organisation acknowledges and acts on ethical concerns. The diagram below details how they evaluate their practices to ensure ethical responsibility is practiced.

Ethical introspection across the business lifecycle

At each stage, and across all stages, companies should consider key ethical concerns.

1. Company purpose and values
   • What is your purpose?
   • What responsibilities do you have for society?
   • How do your leadership and governance amplify your core values?
2. Business model and strategy
   • What are the ethical implications of your business model?
   • Does your marketing respect the diverse values of your customers?
3. Design process
   • What are the diverse values of your users?
   • What ethical principles are guiding your designs?
   • Does dialogue between different areas of your company inform design?
4. Development and deployment
   • How do you make things and who makes things for you?
   • How do you measure the ethics of your supply chain?
   • Is your distribution equitable whenever possible?
5. Support and enhancement
   • What happens to end-of-life products?
   • How do you improve upon your products and services?
   • How does your organisation evolve and learn from new experiences?

IT organisations have now shifted their focus on profit. They have now implemented ways to be more ethically and socially aware of their environment and their people. They consider ethical complications and navigate to find strategies to prevent unanticipated consequences.

In the end, it’s not just about creating ethical and trustworthy technology, but enabling the entire industry to make ethical and trustworthy decisions more easily.

'Social responsibility' can be defined as: individuals and businesses acting in the best interests of their environment and society as a whole. The business must do no harm and acknowledge how its actions can affect the community.

Based on this, it is believed that businesses should, in addition to the law, act ethically to meet the expectations of societal expectations and participate in actions that give back to the community.

Aspects of social responsibility

Social responsibility can be divided into 4 areas.

1. Economic aspects: One aspect of being socially responsible includes economic prosperity. Businesses need to remain profitable to provide value to their employees and stakeholders.
2. Legal aspects: Businesses must follow the law as they have a legal obligation. Some standards must be adhered to; otherwise, they will face legal consequences.
3. Ethical aspects: Acting ethically can be defined as: working through the areas that law does not reach. It allows businesses to breach the gap and go above and beyond to meet society's expectations. This can include policies of businesses to increase the wellbeing of their staff.
4. Philanthropic aspects: This is the idea that businesses should continually give back to society in money, actions, charity and other forms of donations (e.g. a business donating a certain percentage of its sales to an organisation).

Social responsibility focuses on how businesses can give back to society in good faith. Businesses are now focusing on caring for the environment, with many adopting 'green' policies to cut back on omissions, energy, paper and partaking in green activities in the community.

Individuals within an organisation also have the social responsibility to 'give back' to the community. These can include:

• charitable acts
• working for the community (e.g. volunteering, making blood donations and working at a food bank or animal shelter)
• supporting issues that affect society, such as advocating political or social issues that can help others (e.g. advocating for child labour laws, purchasing fair trade products, recycling)
• individual ethics, such as integrity and honesty. These individual ethics can also include the 'golden rule': treat others how you wish to be treated. This might mean empathy and a sense of fairness.

Levis Strauss & Co. has been a leader at the forefront of social responsibility. The following video demonstrates their objectives and how they give back to support their community.

Throughout many industries, and especially the IT industry, there is a big push to go 'green' and focus on sustainable practices that minimise negative impacts on the environment.

Within the IT industry, sustainable practices include how products are manufactured and the management and disposal of information technology.

As an IT professional, there are many ways in which you can support sustainability within your role. Consider the options noted below.

• Collate servers--by maximising your data space to minimise cooling and energy costs.
• Follow practices including:
  • automate lights, security and outdoor cooling controls
  • separate hardware aisles based on hot and cold temperatures
  • aim for a power usage effectiveness of 1.2 or lower
  • unplug any servers that are using energy but are not in use
  • upgrade to smart power strips that cut down on energy when devices are not in use.
• Migrate to the cloud to save storage space and resource consumption.
• Purchase equipment that is rated highly for energy efficiency.
• Recycle equipment and materials.
• Buy remanufactured or refurbished products and equipment.

This environment is a positive move away from the old linear product creation style of ‘take-make-dispose’ to a more sustainable ‘make-use-recycle’ route, which will ultimately help the environment and provide better practices within the technology industry.

To see the environmental impacts of technology, click on the following video.

'Equity in the workplace' can be defined as: fair and unbiased practices that provide inclusive practices to all individuals, no matter their circumstances or situations.

Organisations look to identify and acknowledge specific needs relating to demographics, ethnicity, gender, disabilities and more. They identify the struggles faced and consider these when developing their inclusion practices. This encourages all employees to feel supported and succeed within an inclusive workplace.

Providing accessibility and equity to all employees begins with understanding their needs. By listening to their employees, organisations can identify and develop solutions and programs to accommodate barriers. Options may include mentoring, educational opportunities (like workshops and seminars), developing policies, and adjusting the work environment to cater to any physical or mental disabilities.

Instructions:

Organisations around the world understand the necessity to run their business ethically. They recognise the need to:

• go ‘green’ by applying reduce, reuse and recycle efforts
• have sustainable work habits and practices for staff
• acknowledge and respect diversity in all aspects of cultural, gender, belief and accessibility opportunities, etc.
• be part of the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunities) movement.

Research organisations you have come across in the past and take note of their efforts in creating a sustainable work environment, with emphasis on their IT resource management.

Share, discuss and compare on the forum with your peers.