Professional Ethics &
Codes of Conduct
Lecture 4
Ethical Decision Making: Case 3
Sana works in a large provincial agency dealing with
alcoholism and drug abuse.
Agency administers programs for individuals with
alcohol and drug programs.
Maintains a large database of information on clients who
use agency services.
Some data files contain names and current addresses of
clients.
Sana has been asked to look at the track records of
treatment programs.
Reporting # of clients seen each month for past five years,
length of client treatment, number of clients who return
after program completion, criminal histories of clients.
Ethical Decision Making: Case 3
Sana has been given access to all files in the agency’s
mainframe computer
This data is needed to put together in the report.
After assembling data:
She downloads it to the computer in her office.
The agency is pressuring her to finish report on the
deadline.
Sana decides she must work from home over the weekend.
She copies data onto several disks and takes them home.
After finishing report she leaves the disks at home and forgets
about them.
Applying the Code: Case 3
This case resembles case 2, but raises several additional
issues.
Issues involving confidentiality
Principle 1.7 deals with privacy
Principle 1.8 deals with confidentiality
Principle 2.8 also applies:
Constraining access to authorized systems
Principle 3.5:
Organizational leaders have obligations to “verify systems are
designed and implemented to protect personal privacy and
enhance personal dignity”
Also Principle 3.3:
(Appropriate and authorized uses of organization’s resources)
Applying the Code: Case 3
Government agency should have had policies and
procedures to protect identity of its clients
Sana’s friends and relatives might accidentally discover files and
inappropriate uses information.
Note that the files Sana used did not need to have names or other
information in the records.
Agency should have removed identifying information from
files Sana was allowed to use.
If this happened, it wouldn’t have mattered that Sana copied files
to her computer.
Sana, unfortunately, was not attentive to ethical issues
ahead of time.
Ethical decision making: Case 4
Computer company is writing first part of an
“efficient accounting system”.
Will be used by government.
Expectation is that this will save taxpayers a considerable
amount of money each year.
Software engineer in charge of design assigns
different parts of system to his staff.
Reports, Internal Processing, User interface
Manager is shown the system, and agrees it matches
requirements.
System is installed, but staff find the interface so
difficult to use that their complaints are heard by
upper-level management
Ethical Decision Making: Case 4
Result of complaints:
upper-level management will not invest any more money in
developing the new accounting system
they go back to their original, more expensive system
Applying the Code: Case 4
This case highlights issues involving quality of professional work
Code of Ethics advocates that:
professional strive to achieve the highest quality in both process and products (2.1)
Principle 3.4: users and those affected by a system must have their needs clearly articulated
Assumption in this case:
Failure to deliver a quality product is directly attributable to failure to follow a quality process.
Most likely the problems with interface could have been discovered in review process – peers or
users (2.4)
When harm results (in this case with taxpayers), failure to implement quality process
clearly violates ethical behavior.
Ethical decision making: Case 5
Contractor is determining requirements for an
employment agency.
Client describes what is needed when displaying
applications whose qualifications appear to match those
for a particular job.
Client also further states that names of white applicants
are to be displayed ahead of nonwhites.
Further states that names of male applicants are to be
displayed ahead of female applicants.
Recall: ethical code asserts an ACM member will
be “fair and take action not to discriminate”
Applying the Code: Case 5
This case highlights issues involving fairness and
discrimination
In this case, system designer is asked to build a system
that, it appears
will be used to favour white males and
discriminate against non-whites and females
From this is would appear that:
system designer should not do what he or she is told, plus
should also point out the problematic nature of what is being
requested and ask client why this is being done
Making the inquiry is consistent with 2.3, 2.5 and 4.1.
Applying the Code: Case 5
If client answers that they plan to use
information to favour white males, then:
Computer professional should refuse to build the
system as proposed.
To go ahead and build the system would violate:
1.4 (fairness)
2.3 (respecting existing laws)
It would also be inconsistent with:
1.1 (well-being)
1.2 (avoiding harm)
Ethical decision making: Case 6
A software development company has just
produced a new software package.
It incorporates new tax laws and prepares both
individual and small business tax returns
The president of the company knows that the
program has a number of bugs
He also believes the first firm to put this kind of
software on the market is likely to capture the largest
market share.
The company widely advertises the package.
When the product is shipped, it includes a disclaimer
of responsibility for errors resulting from the use of the
program.
Ethical decision making: Case 6
The company expects it will receive a number of
complaints, queries, and suggestions for modification.
The company plans to use these to make changes and
eventually issue updated, improved and debugged
versions.
The president argues that this is general industry
policy:
“Anyone who buys version 1.0 of a program knows this
and will take proper precautions.”
Because of bugs, a number of users filed incorrect tax
returns and were penalized by Rev Canada.
Applying the Code: Case 6
This case highlights issues involving legal liability for
unreliable code
Software company (and president in particular) violated
several principles in the ACM code of ethics
Since he was aware of bugs in the product, he did not strive to
achieve the highest quality (Principle 2.1)
By failing to inform consumers about bugs to system,
principle 2.5 was violated.
Here the risks to users is so great they have to pay penalties
for mistakes which result from the program.
By law companies can make disclaimers only when they are in “good
conscience” (Disclaimer does not meet legal test, violated principle
2.3)
President also violates Principle 3.1
Ethical decision making: Case 7
Small software company is working on an integrated
inventory control system
very large national shoe manufacturer
system gathers sales data daily from stores across Canada
Data is used by following departments:
accounting
shipping
ordering
Inventory functions are critical to the smooth
operation of the system and the corporation.
Ethical decision making: Case 7
James is a quality assurance (QA) engineer with the
software company
He suspects the inventory functions of the system are not
sufficiently tested
However, they have passed all contracted tests.
He is being pressured by his employers to sign off on
the software.
Legally he is only required to perform those tests
which found their way into the contract
However, his considerable experience in software
testing leads him to be concerned over risks of
incorrect system behavior
Ethical decision making: Case 7
Despite insisting, James’ company states:
“We will go out of business if we do not deliver the
software on time.”
James replies:
“If inventory subsystem fails, it will significantly harm
our client and their employees.”
If the potential failure were to threaten lives, it would
be clear to James that he should refuse to sign off
However, given the reduced degree of threatened
harm, James is faced by a difficult decision.
Applying the Code: Case 7
This case highlights issues involving software
risks.
Principle 1.2 stress responsibility of computing
professional to avoid harm for others
Principle 1.1 requires concern for human well-being
Principle 1.3 mandates professional integrity
Principle 2.1 defines quality as an ethical responsibility
These principles may conflict with agreements
and commitments of an employee to the
employer and client.
Applying the Code: Case 7
The ethical imperatives of the code suggest that:
James should not deliver a product he believes to be
inferior
nor should he mislead the client about the quality of
the product (1.3)
He should continue to test, and has been told of
the financial repercussions of not delivering the
system.
At the very least, the client should be informed of his
reservations.
Ethical decision making: Case 8
A software consultant is negotiating a contract with a local
municipality
Designing their traffic control system (TCS)
She recommends they select the TCS system out of several
available system on the market.
The consultant fails to mention that she is a major stockholder of
the company producing TCS software.
Applying the Code: Case 8
This case highlights issues involving conflicts of interest.
Principle 2.5: computer professionals must “strive to be
perceptive, thorough and objective when evaluating,
recommending and presenting system descriptions and
alternatives.”
Principle 1.3: implies a computer professional must be
honest about “any circumstances that might lead to
conflicts of interest”
IT professionals have special skills
It is their responsibility to ensure clients are fully aware of the
options.
Also their responsibility to ensure professional recommendations
are not modified for personal gain.
Ethical decision making: Case 9
Hugo is working on a project for his computer science course.
Instructor has allotted a fix amount of computer time for the
project.
This time is enforced by the computer system.
Hugo runs out of time, but has not yet finished the project.
Instructor cannot be reached.
Ethical decision making: Case 9
Hugo worked last year as a co-op programmer in the department.
He is very familiar with procedures used to increase time
allocations to accounts.
Using what he learned last year, he is able to access the master
account.
Then he gives himself additional time.
He now completes his project.
Applying the code: Case 9
Principle 1.5 (property rights) has been violated.
Principle 2.8: specifies that ACM members should
“access communication resources only when
authorized to do so”.
By violating 2.8, Hugo is also violating Principle 2.3
(“know and respect existing laws”)
As a student member of the ACM, Hugo must follow
the code of ethics…
… even if he does not consider himself a computing
professional.
Nine cases: summary
Illustrate broad range of issues facing an IT
professional.
Code does not prescribe what an individual must do
But it does identify some decisions as unacceptable.
Ethical decision often involve balance amongst
several factors.
Computer professionals therefore have to choose amongst
the conflicting principles.
Goal is to ahead to the spirit as much as to the letter.
Nine cases: summary
All of the cases also portrayed individuals acting in constrained
situations.
Institutional environment usually influences ethical decisions.
Such environments can either facilitate or constrain ethical behavior.
Leadership roles set the tone.
Some of the problems shown in the cases resulting from a lack of
ethical leadership.
Other applicable codes
Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS):
Code of Ethics & Standards of Conduct
http://www.cips.ca/about/ethics/english/ethics.pdf
IEEE Computer Society & ACM:
Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
http://www.computer.org/computer/code-of-ethics.pdf
Council of Professional Engineers
Guideline on the Code of Ethics
http://www.ccpe.ca/e/files/guideline_code_with.pdf
