private

Business and Professional Issues

Lecture 3: Being a
Professional
Dr Philip Davies
Room P317
daviesp@Bournemouth.ac.uk

Unit Structure
Starting up a computing company
The Computing Profession (Chap2)
Law and Government
Structure of organizations
Intellectual property rights
Data protection and privacy
Internet Issues
Computer misuse

REMINDER
Your Two Assignments
Where you should be up to by now

Assignment 1: The Great Essay

Competition
By now you should have
Downloaded the assignment
Read it through carefully and chosen a title to write on
Done some back ground reading
Made some notes and formulated arguments for your position
Stated to look at how its going to be marked.
HAND IN Online Turnitin via MyBU IN YOUR SEMINAR
GROUP
DEADLINE 24 OCT 2016

Assignment 2: The Great Business

Game
By now you should have
Downloaded the assignment
Read it through carefully and worked out what to do
Done some back ground reading
Created your cash flow prediction and worked out your
overdraft request
Uploaded your first set of data for October

What does it mean to be

Professional?

The Concept of a Profession

The word profession means different things to
different people. But at its core, its meant to be an
indicator of trust and expertise.
Traditionally, a professional was someone who derived
their income from their expertise or specific talents, as
opposed to a hobbyist or amateur. This still carries
through to fields today, such as sport.

Definitions
http://www.psc.gov.au/what-is-a-profession

Aprofessionis a disciplined group of individuals

who adhere to ethical standards. This group has
special knowledge and skills and is recognised by
the public as such.
Aprofessionalis a member of a profession.
Professionals are governed by codes of ethics, and
are committed to integrity within their expert
domain.
Professionalismis your personally held beliefs
about upholding the principles and ethics of your
profession.

Professional Bodies
There are 4 main professional bodies for computing
British Computer Society (BCS)
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE)
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

BCS around 70,000 members

IET around 150,000 members

IEEE over 100,000 members

ACM around 75,000 members

Main aims of professional bodies

Establish a code of conduct for the profession and a
disciplinary procedure for those who fail to keep it
Promote standards and codes of practice
Promoting education and programmes in computing
Setting educational standards for those who want to
become members of the body
Disseminating good practice through conferences and
publications
Advise the government about matters on computing

Professional Codes of
Conduct

A question of ethics

1. Public Interest
You shall:
a) have due regard for public health, privacy, security and wellbeing of others and the
environment.
b) have due regard for the legitimate rights of Third Parties*.
c) conduct your professional activities without discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual
orientation, marital status, nationality, colour, race, ethnic origin, religion, age or
disability, or of any other condition or requirement
d) promote equal access to the benefits of IT and seek to promote the inclusion of all
sectors in society wherever opportunities arise.

BCS Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct:
sets out the professional standards
required by BCS as a condition of
membership;
applies to all members, irrespective
of their membership grade, the role
they fulfil, or the jurisdiction where
they are employed or discharge their
contractual obligations.
governs the conduct of the individual,
not the nature of the business or
ethics of any Relevant Authority*.

2. Professional Competence and Integrity

You shall:
a) only undertake to do work or provide a service that is within your professional
competence.
b)NOTclaim any level of competence that you do not possess.
c) develop your professional knowledge, skills and competence on a continuing basis,
maintaining awareness of technological developments, procedures, and standards that are
relevant to your field.
d) ensure that you have the knowledge and understanding of Legislation* and that you
comply with such Legislation, in carrying out your professional responsibilities.
e) respect and value alternative viewpoints and, seek, accept and offer honest criticisms of
work.
f) avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious or
negligent action or inaction.
g) reject and will not make any offer of bribery or unethical inducement.

3. Duty to Relevant Authority

You shall
a) carry out your professional responsibilities with due care and diligence in accordance
with the Relevant Authoritys requirements whilst exercising your professional judgement
at all times.
b) seek to avoid any situation that may give rise to a conflict of interest between you and
your Relevant Authority.
c) accept professional responsibility for your work and for the work of colleagues who are
defined in a given context as working under your supervision.
d)NOTdisclose or authorise to be disclosed, or use for personal gain or to benefit a third
party, confidential information except with the permission of your Relevant Authority, or as
required by Legislation
e)NOTmisrepresent or withhold information on the performance of products, systems or
services (unless lawfully bound by a duty of confidentiality not to disclose such
information), or take advantage of the lack of relevant knowledge or inexperience of
others.

IEEE Code of Ethics

We, the members of the
IEEE, in recognition of the
importance of our
technologies in affecting the
quality of life throughout
the world, and in accepting
a personal obligation to our
profession, its members and
the communities we serve,
do hereby commit ourselves
to the highest ethical and
professional conduct and
agree:

1.
to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety,
health, and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that
might endanger the public or the environment;
2.
to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and
to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;
3.
to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on
available data;
4.
to reject bribery in all its forms;
5.
to improve the understanding of technology; its appropriate
application, and potential consequences;
6.
to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake
technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or
experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;
7.
to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to
acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the
contributions of others;
8.
to treat fairly all persons and to not engage in acts of discrimination
based on race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;
9.
to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by
false or malicious action;
10.
to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development
and to support them in following this code of ethics.

1. GENERAL MORAL IMPERATIVES.

As an ACM member I will ....
1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being.
1.2 Avoid harm to others.
1.3 Be honest and trustworthy.
1.4 Be fair and take action not to discriminate.
1.5 Honor property rights including copyrights and patent.
1.6 Give proper credit for intellectual property.
1.7 Respect the privacy of others.
1.8 Honor confidentiality.

ACM Code of Ethics

Commitment to ethical professional
conduct is expected of every
member (voting members,
associate members, and student
members) of the Association for
Computing Machinery (ACM).

2. MORE SPECIFIC PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

As an ACM computing professional I will ....
2.1 Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products of
professional work.
2.2 Acquire and maintain professional competence.
2.3 Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work.
2.4 Accept and provide appropriate professional review.
2.5 Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts, including
analysis of possible risks.
2.6 Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities.
2.7 Improve public understanding of computing and its consequences.
2.8 Access computing and communication resources only when authorized to do so.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVES.
As an ACM member and an organizational leader, I will ....
3.1 Articulate social responsibilities of members of an organizational unit and encourage full acceptance
of those responsibilities.
3.2 Manage personnel and resources to design and build information systems that enhance the quality of
working life.
3.3 Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an organization's computing and
communication resources.
3.4 Ensure that users and those who will be affected by a system have their needs clearly articulated
during the assessment and design of requirements; later the system must be validated to meet
requirements.
3.5 Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity of users and others affected by a computing
system.
3.6 Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and limitations of
computer systems.

Rules of Conduct
Readers will note that a number of the rules are not listed below. Rule 1 sets the framework for
the other rules: rule 6 is about the member's obligation to promote the IET in a favourable
light: rule 15 is about members actively promoting public awareness of the engineering and
technology: and 17 is about not canvassing in relation to elections to Boards and Committees
of the IET.
2. Members shall keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date through planned professional
development and seek to broaden and deepen that knowledge throughout their working life.
Members shall also encourage persons working under their supervision to do the same.
Value:competence
3. Members shall not undertake professional tasks and responsibilities that they do not believe
themselves competent to discharge.
Values:competence,integrity
4. Members shall accept personal responsibility for all work done by them or under their
supervision or direction. Members shall also take all reasonable steps to ensure that persons
working under their authority are both suitably equipped and competent to carry out the tasks
assigned to them.
Values: integrity,competence
5. Members whose professional advice is not accepted shall take all reasonable steps:
(a) to ensure that the person overruling or neglecting that advice is aware of any danger or loss
which may ensue; and
(b) in appropriate cases, to inform that persons employers of the potential risks involved.
Values:health, safety and risk,honesty
7. Members shall not recklessly or maliciously injure or attempt to injure, whether directly or
indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects or business of any other person.
Value:integrity
8. Members shall at all times take all reasonable care to limit any danger of death, injury or ill
health to any person that may result from their work and the products of their work.
Value:health, safety and risk
9. Members shall take all reasonable steps to avoid waste of natural resources, damage to the
environment, and damage or destruction of man-made products. Lawful work undertaken by
members in connection with equipment intended for the defence of a nation will not infringe
this Rule or Rule 8.
Value:environmental sustainability
10. Members convicted of a criminal offence anywhere in the world are required to inform the
Institution promptly, and to provide such information concerning the conviction as the
Institution may require, but this rule does not apply to either a conviction for a motoring
offence for which no term of imprisonment (either immediate or suspended) is imposed or an
offence which is regarded as spent within the meaning of the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders
Act 1974 or equivalent legislation elsewhere.
Value:honesty
11. Members shall not use designatory letters to which they are not entitled. Neither shall they
use the IET logo, coat of arms, email alias service or the designatory letters to which they are
entitled to imply that they are acting on behalf of, or with the authority of, the Institution,
except when conducting Institution business in the capacity of an honorary officer.
Value:honesty

12. Members who are not registered through the Institution as a Chartered or
Incorporated Engineer or Engineering Technician shall not use their entitlement to the
suffix TMIET, MIET or FIET to imply that they are so registered.
Value:honesty
13. Members shall exemplify professional behaviour generally and specifically in their
relationships with the Institution, its employees and their fellow members.
Value:fairness
14. Members who are called upon to give an opinion in their professional capacity shall,
to the best of their ability, give an opinion that is objective and based upon the best
available knowledge and information.
Value:objectivity
16. Members shall not make any public statement in their professional capacity without
ensuring that:
(a) they are qualified to make such a statement and
(b) any association that they may have with any party who may benefit from the
statement are known to the person or persons to whom it is directed.
Values:honesty,competenceandobjectivity
18. Members shall inform their employer in writing of any conflict or potential conflict that
may exist or arise between their personal interests and the interests of their employer.
Values:integrity,honestyandobjectivity
19. Members shall not without proper authority disclose any confidential information
concerning the business of their employer or any past employer.
Value:confidentiality
20. Members shall not without their employers consent accept any payment or benefit in
money or moneys worth from any person other than their employer in connection with
professional services rendered to their employer. Neither shall they without such consent
receive directly or indirectly any such payment or benefit in respect of any article or
process used in or for the purpose of the work in respect of which they are employed.
Values:integrity,objectivityandhonesty
21. Members shall not offer improper inducement to secure work as independent
advisers or consultants, either directly or through an agent. Neither shall they improperly
pay any person, whether by commission or otherwise, for the introduction of such work.
Values:integrity,objectivityandhonesty
22. Members acting as independent advisers or consultants shall not be the medium of
payment made on their employers behalf unless so requested by their employer. Neither
shall they place contracts or orders in connection with work on which they are employed,
except with the authority of and on behalf of their employer.
Values:integrity,objectivityandhonesty

Codes of Conduct
BCS Code of Conduct

The Public Interest

Professional Competence and Integrity
Duty to the relevant authority
Duty to the profession

IET Rules of Conduct

22 rules of conduct

ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

This Code, consisting of 24 imperatives formulated as statements of personal responsibility,

Section 1 outlines fundamental ethical considerations,
Section 2 addresses specific considerations of professional conduct.
Section 3 pertain to individuals who have a leadership role,
Section 4 involves principles of compliance with this Code.

IEEE Code of Ethics

10 point code

microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/i
eee

Ethics and dilemmas

The BU Research
and Ethics Policy

Questionable practices
Involving people without their knowledge/consent
Coercing participation
Withholding information about the true nature of the
research
Inducing them to commit acts that diminish their selfesteem
Exposing people to physical or mental stress
Invasion of privacy
Unfair treatment or without respect

A few case studies

NO

A researcher wants to test a new drug

against aggressive behaviour. He wants
to test this on prisoners and in order to
get their cooperation he offers them
letters of commendation which might
help them get early release.
Ethical or not Ethical?

NO

YES

You are sitting in a bar watching people

come in and out and you record the
people who come in alone and who they
leave with. Times are recorded of when
they come and go. No one is in informed
on anything.
Ethical or not Ethical?

YES

NO

A researcher wants to investigate social

help. In a crowded subway, a man falls
off his seat onto the floor with blood
coming from his mouth. The researcher
watchs how long it takes for people to
come to his aid. No one is told it is an
experiment. Ethical or not Ethical?

NO

NO

Research in defensiveness.
You test to groups for IQ and tell one group
they got well over 100 and the other well
under 100 then you ask them questions to
see how defensive they are. You dont tell
them the results were made up.
Ethical or not Ethical?

NO

The Research
and Ethics
Checklist

Benefits of Professional Membership

Keeping Technically Current
Career Resources and Recognit
ion
Professional Networking
Continuing Education
Discounts
Humanitarian Programs
Global Benefits Finder

Thank you
Dr Philip Davies
daviesp@Bournemouth.ac.uk
Room P317