IT Project Management AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS ETHICS are beliefs regarding right and wrong behaviour. An individuals interpretation of ethical behaviour is strongly influenced by a combination of family influences, life experiences, education, religious beliefs, personal values, and peer influences. If a person acts with integrity, that person is acting in ways that are consistent with his or her own code of principles. Integrity is one of the cornerstones of ethical behaviour.

IT Project Management ETHICS AND BUSINESS Business ethics are increasingly important because the risks associated with inappropriate behaviour have grown in number, complexity, likelihood, and significance. Organisations can take a number of actions to reduce business ethics risks: appoint a corporate ethics officer, set ethical standards at a high organisational level, establish a corporate code of conduct, conduct social audits, require employees to take ethics training, and include ethical criteria in employee appraisal systems.

IT Project Management 5 REASONS FOR BUSINESS ETHICS 1. To protect the organisation and its employees from legal action. 2. To create an organisation that operates consistently. 3. To produce good business. 4. To avoid unfavourable publicity 5. To gain the goodwill of the community. Unfortunately, being ethical does not always guarantee business success.

IT Project Management ETHICAL DECISION MAKING Seven steps can be useful in guiding ethical decision making. However, it is not a simple “7 step process” - iteration (returning to a previous step) will be required. 1. Get the facts. 2. Identify the stakeholders and their position. 3. Consider the consequences of your decision. 4. Weight various guidelines, laws and principles. 5. Develop and evaluate the options. 6. Review your decision. 7. Evaluate the results of your decision.

IT Project Management ETHICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY The growth in the use of the Internet, the ability to capture and store vast amounts of personal data online, and our increasing reliance on information systems in all aspects of our life have increased the risk of unethical uses of information technology. While there have been many technological breakthroughs in recent years, the importance of ethical behaviour has often been forgotten...

IT Project Management ETHICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Concerns with the ethical use of information technology include: Organisations monitoring there employees' private email messages. Individuals downloading MP3 files. Individuals accessing and copying classified databases. Students cheating on their assignments by cutting and pasting from the Internet. Hackers defacing corporate and other websites.

IT Project Management ETHICS & THE I.T. PROFESSIONAL A professional is someone who requires advanced training and experience, who must exercise discretion and judgement in the course of his or her work, and whose work cannot be standardised. A professional is expected to contribute to society, to participate in a life-long training program to keep up-to- date in his or her field, and to help to develop other professionals. The IT industry recognises that people have many different roles as IT professionals – provided that they can do the jobs required by their roles.

IT Project Management ETHICS & THE I.T. PROFESSIONAL IT professionals typically become involved in many different relationships, and each set of relationships has its own set of ethical issues and potential problems. For example: IT professional – employer. IT professional – client. IT professional – supplier. IT professional – professional. IT professional – IT user. IT professional – society.

IT Project Management ETHICS & THE I.T. PROFESSIONAL A professional code of ethics states the principles and core values essential to the work of a particular occupational group. Such a code serves as a guideline for ethical decision- making, promotes high standards of practice and ethical behaviour, enhances trust and respect from the general public, and provides an evaluation benchmark.