Professional Environment for Ethics and Technology - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theProfessional Environment for Ethics and Technology. Answer: Some Issues for Ethics, Professionalism and Technology An IT Perspective Ethics can be understood as the moral principles that underlie the code of conduct, and action of an individual. Professionalism is the set of skills or competencies expected from a professional (Kurtines 2014). Professional ethics should include moral principles and professionalism (Durkheim 2013). What happened? Prof. Karl Reeds lecture titled Some Issues for Ethics, Professionalism and Technology An IT Perspective highlights some of the ethical issues affecting professional code of conduct, in the Information Technology (IT) industry. It discusses how ethics can have impact social/political scenarios, social behavior, security and authenticity of data/ information, contracting jobs, and surveillance systems (Quinn 2014). It is important to identify and differentiate the responsibilities expected from the organization and compliance to ethical standards. What did it mean to me? Surprisingly. unethical practice in IT industry is not very uncommon. Breach of client contract, divulgence of personal data, providing misleading or incorrect information has been practiced by both agencies and individuals. Working in these scenarios, it is important that professionals know their rights, and responsibilities. One cannot be forced to do unethical work, and consenting to such activity, can indict the individual as an accessory of crime. The Goals and Methods matrix suggested by Turner and Cochrane can be used to analyze the potential complexity of a project. A well defined project has clear objectives, and goals, and provides a clarity of information and expectations (Senescu, Aranda-Mena and Haymaker 2012). Any unethical practice expected from an individual can be easily identified (and disputed) from a well defined project, in contrast to a fuzzy outline, that leaves room for speculation, and promotes sequestering of unethical practices. Ethically, an engineer ought to demonstrate integrity, practice competently, exercise leadership, and promote sustainability. Often adhering to such practices can cause conflict of interest between the job and principles. What value is it to me? As professionals, we have the responsibility to not only serve the organization, but also the society, which is why ethical protocols should get precedence over personal/business objectives. For example, every citizen has the constitutional right to privacy of information. Leaking of sensitive data by Snowden or Manning have only exposed the illegal practice of surveillance (Greenwald, MacAskill, and Poitras 2013). Similarly, leak of police data can threaten the security of individuals, especially if it ends up in the wrong hands. As we see, privatization of government information can lead to data security issues (Fitzgibbon 2013). How it might help me in the future. This knowledge can be helpful in the future to decide the correct curse of action, if faced with such a conundrum. To summarize, any action expected from a professional may or may not be ethical, and therefore an understanding of rights and responsibilities of an individual as a professional and responsible citizen is necessary. Cultural Awareness in Intercultural Communication: Cultural awareness is the simply the cognition of different aspects of culture (values, beliefs, perceptions and practices) and their diversity. It can include the awareness of culturally induced behavior of own self and others (Tomalin and Stempleski 2013). In the modern day, culturally diverse society, intercultural communication is not only important, but is almost unavoidable. What happened? The project analysed the cultural diversity in different groups, with respect to language, beliefs, and practices (Banks 2015). These can be potential hurdles towards communication and team work. For example, religious practices can cause individuals to refrain from work on certain days, or consumption of certain food. Both of these can affect profession or personal relations, and therefore one needs to be sensitive to the others beliefs and practices, to avoid conflicts. What did it mean to me? Analysing cultural diversity sheds light into the heterogenous nature of human behavior, and beliefs. Since thought and action are intrinsically related to cognition, it is particularly relevant in understanding behavior (Kuhl and Beckman 2012). This insight can be useful to maintain a cultural sensitivity within a culturally diverse framework, to avoid any unintentional offense. For example, to refrain from offering certain food that can be offensive on religious grounds. What value is it to me? Much of our social turmoil is fuelled by a lack of cultural sensitivity, in a multicultural environment. This generally results in an alienation of the people belonging to different cultural groups. Knowledge of beliefs and practices of a cultural group is important recognize and implement the proper code of conduct. For example a single colour (like white) can have different cultural meanings- from cleanliness or spirituality (in occidental cultures) to the concept of death (in certain oriental cultures). So, the practice of gift-wrapping with white paper, can have different meanings for different cultures. How it might help me in the future. A knowledge of the social and cultural diversity allows a deeper introspection on how beliefs and practices can influence actions. We can understand when a line has been crossed, and when our behavior can potentially upset someone from a different cultural background. Since todays cosmopolitan/metropolitan society is culturally diverse, it is important to be sensitized to these differences. Teamwork can mean regular and stipulated interaction with individuals from other cultural groups. An effective and positive teamwork can exist if this diversity is acknowledged, and a workable communication and conduct is structured around this knowledge, and can prevent the feeling of discrimination and alienation (Geyer and Schweitzer 2012). References: Banks, J.A., 2015. Cultural diversity and education. Routledge. Durkheim, E., 2013. Professional ethics and civic morals. Routledge. Fitzgibbon, W., 2013. Risk and privatisation. British Journal of Community Justice, 11(2/3), p.87. Geyer, R.F. and Schweitzer, D.R. eds., 2012. Theories of alienation: critical perspectives in philosophy and the social sciences. Springer Science Business Media. Greenwald, G., MacAskill, E. and Poitras, L., 2013. Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations. The Guardian, 9(6). Kuhl, J. and Beckmann, J. eds., 2012. Action control: From cognition to behavior. Springer Science Business Media. Kurtines, W.M., 2014. Handbook of moral behavior and development: Volume 1: Theory. Psychology Press. Quinn, M.J., 2014. Ethics for the information age. Pearson. Senescu, R.R., Aranda-Mena, G. and Haymaker, J.R., 2012. Relationships between project complexity and communication. Journal of Management in Engineering, 29(2), pp.183-197. Tomalin, B. and Stempleski, S., 2013. Cultural Awareness-Resource Books for Teachers. Oxford University Press.