Professional and Ethical Responsibilities

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Professional and Ethical Responsibilities

• Mathew Laba
• Shengsheng Liu
• Johnny Loi
• Bedros Magardichian
• Adam Marczyk

CS 495 Senior Seminar Spring 2004 Group 2
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The Nature of Professionalism

• Mathew Laba
• CS 495 Senior Seminar
• Professor Steflik
• Spring 2004

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What is professionalism?

• Websters defines professionalism as
• Professional status, methods, character, or
  standards.
• A profession is recognized as one of a limited
  number of occupations involving special training
  and carrying a certain social prestige.

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What does it look like?

• Occupations like accounting, law, medicine,
  engineering and computing are professions.
• Thats right, computing. Computing is a
  specialized field of study which has emerged to
  satisfy the huge demand for professionals with
  certain unique skills.

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Professionalism in computing

• Professionalism in computing can be characterized
  as follows
• Skills
• Communication
• Appearance
• Speech / Mannerisms
• Behavior
• Role Models

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Skill set

• Very specialized field of study.
• Difficult to maintain a skill set which might not
  be considered outdated.
• Acquire and maintain a quality skill set
• degrees
• certifications and continuing education

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Communication

• Good communication skills are critical in the
  practical application of computing.
• The complicated nature of computing makes
  communication difficult.
• Computer professionals with good communication
  skills have a distinct employment advantage over
  less-verbose applicants.

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Appearance

• Appearance is another important part of
  portraying a professional demeanor.
• To make a good positive impression be well
  groomed at all times.
• Be sure to dress accordingly for all important
  meetings.
• Dress casually when appropriate.

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Speech / Mannerisms

• Speak clearly.
• A good command of the English language
  demonstrates your ability to convey a message
  well.
• Your expressions and gestures affect the
  confidence that others have in your ability to do
  your job well.

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Behavior

• A code of ethics is used to define the
  expectations which most professions have of their
  practitioners.
• typically associated with professional accredited
  organizations
• special consideration given to the specific
  organization or field of concentration

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Ethical Behavior

• Special legal considerations
• vast knowledge of sensitive proprietary info
• great potential for abuse with large expense to
  employer
• Unethical behavior discouraged with potentially
  severe criminal consequences and civil penalties.

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Moral Behavior

• In regards to employers and co-workers
• Treat others with respect
• Be courteous and considerate of others feelings
• Respect others political and religious beliefs

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The characteristics of a computer professional

• Acquire and maintain a quality skill set.
• Develop good communication skills.
• Be well groomed at all times.
• Speak clearly and act with confidence.
• Behave in a moral and ethical manner.
• Find a role model.

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Someone to Emulate
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Ethical Dissent and Whistleblowing

• Shengsheng Liu
• CS495
• Professor Steflik
• Spring 2004

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Definition of Whistleblowing

• The disclosure by an organization member (former
  or current), who is motivated by the notions of
  public interest, of illegal or immoral practices
  under the control of the employers and/or
  colleagues.

17
Famous Whistleblowers

• Cynthia Cooper, WorldCom
• Coleen Rowley, the FBI
• Sherron Watkins, Enron
• (left to right)

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What did they do?

• Cynthia Cooper
• She reported that WorldCom had covered up 3.8
  billion in loss (the largest accounting fraud in
  history) through phony auditing.
• Coleen Rowley
• She blew the whistle on the FBI for ignoring
  the investigation plan on Zacarias Moussaoui, who
  is now indicted as a Sept. 11 co-conspirator.
• Sherron Watkins
• She revealed the infamous Enron auditing scandal.

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Whistleblowing

• Two kinds of Whistleblowing
• Internal making a well supported suggestion to
  higher-ups in order to change the policies in the
  organization.
• External making dissent outside the organization
  and contacting others to convince them to help
  reform the organization.

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Whistleblowing

• Conditions to Meet Before Going Public
• Serious and considerable harm to the public is
  involved
• One reports the harm and expresses moral concern
  to ones immediate supervisor
• One has available documented evidence that would
  convince a reasonable, impartial observer that
  ones view of the situation is correct
• One has good reasons to believe that by going
  public the necessary changes will be brought
  about to prevent the harm. 1

1. De George, R.T. 1990, Business Ethics, 3d ed.
208-212. (MacMillan Publishing, NewYork).
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Issues

• Cost and Risks
• Companys reputation is jeopardized
• Company goes bankrupt and its stock loses value
• Employees lose their jobs
• Whistleblower may be threatened and harassed
• Loyalty vs. Whistleblowing
• On the one hand is the duty of loyalty and
  confidentiality owed to the employer
• On the other hand is ones ethical code

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Conclusion

1. Whistleblowing plays an important role in any
   organizations transparency and integrity.
2. Done properly, it can effectively correct
   internal misconduct and minimize both cost
   associated with fraud and risk of the
   whistleblowing.
3. People should step up and blow the whistle under
   necessary circumstances, to avoid future tragic
   cases like Enron and WorldCom.

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Acceptable Use Policiesin the Workplace

• Johnny Loi
• CS 495 Senior Seminar
• Professor Steflik
• Spring 2004

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Tonights Talk Includes

• Introduction
• Historical Perspective
• Current Perspective
• The Cost
• The Legal Issues
• The Security Breaches
• Future Perspective
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• What is acceptable use policy?
• Employers describing to employees what are
  acceptable/unacceptable use of company resources
• Company resources (assets)
• Tangible equipments, office supplies, corporate
  funds, computer, software
• Intangible proprietary information, business
  strategies, plans, financial data

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Historical Perspective

• Before early 1990s
• Supplies, equipment and information exchange
• 1993 Corporate America welcomed the Internet
• a new avenue for inappropriate use of company
  resources

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Current Perspective

• Three main problems employers face because of
  unacceptable use of company assets
• Accumulation of unnecessary costs
• Legal Liability
• Security Breaches

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The Cost

• Misuse of company resources wastes money
• Unacceptable telephone use example
• 1000 employees
• 5 minute long distance call per day (M F)
• 5 cents per minute
• One year total 60,000
• Not including productivity loss and time waste
• Solution
• No personal incoming/outgoing calls during
  working hours except for emergencies

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The Legal Issues

• Misuse of company resources can lead to legal
  problems
• Sexual Harassment Example
• Chevron Corporation sued for sexual harassment
• Four female employees received email entitled 24
  reasons beer is better than women
• Company settled for 2.2 million

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The Security Breaches

• Misuse of company resources can jeopardize a
  companys security
• Proprietary information must remain within the
  company
• Employees responsibility to know when, where,
  and how to communicate private information
• Do not send sensitive information through email,
  very insecure
• Corporate hacking

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Future Perspective

• AUPs will evolve as new technologies get
  incorporated into the company
• New guidelines for their proper use

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Conclusion

• Acceptable Use Policy protects companies in three
  ways
• Reduce unnecessary costs
• Prevent legal liability
• Defend from security breaches
• Effective when employers actively inform, train
  employees and enforce the policy

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Dealing With Harassment and Discrimination in the
Workplace

Bedros Magardichian CS 495 Senior
Seminar Prof.Steflik Spring 2004
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Common Types of Discrimination and Harassment

• Race
• Religion
• Age
• Gender
• Physical or Mental Disability
• Sexual Orientation
• Ancestry or Origin
• Source of Income
• Sexual Harassment

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Recognizing Discrimination and Harassment in the
Workplace

• Hostile work environment
• Retaliation
• Whistle Blowing
• Wrongful Termination

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Court Case

• Davey v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 1997
• Discrimination based on gender
• Lockheed Martin paid over 200,000 in punitive
  damages and compensation

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Preventing Discrimination and Harassment in the
workplace

• Company Policies
• Training Programs
• Codes of Ethics

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The Law

• The Federal Civil Rights Act 1964, Title VII
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
• Equal Pay Act (EPA)
• The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

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The Business World Overseas

• Discrimination and harassment issues drive
  company productivity down
• Important for a business to be productive in a
  multicultural environment

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The Role of the Professionalin Public Policy

Adam Marczyk CS 495 Senior Seminar Prof.Steflik S
pring 2004
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What is public policy?

• The democratic process by which ideas become law.
• Four major steps
• Set the agenda.
• Specify possible choices.
• Select an option.
• Implement the selection.
• Professionals have a role to play in each step.

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Why should professionals be involved?

• Explosive growth of computing technology.
• Society is more dependent than ever on computers.
• water supplies
• the power grid
• air traffic control
• etc.
• It is vital that those with relevant expertise
  contribute to the formation of rational
  decisions.
• Who would you prefer to set your medical policy,
  a doctor or a politician?

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The Office of Technology Assessment

• Created in 1972 in response to Congressional
  desire for expert technical advice.
• Provided analysis of technical issues in almost
  every field.
• Reports universally considered to be of
  exceptional quality.
• Struggled to define its mission provide
  objective advice or recommend specific courses of
  action?
• Closed in 1995 as part of Contract with America

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Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

• www.cpsr.org
• Created at Xerox PARC in June 1982 in response to
  use of computers in nuclear weapons, Star Wars
  program.
• Major issues civil liberties, electronic free
  speech, privacy, use of computers in military
  applications.
• Mission We foster and support public discussion
  of, and public responsibility for decisions
  involving the use of computers in systems
  critical to society.

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Ethical Issues for Computer Professionals

• Military funding for, use of research.
• DARPA played a significant role in development of
  the first digital computers and the Internet.
• Most major computer science departments depend
  upon large amounts of military funding for their
  research (Dunlop and Kling 1991, p. 658).
• Binghamtons Digital Data Embedding Laboratory
  (dde.binghamton.edu) works on steganographic and
  cryptographic projects funded by the U.S. Air
  Force.
• Is it ethically acceptable to work for the
  military?
• Charles Dunlop and Rob Kling, Computerization
  and Controversy. San Diego Academic Press, 1991.

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Ethical Issues for Computer Professionals

• Vulnerability of the public information
  infrastructure.
• Critical systems now connected to the Internet
  not originally designed with security in mind.
• Destructive malware such as MyDoom continues to
  run rampant.
• Potential consequences of an attack on the public
  infrastructure.
• Al-Qaeda spokesmen have stated their intent to
  wage cyberattacks against important targets.
• SQL Slammer caused failures of 911 terminals, ATM
  networks MSBlaster may have contributed to
  blackouts.
• Do professionals have a responsibility to speak
  out merely because they possess relevant
  knowledge?
• See www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/securit
  y/story/0,10801,76150,00.html

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Professional Codes of Ethics

• ACM
• Use of computing technology in ways that cause
  harm to others is prohibited.
• Minimize negative consequences of computing
  systems.
• IEEE
• Make decisions consistent with the safety and
  welfare of the public.
• Disclose promptly factors that endanger others.
• ICCP
• Ensure that efforts are used to benefit humanity.
• Improve public safety through protection of vital
  information.

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The Role of the Professional in Public Policy

• No reason to believe ethics requires absolute
  pacifism, but professionals must retain some say
  in how their work is used.
• Creators of A-bomb thought theyd be consulted on
  how their work was used.
• Must work out of sincere concern to improve
  general welfare and public safety.
• Professionals should take part in active efforts
  to promote informed public discussion, shore up
  security policy for critical systems.
• Use skills and knowledge to contribute to society.

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What the future holds

• Public standards bodies are likely to play a
  greater role in policy formation.
• More active role for government in setting
  security policy and overseeing the development of
  secure software.
• Expanded role of software certification.