ITE4103 Tutorial 3: Ethics and Social Issues

Module Intended Learning Outcome (#2):
On completion of the module, students are expected to be able to:

•  exercise appropriate judgments as IT practitioners according to the codes of conduct of leading professional bodies of related disciplines in

various ethical and legal aspects related to IT professions
Lesson Intended Learning Outcome:
On completion of this tutorial, students are expected to be able to understand:

•  Ethics and decision making
•  Ethical issues and making moral decisions
• Preventive measures for unethical and immoral behaviors in organizations
•  IT professional codes of conduct and practices

Section A: True and False
( F)  It is considered illegal to use the Internet for private use while at work.
( F)  All ethics principles that are universal, i.e. they are the same in every part of the world.
( T ) Most information technology professionals would agree that the application of ethics in their
field is more difficult than in other disciplines
( T ) Moral relativism is ethical principle focus on there is no absolute reference
( F ) Ethical standard is generally lower but boarder than legal standard


Section B : Match the followings:

A - ( 2 ) ; B - ( 4 ) ; C - ( 1 ) ; D - ( 3 ) ; E - ( 5 ) ;

Section C: Multiple Choice Questions (10 marks )
1. Having very good knowledge in IT could be dangerous sometimes if one does not have the corresponding ethics to use the knowledge properly. It is because:
(a) The technology is used by many people and a lot of harm can be done to many people.
(b) The position may need to access sensitive information and sometimes there is great temptation to use this for personal gains.
(c) The more knowledge one has on the technology, the more serious the potential damage that can be done to others.
(d) All of (a), (b), (c) and (d).

2. Which one is a bigger domain, being “ethical” or being “legal”?
(a) “Ethical” is bigger than “legal”.
(b) “Legal” is bigger than “ethical”.
(c) They are about equal in size.
(d) “ethical” is a subset of “legal”
(e) “legal” is a subset of “ethical”

3. One of the differences between “legal” and “ethical” is:
(a) “Legal” takes reference from an external reference system and judgment. “Ethical” comes from one’s own internal personal value.
(b) “Legal” takes reference from one’s own internal personal value and judgment. “Ethical” comes from an external reference system.
(c) “Legal” take reference from its own, and “Ethical” come from different culture and background.
(d) “Legal” and “Ethical” take the same reference.

4. Which statement is true about ethical and legal training for IT professionals?
(a) Ethical training focuses on establishing correct personal values for doing good things. Legal training focuses on establishing limits below which doing bad things will be punished.
(b) Ethical training focuses on establishing limits below which doing bad things will be punished
(c) Ethical training focus on punishment, and legal training focuses on establishing correct personal values for doing good things.
(d) Ethical training focuses on learning, and legal training focuses on doing

5. Which statement(s) below is (are) most correct?
(a) What is ethical is always legal and there are no exceptions.
(b) What is ethical is often legal but there are sometimes exceptions.
(c) What is ethical is very seldom legal.
(d) What is legal is very seldom ethical.

D A A A B

Section D: Short Question
1. Give TWO reasons to explain why ethical issues are considered more difficult for IT professionals
to handle when compared with other professionals.
IT people had a lot of opportunities to contact with data privacy e.g. being a database administrator / IT people are more competent in various hacking techniques and methods / many IT related activities are anonymous (i.e. faceless) and difficult to track.
(Any TWO of the above)

2. Ethics are rules of human behavior based on ideas with respect to the rightness and wrongness of
certain actions. What are the differences between legal and ethical?
Legal

• The law is based on a system of rules and  regulations built on penalties for violation.
• It relies on the legal system to enforce it. It is based on the creation and interpretation of the law.
• People do not do illegal things most likely because of being afraid of the penalty associated with it
• The law is probably the bottom line of being ethical.

Ethics

• Ethics is based on a person’s own good personal values  and society’s customs.
• It relies on a person own internal initiative based on one’s education, upbringing, culture and value judgment to act and behave in an ethical way.
• People are awarded with high self-satisfaction for doing ethical things. This is the basic motivation.
• It is much, much bigger and broader than the law.

ITE4103 Topic 2 : IT Personnel and Society

Module Intended Learning Outcome (#1):
On completion of the module, students are expected to be able to:
 identify the roles and responsibilities of different IT practitioners in organizations and society;
Lesson Intended Learning Outcome:
On completion of this tutorial, students are expected to be able to:
 understand and familiar with different professional bodies and continuous professional development

TASK:
1. a) What is CPD? Why it is so important to IT Professionals?
Continuous Professional Development(CPD) is a systematic means to maintain, improve and broaden one’s skills and knowledge that are essential to carry out one’s duties professionally. IT is an ever-evolving field(needs for maintain) also the depth and width of IT sectors are very deep and wide
(needs for improve and broaden)

b) There are two types of CPD: technical and non-technical. List THREE examples/activities each
that is suitable for an IT Professional.
Technical                                              Non-technical
Programming language                        Language skills: report, presentation
Application (domain knowledge)        Soft skills: teamwork
PM (budget, HR management)            Soft skills: negotiation, leadership

2. List FIVE benefits of CPD for IT professionals.
The CPD will enable a professional to (i.e. the five benefits):
For his / her own: maintain one’s professional knowledge and competence
For employer: meet the increase in responsibilities and expectation of his/her employer, be aware of the latest developments and be able to apply the latest technology and application for the benefits of his/her employer.
For the society: provide reasonable assurance to the society that his/her service has been carried out professionally and be aware of the society’s expectations and demands.

3. a) List THREE benefits to obtain trade-certification (i.e. industrial qualification).
b) List THREE popular trade-certifications in Hong Kong and China.
a) To many ITPs: it is an excellent CPD opportunity recognized by industry 
    To young IT graduates: Many young recruits in IT sectors regard trade certification as “entry-ticket” for job interview
    To employers: regard trade-certification a trade-mark for technical  competence.
b) Cisco Trade certification / Microsoft certification / VM certification / Oracle and Java certification / AutoDesk trade certification / Adobe trade cert / LPI – Linux certification / (ISC) 2 – Security certification (Any THREE of above)

4. Matching the followings:


1 – ( B , I ) ; 2 – ( C , J ) ; 3 – ( E , H ) ; 4- ( A , F ) ; 5 – ( D , G ) ;

5. How does “code of conduct” and “code of practices” help professionals to face these ethical
challenges in Q4?
Provide valuable guidance for members, especially young and inexperienced professional, to handle difficult ethical situations and set the baseline practices which offer protection to the public.

6. The codes in Q.5 had been used effectively by many professionals such as medical and legal
sectors, why these codes are considered as “not practicable” to ITPs in Hong Kong?
Because Many IT professionals are not members of professional bodies, and lack such guidelines and reminders and there is no professional licensing, and hence, lack of deterrents for committing malpractice.

ITE4103 Tutorial 1: IT Personnel and Society

001
True and False
T    1. Outsource is a major factor that undercut the salary of IT jobs in Hong Kong
F    2. Off-shore is a major factor for the shortage IT workforce in Hong Kong
T    3. Globalization is one of the reason of rich-poor divided in the developed country
T    4. Big remuneration gap for ITP is very common in the developed country
F    5. To most of employers, technical competence of their staff is more important than morality

MC
1 Why do we want to join a professional society?
A. We want to stay in touch with our professional peers.
B. In promoting common professional interest.
C. Being recognized with a certain professional standing.
D. All of (a), (b) and (c).
E. None of (a), (b) or (c).

2. Which is not a benefit of being a member of professional body such as HKIE or HKCS?
A. Provide structural path and training for development
B. Provide discount on technical books and journals
C. Provide opportunities for CPD
D. Provide confidence to general publics
E. Increase overall service level

3. Which is not a section of a typical IT department?
A. Application development
B. Technical support including application and database administration
C. Accounting support
D. IT services support

4. What is different between accreditation and certification in the stages of a professional?
A. Accreditation focuses on counting credits of a course/program, certification focuses on licensing of a person
B. Accreditation focuses on quality assurance (QA) of a course/program, certification focuses on QA of a person
C. Accreditation focuses on counting credits of a course/program, certification focuses on QA of a course/program
D. Accreditation focuses on quality assurance (QA) of a person, certification focuses on QA of a course/program
E. Accreditation and certification are the same

5. What are attributes of an ITP?
i. General knowledge
ii. Professional knowledge
iii. Technical skills
iv. Communication skills
v. Morality

A. i, ii, iii
B. ii, iii, iv
C. iii, iv, v
D. ii, iii, iv, v
E. all five

a) What is the aim of HKITPC?
Raise the competency and professionalism of HKIT professionals through professional certification scheme.
b) What is the CPIT?
CPIT aims that to provide similar credential equivalent to that of Chartered Engineers.
c) List FOUR examples CPIT at Expert Level.
Software Engineering Manager / QA Manager / Project Director / IS Director / IT Architecture Manager / System Operation Manger / Information Security Manager / Multimedia Content Manage (Any FOUR of the above)
d) Is a profession different from a job? Given explanations in your answer. (4%)
Job is skill oriented without much reference and market demand reflects the up and down of the economy, and nature of business/industry, but profession is wider aspect of competence: knowledge, skill and attitude, requirement of moral obligation (i.e. social expectation), demand is rather stable; it depends on the maturity and the need of the society, regulated by local government’s legal framework (i.e. status protected by legislation or licensing).
e) Give FIVE features of a Professional. (5%)
Demonstrates competency (skill, knowledge) in the field;
Carry out professional practice with high standards;
Performs socially important work;
Carries out work in a responsible manner to society and themselves;
Reach advanced level of education which accredited by a professional body;
Autonomy with respect to “independence in conducting his/her professional practice”
(Any FIVE from the above)