case study cpe 58001/ 9. practice professional ethics

8/8/2019 Case Study CPE 58001/ 9. PRACTICE PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

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This Case Study is about the professionalof a graduate student of computer

engineering handling PRACTICEPROFESSIONAL ETHICS


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Heres our questionsAnd her answers:


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I m Cherry D. Casuat


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30 years of age


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I took up my under graduate studies atTechnological Institute of the Philippines Manilacampus


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As we all know, Computers have a central and growing role in commerce,industry, government, medicine, education, entertainment andsociety at large. Computer engineers are those who contribute bydirect participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specification,design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of

hardware & software systems. Because of their roles in developinghardware & software systems, computer engineers have significantopportunities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do goodor cause harm, or to influence others to do good or cause harm. Toensure, as much as possible, that their efforts will be used for good,Computer engineers must commit themselves in making computerengineer profession a beneficial and respected profession. In

accordance with that commitment to the health, safety and welfareof the public, computer engineers shall adhere to the Code ofEthics and Professional Practice. The following principles must beconsidered


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1.) PUBLIC - computer engineers shall act consistently with the publicinterest.

We must accept full responsibility of our own work such asour hardware or software designs. In schools we are trained to take full

responsibility of our own designs. We must obey and observed properdecorum in designing our projects. We only execute or submit softwareand hardware designs if we have a strong belief that it is safe andmeets specifications, passes appropriate tests and does not diminishquality of life, diminish privacy or harm the environment. The ultimateeffect of our work must be for the welfare of the many. We must alsodisclose to appropriate persons or authorities any actual or potentialdanger to the user, the public, or the environment, that they reasonablybelieve to be associated with hardware or software or relateddocuments. Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave publicconcern caused by software, its installation, maintenance, support ordocumentation. Computer engineers must be fair and avoid deception inall statements, particularly public ones, concerning hardware /softwareor related documents, methods and tools. Consider issues of physicaldisabilities, allocation of resources, economic disadvantage and other

factors that can diminish access to the benefits of software. One mustencouraged to volunteer professional skills to good causes and tocontribute to public education concerning our the discipline.


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2.)CLIENT AND EMPLOYER- Computer engineers shall act in a manner that is in thebest interests of their client and employer, consistent with the public interest.The following principles must be practice:

2.01. Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthrightabout any limitations of their experience and education.

2.02. Not knowingly use software that is obtained or retained either illegally orunethically.

2.03. Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, andwith the client's or employer's knowledge and consent.

2.04. Ensure that any document upon which they rely has been approved, whenrequired, by someone authorized to approve it.

2.05. Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work,where such confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistentwith the law.

2.06. Identify, document, collect evidence and report to the client or the employerpromptly if, in their opinion, a project is likely to fail, to prove too expensive, toviolate intellectual property law, or otherwise to be problematic.

2.07. Identify, document, and report significant issues of social concern, of whichthey are aware, in software or related documents, to the employer or the client.

2.08. Accept no outside work detrimental to the work they perform for theirprimary employer.2.09. Promote no interest adverse to their employer or client, unless a higher ethical

concern is being compromised; in that case, inform the employer or anotherappropriate authority of the ethical concern.


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3.) PRODUCT- computer engineers shall ensure that their products andrelated modifications meet the highest professional standards

possible. As appropriate:3.01. Strive for high quality, acceptable cost, and a reasonable schedule,ensuring significant tradeoffs are clear to and accepted by the employer andthe client, and are available for consideration by the user and the public.

3.02. Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project onwhich they work or propose.

3.03. Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal andenvironmental issues related to work projects.

3.04. Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work orpropose to work, by an appropriate combination of education, training, andexperience.

3.05. Ensure that an appropriate method is used for any project on which theywork or propose to work.

3.06. Work to follow professional standards, when available, that are mostappropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethicallyor technically justified.


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3.07. Strive to fully understand the specifications for software on whichthey work.

3.08. Ensure that specifications for hardware and software on which theywork have been well documented, satisfy the users' requirements and

have the appropriate approvals.3.09. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel,quality and outcomes on any project on which they work or propose towork and provide an uncertainty assessment of these estimates.

3.10. Ensure adequate testing, debugging, and review of software andrelated documents on which they work.

3.11. Ensure adequate documentation, including significant problems

discovered and solutions adopted, for any project on which they work.3.12. Work to develop software and related documents that respect the

privacy of those who will be affected by that software.3.13. Be careful to use only accurate data derived by ethical and lawful

means, and use it only in ways properly authorized.3.14. Maintain the integrity of data, being sensitive to outdated or flawed

occurrences.3.15 Treat all forms of software maintenance with the same

professionalism as new development.


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4.) JUDGMENT - computer engineers shall maintain integrityand independence in their professional judgment.4.01. Temper all technical judgments by the need to

support and maintain human values.4.02 Only endorse documents either prepared under their

supervision or within their areas of competence and withwhich they are in agreement.

4.03. Maintain professional objectivity with respect to anysoftware or related documents they are asked to evaluate.

4.04. Not engage in deceptive financial practices such asbribery, double billing, or other improper financialpractices.

4.05. Disclose to all concerned parties those conflicts ofinterest that cannot reasonably be avoided or escaped.

4.06

. Refuse to participate, as members or advisors, in aprivate, governmental or professional body concerned withsoftware related issues, in which they, their employers ortheir clients have undisclosed potential conflicts ofinterest.


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5.) MANAGEMENT- computer engineer, managers and leadersshall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to themanagement of software and hardware development and

maintenance.5.01 Ensure good management for any project on which theywork, including effective procedures for promotion of qualityand reduction of risk.

5.02. Ensure that software engineers are informed of standardsbefore being held to them.

5.03. Ensure that software engineers know the employer'spolicies and procedures for protecting passwords, files andinformation that is confidential to the employer orconfidential to others.

5.04. Assign work only after taking into account appropriatecontributions of education and experience tempered with a

desire to further that education and experience.5.05. Ensure realistic quantitative estimates of cost, scheduling,personnel, quality and outcomes on any project on which theywork or propose to work, and provide an uncertaintyassessment of these estimates.


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5.06. Attract potential software engineers only by full

and accurate description of the conditions ofemployment.5.07. Offer fair and just remuneration.5.08. Not unjustly prevent someone from taking a

position for which that person is suitably qualified.5

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. Ensure that there is a fair agreement concerningownership of any software, processes, research,writing, or other intellectual property to which asoftware engineer has contributed.

5.10. Provide for due process in hearing charges ofviolation of an employer's policy or of this Code.

5.11. Not ask a software engineer to do anythinginconsistent with this Code.

5.12. Not punish anyone for expressing ethical concernsabout a project.


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6.) PROFESSION- computer engineers shall advance the integrity and

reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest.6.01. Help develop an organizational environment favorable to actingethically.

6.02. Promote public knowledge of software engineering.6.03. Extend software engineering knowledge by appropriate participation

in professional organizations, meetings and publications.6.04. Support, as members of a profession, other software engineers

striving to follow this Code.6.05. Not promote their own interest at the expense of the profession,

client or employer.6.06. Obey all laws governing their work, unless, in exceptional

circumstances, such compliance is inconsistent with the public interest.6.07. Be accurate in stating the characteristics of software on which they

work, avoiding not only false claims but also claims that might reasonablybe supposed to be speculative, vacuous, deceptive, misleading, ordoubtful.

6.08. Take responsibility for detecting, correcting, and reporting errors insoftware and associated documents on which they work.


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6.09. Ensure that clients, employers, and supervisorsknow of the software engineer's commitment to thisCode of ethics, and the subsequent ramifications ofsuch commitment.

6.10. Avoid associations with businesses andorganizations which are in conflict with this code.

6.11. Recognize that violations of this Code areinconsistent with being a professional software

engineer.6.12. Express concerns to the people involved when

significant violations of this Code are detected unlessthis is impossible, counter-productive, or dangerous.

6.13. Report significant violations of this Code to

appropriate authorities when it is clear thatconsultation with people involved in these significantviolations is impossible, counter-productive ordangerous.


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7.) COLLEAGUES- computer engineers shall be fair to and supportive oftheir colleagues.7.01. Encourage colleagues to adhere to this Code.

7.02. Assist colleagues in professional development.7.03. Credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking undue credit.7.04. Review the work of others in an objective, candid, and properly-

documented way.7.05. Give a fair hearing to the opinions, concerns, or complaints of a

colleague.7

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. Assist colleagues in being fully aware of current standard workpractices including policies and procedures for protecting passwords,files and other confidential information, and security measures ingeneral.

7.07. Not unfairly intervene in the career of any colleague; however,concern for the employer, the client or public interest may compelsoftware engineers, in good faith, to question the competence of acolleague.

7.08. In situations outside of their own areas of competence, call upon theopinions of other professionals who have competence in that area.


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8.) SELF- computer engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding thepractice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practiceof the profession.8.01. Further their knowledge of developments in the analysis, specification,

design, development, maintenance and testing of software and related documents,together with the management of the development process.8.02. Improve their ability to create safe, reliable, and useful quality software at

reasonable cost and within a reasonable time.8.03. Improve their ability to produce accurate, informative, and well-written

documentation.8.04. Improve their understanding of the software and related documents on which

they work and of the environment in which they will be used.8.05. Improve their knowledge of relevant standards and the law governing the

software and related documents on which they work.8.06 Improve their knowledge of this Code, its interpretation, and its application to

their work.8.07 Not give unfair treatment to anyone because of any irrelevant prejudices.8.08. Not influence others to undertake any action that involves a breach of this

Code.8.09. Recognize that personal violations of this Code are inconsistent with being a

professional software engineer.


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First and foremost , we must take a look to this computer-related ethicalissues that are of importance to engineers of all disciplines such as 1.)intellectual property in the digital age, 2)privacy, and computersystems reliability. Issues relating to the ownership of digital materialhave become increasingly relevant to engineering for a variety ofreasons. Computers have become integral elements of design,manufacturing and control of even the most conventional of devices.Questions affecting the ownership of instruction sets, firmware,interfaces, routines and applications are thus of extreme significance toa wide variety of actors, from design to implementation and beyond.Computing has also become a primary vehicle for the dissemination ofinformation in the form of digitally mediated journals and books, tonetworked communication by electronic mail. Within the United States,the constitutional mechanisms of copyright and patent law have beenanimated by a policy of limited protection of intellectual material. The

doctrine of "fair use" and the time-limitations of the patent protectionare examples of provisions favorable to the public access of scientificand technical information. That is the reason why in every projectdesigns that every students completed in our university if you couldnotice, must be applied for a copyright at the national library. Itbecomes a standard procedure in every department in our university.


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2. Ethical Issues in Software EngineeringWith the influence of computers on all walks of life and

the role of software in all the systems, softwareprofessionals have the power to do good or bad to thesociety. As responsible human beings and asprofessionals, we need to use the knowledge and skillsfor the benefit of the society. Every software

professional has to follow a code of ethics keeping inview the importance of quality software developmentand the ill effects of

defective software. The quality of software will affectthe society and human lifethe impact of defectivesoftware in such systems as medical equipment,transportation systems, nuclear plants, banking etc.,are not difficult to imagine.


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IEEE Computer Society and Association for ComputingMachinery (ACM), two major professional bodies jointlyestablished a task force to frame software engineeringcode of ethics and professional practice. According to thiscode, every software professional has obligations to

(a) Society(b) Self(c) Profession(d) Product(e) Employer(f) Client(g) ColleaguesThese obligations have to be fulfilled by every person as(a) a human being(b) a professional(c) a software engineering professionalWhile discharging ones duties, sometimes there may be a

conflict between the obligations to different entities.Consider the following examples:


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At the place of work, you may be constrained to violate copyright laws.What wouldyou do?

(a) The employer (or the manager to whom you report) insists onviolating intellectualproperty rights by asking you to use software developed by someoneelse. Would youaccept to do it or not?

(b) The employer insists on delivering software to the client in spite ofthe fact that thereare some known defects. You insist on informing the client about thedefects, youremployer says no. What stand do you take? If the software is to beused in theintensive care unit of a hospital, would you accept?

(c) A colleague of yours is passing the confidential information ofyour organization toan outsider. Will you be silent or inform your superiors?

The answers to these questions (and many more such questions which weencounter during our careers) depend on whether we promote our self-interest or accept what the manager/employer says; or as professionalswith ethical values, use our judgment to do what we think is RIGHTirrespective of the consequences.


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Code of Ethics for Software EngineersEthical issues have no boolean (yes/no) answer. One

has to use ones own judgment and do what onefeels is right. Many professional bodiesformulated code of ethics, a set of guidelines,which can be used by professionals to make

judgments.The Code of Ethics and Professional Practiceframed by the IEEE Computer Society andAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM) jointtask force, is available at

Software Engineering Code of Ethics andProfessional Practice, IEEE Computer, Vol. 32, No.10, October 1999.


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Ethical Issues: Right versus WrongWhile pursuing a career in software engineering, we all encounter situations in which

there may not be right/wrong answer for a particular question. In such cases, oneshould always use ones own judgment to decide what is right and what is wrong,

but that judgment should be based on realistic reasoning and with adequatebackground information. For instance, there are professionals who feel thatworking in defense organizations particularly in projects for destroying mankindis wrong; but many of those who work on such projects are proud of theircontributions for the defense of their countries. These are two differentviewpointsit is not correct to say that one is right and the other is wrong. Onehas to decide for oneself.

The broad guidelines as given in the code of ethics are to ensure that no damage is

done to human life and society at large for the sake of personal advancement.Every software professionals main objective must be to improve the quality oflife.

Everywhere, money, power and fame drive human beings. To achieve their personalgoals, the ethics are set aside resulting in corruption, crime and unhealthy sociallife. Professionals who have a great role to play to make the world a better placeto live, need to follow the code of ethics. As software becomes the lifeline ofmany critical systems, the software professionals have a great responsibility so

that the society respects the software profession. It is not enough to havetechnical competence, one has to have social consciousness and contribute toimprove the quality of life through ethical behavior.


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In every profession , not only in the field of computerengineering, one of the problem encountered in thepractice of professional ethics , most common problemencountered by many professionals is handling bribessomeone will influenced by paying or offering you a

monetary benefits and influencing your decision to take anaction or decision which you would not have doneotherwise. Eg. Someday when you completed yourundergraduate degree , you will be working in computercompanies or any company , and for example you are theone who made decisions if the software created by theprogrammers meet the standards set by the authorities insoftware engineering and someone who made that programoffers monetary benefits for you to approved his programor software.


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If I were in that situation I will bear inmind that I am a professional , and I value my

dignity , I always consider public interest , I willask myself first if the decisions that I will makewill benefit and resulted welfare of the many.Just always follows and obey the code of ethics

and Professional practice for any engineeringdiscipline, it is just a money, you can earn thosemoney . The most important thing in this world isto live our life with dignity .


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Be consistent with the public interest in everydesigns that you will make and in developing

software. Be fair and avoid public statements ,expressing your views with a certain programs orsoftware developed by other engineers. Continuelearning Life begins after you have completed

your undergraduate degree and you will realizedwhat you have learned in college is useless if youdoesnt know how to be responsible and actprofessionally.


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This is the end of our interview. We all should beresponsible in everything that we take up, we

should think first and ask our self about everysituations that comes in our lives.

We would like to thank our professor sir LorenzoSta. Maria for giving us this case study and forMs. Cherry D. Casuat for letting us interviewher about PRACTICE PROFESSIONALETHICS


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MS. CHERRY D. CASUAT ON THE LEFT SIDE

THIS WAS TAKEN ON HER GRADUATION FOR

MASTER OF ENGINEERING FOR COMPUTER ENGINEERING

IN ADAMSON UNIVERSITY

case study cpe 58001/ 9. practice professional ethics

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