H 201 Work Ethics Lecture 1

H 201 Work Ethics, Lecture 1

•  Course is titled H 201 Work Ethics.
•  Lecturer is Dr. Marwa Mostafa.
•  This is lecture 1.

Ethics in Information Technology

•  A book titled "Ethics in Information Technology" by George W. Reynolds is mentioned.
•  Topics within the book include social networking, defamation, morals, patriotism, the cloud, global ethical decision making, code of ethics, malware, cyberterrorism, intellectual property rights, freedom of expression, data, green computing, and breaches.

Year Work Assessment

•  Midterm assessment grade is worth 20 points.
•  Total assessment grade is worth 100 points.

Ethics

•  Ethics are standards or codes of behavior expected of an individual by a group.
•  Virtues are habits of acceptable behavior.
•  Vices are habits of unacceptable behavior.

Morals

•  Morals are personal beliefs about right and wrong.
•  Morals can vary by cultural group, religion, age, life experiences, education, and gender.

The Difference Between Morals, Ethics, and Laws

•  Morals are personal beliefs about right and wrong.
•  Ethics are standards or codes of behavior expected of an individual by a group.
•  Laws are systems of rules enforced by institutions, dictating what is permissible and prohibited.
•  Laws are enforced by institutions, and legal acts conform to the law.

The Importance of Integrity

•  Integrity is a cornerstone of ethical behavior.
•  People with integrity act according to a personal code of principles.
•  They apply the same moral standards in all situations, and extend the same respect to everyone.
•  A lack of integrity arises when moral standards differ based on the situation or people involved.
•  Ethics dilemmas are frequently not straightforward (right vs. wrong).

Why Raising Good Business Ethics Is Important

•  Organizations strive for community goodwill.
•  Companies aim for consistent, good business practices.
•  Organizations need to protect themselves and employees from legal issues.
•  Organizations want to avoid unfavorable publicity.

Gaining the goodwill of the Community

•  ITWORX conducts Ramadan bag donations, blood donation campaigns, and Orphan's Day celebrations.
•  These campaigns build relationships with the local community, stakeholders, and NGOs, and help organizations increase good relations.

Gaining the Good Will of the Community

•  Organizations have responsibilities to society.
•  Organizations contribute to charities and non-profit institutions.
•  Organizations provide benefits to employees beyond legal requirements.
• Organizations need ethical opportunities that benefit society, more than simply being profitable.
• Organizations often cooperate with or support non-profit groups.

Good Business Practices

•  Suppliers and business partners prioritize ethical and fair companies.
•  Poor business ethics lead to declining profits and negative repercussions for employees.
•  Bad ethics negatively affect employee morale and lead to poor business outcomes.

Protection From Legal Actions

•  Employers may be held accountable for the actions of their employees (respondeat superior).
•  Ethics programs reduce potential criminal liability for organizations.

Avoiding Unfavorable Publicity

•  A company's reputation heavily influences its stock value, consumer perception of products and services, scrutiny by the government, and support/cooperation from business partners.
•  Organizations develop strong ethics programs to avoid negative publicity.

Establishing a Corporate Code of Ethics

•  A corporate code of ethics highlights key ethical issues within an organization.
•  It identifies primary values, clarifies ethical risks, guides employees, and creates reporting mechanisms for unethical conduct.
•  A code of ethics ensures employees understand and follow regulations, demonstrating ethical behavior.

Weak Corporate Code of Ethics

•  Unethical actions result from poor accountability, lack of clear guidelines and poor management conduct that sets a poor example, enabling unethical behavior.
•  Companies need to provide employees with clear and consistent ethical guidelines.
•  Failing to hold employees accountable for unethical behavior may lead to widespread unethical conduct within the organization.

Creating an Ethical Work Environment

•  Good employees may still make bad ethical decisions.
•  Employees need knowledgeable resources like managers, legal counsels, internal audit departments, to address unethical conduct.
•  Employees should have ways to report concerns without fear of consequences.

Including Ethical Criteria in Employee Appraisals

•  43% of companies involve ethical conduct in employee performance reviews.
•  Ethical criteria include fairness, effective multicultural interactions, accountability, personal growth, honesty, and integrity in handling job duties.

Social Audits

•  Reviews how a company is meeting ethical and social responsibilities.
•  Communicates upcoming goals, ethically and socially responsibly to employees, shareholders, investors, analysts, customers, suppliers, government agencies, and local communities.

Characteristics of Successful Corporate Ethics Codes

•  Employees seeking advice regarding ethical dilemmas.
•  Employees equipped to handle situations leading to misconduct.
•  Ethics-driven behavior is rewarded.
•  Questionable means are not rewarded.
•  Employees’ positive perception of the company is critical.

Microsoft's Core Values

•  Microsoft values include integrity, honesty demonstrated in everyday actions, passion for technology and quality products, and respect for individuals and a strong work culture.
•  It includes openness in communication, accountability for actions, self-criticism, and challenges.

Microsoft's Standards of Business Conduct

•  Microsoft has a comprehensive set of standards concerning business conduct.
•  It discusses various areas like international business activities, intellectual property, fair competition, investigations, Anti-corruption, etc

ITWORX Mission, Vision and Values

•  ITWORX is driven by a strong corporate culture with five core values: courage, excellence, innovation.

What Is Work Ethics?

•  Study focuses on understanding work ethics.

10 Examples of Ethics in Workplace

•  List of 10 examples of workplace ethics, including punctuality, appearance, responsibility, teamwork, hard work, integrity, fairness, honesty, respect, and cleanliness.

### Case Study

•  A staff member accidentally leaked sensitive documents, highlighting the importance of securing sensitive data.

Exercises: Replace With Key Term

•  List of questions used for exercises to help the student's understand key ethical terms.

Exercise: Complete

•  Provides incomplete questions related to workplace ethics and good business practice.

The Ethical dimensions of technology

•  Navigating the ethical landscape of software engineering is a key focus for this topic.

Software Engineering

•  Software engineering is a critical component of modern society and is used in many diverse industries.
• Covers mobile app development, web development, embedded systems, and AI/Machine learning.

Software Engineering Ethics, The Role of Professional Organizations

•  Professional software organizations play a crucial role promoting ethical practices among engineers.
•  These organizations provide resources & tools for software engineers regarding ethical challenges to uphold high standards in their work.

Software engineering ethics

•  Software engineering is broader than just technical skills.
•  Software engineers are required to practice honest and ethical conduct to be respected.
•  Ethical behavior involves morals and is more complex than simply following the law.

Issues of Professional Responsibility

•  Confidentiality is critical in software and technical industries.
•  Software engineers are required to exhibit competence.
•  Intellectual property rights should be respected and protected.
•  Computer misuse is a serious ethical breach.

Key points

• Software engineers are responsible for practices in the profession and to society.
• Professional organizations provide codes of conduct to steer their members' ethical practices.

Research assignment Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

• This is a research assignment focusing on the ethics of artificial intelligence.