Question

Writing an introduction for this topic (IT Code of Ethics for IT student )

Introduction: Give a brief description of the contents and structure of your Code of Ethics as an IT Student as well as the Code of Ethics studied.

the introduction should include this information:

1) Includes a brief description of the Code of Ethics studied including the historical background.

2)Includes a brief description of its contents and structure, as well as the contents and structure of your own Code of Ethics.

3)Identifies the type/s of stakeholders being addressed.

Answer 1

The Code of IT Student Conduct has been formulated to provide a clear statement of the University’s expectations of students in respect of academic matters and personal behaviour.It addresses the interdependent duties, rights and responsibilities of faculty members and educational partners. Moreover, it seeks to encourage continued reflection and thoughtful response to ethical issues. It does not seek definitive answers to all ethical questions or situations. Rather, it seeks to outline the guiding principles to ethical conduct and to identify major issues.

In general, we note that the most influential ethics codes are hard-won responses to major disruptions, especially medical and behavioral research scandals. Such disruptions re-open questions of responsibility, trust and institutional legitimacy, and thus call for codification of new social and political arrangements.In the mid-20th Century there was a proliferation of important ethics codes that still guide professional behavior and research activities, even for organizations that do not conduct research. Prior to this time, there were relatively few professional ethics codes; today they are widespread and seem nearly obligatory. In the 1940-50s researchers struggled to respond to the scientific and medical atrocities of the Nazi regime. Defense attorneys in the “Nazi doctor trials” at Nuremberg argued that their clients could not be held accountable for war crimes because there were no widely recognized research ethics standards that would have prohibited their experiments. Although the doctors were still found guilty, the judges found enough merit in that claim that they offered the 10-point Nuremberg Code that set the stage for all subsequent research codes and policies (including the World Medical Association’s 1948 Geneva Declaration and 1964 Helsinki Declaration, see below).The major social disruptions of the 1960-70s in the US and Western Europe also coincided with continued research scandals in the U.S. (e.g., Tuskegee, Willowbrook, Milgram, Stanford Prison, among others), indicating that the Nuremberg Code and subsequent codes were inadequate without more legal codification and enforcement mechanisms. Particularly in the US, the public was substantially less trusting of inherited institutional authority and the subsequent ethics codes (particularly the Belmont Report and the formation of IRBs) responded to a need for routinized skepticism and critical assessment (Cassell, 2000; Jasanoff, 2005).

There are several principles that can be found at the core of contemporary ethics codes across many domains:

• respect for persons (autonomy, privacy, informed consent)
• balancing of risk to individuals with benefit to society
• careful selection of participants
• independent review of research proposals
• self-regulating communities of professionals
• funding dependent on adherence to ethical standards

1. Code of Ethics for students – Core values

This section aims to presents broad values and ethical principles, based on our analysis of 10 ethical codes from different universities all around the world. Indeed, we noticed that even if Codes of Ethics for students may differ from an institution to an other, there are 7 values that seem universal.

Integrity

Integrity is defined as, “Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.”Having integrity means being totally honest and truthful in every part of your life. By making the commitment to become a totally honest person, you will be doing more to ensure your success and happiness in life than anything else you can ever do.

Students with integrity will work hard to earn their degrees in a fair and honest way by putting in the hours to study and complete assignments. When a student intentionally cheats through university, this integrity is compromised and the value of the degree and the morals of the individual are diminished. This lack of credibility then follows you into the workforce and can impact your professional goals. Nobody wants a doctor who cheated to get his medical degree to perform a life or death surgery on them or a bad engineer to build bridges.

During our research, we noticed that most of the university had an academic warning on their website concerning the importance of integrity. For example, the Arizona States University says « If a student violates both the academic integrity provision and additional provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, both the college and the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities will review the matter ».

In fact, many studies have found that people who engage in academically dishonest practices in school are significantly more likely to be dishonest, cheat, or even commit crimes like fraud or stealing in the workplace.

b) Respect

Respect could be defined as « a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way. ». Being respectful towards people is a key aspect in life in order to form and maintain positive relationships in order to become successful. If you treat them with kindness, they will be kind back. One way to show respect towards other people to treat others the way you would want to be treated.

c) Open-mindedness

Being open-minded means you have a willingness to listen to other ideas and opinions and consider the possibility that you are wrong or may change your own perspective.Open-mindedness can advance mutual understanding, which accommodates the ideal of students working constructively and cohesively toward achieving common goals, despite intense disagreement.

d) Discipline

The word “Discipline” comes from the word “Disciple” meaning a learner. Discipline means tearing to obey certain rules. Without it, there will be complete chaos and disorder everywhere in our society. There are some rules that control our activities. If we do not respect these rules, our life will be like a boat without the boatman.The ability for an individual to have self-restraint allows them to behave in a consistently stringent and controlled manner. A lack of this ability can have disastrous results. Do you think a company is going to tolerate a person who is consistently late to work or who procrastinates in doing their work ? It is evident how these behaviors will weaken the image of a business.

e) Tolerance

Tolerance can be seen as the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own. Tolerance means how to see the world from the perspective of others, not just your perspective.Tolerance plays an important role in our everyday life in our society. Never before have we had so many opportunities to connect and communicate with different cultures and languages.Our society has become increasingly multicultural, enriched by the aspirations of migrants, transnationals, displaced peoples,… Tensions arising from religious, cultural and linguistic difference are increasing, but tolerance an effective and sustainable way of ensuring our young people understand diversity and that’s why this value is so present in codes of ethical student conduct.

f) Team spirit

Team spirit can be defined as when the members of a group want the team to succeed. Team spirit improves the ability of individuals to work together and boosts morale.In an academic context, this is an opportunity to make friends and talk with others. Each student can benefit on a personal level from teamwork. A team of students must actively listen to each other, articulate ideas and use genuinely constructive criticism to be effective.

g) Sense of responsibility

Responsibility is one of the traits of our character which means that a person is able to respond for his actions, is able to take some duties and to face certain consequences of the actions that may occur.People are not born with a sens of responsibility, it is something every person should cultivate in themselves, it should become a part of one’s personality. Responsible people can be trusted, and this benefits both the person and the people counting on the responsible person.All these values are the reason why an Ethical Code of Conduct is relevant for any academic institution. To make sure that every student is aware of what he can and what he cannot do, Students are expected to adhere to and practice the Code of Ethics on an academic level. The followings parts aim to summarize how the values we talked about are represented inside every student code.

1. Student responsibilities towards the members of the University

The code of ethical students defines the rights and students’ responsibilities. These rights and responsibilities are at the root of the relationship between members of the university community, and students. It has been formulated to provide a clear statement of the University’s expectations of students in respect of academic matters and personal behavior. Students have responsibilities towards professors, university employees and other students.To establish a perfect harmony between teachers and students the University should recognize and value the diversity of student experiences and expectations, and is committed to treating students, both academically and personally, in a fair and transparent manner. All students, in return, are required to comply with the requirements set down in this Code of Conduct. This is how the code adapts to the diversity of students.

a) Responsibilities towards professors

In order to establish a perfect cohesion within the University, students have obligations towards their professors. Same rules are found in most university codes of conduct.

Meet deadlines

It is important that students return their assignments on time so that the teacher respects his program and does not penalize other students.

Do not be late

Punctuality is a principle that is generally written into the rules of the Codes. However, there are differences in the perception of punctuality between countries due to the difference of cultures.There are countries that has a rigorous time management approach, such as in Germany, Scandinavia, the United States, or Great Britain.Conversely, if you live in France or in the north of Italy arriving six or seven minutes late is still “basically to the hour.There are also countries belong to a culture that has a flexible conception of time, as is the case in the Middle East, Africa, India or South America, the weather may have a completely different elasticity for you.This explains why some professors are more tolerant about delays.

Stakeholders can be any person or organization that has a vested interest in what your business does. Employees, customers, shareholders, board members, and even members of the community, can all be affected by what you and your organization does. Your responsibilities to each will vary.

Obligations to Employees

As an employer, you have a moral obligation to offer your employees fair pay and reasonable work expectations, while also providing a safe work environment. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration outlines specific rules about workplace safety, while the Americans with Disabilities Act explains the accommodations you must provide to those who have disabilities. Beyond the basics, though, you should have a way for your employees to address grievances in the workplace. Even if you don’t have a formal HR Department, you’ll want to have someone in charge of making sure that employees are treated fairly and with respect.

You may also want to have a communication channel that keeps employees informed. Whether your organization is growing or is facing likely layoffs, the ethically moral thing to do is to let your employees know so they don’t feel blindsided. Set up quarterly meetings to keep everyone informed of what's happening and answer questions in a forthright manner. If things aren't going well, let your employees know how you might assist them, such as offering worker retraining or providing career services.

Obligations to Customers

Providing your customers with good quality at a fair price is both an ethically and financially responsible path. Whatever product or service you produce, you should give your customers what you promise. There are many recent examples of companies doing quite the opposite, whether it’s for-profit schools using unscrupulous marketing tactics and promising larger-than-life results from the diplomas they offer or Wells Fargo and similar companies committing outright fraud by creating false accounts. Be honest, be fair. And your customers will reward you with purchases and brand loyalty.

Shareholders and Boards of Directors

If you’ve ever worked for a large, publicly traded company, you already understand the ethical requirements from governmental bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission. But even if your business has no shareholders, you may have a board of director or an advisory board. Maybe your “board” is only a single person who loaned you the money to start your dream business.

Your ethical responsibilities are clear. Be honest about how the business is doing. When will you be able to pay back the note and what can your investor expect in the way of a return on his investment?

Responsibilities to the Community

Your responsibilities to the community at large may be more nuanced, but that community remains a relevant and important stakeholder. Of course, you’ll adhere to the regulations in your city or town, but being a good community member as a business may require more than not polluting waterways or spewing toxic gases into the air. You may want to give back by donating to worthy causes or by sponsoring events. The benefit of being a good corporate citizen isn’t only ethically right; it can boost your brand, and can influence your bottom line in positive ways.