Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals: A Case for a Unified Code

Professions have adopted ethical codes and codes of conduct. Physicians, lawyers, and engineers have moral responsibilities and know to whom they are responsible. Professionals in the information systems field need similar guidance. Unfortunately, multiple professional standards in the field are offered by individual organizations. Many of the precepts in these codes are similar, but some are not. This article presents the principles of five codes: three U.S. codes, the Canadian code, and the British code. After an examination of their similarities and differences, it is proposed that we (1) resolve the differences and (2) adopt a single, coherent, international code of ethics for the information systems community. Introduction Computer-related legislation started in the late 1970s. However, the need for ethical behavior among computer professionals was already recognized by the late 1960s as the use of computers quickly spread in academic and business organizations. Because computer laws did not exist, professional organizations initiated their own ethical codes. Some ethical concerns have been resolved in the form of new or amended laws. Some will be addressed by future legislation. Yet many issues will remain to be dealt with by the individual professional. Many professional groups have adopted ethical codes. The emergence of the information systems (IS) professional spurred the major organizations of computer professionals to draft their own codes. All physicians solemnly swear to heed the Hippocratic oath. All lawyers in the same state, or country, vow to abide by the same ethical standards. However, not all IS professionals are bound by the same set of rules. The reason is simple: the law does not require certification of computer professionals. Certification is voluntary at most. Many IS professionals do not belong to any organization. Membership in a professional organization could, at least, make the member aware of the organization’s ethical code. Worse yet, those organizations that have established ethical codes have failed to collaborate and formulate one set of widely accepted rules. In this article the ethical codes of the five largest IS professional organizations are analyzed and compared. This is done in the hope of inspiring these and other organizations to eliminate differences and establish a “Hippocratic oath” for the entire IS community.