Professional Ethics in the Information Systems Classroom: Getting Started!

It would seem obvious to most people that professional ethics should be included as a topic in any curriculum. Whether it is done as a separate course or as units within courses is not at issue. For most Information Systems (IS) educators the real problem is, “How do I teach professional ethics” in my course? This paper suggests several ideas for the IS educator to help develop a sense of ethical professional behavior in their students. A brief discussion of the background for computer ethics and established codes of professional ethics and conduct in the IS industry; how to design and implement computer ethics into the IS course; how the IS educator can become more of a resource for his/her students in the areas of computer ethics; and finally, some suggestions on class exercises, assignments and readings on computer ethics are presented. Industry can present the computer professional with some very unique ethical choices. The IS professional is expected to make the “correct” choice based on professional training. We, as educators, may be somewhat negligent in providing the necessary education in compute ethics. Do not ignore this side of your students’ education. Let’s give our students the necessary background to deal with ethical questions in information systems before they are put the test