Professional

Practices
Books and Helping Materials
 Text Book:
1. Professional Practice in Engineering and Computing: Preparing for
Future Careers, By Riadh Habash Published in 2019 by CRC press.
2. Applied Professional Ethics by Gregory R. Beabout, University Press
of America (1993).
3. Professional Issues in Software Engineering by Frank Bott, Allison
Coleman, Jack Eaton and Diane Rowland, CRC Press; 3rd Edition
(2000).
4. Computer Ethics by Deborah G. Johnson, Pearson; 4th Edition
(January 3, 2009)
 Course Contents
 Definitions of Computing subject areas  Software house organization.
 Why we study professional practices &  Human Resource Management and IT,
ethics?
 Health and Safety at Work
 Computing professional activities;
 Software Liability
 Professional ethics & professional societies
 Control of Personal Information.
 Computer Misuse and the Criminal Law,
 British Computer Society/IEEE/ACM Code of
 Information security/privacy; Ethics and Professional Practice.
 Business practices and economics of  Accountability and Auditing,
software;
 Social responsibilities & Social Application of
 Intellectual property rights & Cyber law Ethics.
Important: Be careful about
 Your attendance
 Assignment Deadlines
 Avoid cross discussion
 Don’t use cell phone in the class
 Don’t pass a negative comment in the class
 Maintain proper discipline in the class
 What is profession?
 A paid occupation, especially one that involve prolonged training and
a formal qualification.
 A profession deals with provision of essential service(s) to the public
 The term professional refer to anyone who earns their living from
performing an activity that requires a certain level of education, skill,
or training.
 Professionals may include:
- Accountant, teacher, technician, programmer, data scientist,
engineer, lawyer etc.
 What is profession?
 A Profession is a disciplined group of individuals who follow to ethical
standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by the
public as possessing special knowledge and skills.
 A code of ethics governed the activities of each profession. Such code
require behavior and practice beyond the personal moral obligations
of an individual. They demand high standard of services provided to
the public and professional colleagues
What is professional?
 A professional is a person who is qualified to pursue a certain
profession

 A professional has to meet extensive educational and

ethical requirements set by their profession before they
can provide their service to the public
What is professional?
The Australian Council of Professions defines

A Professional is a member of a Profession. Professionals are

governed by codes of ethics and own commitment to
competence(skill), integrity(honesty) and morality(ethics), self-
sacrifice and the promotion of the public good within their expert
domain. Professionals are accountable to those they serve and to
society.
More about Profession
 A formal education is one where you would go to a college
or university for an actual degree.
 An informal education is simply learning a trade from
someone else. It’s possible to have a formal education and
an informal education.
 The formal education is what most employers would prefer
to see because it is easier to prove. Having a degree in
a specific field will mean that you have certain knowledge
that will translate into a better paying job and the company
that’s employing you getting a qualified person for the job.
More about Profession
 In informal education you may work under someone who
has a degree or has been doing it for enough years to be
knowledgeable about the subject.
 Many car mechanics and other "trade” skills usually have
an informal education.
 Informal education can also be referred to as life
experience. After going through life for so many years,
you’ll naturally acquire some knowledge about different
things
Ethics
Ethics is the study of right and wrong in relation to human
actions. It includes
 Meta-ethics: study of general principles from which
ethical systems can be built.
 Moral theory: ethical systems, consisting of the criteria
to decide whether individual actions are right and wrong.
 Practical ethics: application of ethical systems to the
analysis of particular situations.
 Ethics
Ethics is the study of right and wrong in relation to human actions.
Acting ethically in any organization/ company/business means more
than simply obeying applicable laws and regulations: It also means
being:
 Honest
 Doing no harm to others
 Competing fairly
 Declining to put your own interests above those of your
If you're inorganization/
business, youcompany/business, its owners,
obviously need a strong senseand its workers
of what's right and wrong
Conflict of Interest
 Individuals must choose between taking actions that
promote their personal interests over the interests of
others.
 Examples:
- Can I buy office equipment/supplies from my cousin?
- My relative owns a bakery, should I encourage my
subordinates to use them for all meetings?
- Is it OK to accept a pair of sports tickets from a supplier?
Think of an Ethical Decision
 Basic Moral Value

Doing things Right Doing things Wrong

 Truth  Lie
 Respect for human  Disrespect any human
life  Cheating
 Self control  Cruelty
 Honesty  etc
 Courage
 Self-sacrifice
 etc
What is Professional Ethics
 One's conduct of behavior and practice when
carrying out professional work, e.g., selling
product, providing service, consulting,
researching, teaching etc.
 The principles and standards that guide
members of a particular profession in their
interactions with internal & external
stakeholders.
Professional Ethics
Professional Ethics must take into accounts:
 Relations between professionals and clients

 Relation between profession and society

 Relations among professionals

 Relations between employee and employer

Ethical Issues in Computer Science
 As software(conventional/intelligent) becomes inevitable in our daily
lives, its values form a purely human perspective are brought to
light.
 Ethical conduct is one such human value.
 By participating in a software(conventional/intelligent) development
process, computing scientists can influence the final product in a
different ways including those that may be conflicting to public
interest.
 In other words, they could engage in an unethical behavior,
intentionally or un-intentionally.
Professional Code of Conduct
 One of main characteristic of profession is that the professional
body establishes and enforces a code of conduct(set of rules) on
its members.
 As far as computing is concerned, most code of conducts
established by ACM and IEEE undergo major revisions with the
passage of time.
Ten Guidelines of Computer ethics
The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics were created
in 1992 by the Computer Ethics Institute.
 Not use a computer to harm other people. This is the
foundation for computer ethics.
 Not interfere with other people’s computer work. Such as
sending numerous thoughtless e-mails to larger issues
like purposely sending computer viruses.
 Not spy around in other people’s computer files. Don’t go
looking through other people’s computer files unless
given permission.
Ten Guidelines of Computer ethics
 Not use a computer to steal.
 Not use a computer to bear false witness. Don’t spread
rumors or change your email address so that the receiver
of an email believes that it came from someone other
than yourself.
 Not copy or use copyrighted software for which you have
not paid. Once you buy a software system, you should
not make copies of that information and distribute it to
your friends.
Ten Guidelines of Computer ethics
 Not use other people’s computer resources without
authorization or proper reward(for free). This means do
not surf the internet or print off large amounts of paper
for personal use during work hours.

 Don’t get credit of other people’s intellectual output.

Don’t upload any information and take credit for it such
as text, image, video/audio etc.
Ten Guidelines of Computer ethics
 Think about the social consequences of the program you
are writing or the system/application you are designing
(don’t target any social aspect of people).

 Use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and

respect for your fellow humans. Just because you can’t
always see someone face to face doesn’t give you the
right to offer any less respect then you would offer in a
personal encounter.
8-Professional Code of Conduct
It outlines 8 principles of computing ethics: The obligation of the
computing professional to the
 General Public
 The Client and Employer
 The Product
 The Profession
 Colleagues
 The Engineer Himself or Herself
 The Ethical Management of Software Engineering Projects.
10 Things that Define a true Professional
 Put customer satisfaction first
 Make expertise your specialty
 Do more than expected
 Do what you say and say what you can do
 Communicate effectively
 Follow exceptional guiding principles
 Praise your peers not yourself
 Share your knowledge
 Say thank you
 Keep a smile on your face and the right attitude in your heart
How to Maintain Honesty at work
Qualities of a professional

All professionals have to meet certain requirements set by

their governing bodies or by the laws governing their
profession. However, there are unregulated, ‘unofficial’
requirements that mark a true professional. These are
qualities that successful professionals have in common
regardless of their profession.
Structure of Computing Profession

The computing profession has a two tier structure.

At the first level, there are the institutions, that is, the
chartered professional bodies, each of which covers a single
or several closely related computing disciplines.
- Examples are Bahria, Air, NUST, PIEAS, UET etc.
Structure of Computing Profession
The second level body in computing is the computing
council, a chartered body which recognizes certain
computing institutions as its nominated bodies.
By recognizing a computing institution means that
Computing council is satisfied with its standard of
education.
Structure of Computing Profession
Computing council acts as an umbrella body and
represents the interests of the computing profession as a
whole.
National Computing Education Accreditation Council
(NCEAC) is a professional body and constitutional federal
institution for accreditation of computing education and
regulation of computing profession in Pakistan.
Structure of Computing Profession
Computing council acts as an umbrella body and
represents the interests of the computing profession as a
whole.
National Computing Education Accreditation Council
(NCEAC) is a professional body and constitutional federal
institution for accreditation of computing education and
regulation of computing profession in Pakistan.
Fundamental characteristics of any profession

 Great responsibility
 Professionals deal in matters of vital importance to their
clients and are therefore entrusted with serious
responsibilities and commitments.
 Given these essential obligations/commitments,
professional work typically involves circumstances where
carelessness, inadequate skill, or breach of ethics would be
significantly damaging to the client and/or his
fortunes/wealth.
Fundamental characteristics of any profession
 Accountability

 Professionals hold themselves ultimately accountable for

the quality of their work with the client.

 The profession may or may not have mechanisms in place

to strengthen and ensure loyalty to this principle among its
members.
Fundamental characteristics of any profession

 Based on specialized, theoretical knowledge

 Professionals purify specialized services based on theory,
knowledge, and skills that are characteristic to their
profession and generally beyond the understanding or
capability of those outside of the profession.

 Sometimes, this specialization will extend to access to the

tools and technologies used in the profession (e.g.
computing/medical equipment).
Fundamental characteristics of any profession

 Institutional preparation

 Professions typically require a significant period of hands-

on, practical experience in the protected company of senior
members before candidates are recognized as professionals.

 After this provisional period, ongoing education toward

professional development is compulsory.
Fundamental characteristics of any profession

 Merit-based
 In a profession, members achieve employment and success
based on merit rather than on corrupted ideas such as
social principle, mandated support, or extortion/pressure.
 Therefore, a professional is one who must attract clients
and profits due to the merits of his work.
 In the absence of this characteristic, issues of responsibility,
accountability, and ethical constraints become irrelevant,
negating any otherwise-professional characteristics.
What is professionalism?
 Professionalism is a specific style of behaviour and
combination of qualities

 Professionalism is not necessarily one thing, but rather a

combination of qualities such as, exceptional competence
in a field of expertise, good work ethic, good
communication and interpersonal skills.
Quality Guidelines to be a Successful Professionals
 All professionals have to meet certain requirements set by their
governing bodies or by the laws governing their profession.
 However, there are unregulated, ‘unofficial’ qualities in the
successful professionals.
 Few common qualities among professionals can be.
 Pay attention to detail and take pride in doing a job well
 Be dissatisfied with substandard results, and will try to put
things right as soon as possible
 Always try to be polite and remain calm when interacting with
customers, superiors or co-workers
Quality Guidelines to be a Successful Professionals

 Always be prepared to acknowledge mistakes and learn

from them
 Show respect to those who consult them in a
professional capacity
 Always uphold the reputation of the profession
 Respect authority and the rules of law when managing
or employing others
 Develop and improve their skills and remain up to date
with the latest developments in their field
Features of professionalism Specialised
knowledge
and
competency
Continuing
education Honesty
and and
lifelong integrity
learning

Features

Communication Respect and

courtesy

Accountability
Detail Next Slide
Features of professionalism?
There are certain traits and qualities that identify professionalism in
individuals across all professions.
 Specialized knowledge and competency: Professionals have
expert knowledge and skills and professionalism means using
these skills to perform services with confidence and competence.
 Honesty and integrity: Professionals always try to stay truthful
and keep their word.
 Respect and courtesy: Professionals are considerate and treat all
people with respect.
Features of professionalism?
 Accountability: Professionals take responsibility for their
actions, even if they have made a mistake.
 Communication: Professionals are able to communicate
effectively.
 Continuing education and lifelong learning: Professionals
will continuously identify opportunities for professional
development.
How is professionalism judged?

Attitude and
Behaviour Communication

Image and
Competence
Appearance

Detail Next Slide

How is professionalism judged?
The following are the most common criteria used to judge professionalism:
 Attitude and Behaviour:
 Your professionalism is firstly judged on how you behave when interacting
with others.
 Communication:
 Professionalism can be measured by how well you communicate with
others.
 Image and Appearance:
 It may seem superficial, but many times professionalism is judged on
initial appearances.
 Competence:
 Most of all, professionalism is judged on whether you can competently
THANKS