| Apr. 22nd, 2005 @ 12:19 pm Professional Ethics, pt. 2 -- Info 520 Week 4 -- Drexel U. |
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Professional Ethics – notes --
I've taken some time to wander around the web and gather information --
American Society for Information Science breaks down ethics into three useful categories:
The Sri Lanka Library Association has some similar categories:
And see the Library & Information Association New Zealand Aotearoa
The Association for Information Systems lists the advantages and disadvantages of having a code of ethics – how many times would you see a professional society stop to think of ethical disadvantages? Among their points are the feasibility of practice (what Dr. Hughes terms enforceability?) and cultural relativism.
A Code of Ethics enables us to:
- Set out the ideals and responsibilities of the profession
- Exert a de facto regulatory effect, protecting both clients and professionals
- Improve the profile of the profession
- Motivate and inspire practitioners, by attempting to define their raison d'être
- Provide guidance on acceptable conduct
- Raise awareness and consciousness of issues
- Improve quality and consistency
On the other hand, we must also consider:
- Whether the so-called standards are obligatory, or are merely an aspiration
- Whether such a code is desirable or feasible
- Whether ethical values are universal or culturally relativistic
- The difficulty of providing universal guidance given the heterogeneous nature of the profession
- What the point is of specifying responsibilities, given the limited regulatory function of a code.
http://www.is.cityu.edu.hk/research/resources/isworld/ethics/
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