Lecture
IT Service Management
PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Aim of Lecture
 To enable students to show an understanding of
the role of professional codes of conduct and apply
them to specific situations
Objective of Lecture
 To enable students to:
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Understand the role of professional institutions and
their characteristics
Understand the BCS Code of Conduct and its
application in practice.
Characteristics Shared by Most Profession
 A collective body with controlled entry - based on
understanding of body of knowledge
 Self governing and self regulatory - has a code of
conduct
 Established by royal charter or statute - defines
extent of responsibilities and authority
Examples of Professionals
 Doctors,
 Lawyers,
 Accountants, and
 Engineers
The History and Present Membership
Structure of the BCS
 The BCS was established in 1957, as a learned
society
 It become a professional body in 1984 when it
receive its Royal Charter.
 It is governed by a council.
 The BCS has two professional grades of
membership, Member and Fellow.
 Members and Fellows with appropriate
qualifications and experience are eligible for
registration as Chartered IT Professionals.
The History and Present Membership
Structure of the BCS (2)
 There are a number of non-professional grades
available for those who have not yet attained the
professional membership status or who are not
seeking it.
BCS Activities that Support its Claim to
be a Professional Institution.
 Professional development
 Specialist groups,
 Branches,
 Advice to government,
 Advancement of public knowledge and
understanding.
The BCS Code of Good Practice
 The BCS Code of Good Practice is a statement of
good practices in a wide range of activities that
members are likely to undertake.
 It is intended to set the standard for activities in
each of the areas it covers.
 The Code of Conduct expects members to operate
within the Code of Good Practice.
The BCS Code of Conduct – Public
Interest Section
 Due regard for public health, privacy, security and
wellbeing of others and the environment.
 Due regard for the legitimate rights of Third Parties
 Conduct your professional activities without
discrimination
 Promote equal access to the benefits of IT and
seek to promote the inclusion of all sectors in
society wherever opportunities arise.
The BCS Code of Conduct - Professional
Competence and Integrity Section
 Undertake to do work or provide a service that is
within your professional competence.
 Do not claim any level of competence that you do
not possess.
 Develop your professional knowledge, skills and
competence on a continuing basis.
 Ensure that you have the knowledge and
understanding of Legislation and that you comply
with such Legislation, in carrying out your
professional responsibilities.
The BCS Code of Conduct - Professional
Competence and Integrity Section
 Respect and value alternative viewpoints and,
seek, accept and offer honest criticisms of work.
 Avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or
employment by false or malicious or negligent
action or inaction.
 Reject and not make any offer of bribery or
unethical inducement
The BCS Code of Conduct - Duty to
Relevant Authority Section
 Carry out your professional responsibilities with
due care and diligence in accordance with the
Relevant Authority’s requirements whilst
exercising your professional judgement at all
times.
 Avoid any situation that may give rise to a conflict
of interest between you and your Relevant
Authority.
 Accept professional responsibility for your work
and for the work of colleagues who are defined in
a given context as working under your supervision.
The BCS Code of Conduct - Duty to
Relevant Authority Section
 Do not disclose or authorise to be disclosed, or
use for personal gain or to benefit a third party,
confidential information except with the permission
of your Relevant Authority, or as required by
Legislation
 Do not misrepresent or withhold information on the
performance of products, systems or services or
take advantage of the lack of relevant knowledge
or inexperience of others.
The BCS Code of Conduct - Duty
to the Profession
 Accept your personal duty to uphold the reputation
of the profession and not take any action which
could bring the profession into disrepute.
 Seek to improve professional standards through
participation in their development, use and
enforcement.
 Uphold the reputation and good standing of BCS,
the Chartered Institute for IT.
The BCS Code of Conduct - Duty to the
Profession
 Act with integrity and respect in your professional
relationships with all members of BCS and with
members of other professions with whom you
work in a professional capacity.
 Notify BCS if convicted of a criminal offence or
upon becoming bankrupt or disqualified as a
Company Director and in each case give details
of the relevant jurisdiction.
 Encourage and support fellow members in their
professional development
Sections of The BCS Code of
Conduct
 The BCS Code of Conduct (2004) has four
sections:
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The public interest;
Duty to the relevant authority;
Duty to the profession;
Professional competence and integrity
Purpose and issues addressed by the Public
Interest section
 Firstly this describes members’ responsibility to
work with due care and to be aware of, and comply
with, relevant aspects of the law and other forms of
regulation and, more generally, to safeguard public
health, protect the environment and have regard
for human rights.
 This section also require members to avoid
discrimination against clients or colleagues, on
such grounds as race or ethnicity, and avoid
various corrupt practices such as the giving or
taking of bribes, misrepresentation or false claims
of independent judgement.
Purpose and issues addressed by the
Duty to the relevant authority section
 Duty to relevant authority: this deals with
avoidance of conflicts of interest, maintaining
confidentiality, and a truthful representation
about products.
Purpose and Issues Addressed by the
Duty to the Profession Section
 Generally acting in such a way as to uphold and
enhance the standing of the profession, including
advancing public knowledge, countering false or
misleading statements and encouraging
professional development,
Purpose and Issues Addressed by the
Professional Competence Section
 Keep up to date, conform to good practice, don’t
claim competence that you haven’t got, accept full
responsibility for your work.
 This requires members to undertake CPD again so
that their personal status and that of the profession
is maintained .
Reservation of Title
 Reservation of title means that the title in question
can only be used by holders of specific
qualifications or by those whose names appear on
specific registers.
 For example, in the UK only those registered with
the Architects Registration Board can call
themselves architects.
Reservation of Function
 Reservation of function means that only holders of
specific qualifications or those whose names
appear on specific registers can undertake certain
functions.
 For example, the function of giving medical
treatment to animals is reserved for registered
veterinary surgeons.
SFIAplus Model (Skills Framework for
the Information Age)
 SFIAplus is a matrix in which each row
corresponds to a functional speciality (e.g.
communications, databases, system development)
and each column corresponds to a level of
responsibility, from trainee up to senior manager
or consultant.
 Associated with a cell, there is a description of the
responsibilities that persons assigned to that cell
are expected to undertake and a description of the
qualifications or experience they are expected to
have.
 The model covers the spectrum of roles within
ICT.
SFIAplus Model (Skills Framework for
the Information Age)
 SFIAplus can be used to:
 Identify and benchmark skills to the industry
standard
 Map current skills within an IT job role
 Identify career paths
 Plan training and development activities
The Roles and Responsibilities of the
British Computer Society
 Single institution responsible for the computing
profession
 Advises UK Government on IT matters.
 Defines standards for professional conduct in IT;
set related education standards.
 Maintains own member lists
 Disseminates knowledge and good practice in IT
and runs the specialist groups & local branches
Practice Questions 1
1. Briefly explain the purpose of a code of conduct.
2. Outline the benefits of adopting codes of conduct
in the field of computing and information systems.
3. The BCS Code of Conduct is divided into four
sections; one of these sections is ‘Duty to the
Relevant Authority’. Members of the BCS are
expected to behave professionally towards the
relevant authority. Give THREE examples to
explain what this means.
Practice Questions 2
1. What are the characteristics shared by most
professions?
2. Describe the BCS activities that support its claim
to be a professional institution.
3. Discuss whether those working in the Information
Systems field in general (i.e. not just members of
the BCS) can be considered to constitute a
profession.
Practice Questions 3
For each of the following clauses in the BCS Code
of Conduct, explain the purpose of the clause and
discuss the issues members of the BCS face in
trying to comply with the clause:
1.
2.
Clause 6: You shall carry out work or study with due
care and diligence in accordance with the relevant
authority’s requirements, and the interests of system
users. If your professional judgement is overruled,
you shall indicate the likely risks and consequences.
Clause 3: You shall ensure that within your
professional field/s you have knowledge and
understanding of relevant legislation, regulations and
standards, and that you comply with such
requirements.
Practice Questions 3
3. Clause 8: You shall not disclose or authorise to
be disclosed, or use for personal gain or to
benefit a third party, confidential information
except with the permission of your relevant
authority, or at the direction of a court of law.
4. Clause 15: You shall not claim any level of
competence that you do not possess. You shall
only offer to do work or provide a service that is
within your professional competence.
5. Clause 16: You shall observe the relevant BCS
Codes of Practice and any other standards
which, in your judgement, are relevant, and you
shall encourage your colleagues to do likewise.
Practice Questions 4
1. The BCS Code of Conduct (2004) has four sections:
i) the public interest;
ii) duty to the relevant authority;
iii) duty to the profession;
iv) professional competence and integrity.
Summarise the purpose of, and the issues addressed
by, each section. (Do not try to write out the code in
full.)
Practice Questions 4
2. It can happen that an employee finds that his or
her employer is behaving in an illegal fashion and
wishes to draw the attention of regulatory bodies or
other authorities to this behaviour
When is it appropriate for the employee to breach
the confidentiality provisions of his or her contract
of employment? What guidance can you draw
from the BCS Code of Conduct, employment law,
the Public Interest Disclosure Act or other
appropriate legal and ethical sources?
Practice Questions 5
Write brief notes on the following, and explain their
meaning in the BCS context:
1. Code of Good Practice
2. Reservation of title and function
3. SFIAplus model
4. Continuing Professional Development