Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals - 30 years after “A Case for a Unified Code”

Abstract

Technological advances increasingly mark our society, but also bring with them unique ethical challenges. In 1992, a paper entitled “Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals: A Case for a Unified Code” by Effy Oz was published in MISQ. Since then, much has happened in the area of technologies and information systems. New business contexts, methodological approaches, technologies, applications, and many other changes have occurred, requiring a renewed attention to ethical concerns and warranting a revisiting of the theme 30 years later. This article follows the same structure and methodological approach as used in Effy Oz’s work, focusing on the current versions of the ethical codes of leading organizations. The objectives are as follows: (1) to reflect on the changes made to the codes over 30 years, (2) to examine whether the recommendations proposed in Oz’s original work are reflected in the current versions of the codes, and (3) to conclude if the need for a unified code of ethics still prevails. The results indicate that, depending on the organization, the impact of the “passage of time” on the codes was different; several recommendations — which are still valid — are not fully reflected in the documents, thus continuing the need for a unified code of ethics (albeit with some different characteristics from those identified three decades ago).