Comparative Analysis Of Codes Of Ethics And Professional Conduct In Computer Industry

Introduction

The following paper is written to compare the code of conduct of the ICT company of Adobe with the general Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Code of Conduct of the Singapore Computer Society (SCS). In addition, it gives a detailed analysis of what the company’s code of conduct is lacking of or similar to ACM’s & SCS’s. 2. History Adobe is an American multinational computer software company. Adobe was previously focused on the creation of multimedia and creativity software products like Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, Adobe Premiere Pro, however it recently directed towards rich Internet application software development.

Analysis of the code

This section contains the comparison of code of ethics between Adobe to ACM and SCS. In this section, Adobe’s Code of Ethics will be compared to ACM’s and SCS Code of Ethics. The differences between 3 codes will be discussed. Recommendations will be made based on the points and how it can apply to the 3 companies.

Confidentiality

Adobe’s code stated that employees are to protect and never to disclose all confidential information concerning Adobe, as well as any confidential information entrusted to Adobe by third parties. (Adobe,3. 4) However, Adobe’s code did mention that employees are allowed to reveal confidential information if authorized by Adobe or providing information to governmental authorities in accordance with law. (Adobe,3. 4)

In addition, Adobe’s code also included examples of confidential information that might be harmful to Adobe if they were to be leaked like “trade secrets, marketing plans, business trends and projections” In ACM Software Engineering’s Code of Ethics, it mentioned that “Keep private any confidential information gained in their professional work, where such confidentiality is consistent with the public interest and consistent with the law. ” (ACM Software Engineering’s Code of Ethics, 2. 05) While ACM General Code of Ethics in “Honor confidentiality” section, it states that “Computing professionals are often entrusted with confidential information such as trade secrets, client data, non-public business strategies” and that they should “protect confidentiality except in cases where it is evidence of the violation of law, of organizational regulations, or of the Code”. (ACM General Code of Ethics, 1. 7)

However, the code did mention that disclosing of information is allowed only to the appropriate authorities. (ACM General Code of Ethics, 1. 7) As for SCS’s code of ethics only stated that to act with care when entrusted with confidential information. Between the 4 codes, there are some similarities and differences. The 4 codes did mention the general confidentiality definition of not to disclose confidential information, however, Adobe’s and ACM General Code of Ethics provided specific examples of such information. Adobe, ACM’s Software Engineering and General Code stated to only disclose confidential information when authorised but Adobe’s code added that to provide information to governmental authorities as well, while in SCS’s code it only stated to handle confidential information with care. Therefore, SCS’s code of ethics need to indicate what are types of information that are considered as confidential, specify what situations are allowed to disclose of such information and who can they disclose them to. As for ACM Software Engineering’s Code of Ethics should provide some examples of information that are considered confidential.

Proper Use of Assets Adobe

In Adobe’s code, it mentioned that employees may not use Adobe’s assets for any usage that they are not authorized to perform, for any illegal purpose, or for any matter that violates the letter or spirit of this Code or other Adobe policies. (Adobe, 3. 3) Company Funds: If you are authorized to use Adobe funds, you are expected to spend wisely and follow all applicable procedures. You should avoid waste and verify that Adobe gets proper value for any services or products that you purchase. For example, if you have a company credit card for business travel and expenses, you may only use it for the types of expenses permitted by Adobe policies and you are responsible for submitting proper documentation for reimbursement. ACM Software: 2. 03 Use the property of a client or employer only in ways properly authorized, and with the client's or employer's knowledge and consent. ACM General: 2. 8 Access computing and communication resources only when authorized or when compelled by the public good. computing professionals should not access another's computer system, software, or data without a reasonable belief that such an action would be authorized or a compelling belief that it is consistent with the public good. Under exceptional circumstances a computing professional may use unauthorized access to disrupt or inhibit the functioning of malicious systems; SCS: nothing mentioned ACM and Adobe both mentioned that employees should not use their company’s resources without being authorized.

However, In ACM’s code there are several additional points: The first point is that in Adobe, it also mentioned about monetary resources, that is employees must follow proper procedures for utilizing company funds. This was not mentioned in ACM as ACM only talked about physical items such as computing resources and equipment. Adobe employees are to ensure that they do not misuse funds given to them by the company. They should only use the funds for work purpose and in any way that brings value to the company. Every transaction that the employees made must be recorded in detail for reimbursement. This point is crucial because by documenting the company’s expenses, the company can operate more smoothly within their budget, and work towards increasing their revenue and prevent possible debts, corruptions or even dishonesty from employees. The second point is that an employee should not use another person’s data, software or computer, unless they believe that what they do would be allowed by the owner or agreeable by the public.

This shows that ACM’s code does not only take into account the assets belonging to the company, but also personal assets belonging to someone else. This is a good point to include in the code and it was not mentioned in Adobe’s code. However, it is not entirely good because the code also implies that it is acceptable for an employee to use another’s resources as long as he believes that it is for the public good, which is subjective. If this point is subjective, it means that anyone can access resources without authorization as long he or she feels that it is good for the public, but actually it may not. However, it may be acceptable if the employee has concrete evidence to support his actions. The third point is that, under unforeseen circumstances, employees can have unauthorized access to resources to deal with malicious contents. This is a good point because in times of emergency, if an employee notices malicious behaviour in a computer system and he is not given proper authorization in time, he can immediately disrupt the malicious content to prevent harm. However, the employee must keep in mind that what he or she is doing is consistent with this code, which means that the only purpose for him to access a resource without permission is to execute a good intention. This also relates to the code of avoiding harm.

Open and Fair Competition Adobe

Adobe complies with all competition and antitrust laws that protect and support free enterprise. We believe that open competition leads consumers have access to more choices and better products and services. We do not participate in activities that have the effect or intent of reducing or destroying competition, such as agreeing with competitors to charge certain prices to customers (price fixing), coordinating with competitors during competitive bidding processes (bid rigging), or dividing up markets by region, product, or customer (market allocation). We do not enter into illegal agreements with our competitors, whether formal or informal, written or oral. Before we form joint ventures with other third parties, we are cautious to consider whether the joint venture may have unlawful anticompetitive effects.

• We do not seek to acquire, use, or disclose a competitor’s trade secrets or confidential information. If you receive confidential information about a competitor accidentally or from an unknown source, you should immediately contact your manager and either the Adobe Compliance Office or Adobe Legal department to determine how to proceed.
• We communicate honestly and we do not make false claims or comparisons about our competitors or their products or services. ACM: nil SCS: nil This code about competitions was mentioned in detail in Adobe’s code.

However, it was not stated in ACM’s and SCS’ code. Adobe deal with competitors and their operations with respect. It is stated in their code that Adobe do not engage in activities that will ruin competition. Such activities include: conspiring (to make secret plans) with competitors to give customers certain prices, bid rigging and conducting market allocation (dividing market by products or region). Whether or not employees engage in such activities will reflect the integrity of Adobe and its employees. Adobe also do not make any form of agreements that are illegal with their competitors. Adobe is cautious when working with their competitors as they will evaluate to see if there would be any unlawful consequences before collaborating with them. This is important because before Adobe decides to work with their competitor, they should research about the history of that company and check if the company has any ill intentions for working with Adobe.

If there is any, it could lead to undesirable consequences for Adobe as well. When Adobe have in their possession private information belonging to their competitors, they must not disclose or use it. Adobe employees must immediately bring it to their legal or compliance office’s attention to decide what to do with it. Adobe is also honest when providing information about their competitors, that is, they do not misrepresent or compare the products or services of their competitors. This shows that Adobe employees respect all assets, such as products, services and company operations that belong to their competitors. These points raised by Adobe ensures that employees participate fairly in competitions and to not tarnish competitors’ reputation in any way. Adobe do not use unlawful means to outmatch their competitors as they believe that having competitors will allow customers to have a variety of choices of products and services. With this mentioned, it shows that Adobe has the public interest in mind.

Insider Trading Adobe

As you perform your job for Adobe, you may possess Insider Information that gives you an unfair advantage in trading Adobe stocks or the stocks of other publicly-held companies such as Adobe’s existing or potential customers or business partners. If you trade on the basis of Insider Information, or tip Insider Information to others, you may be personally liable for civil and criminal fines and face the possibility of a jail sentence. To help protect you from violating insider trading laws, Adobe has established quarterly trading window procedures that establish when you can and cannot trade Adobe stock. If you have questions about whether a transaction is legal or may violate insider trading laws, promptly consult the Stock Trading Compliance Center on Inside Adobe or contact your Adobe Legal representative.

ACM: nil SCS: nil Adobe has a code about employees making use of private information of Adobe to participate in trading. Using insider information to engage in stock activities is against the law and if any employee found doing so will face serious consequences such as fines or even jail sentences. However, employees are still allowed to trade Adobe stocks, but they need to make sure that they do not use any insider information to trade. They also need to take note that providing insider information to outsiders or any third party is forbidden. Adobe also has a practice that occurs four times a year. This practice is to educate employees on when is the right time for them to trade Adobe stock. Having this code is important because the company must ensure that employees do not misuse insider information for self-gain, which can also cause unfairness to investors and even affect the value of Adobe’s stocks in the market. It would be good if ACM and SCS include this in their code of conduct.

Anti-Corruption Compliance Adobe

Adobe believes in conducting business with the highest level of integrity. Under no circumstances do we allow our personnel, or any third parties acting on our behalf, to give or receive bribes to obtain favorable treatment. We do not allow anyone to falsify or conceal the improper use of our funds. Before you give or even offer anything of value to a government official, you are responsible for understanding Adobe’s policies and obtaining all necessary pre-approvals.

Be honest and trustworthy. Making deliberately false or misleading claims, fabricating or falsifying data, offering or accepting bribes, and other dishonest conduct are violations of the Code. 4. 04. Not engage in deceptive financial practices such as bribery, double billing, or other improper financial practices. SCS: nil Both Adobe and ACM mentioned about integrity when dealing with monetary aspects of the business. Accepting bribes in any form and from anywhere is strictly forbidden in Adobe and ACM. However, a difference in Adobe’s code is that they mentioned if any employee that attempts to provide something valuable to another person working under the government, they need to ensure their action is consistent with Adobe’s policy and that they have also gotten approval beforehand. This point may result in good or bad consequence. A reason why it is good is because by gifting the government official something of value may result in a good relationship between the government company and Adobe. Why it may be bad is because if an employee has the intention to bribe a government official by gifting them something and at the same time has been approved to do so, it will lead to an unlawful act. The approver in this situation may not know that it is an act of bribery because this employee may act as if the gift is to build a stronger relationship between the two companies but in fact, it is not. Thus, this point about getting approval first before giving valuable items to another person may be misleading. It would be better if the code mention that the act of gifting is allowed only when authorized and when such an act is consistent with the law.

Maintaining Accurate Books and Records Adobe

Falsification of business documents, whether or not it results in personal or commercial gain, is never permitted and may result in termination of your employment or business relationship with Adobe. You must obtain appropriate authorization for all Adobe business transactions and provide all necessary supporting documentation in a thorough and timely manner. All transaction documents must be properly recorded and reflected in Adobe’s books and records. ACM: 1. 06. Be fair and avoid deception in all statements, particularly public ones, concerning software or related documents, methods and tools. SCS: nil Both Adobe and ACM mentioned that employees should never fake or misrepresent documents or any assets belonging their company. A difference is that Adobe mentioned the consequence of doing so (result in termination of employment), but ACM did not provide any consequence as it simply said that one should not deceive using inaccurate representation of company assets. It is good that Adobe provided the consequences of not following this code because then employees will take the matter seriously.

One specific point stated by Adobe is that documents must be recorded at the right time and it has to be as detailed as possible. This is not stated in ACM. It is important because timely updates and documentation on the companies’ operations will allow employees to work as closely to the company’s regulations as possible. It also applies to books such as those regarding ethics because it will reflect the company’s operations. Being a company in the IT industry, many changes are bound to occur in the future. This may cause Adobe to create new types code of ethics or policies for employees to follow because with technology advancing, there would be new vulnerabilities. With new vulnerabilities discovered, people may be attracted to exploit it, causing more ethical issues to emerge. Therefore, Adobe needs to update their operations in detail and at the right time so as to inform employees and prevent them from committing unlawful acts. All in all, employees of Adobe are responsible for generating accurate information about the company’s operations as well as adhering to all past and existing rules of the company.