Professionalism and Ethics in the New Millennium

“Information Technology has a large impact on society. In turn, society has the right to demand professionals in this field act in a manner which recognizes their responsibilities toward society, to demand professionals of the highest calibre, and to require a mechanism to protect society from professionals who do not, or cannot, live up to these responsibilities.

IT professionals are often granted privileges by virtue of their knowledge and skills; these privileges provide them with both means and opportunity to impact society in ways a layperson cannot. With acceptance of these privileges comes a corresponding obligation to conduct their professional activities in ways that serve the public, and to behave in ways that support fundamental ethical principles.”

These words, from the CIPS publication Understanding the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, bring to mind the well known Spider-Man credo, "With great power there must come great responsibility". As IT professionals in the new millennium, we find ourselves with an unprecedented level of “knowledge power” that encompasses both the corporate and personal domains. Like Spider-Man, we are constantly faced with the decision of whether to use this power for good or evil. Join us as we consider the renewed call for Professional Accountability in the post-Enron era and just perhaps, to sharpen up our “Spidey Sense”. 

	Peter R. Gee, CCP, I.S.P. Senior Consultant, xwave President, CIPS NB
CIPS accreditation presented to UNBSJ

Peter is an experienced IT Leader and Business Analyst who has more than 25 years of widely diverse experience in software development, operations, and professional management. During this time he has held a variety of development and management positions with the Council of Maritime Premiers, Crowntek Technology, Star Choice Television, and Oracle Corporation. He is currently a Senior Consultant for xwave where he is in the role of Business Analyst for the implementation of xwave’s Correctional Services Information System in the state of New Hampshire.  He also recently completed a long-term consulting engagement with NB Power’s Enterprise Finance group, where he assisted in the design of a Business Process Management framework. Peter has been on the path of professional certification for many years, beginning with the CDP designation which he earned in 1981. He holds a Computer Science degree from the University of New Brunswick and both the CIPS Information Systems Professional (ISP) and ICCP Certified Computing Professional (CCP) designations. With a firm belief that professionalism is a way of life, he continues along the certification path as he pursues the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation from the Canadian Society of Management Accountants.