CenITex scandal sparks calls for IT ethics training

Building an ethical culture

Professor Lucas said the IT industry sorely lacks an “ethical culture”.

“When we surveyed IT staff, many said they know their organisation has a code of ethics, but they had trouble finding them. They were usually in the bottom of a drawer, and nobody was paying attention to it," he said.

“What you tend to find is – during an ethically-charged event – you as an IT worker are told you have to act now, and there is no time to think about the consequences. Who stands up and says no in that scenario? That luxury is usually only reserved for those in powerful positions - people that believe they won’t suffer any consequences. We all know that the abysmal history of how well whistle-blowers are treated in Australia.

The aforementioned survey asked IT workers why they they didn't stand up when asked to act in an unethical manner. 

“The most common response was that they felt it wouldn’t make a difference to the existing culture,” Professor Lucas said. “If you don’t see your management act a certain way, you won’t either. If your leaders clam up about it – you don’t have the confidence to speak out. And even for those few staff that stood up and said it’s wrong initially - when push comes to shove, most said they just gave in and did it anyway.”

Professor Lucas said the IT industry has some well understood standard methodologies for good practice in aspects of the technical work - around project management or programming, for example. “But what we tend to find is that people don’t refer to them until after things have gone wrong, when they finally have time to reflect on the ethics of the decision.”

CenITex CEO Michael Vanderheide, for example, has promised a shift in organisational culture in the wake of the Ombudsman investigation.

Vanderheide has written to both the Ombudsman and CenITex staff of significant changes at the organisation to stamp out corruption.

CenITex plans to tighten its controls around procurement and recruitment processes and decision-making, developing a 'conflict of interest' policy for all 250 staff - to be monitored by the senior executive - with probity matters included in fortnightly executive meetings.

Further, the CEO intends to build a "plain speaking" culture where staff feel encouraged to raise concerns or to challenge poor process such that red flags can be raised internally before aggrieved staff feel obliged to look externally for help. 

Room for optimism?

Professor Lucas said it was hard to see ethical practices improving when the shining light of the technology industry - Google - has also been found to have engaged in deceptive, unethical conduct.

“You want to believe that originally there was good intent behind Google's statement, ‘Don’t be Evil’,” he said.

“But given the Google Maps story - when the company ‘accidentally started recording people’s networks’, you are left with the belief that while somebody wrote that statement down, it can be reasonably assumed that nobody practices it. Often a company says one thing - because it is politically correct - but there is no visible practice of the behaviour.

“I have taught ethics in IT for 15 years. I can say all kinds of things to my students: be brave, be honest, be courageous. But I know that people will bend to the existing culture to survive – especially young people. I have to hope my students hang on to those values - be brave, be honest, be courageous - in those first five and six years of the pressure of the workforce, before they get to a position of influence.”