- Distinguishing Effects
- Protection Plans
- Certified Experts
- IT Efforts
- Making Progress
- New Approaches
- Summary
Certified Experts
Let's put certified computer experts under the microscope for a moment by comparing them to some other professionals. Doctors, nurses, lawyers, social workers and others have all entered into a special relationship with their employers and customers and, in fact, with society in general. This relationship is based upon the understanding that each professional has attained a certain level of knowledge and is thereby able to perform the necessary duties, and, perhaps just as important, is willing to perform them in an ethical manner. Simply put, society places trust in their character as well as their skills. The licenses or certifications of these professionals carry so much weight that the general public would be very reluctant to visit a doctor who does not have an M.D. or a lawyer who is not ABA certified. These professions clearly benefit from the high respect that their professional credentials and certifications carry. Here is how the American Nursing Association describes certification on its http://www.ana.org Web site:
The ANA has a sound understanding of the value that certification and professional credentials carry:
Similarly, in its Code of Ethics, the Association of Computing Machinery talks about the professional standards it expects from its members. The code of conduct talks about honesty and trustworthiness, about giving proper credit for intellectual property, about honoring property rights, including copyright, and about giving access to computing resources only when authorized to do so. The association even dares to highlight members' contributions to society's well-being and remind about avoiding harm to others.