Core Module: Professional Issues in Information Systems Practice

Show an understanding of the role of professional codes of conduct and apply them to specific situations

PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS


1a PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS

The role of professional institutions and their characteristics: established by Royal Charter, self-governing, controlling entry to the profession and maintaining discipline; reservation of title and reservation of function. Some familiarity with the best-known

professional institutions (e.g. those governing the law, medicine and accounting) will be expected.
The development and structure of the engineering profession; the roles of the Engineering Council and the professional engineering institutions. Regulation of the engineering profession outside the UK.
The British Computer Society and its membership structure; branches and specialist groups.

1b ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR STRUCTURE

Limited companies and the roles of directors and members;
the advantages of limited company status for commercial organisations.
Other legal forms of organisation.
The concept of delegation and specialisation.
Management structures: structure by function, by product, by market sector, and by region.

1c FINANCE

The financial structure of companies.
The requirements for financial disclosure imposed by statute and by stock exchanges.
Capital items and depreciation.
The balance sheet, the profit and loss account,
and cash flow statement.

1d MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

Costing: direct and indirect costs;
fixed and variable costs;
overheads, corporate and divisional. Treatment of overheads in costing. Costing of labour. Costing (as opposed to estimating) of IT projects.
The effect of cost and other factors on the pricing of software.
Cash flow and its importance;
cash flow forecasts, the need for working capital.
Discounted cash flow analysis and its use in the assessment of capital projects.
Simple budgeting.

1e LEGAL OBLIGATIONS

The Data Protection Acts 1984 and 1998,
the Computer Misuse Act 1990,
the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998,
the Freedom of Information Act 2000,
the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002,
the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987,
the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974,
the Disability Discrimination Act 1995,
and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000,
the Special Education Needs and Disability Act 2001,
the Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations 2000,
and the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2006 (sections 39 to 41).

1f INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The concept of intellectual property; software,
documentation and designs as intellectual property.
The mechanisms available to protect intellectual property.
The Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The EC directive on the Legal Protection of Computer Programs, 91/250.

1g THE INTERNET

The application of the law relating to issues such as privacy,
defamation,
and intellectual property rights to the Internet.

1h PROFESSIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT AND THEIR LIMITATIONS

Professional Codes of Conduct,
their strengths and weaknesses.
The BCS Code of Conduct and its application in practice.

1i HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The statutory framework of employment.
Contracts of employment.
Legal issues arising from outsourcing.
The SFIAplus™ (Skills Framework for the Information Age) model;
continuing professional development.
Recruitment and selection.
Equal opportunities practices.
Human resources planning.
The effect of information systems on jobs.
Job design: specialisation, rotation, enlargement and enrichment.
Job evaluation.
Appraisal and Management by Objectives.
Continuing professional development.
Remuneration schemes, planning and control.