The Semantech Philosophy
We believe that before a company can devise an accurate mission statement, an effective methodology or a consistent solution set, it must first begin with a corporate philosophy. Our philosophy is built upon a foundation dedicated adhering to IT ethics. What are IT ethics? Information Technology is often grouped together randomly with other professional services in the context of which canon of ethics may apply. However, IT is not like other professional services; it is unique in many ways. Information Technology touches every aspect of every type of organization - thus it is universal and ubiquitous. Any search of this topic on the Internet will result in a surprising lack of resources; there simply isn't any clearly defined 'practioners guide' to IT Ethics. We had no choice but to develop our own set of guidelines.
Great ideas can grow in the right environment, one based on trust and built with integrity...
Our IT Manifesto
Information Technology is difficult to recognize as profession in its own right; it is ubiquitous and acts as the glue that holds what might be considered to be the more traditional professions together. Moreover, information technology now allows these varied professions to be bound together in ways previously unimagined within a larger web of interconnected business processes. Each day, the assimilation of IT into the core processes of traditional professions that drive society further blur the boundaries of what is being facilitated and what is the facilitating mechanism.
In large organizations, the distinction between what is IT and the profession it serves is usually made through the designation of various roles or departments. However, if the IT services are provided from within the organization as opposed to being provided by an external provider dedicated only to IT services then the canon of ethics applied to the scenario is generally based on the organization’s professional context. The problem with this is that nearly all possible applications of information technology share a common set of ethical boundaries and challenges. Those include:
- Data Privacy
- Telecommunications Privacy
- Known or suspected implications (of the application of specific technologies)
- Security Hazards
- Obvious Philosophical Discontinuities
- Service Integrity Issues
- Expectation Integrity Issues
- Lack of Community Consensus on Ethical implications of Practices
