A fundamental issue related to ethics in social groups including a CoP is that of trust. The authors of this paper establish cognitive and affective issues related to building trust. Cognitive levels of developing trust relate to assessment of integrity, perceived competance, responsibility and professionalism.
Trust is also dependent upon the individual's personal ability to trust, particularly 'swift trust'or the ability to decide whether to trust so as to engage in a social group. This is important for entry into a CoP, particulalry in a virtual one. It is not related to the longevity of the CoP which is more an issue of buiding trust over time.
My thoughts:
I see this as a fundamental issue for group ethics. I suspect that there are gender, cultural, age issues and of course individual personality traits that will apply to the ability to develop trust.
Trust is also about developing boundaries.
Unfortunately many think about trust as a dichotomy of trust or no-trust. Either position is fraught with danger. There is a spectrum of trust, a starting position that one takes and a development of more/or less trust over time. We each have our own starting position but this varies with the social cues we receive from the group. Our memory and previous experiences have great roles in the development of trust. This assumes that all our decsions are made objectively and in full consciousness, which if course is not true. Many people use a compulsive repetition of previous situations particualrly when they have been abusive, thus trusting too much and introducing unsafe, coercive, threatening and seductive behaviour. CoPs will not survive thir input. The psychopath can take on any chameleon form of trust building leading unsuspecting people into danger and few people are sufficiently able to detect this person in real life let alone in a virtual community.They cause real damage.
Reference:
Raja,J.Z,, Huq, A. & Rosenberg, D. (2006) The Role of Trust in Virtual and Co-located Communities of Practice, Encylcopaedia of Communities of Practice, Ideas Group Inc Retrived USQ Library Database, 2/1/2007
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Code of ethics/social drivers
Grieves' paper comments that ethical issues arise in the context of social relationships. They arise due to power differentials:
Grieves, J. (2006) Communities of Practice and Development for Ethics and Values, Encyclopaedia of Communities of Practice Ideas Group Inc. Retrieved from USQ Library 2/1/2008
- reward power
- coercive power
- legitamate power
- referent power
- expert power
Ethical issues arise when there is a conflict of values and a conflict of interests
If we use Humanist and Democratic values we have a template for ethics in a CoP
We need to take responsibiity for
- professional development and competancy
- clients and significant others
- to the professsion
- social issues
We also need to act as a role model
develop a code of ethics
distribute it to everyone
provide ethics training
specify special issues likely to happen
monitor and audit ethics
reward and punish behaviour
have support from top managment
I think that a Humanist approach is too narrow. It does not include the environment except to fulfill our needs. A feminist approach clearly does.
The rigidity of ethics training and audits will only happen in rigid groups that are not really the essence of a CoP.
This account does not address the self interest nature of unethical behaviour. It seeks to contol it by social pressure. This would only serve to make unethical behaviour go underground. Both individual and social moral development needs to be addressed.
Reference:
Grieves, J. (2006) Communities of Practice and Development for Ethics and Values, Encyclopaedia of Communities of Practice Ideas Group Inc. Retrieved from USQ Library 2/1/2008
Monday, December 24, 2007
Assignment paper
Conference paper
Code of Ethics for a Community of Practice (CoP)
Why a code of ethics?
As a professional, I have a Code of Ethics to guide me in relationship to Others. I have a personal code of ethics and code of interaction with others and when I join a new group of friends or professionals or a CoP I have to compare and contrast the ethical position of each to adjust and find my way around. If I am to discuss tacit knowledge, provide information, resources and support, I want to know what the rules of engagement are. I want to know that respect, privacy and ownership, are decided up-front and that the things we are going to do are culturally and ethically acceptable to me.
I have not seen any implicit or explicit ethics for CoPs as yet and that is a bit like the spider inviting me into his den. If it is a CoP of like minded professionals there are some basic rules, professional codes of practice. I also understand the UN charter of human rights, but Australia does not have a constitutional charter of human rights. Legal issues pertaining to the CoP are rarely discussed before the initial stages an you are well and truly into the middle of it, perhaps facing a dawning ethical problem before you realise that there are no rules and no boundaries.
Can a CoP have a moral responsibility?
Only humans can have moral agency because they alone have the capacity to think,choose and experience emotions. Thus CoPs are amoral even though they are responsible to the law economic forces and government control. You have to watch that individuals don't project moral responsibility onto the CoP and that the CoP doesn't shirk responsibility by blaming individuals. To separate individual from the collective is probably a reflection of western philosophical thought. This atomic individualism is reflected in our language, community structure and relationships. Holistically the CoP and the individual are one indivisible construct. Despite this individuals can enter and leave the CoP and this does not alter the moral responsibility of the CoP. Thus a CoP is a dynamic construct with shared responsibility. Individuals within a CoP vary as to their moral responsibility dependent upon age, experience, education, development and level of self control. CoPs will also vary in their ethical positions dependent upon such variables as for-profit, not- for-profit, government, NGOs, cultural norms, history, investment horizons, dynamism, heterogeneity and hostility patterns.
The ecological fallacy states that the CoP does not extrapolate to an individuals ethics due to Groupthink, the Hawthorne effect, pragmatics and utilitarianism. Although the individual is still making the choices, they may be coerced or altered by the CoP culture.
The Individual fallacy implies that individuals do not equal the collective ethic. Each person has free will, choice and intention and therefore other members of the CoP are not responsible for their actions. It follows the line of the fallacy of False Reification, the CoP is not overriding the individual, it is a tool for the welfare and sustainability of people.
The Association fallacy implies that the CoP is the sum total of the collective of all individual ethics overriding individual ethics. The Autonomy fallacy treats the CoP as indivisible so that the individual acts as agent for the CoP but accepts no individual responsibility.
There is a dynamic nature of multiple factors implying a complexity theory approach. Using a systems theory, each party takes responsibility as does the CoP. Using a blame and punishment model creates this dichotomy. Perhaps it is more reasonable to accept that mistakes happen and we can learn from them.
What kind of Code of Ethics
I would prefer a code that it real, not a list of fancy words and lofty ideals that take a dictionary to understand. I would like the ethics to be embedded in all the frameworks used and all the goals of the CoP. I have taken part in business based CoPs that may have different goals than my health lobby CoP or my art CoP. Are universal rules, absolute moral codes or relativistic( culturally, socially, philosophical, historical and personal)ones better?
There are Philosophical, social and psychological aspects to most codes of ethics
Philosophy theories
Justice (Distributory ethics Non-maleficence;Beneficence; freedom of choice/ liberty)
Rights, for example, free speech, free consent, privacy, free conscience. And the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Duties ( duty to elders, God)
Virtues ( Aristotle talked about thought and emotions being in balance, like Kelly's construct theory). For example- respect, distributive justice, truthfulness, friendliness, gentleness, equality, modesty and self control.
Social theories
values
culture, social contract theory, Rousseau, relationship theory, Buber, Foucault, Richoeu
law
the prisoner's dilemma
political
globalisation/ the global village
religions
Psychological theories
behavior theories, Pavlov, Skinner.
reasoning, logical and otherwise, Descartes, Habermas, Hegel, Spinoza, Kant, Descartes, Pragmatics , James, Dewey.
emotional brain functioning, humanism, feminisms, intuitive theories
epistemology or learning
development theories, Piaget, Kohlberg, Vygotsky
Again we see a complex set of theories and ideas to choose from and this is by no means a complete picture. Theories can detract from ethics. Prescriptive approaches require no thinking but descriptive approaches offer no practical solutions. A code implies dichotomies and paternalism. It also implies argumentation and single positions Codes lead to exclusion rather than inclusions. I prefer a non-code, anti-theory, feminisms approach.
Feminist virtues include narrative approaches to diversity, caring, respect, valuing, nurturing and networking. This is about not only the Other people but also the environment and history- past and future. It is about consciousness raising rather than rigidity. It respects people to be equal adult sand I think that if you treat people as adults they will more likely act as adults.
Feminist Ethics in a CoP.
In a Cop, the feminist values of diversity, care and networking are integral to collaborative work. This is not a prescriptive or rigid set of morals. It implies virtues, in balance.
Diversity
A CoP that contains a homogeneity offers no alternate thoughts, resources or challenges and creates the category error. Admittedly, too much diversity means that there is little attachment between participants, but six degrees of separation in the world means that I have never found it hard to find something in common.
Care
If you use care for others, this implies respect, support, assistance, collaboration and listening for, culture, gender, race, religions and sex differences. Thee are competing values however, allowing for diversity, that mean one needs to have a balanced view of care.
Care implies an emotional attachment to members of the CoP. It also implies an intuitive capacity to understand other people and empathy.
Networking
It goes without saying that this is the basic structure of a CoP. One is not just networking with the participants but with the network of each individual member of the CoP. The boundaries become somewhat blurred in this model. Collaboration is not just for the CoP but for the outcomes which is for the betterment of others. This gives us the positive liberty to acknowledge the needs of others as well as our own.
Problems for discussion
1.
Can we make it simple?
Would the universalist, monotheory-
Do unto others as you would have done unto you,
suffice?
What potential problems are there with this adage?
2.
How do ethics relate to the designed, fast paced innovative profit-driven CoP?
Case-study- software designers CoPs create programs and to launch them so that they can grab marketshare, get some profit before free shareware pirates the program and move onto the next idea.
What about the consumer that has to find all the bugs and report them and do the research for the company at their expense?
Would this be acceptable for a pharmaceutical company?
3
Someone talks about their unethical/illegal behavior outside the Cop within in the privacy of the CoP .
Case studies- all true ones I might add.
They are having an affair with the boss.
They bought a large number of shares in a rival company.
They tell you that their brother, well known community member and driver of the school bus is a pedophile
What do we do?
Is there a slippery slope?
4
What do men do in a CoP with feminist ethics? ]
What do we do if someone in the CoP doesn't want to embrace such ethics?
5
Someone leaves our CoP , takes all the shared soft knowledge and plans for future research and development and gos to a rival company. What ethical principles apply?
For a full discussion on the ethical issues relating to 'who owns knowledge' see our next module.
Bibliography
Allsopp, J. (2000). A Dao of Web Design. A List Apart, 58. Retrieved 13/12/2007
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dao/
Anderson, S. (2007). Its our web not theirs [Electronic Version]. COA News Retrieved 12/12/2007 from http://search.creativecommons.org/#.
Anon, E. (2007). Map@syst Code of Ethics [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 20/12/2007 from http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Map@syst_Code_of_Ethics.
Ardichvili, A., MaurerM, Li, W., & Wentling, T. (2006). Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(1), 94-107 Retrieved 21/12/2007 from EmeraldInsight Database USQ Library Services
Atkinson-Grosjean, J., & Young, W. M. (2007). Closing the ethics gap in research PPPs: a role for translational science and 'proximal ethicality'? . Retrieved 16/12/2007, from
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/34736.html
Atkinsson, A. (2007). A Code of Ethics for Sustainability Professionals. Worldchaning Retrieved 24/12/2007, from http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007512.
Bittner, P., & Hornecker, E. (2005). A Micro-Ethical View On Computing Practice. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 4th decennial conference on Critical computing: between sense and sensibility CC '05, January 2005 Retrieved 23/12/2007 from ACM Data Provider, USQ Library Multiple Database
Burton, B.K. & Dunn, C.P. (1996). Stakeholders interests and Community groups: a new view International Association for Business and Society Annual Meeting Retrieved 22/6/2006 Ebscohost USQ Library
www.rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/dunnweb/pubslabs96html
Collier, J., & Esteban, R. (1999). Governance in the Participative Organisation: Freedom, Creativity and Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 21, 173-188, Retrieved 16/12/2007 EbscoHost database USQ Library
Connolly, J. (2007). The Place of Ethics in the Spatial Information Sciences: an Australasian Perspective [Electronic Version]. The Global Geospatial Magazine , GIS Development Retrieved 23/12/2007 from http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/global/2007/august/26.htm.
Cooper, T. (1997). Building an Ethical Community: Queensland University of Technology Press
Dube, J. (2003). A Blogger's Code of Ethics [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 23/12/2007 from http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/000215.php.
Elshtan, J.B. ( 1992) Meditations on modern Political Thought U.S.A. Pennsylvania University Press.
Goodall, G. (2003). Shelving the Code of Ethics:Bend it like Bentham [Electronic Version] Retrieved Googlesearch 23/12/2007 from
http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache834yt4GjDYQJ:www.deregulo.com/facetation/pdfs/shelvingCodeOfEthics.pdf+code+of+ethics,+Communities+of+Practice&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=au.
Harten, N. (2006) The Cry for Ethical Leadership Philosophy Pathways 25, Retrieved 20/12/2007
www.isfp.co.uk/businesspathways
Hayward, L. M., Blackmer, B., & Markowski, A. (2006). Standardized Patients and Communities of Practice:A Realistic Strategy for Integrating the Core Values in a Physical Therapist Education Program. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 20(2).Retrieved 16/12/2007 EbscoHost, USQ Library
.
Iske, P. L. Practicing what you preach. In S. Lelic & J. Scofield (Eds.), Communities of Practice: Lessons from Leading Collaborative Enterprises: Ark Group.
Jagger, A.M. ( 2002) Feminist Ethics: Some Issues for the Nineties in Robert A. Larmer ed , Ethics in the Workplace, U.S.A., Wandsworth Group.
James, S. (2000) Feminism in Philosophy of Mind , Miranda Flicker & Jennifer Hornsby, Feminism in Philosophy UK. Cambridge University Press.
Kuhn, M. (2005). COBE A proposed code for blogging ethics. Paper presented at the Blogging, Journalism and Credibility Conference. Retrieved 24/12/2007, from
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:fa5EcS7twdwJ:rconversation.blogs.com/COBE-Blog%2520Ethics.pdf+communities+of+practice+and+ethics&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=214.
Kolb, R.W.,Le Clair,D., Pelton, L., Swanson, D. & Windsor, D., (2004). Role of Ethics in Business Curricula. Paper presented at the Teaching Business Ethics Conference, Tampa. Retrieved 23/12/2007
http://www.aacsb.edu/eerc/TBEConference/index.asp
Lennick, D. & Kiel, F. ( 2005) Moral Intelligence Pearson Education Inc , U.S.A. Wharton School Publishing
McDaniel, C. ( 2004) Organisational Ethics-research and ethical environments England, Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Nielson, R.P. (1996) The Politics of ethics Oxford, The Oxford University Press
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring. A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. London, USA: University of California Press.
Plumwood, V., (1998) Inequality, eco-justice and ecological rationality in John S Dryzek & David Schosberg Eds, Debating the Earth, The environmental politics reader, U.K. Oxford University Press.
Price, M(2004) Evolutionary Psychology and Ethics Retrieved 26/11/2007 from
www.isp.couk/businesspathways/issue5.html
Razin, A( 2006) Models of Moral Activity. Philosophy Now, 54.
Rodda, A. (1994) Women and the Environment Australia, Zeal Books Ltd.
Singer, P.(2002) One world- the ethics of globalisation Australia, The Text Publishing Company
Tronto, J.C.(1993) Moral Boundaries: a political argument for an ethics of care Great Britain, Routledge, Chapman & Hall Inc.
Veenswijk, M., & Chisalita, C., M,. (2007). The importance of power and ideology in communities of practice :The case of a de-marginalized user interface design team in a failing multi-national design company Information Technology & People 29(1), 32-52.Retrieved 21/12/2007 Emerald Group Publishing, USQ Library
Velaquez, M. (2003) Debunking Corporate Moral Responsibility, Tome L. Beauchamp & Norman E.Bowie Eds Ethical Theory and Business 7th Edition U.S.A. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Villenas, S. (2006). Latina/Chicana feminist postcolonialities: un/tracking educational actors’ interventions. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 19(5), 659–672. Retrieved 16/12/2007 EbscoHost USQ Library
Weathersby, R. & White, J. (2004). Ethics and Community in Management Education [Electronic Version]. Academic Exchange Quarterly 8 (1) Retrieved 16/12/2007from http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/5jun2616w4.htm.
Code of Ethics for a Community of Practice (CoP)
Why a code of ethics?
As a professional, I have a Code of Ethics to guide me in relationship to Others. I have a personal code of ethics and code of interaction with others and when I join a new group of friends or professionals or a CoP I have to compare and contrast the ethical position of each to adjust and find my way around. If I am to discuss tacit knowledge, provide information, resources and support, I want to know what the rules of engagement are. I want to know that respect, privacy and ownership, are decided up-front and that the things we are going to do are culturally and ethically acceptable to me.
I have not seen any implicit or explicit ethics for CoPs as yet and that is a bit like the spider inviting me into his den. If it is a CoP of like minded professionals there are some basic rules, professional codes of practice. I also understand the UN charter of human rights, but Australia does not have a constitutional charter of human rights. Legal issues pertaining to the CoP are rarely discussed before the initial stages an you are well and truly into the middle of it, perhaps facing a dawning ethical problem before you realise that there are no rules and no boundaries.
Can a CoP have a moral responsibility?
Only humans can have moral agency because they alone have the capacity to think,choose and experience emotions. Thus CoPs are amoral even though they are responsible to the law economic forces and government control. You have to watch that individuals don't project moral responsibility onto the CoP and that the CoP doesn't shirk responsibility by blaming individuals. To separate individual from the collective is probably a reflection of western philosophical thought. This atomic individualism is reflected in our language, community structure and relationships. Holistically the CoP and the individual are one indivisible construct. Despite this individuals can enter and leave the CoP and this does not alter the moral responsibility of the CoP. Thus a CoP is a dynamic construct with shared responsibility. Individuals within a CoP vary as to their moral responsibility dependent upon age, experience, education, development and level of self control. CoPs will also vary in their ethical positions dependent upon such variables as for-profit, not- for-profit, government, NGOs, cultural norms, history, investment horizons, dynamism, heterogeneity and hostility patterns.
The ecological fallacy states that the CoP does not extrapolate to an individuals ethics due to Groupthink, the Hawthorne effect, pragmatics and utilitarianism. Although the individual is still making the choices, they may be coerced or altered by the CoP culture.
The Individual fallacy implies that individuals do not equal the collective ethic. Each person has free will, choice and intention and therefore other members of the CoP are not responsible for their actions. It follows the line of the fallacy of False Reification, the CoP is not overriding the individual, it is a tool for the welfare and sustainability of people.
The Association fallacy implies that the CoP is the sum total of the collective of all individual ethics overriding individual ethics. The Autonomy fallacy treats the CoP as indivisible so that the individual acts as agent for the CoP but accepts no individual responsibility.
There is a dynamic nature of multiple factors implying a complexity theory approach. Using a systems theory, each party takes responsibility as does the CoP. Using a blame and punishment model creates this dichotomy. Perhaps it is more reasonable to accept that mistakes happen and we can learn from them.
What kind of Code of Ethics
I would prefer a code that it real, not a list of fancy words and lofty ideals that take a dictionary to understand. I would like the ethics to be embedded in all the frameworks used and all the goals of the CoP. I have taken part in business based CoPs that may have different goals than my health lobby CoP or my art CoP. Are universal rules, absolute moral codes or relativistic( culturally, socially, philosophical, historical and personal)ones better?
There are Philosophical, social and psychological aspects to most codes of ethics
Philosophy theories
Justice (Distributory ethics Non-maleficence;Beneficence; freedom of choice/ liberty)
Rights, for example, free speech, free consent, privacy, free conscience. And the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Duties ( duty to elders, God)
Virtues ( Aristotle talked about thought and emotions being in balance, like Kelly's construct theory). For example- respect, distributive justice, truthfulness, friendliness, gentleness, equality, modesty and self control.
Social theories
values
culture, social contract theory, Rousseau, relationship theory, Buber, Foucault, Richoeu
law
the prisoner's dilemma
political
globalisation/ the global village
religions
Psychological theories
behavior theories, Pavlov, Skinner.
reasoning, logical and otherwise, Descartes, Habermas, Hegel, Spinoza, Kant, Descartes, Pragmatics , James, Dewey.
emotional brain functioning, humanism, feminisms, intuitive theories
epistemology or learning
development theories, Piaget, Kohlberg, Vygotsky
Again we see a complex set of theories and ideas to choose from and this is by no means a complete picture. Theories can detract from ethics. Prescriptive approaches require no thinking but descriptive approaches offer no practical solutions. A code implies dichotomies and paternalism. It also implies argumentation and single positions Codes lead to exclusion rather than inclusions. I prefer a non-code, anti-theory, feminisms approach.
Feminist virtues include narrative approaches to diversity, caring, respect, valuing, nurturing and networking. This is about not only the Other people but also the environment and history- past and future. It is about consciousness raising rather than rigidity. It respects people to be equal adult sand I think that if you treat people as adults they will more likely act as adults.
Feminist Ethics in a CoP.
In a Cop, the feminist values of diversity, care and networking are integral to collaborative work. This is not a prescriptive or rigid set of morals. It implies virtues, in balance.
Diversity
A CoP that contains a homogeneity offers no alternate thoughts, resources or challenges and creates the category error. Admittedly, too much diversity means that there is little attachment between participants, but six degrees of separation in the world means that I have never found it hard to find something in common.
Care
If you use care for others, this implies respect, support, assistance, collaboration and listening for, culture, gender, race, religions and sex differences. Thee are competing values however, allowing for diversity, that mean one needs to have a balanced view of care.
Care implies an emotional attachment to members of the CoP. It also implies an intuitive capacity to understand other people and empathy.
Networking
It goes without saying that this is the basic structure of a CoP. One is not just networking with the participants but with the network of each individual member of the CoP. The boundaries become somewhat blurred in this model. Collaboration is not just for the CoP but for the outcomes which is for the betterment of others. This gives us the positive liberty to acknowledge the needs of others as well as our own.
Problems for discussion
1.
Can we make it simple?
Would the universalist, monotheory-
Do unto others as you would have done unto you,
suffice?
What potential problems are there with this adage?
2.
How do ethics relate to the designed, fast paced innovative profit-driven CoP?
Case-study- software designers CoPs create programs and to launch them so that they can grab marketshare, get some profit before free shareware pirates the program and move onto the next idea.
What about the consumer that has to find all the bugs and report them and do the research for the company at their expense?
Would this be acceptable for a pharmaceutical company?
3
Someone talks about their unethical/illegal behavior outside the Cop within in the privacy of the CoP .
Case studies- all true ones I might add.
They are having an affair with the boss.
They bought a large number of shares in a rival company.
They tell you that their brother, well known community member and driver of the school bus is a pedophile
What do we do?
Is there a slippery slope?
4
What do men do in a CoP with feminist ethics? ]
What do we do if someone in the CoP doesn't want to embrace such ethics?
5
Someone leaves our CoP , takes all the shared soft knowledge and plans for future research and development and gos to a rival company. What ethical principles apply?
For a full discussion on the ethical issues relating to 'who owns knowledge' see our next module.
Bibliography
Allsopp, J. (2000). A Dao of Web Design. A List Apart, 58. Retrieved 13/12/2007
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dao/
Anderson, S. (2007). Its our web not theirs [Electronic Version]. COA News Retrieved 12/12/2007 from http://search.creativecommons.org/#.
Anon, E. (2007). Map@syst Code of Ethics [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 20/12/2007 from http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Map@syst_Code_of_Ethics.
Ardichvili, A., MaurerM, Li, W., & Wentling, T. (2006). Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice. Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(1), 94-107 Retrieved 21/12/2007 from EmeraldInsight Database USQ Library Services
Atkinson-Grosjean, J., & Young, W. M. (2007). Closing the ethics gap in research PPPs: a role for translational science and 'proximal ethicality'? . Retrieved 16/12/2007, from
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/34736.html
Atkinsson, A. (2007). A Code of Ethics for Sustainability Professionals. Worldchaning Retrieved 24/12/2007, from http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007512.
Bittner, P., & Hornecker, E. (2005). A Micro-Ethical View On Computing Practice. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 4th decennial conference on Critical computing: between sense and sensibility CC '05, January 2005 Retrieved 23/12/2007 from ACM Data Provider, USQ Library Multiple Database
Burton, B.K. & Dunn, C.P. (1996). Stakeholders interests and Community groups: a new view International Association for Business and Society Annual Meeting Retrieved 22/6/2006 Ebscohost USQ Library
www.rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/dunnweb/pubslabs96html
Collier, J., & Esteban, R. (1999). Governance in the Participative Organisation: Freedom, Creativity and Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 21, 173-188, Retrieved 16/12/2007 EbscoHost database USQ Library
Connolly, J. (2007). The Place of Ethics in the Spatial Information Sciences: an Australasian Perspective [Electronic Version]. The Global Geospatial Magazine , GIS Development Retrieved 23/12/2007 from http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/global/2007/august/26.htm.
Cooper, T. (1997). Building an Ethical Community: Queensland University of Technology Press
Dube, J. (2003). A Blogger's Code of Ethics [Electronic Version]. Retrieved 23/12/2007 from http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/000215.php.
Elshtan, J.B. ( 1992) Meditations on modern Political Thought U.S.A. Pennsylvania University Press.
Goodall, G. (2003). Shelving the Code of Ethics:Bend it like Bentham [Electronic Version] Retrieved Googlesearch 23/12/2007 from
http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache834yt4GjDYQJ:www.deregulo.com/facetation/pdfs/shelvingCodeOfEthics.pdf+code+of+ethics,+Communities+of+Practice&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=au.
Harten, N. (2006) The Cry for Ethical Leadership Philosophy Pathways 25, Retrieved 20/12/2007
www.isfp.co.uk/businesspathways
Hayward, L. M., Blackmer, B., & Markowski, A. (2006). Standardized Patients and Communities of Practice:A Realistic Strategy for Integrating the Core Values in a Physical Therapist Education Program. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 20(2).Retrieved 16/12/2007 EbscoHost, USQ Library
.
Iske, P. L. Practicing what you preach. In S. Lelic & J. Scofield (Eds.), Communities of Practice: Lessons from Leading Collaborative Enterprises: Ark Group.
Jagger, A.M. ( 2002) Feminist Ethics: Some Issues for the Nineties in Robert A. Larmer ed , Ethics in the Workplace, U.S.A., Wandsworth Group.
James, S. (2000) Feminism in Philosophy of Mind , Miranda Flicker & Jennifer Hornsby, Feminism in Philosophy UK. Cambridge University Press.
Kuhn, M. (2005). COBE A proposed code for blogging ethics. Paper presented at the Blogging, Journalism and Credibility Conference. Retrieved 24/12/2007, from
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:fa5EcS7twdwJ:rconversation.blogs.com/COBE-Blog%2520Ethics.pdf+communities+of+practice+and+ethics&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=214.
Kolb, R.W.,Le Clair,D., Pelton, L., Swanson, D. & Windsor, D., (2004). Role of Ethics in Business Curricula. Paper presented at the Teaching Business Ethics Conference, Tampa. Retrieved 23/12/2007
http://www.aacsb.edu/eerc/TBEConference/index.asp
Lennick, D. & Kiel, F. ( 2005) Moral Intelligence Pearson Education Inc , U.S.A. Wharton School Publishing
McDaniel, C. ( 2004) Organisational Ethics-research and ethical environments England, Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Nielson, R.P. (1996) The Politics of ethics Oxford, The Oxford University Press
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring. A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. London, USA: University of California Press.
Plumwood, V., (1998) Inequality, eco-justice and ecological rationality in John S Dryzek & David Schosberg Eds, Debating the Earth, The environmental politics reader, U.K. Oxford University Press.
Price, M(2004) Evolutionary Psychology and Ethics Retrieved 26/11/2007 from
www.isp.couk/businesspathways/issue5.html
Razin, A( 2006) Models of Moral Activity. Philosophy Now, 54.
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Slideshow
Slides
Slide 1
Code of Ethics for a Community of Practice (CoP)
by Joyce Arnold
Slide 2
Why a code of ethics?
Safety
Can a CoP have a moral responsibility?
Slide 4
What kind of Code of Ethics ?
Philosophical ethics
Social theories
Psychological theories
Mono-theory/pluralism/relativism/deontological
Feminisms 
Slide 5
Feminist Ethics in a CoP ?
Diversity
Care
Networking
Slide 6
Problems for discussion.
Please comment and debate these issues and any others you wish to add.
Slide 7
1.Can we make it simple? Would the universalist, monotheory-
Do unto others as you would have done unto you,
suffice?
What potential problems are there with this adage?
Slide 8
2.How do ethics relate to the designed, fast paced innovative profit-driven CoP?
Case-study
Software designers CoPs create programs and to launch them so that they can grab marketshare, get some profit before free shareware pirates the program and move onto the next idea.
Would this be acceptable for a pharmaceutical company?
Slide 9
3 Someone talks about their unethical/illegal behavior outside the Cop within in the privacy of the CoP .
Case studies- all true ones I might add.
They are having an affair with the boss. What do we think, do?
They bought a large number of shares in a rival company. What would you do?
They tell you that their brother, well known community member and driver of the school bus is a pedophile. What would you do?
Is there a slippery slope?
Slide 10
4.What do men do in a CoP with feminist ethics?
Slide 11
5. Someone leaves our CoP , takes all the shared soft knowledge and plans for future research
For a full discussion on the ethical issues relating to 'who owns knowledge' see our next module.
Slide 12
The End
Slide 1
Code of Ethics for a Community of Practice (CoP)
by Joyce Arnold
Slide 2
Why a code of ethics?
Safety
Respect 
Trust
Professional behaviour
Slide 3
Can a CoP have a moral responsibility?
The CoP has collective responsibility?
Each individual is responsible for their own ethical behaviour?
Does each individual have to take collective repsonibility for the CoP?
Slide 4
What kind of Code of Ethics ?
Philosophical ethics
Social theories
Psychological theories
Mono-theory/pluralism/relativism/deontological
pragmatic/post-modern
Feminisms
Slide 5
Feminist Ethics in a CoP ?
Diversity
Care
Networking
Slide 6
Problems for discussion.
Please comment and debate these issues and any others you wish to add.
Slide 7
1.Can we make it simple? Would the universalist, monotheory-
Do unto others as you would have done unto you,
suffice?
What potential problems are there with this adage?
Slide 8
2.How do ethics relate to the designed, fast paced innovative profit-driven CoP?
Case-study
Software designers CoPs create programs and to launch them so that they can grab marketshare, get some profit before free shareware pirates the program and move onto the next idea.
What about the consumer that has to find all the bugs and report them and do the research for the company at their expense?
Would this be acceptable for a pharmaceutical company?
Slide 9
3 Someone talks about their unethical/illegal behavior outside the Cop within in the privacy of the CoP .
Case studies- all true ones I might add.
They are having an affair with the boss. What do we think, do?
They bought a large number of shares in a rival company. What would you do?
They tell you that their brother, well known community member and driver of the school bus is a pedophile. What would you do?
Is there a slippery slope?
Slide 10
4.What do men do in a CoP with feminist ethics?
What do we do if someone in the CoP doesn't want to embrace such ethics?
Slide 11
5. Someone leaves our CoP , takes all the shared soft knowledge and plans for future research
and development and gos to a rival company.
What ethical principles apply?
For a full discussion on the ethical issues relating to 'who owns knowledge' see our next module.
Slide 12
The End
Sunday, December 23, 2007
A code for sustainable ethics
Here is a practical, easy to read code of ethics. It is for sustainable ethics but pertains to many aspects of practical ethics in other areas of lives, business and CoPs.
I will use Atkinsson's framework and add my own comments.
1. Walk your talk.
It is no use having a code of ethics collecting dust on a bookshelf somewhere. Ethics is a practice rather than merely a cognitive process. Modelling ethical behaviour and showing that it is possible is fundamental to practical ethics.
2. Keep up to date.
As information and knowledge is changing more rapidly, better, smarter, more ethical ways of going about business need to be made available and put into action. This is an important aspect of professional ethics
3. Tell the truth about the trends, as you see it.
Tell the truth anyway, saves having to remember and maintain the lie and may create a sense of trust
4. Share information, and credit, with other professionals.
This is the professional attitude that goes back to the Hippocratic oath. Knowledge locked away is irrelevant. One does need to respect confidentiality, as in medical practice and the laws of privacy.
5. Prioritize cooperation over competition, and impact over income.
This is the cornerstone of a CoP, knowledge organisations and learning communities.It is our evolutionary advantage.
6. Make referrals to other professionals whenever appropriate.
This is the networking option, makes for more fluid boundaries but also increases marketing outcomes.
7. Tithe to the volunteers.
Such an old fashioned concept, currently resurrected as Corporate Social Responsibility.
8. Explain your ethical choices.
Be transparent in all actions, have an ethical audit and ethical portfolio. Why not advertise good behaviour? Perhaps it is contagious, we know that it has a multiplier effect. The market for sustainable, green and ethical business and investments is ever increasing.
9. Consider the systemic impacts of your advice and actions.
Systemic thinking is important for professionals but stakeholder theory is also valuable from an economic and ethical point of view.
10. Seek to do no harm.
No harm versus minimal harm versus utilitarian principles of greatest good?Therein lies the crux of all ethical problems. If there was a no harm option then the decision would be too easy.
Reference
Atkinsson, A. (2007). A Code of Ethics for Sustainability Professionals. Worldchanging Retrieved 24/12/2007, from http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007512.html
I will use Atkinsson's framework and add my own comments.
1. Walk your talk.
It is no use having a code of ethics collecting dust on a bookshelf somewhere. Ethics is a practice rather than merely a cognitive process. Modelling ethical behaviour and showing that it is possible is fundamental to practical ethics.
2. Keep up to date.
As information and knowledge is changing more rapidly, better, smarter, more ethical ways of going about business need to be made available and put into action. This is an important aspect of professional ethics
3. Tell the truth about the trends, as you see it.
Tell the truth anyway, saves having to remember and maintain the lie and may create a sense of trust
4. Share information, and credit, with other professionals.
This is the professional attitude that goes back to the Hippocratic oath. Knowledge locked away is irrelevant. One does need to respect confidentiality, as in medical practice and the laws of privacy.
5. Prioritize cooperation over competition, and impact over income.
This is the cornerstone of a CoP, knowledge organisations and learning communities.It is our evolutionary advantage.
6. Make referrals to other professionals whenever appropriate.
This is the networking option, makes for more fluid boundaries but also increases marketing outcomes.
7. Tithe to the volunteers.
Such an old fashioned concept, currently resurrected as Corporate Social Responsibility.
8. Explain your ethical choices.
Be transparent in all actions, have an ethical audit and ethical portfolio. Why not advertise good behaviour? Perhaps it is contagious, we know that it has a multiplier effect. The market for sustainable, green and ethical business and investments is ever increasing.
9. Consider the systemic impacts of your advice and actions.
Systemic thinking is important for professionals but stakeholder theory is also valuable from an economic and ethical point of view.
10. Seek to do no harm.
No harm versus minimal harm versus utilitarian principles of greatest good?Therein lies the crux of all ethical problems. If there was a no harm option then the decision would be too easy.
Reference
Atkinsson, A. (2007). A Code of Ethics for Sustainability Professionals. Worldchanging Retrieved 24/12/2007, from http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007512.html
Code of Ethics
Here is a Code of Ethics for a CoP published, the discussion is available
Connolly, J. (2007). The Place of Ethics in the Spatial Information Sciences: an Australasian Perspective [Electronic Version]. The Global Geospatial Magazine , GIS Development from http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/global/2007/august/26.htm.
They addressed
Professional ethics
Identifying ethical threats
Evaluating the causes of ethical threats
and Examining possible safeguards to minimise ethical threats.
Connolly, J. (2007). The Place of Ethics in the Spatial Information Sciences: an Australasian Perspective [Electronic Version]. The Global Geospatial Magazine , GIS Development from http://www.gisdevelopment.net/magazine/global/2007/august/26.htm.
They addressed
Professional ethics
Identifying ethical threats
Evaluating the causes of ethical threats
and Examining possible safeguards to minimise ethical threats.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Why not a code of ethics?
Enron was famed for having a strict code of ethics. The code of ethics was not externally consistent with the internal organisation and since then, cynicism about codes has a realistic ring.
Code of ethics need to be internally consistent, externally consistent and have face validity ( Goodsall, 2003).
A code needs to be written in such a way that it is part of praxis and not just collecting dust on a library shelf.
It needs to be written in words that can be understood and relate to daily practice.
What is happening internally needs to be reflected int he code and the code needs to be seen to be reliable between members of the community of practice, from one moment to the next and in dealings with people outside the CoP.
There is no point writing a code if it is not true. Perhaps there is no point to writing a code. Acting on a code would have more value.
Goodall, G. (2003). Shelving the Code of Ethics:Bend it like Bentham [Electronic Version] Retrieved 23/12/2007
http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache:834yt4GjDYQJ:www.deregulo.com/facetation/pdfs/shelvingCodeOfEthics.pdf+code+of+ethics,+Communities+of+Practice&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=au.
Code of ethics need to be internally consistent, externally consistent and have face validity ( Goodsall, 2003).
A code needs to be written in such a way that it is part of praxis and not just collecting dust on a library shelf.
It needs to be written in words that can be understood and relate to daily practice.
What is happening internally needs to be reflected int he code and the code needs to be seen to be reliable between members of the community of practice, from one moment to the next and in dealings with people outside the CoP.
There is no point writing a code if it is not true. Perhaps there is no point to writing a code. Acting on a code would have more value.
Goodall, G. (2003). Shelving the Code of Ethics:Bend it like Bentham [Electronic Version] Retrieved 23/12/2007
http://72.14.235.104/searchq=cache:834yt4GjDYQJ:www.deregulo.com/facetation/pdfs/shelvingCodeOfEthics.pdf+code+of+ethics,+Communities+of+Practice&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=21&gl=au.
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