Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The following case is based on a real situation. It represents how IT professionals
are likely to act in an ethically questionable way given certain organisational and
social circumstances:
DAMEMOTO, a large Japanese automobile manufacturer, decided to replace its
outdated mainframe-based information system with a state-of-the-art C/S system.
DAMEMOTO's CIO had worked in production management at DAMEMOTO's
main factory for over 30 years and had been promoted to his current position 6
months ago. This project was a good opportunity for him to show his competence as
CIO, so he was determined to construct a flawless information system.
A joint venture was organised to develop DAMEMOTO's new system; several
experienced system engineers from the four software houses involved in the joint
venture were ordered to join the project team. A clause in the contract stated that
they must provide the CIO with a semi-monthly report of 'the bug control curve' to
help him follow the project's progress. The bug control curve was an application of
a quality control (QC) measure which was commonly used in Japanese automobile
factories; the CIO proposed it, based on his experience in production management.
The CIO told the project team that he expected the number of bugs in the system
programs to approximate a logistic curve. That is, if the project were well managed,
the number of bugs detected would diminish as the project progressed, and would
asymptotically become zero by the end of the project. Conversely, if the number did
not diminish,
the CIO would consider
this to be evidence of
the project
management's failure.
However, it is impossible to control the number of bugs detected during this type
of project. The project team members decided to insert bugs intentionally in the
programs they coded and to 'control' the number of bugs detected against their will.
As intended, the shape of their bug control curve was nearly a logistic curve.
4.3.3.3 Requirements for IT Professionals in Japan
A top priority of Japanese national IT strategic policies since 2001 has been the
development of IT professionals such as software engineers (including IT architects
and embedded-software specialists), digital content creators, project managers,
information security specialists, IT co-ordinators and IT researchers. This emphasis
is based on a recognition that the current shortage of such human resources will
continue, even though they are critical to maintaining and improving Japan's
international competitiveness. Recruitment of qualified foreign IT professionals is
recommended for the same reason. The Japanese business community has
supported the government's view on the subject. For example, the Nippon
Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) issued a policy proposal in December
2007 that recommended setting up a national centre for developing advanced IT
human resources (Japan Business Federation
2007
).
The “Skill Standards for IT Professionals” published by the IT Skill Standards
Centre, a division of the Information Technology Promotion Agency that
administers certificate exams for IT professionals, defines a professional as follows.
