Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Multi-tier subcontracts are also commonplace. One project manager told the
author that he had worked on a project having 16 levels of subcontracts. The
situation in which an engineer working for a third-tier contractor, for example, is
sent off to work for the prime contractor or end-user company due to a shortage of
skilled engineers, is quite common, but also illegal. These business practices make
project management difficult and tend to turn IT professionals into programming
machines.
4.4 Construction of an Appropriately Professional Working
Environment
4.4.1 Organisational Measures to Construct an Appropriately
Professional Working Environment
In order to create and preserve high quality of IT-enabled services, it is necessary
not only to institute a code of professional ethics for IT professionals, but also to
take organisational measures to relieve the pressure and stress that can induce
unprofessional behaviour. Managers in business organisations need to understand
that an appropriately professional working environment, in which IT professionals
are prompted to maintain a professional attitude and to behave in an ethical manner,
has practical or strategic value as well as ethical value.
IT professionals operating in an appropriately professional working environment
could contribute to improved business performance by means of:
- Their professional integrity, which could improve the quality and reliability of
the goods and services they produce, thereby boosting the organisation's trust-
worthiness and reputation, and lowering the costs of human resource manage-
ment (HRM);
- Their concern for public interest, which could mean caring about a wide range of
stakeholders and, therefore, obviating risks to the organisation's trust and repu-
tation; and
- Their high motivation for learning, which could facilitate maintenance of a high
standard of knowledge and lessen HRM costs such as those incurred for in-house
education.
In the e-business environment, an organisation's trustworthiness and reputation
are key, but intangible, assets in the construction of relationships with business
partners and customers (Murata
2003
). Even in the short term, an appropriately
professional working environment can be quite effective in enhancing an
organisation's business performance. In the long term, a business organisation
with an appropriately professional working environment could enjoy favourable
relationships with its business partners, customers, and its skilled and loyal
employees, helping the organisation to remain competitive.
