Balancing Participation And Professionalism Assessment Answers

Introduction

Professionalism is an area of central focus for IT professional. Competency in the IT field, therefore, requires grasping of specific professional skills deemed necessary for IT professionals. Just like any other course studying is based on certain motivating factors. This report detail, the factors that led me to choose the ICT profession, my general experience and learning from studying the Professional skills in IT unit and the applicability of the skills learnt in my professional practice.

The monetary aspect of the ICT profession was one of the motivating factors that led me to study ICT. With increasing demand for technology world over, the demand for technical ICT services has also been on the rise. This fact has made ICT experts some of the most sought after in freelance, government, and corporate World. This, therefore, means that with my ICT degree I will have an opportunity to earn some good amount of money. Working as an ICT professional also comes with some degree of flexibility which means that I will also have time to engage in personal endeavors (Adams & Mccrindle, 2008).  .Additionally, the practical aspect of ICT is also one of the reasons I have chosen this course. There are a variety of careers choices for ICT professionals. This coupled with increasing demand for ICT services means that I will put my skills to optimal use at all times. By enrolling into PIIT I had a picture of myself being an ICT professional fully equipped with the desirable professional skills. The unit would, therefore, play a role in improving my skills and professional competence in the ICT field. This fits into my overall goals because I will not only be sought after for being an ICT expert but because I possess the requisite professional skills. The unit has actually made me reaffirm my choice. It has made me realize that this was the only degree that would best serve my interests. The Unit has changed my aspirations and plans in that while prior to enrolling for PIIT my primary goal was becoming an ICT expert, the lessons from this unit have made shift my focus to becoming a competent ICT expert. I want to be sought after not only because I studied ICT, but because will be doing my work with some degree of professionalism.

Apart from individual work for ICT experts, the field also involves a great deal of teamwork involving members with different skills, ethnicities, religion, age, and gender. This means that the successful completion of teamwork projects requires the possession of certain skills and attributes for experts working in a team. Integrity is one of the desirable behaviors for ICT experts working in a team, individuals are required to have high personal and professional standards as part of their day to day group interactions in order to win the trust of other team members (Crowley,2012). Good communication is also an important aspect of the success of Teams in the ICT field. Because of the diversities likely to be present in a team, good communication means that the needs of all team members will be catered for. It will also give an opportunity for all team members to have their input appreciated by other team members. Being respectful is also a desirable behavior for ICT experts working in a group. By being respectful means that an individual is able to respect the preferences, opinions, customs, divergent ideas and approaches from other team members (De George, 2013). Offering constructive criticism is a behavior that allows maintenance of a bond among team members, ICT professional working in groups need to give their opinions without offending their team members. This can be done by focusing on the work at hand instead of individuals doing the work. Individuals should be in a position of taking and giving constructive criticism. Due to the nature work done by ICT groups, collaboration is also a desirable behavior. A collaborative approach needs to be used in creating a solution and accomplishing group tasks. It means that individuals avoid hiding information in order to outshine their fellow team members. Collaborating gives the entire group an opportunity to shine. Energy and enthusiasm is also an important behavior for the success of ICT teams, this attribute allows individuals to bring fire into their team, irrespective of the roles that they play (Duquenoy, Jones & Blundell, 2008). This does not only lead to the achievement of results but also motivates other group members to bring on board other positive teamwork behaviors.

I played a major role in the success of the team by sharing the information that I had with other team members. Through this act, I ensured that the entire group moved at the same pace. I also offered constructive criticisms in order to improve the performance of my fellow team members. Measuring the performance of the group at different stages and levels would have given us an opportunity for tracking our progress and making the necessary adjustments for a better outcome. I would have helped others by helping them to improve on their areas of weakness (Dwivedi, 2009). I would have also helped them by setting the performance standards through my personal input into the group process.

Due to the particular interest that in have in becoming a professional ICT expert, my focus was on gaining as much as possible through this unit. After an introduction to the Unit, I embarked on a search for additional knowledge to supplement what I had acquired in the classroom context. I have done this continuously in order to improve my competence in both the unit and professional field (Weckert, Lucas & Selgelid, 2013). I have used a number of strategies to achieve this. First, I have subscribed to relevant electronic journals out of which I have drawn much insight on issues in ICT profession. I also linked up with other ICT experts via LinkedIn, in order to get daily or feed pertaining ICT professional issues. In addition, I visited Swinburne Careers Service and attended a number networking events. I did this with an understanding that for me to become competent in my professional area I needed to rely on external knowledge to supplement the knowledge acquired in the classroom.

Key Professional Roles and Responsibilities for a Modern ICT professional

ICT professionals have a responsibility of ensuring that they put the interests of the public above sectional, personal or business interests (Pande & Weide, 2012).

Modern day IT professionals also have a responsibility of ensuring that their work for stakeholders is based on high level of competence and diligence.

IT professionals also have a responsibility of enhancing the professional development of themselves and that of their colleagues.

They also have a responsibility of maintaining high levels of integrity in the way they present their skills, services, and knowledge(Remley and Herlihy, 2014).

Enhancing the quality of Life

With the emergence of multiple issues in the ICT Field, ICT professionals have a primary responsibility of ensuring that they work towards ensuring that they enhance the quality of life for people directly or indirectly affected by their work (Pollock, 2017).

Improving customer satisfaction

They also have a role in ensuring that they maintain the satisfaction of their customers through the development of IT procedures and new strategies aimed at enhancing workflow and increasing efficiency (Remley and Herlihy, 2014).

It experts are also required to put in place security measures such as securing data storage and using encryption to safeguard customer’s data from external interference.

They also play a role in ensuring that ICT infrastructure is up to date through regular assessment. This is meant to ensure that all emerging demands are met 

By enrolling in this unit I have learnt on the differences between being an ICT expert and a competent ICT expert. I have learnt on the important skills that need to be possessed by ICT professionals and requisite behaviors. It has therefore contributed to my induction into the ICT profession by equipping me with the required professional skills and competencies for IT experts (Bott, 2014). Additionally, by studying this unit, I have had an opportunity to interact with players in the ICT field. It has also enabled me to establish professional contacts with major players. All these have contributed to improving my knowledge of ICT profession

Professional ethics refer to a set of principles that guide behavior. In ICT ethics is used to refer to norms that guide behavior between ICT professionals by making a distinction between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The focus of ICT ethics is the treatment of people in ways that ICT professionals would like to be treated. On the other hand, a code of conduct in ICT is an outline of the specific behaviors that are prohibited or allowed by ICT professionals (Mccormick & Gugerty, 2013).

The topic was one of the topics that I developed much interest in. Based on my motivation to become a competent ICT expert this topic stressed the very important aspects that were needed to achieve this outcome. In particular, this topic introduced me to concepts such as the primacy of public interest which require me to always prioritize public interests, honesty which should guide my conduct at all times, competence in Professionals practice, professionalism in ICT, enhancement of the quality of life and professional development. The introduction to these concepts was particularly inspiring in that it provided me with an opportunity to understand where my focus should be amid challenges in my professional practice (Huston, 2014).

This unit also changed my thinking by enhancing my understanding of the fact that the work of an ICT professional is not only to provide technological solutions but also ensuring that their conduct in providing this solution subscribe to certain codes and ethical principles. It improved my understanding of the fact that to be a competent ICT professional encompasses much more than the ability to provide practical solutions to different ICT issues and the ability to work with different systems (Mazzeo, Bellini & Motta, 2008). I can therefore confidently say that my enrolment for ethics and code of conduct topic has significantly changed my perception of the role of the ICT profession.

Week 5 Group Dynamics

Groups refer to a unit formed by two or more people sharing common interests in order to achieve certain goals. For ICT professionals group processes are common occurrences. In such groups, ICT professionals come together driven by certain objectives and work towards strengthening the group process in order to achieve the stated objectives. Group members have a common identity, accept certain obligations and rights and agree to mutually interact with one another. Group Dynamics, on the other hand, is concerned with the behavior patterns and attitudes displayed by members of a group (Lloyd, 2017). It is also concerned with the formation, structuring, and functioning of groups.

By studying this topic, I have learnt a number of things that have impacted my thinking about the functioning of groups in an ICT setting. Of major impact was the collaborative aspect of the group process. I have learnt the effectiveness of using the collaborative approach to create solutions as opposed to working individually (Reynolds, 2019). This approach has helped me to understand that while challenges are inevitable in group processes, working collaboratively can be an effective strategy to deal with such challenges. It emphasizes information sharing that helps the group to succeed as a unit.

Groups are made up of a diverse membership in terms of behavior, ethnicity, and opinions among other aspects (Rothman et al., 2010). Through this, I have learn the importance of tolerance as an aspect of enhancing the success of ICT groups. Previously, I thought that such diversities are a disadvantage to a group but upon completing this topic, I have learnt that if tolerated diversities can be a strength to a group.

It has also changed my perception of criticism in the group process. Prior to studying this topic; I was of the opinion that criticizing group members would have a negative impact on their participation and productivity in the group process. I have however learnt that constructive criticism can boost the performance of groups.

Week 6 Communication and why it matters 

Communication is a two-way process of sharing information between the sender and the receiver in order to arrive at a mutual understanding. Communication does not only lead to an exchange of information but also an exchange of feelings, ideas, and news as well as creation and sharing of meaning. The effectiveness of communication is therefore determined by its ability to create meaning (Zetler & Bonello, 2011).

Communication is an important aspect of the ICT practice. The IT sector has been described as one of the fastest growing sectors. This growth has been marked by technological changes that have led to the emergence of both simpler and complex technologies. Such changes make effective communication quite important for the ICT profession (Schultz, 2010).ICT professionals need to be in a position of explaining technological aspects for both simple technologies for their clients. They also need to be in a position of explaining the application of technology in various spheres of life. This cannot be done effectively if they lack crucial communication skills. The IT profession, therefore, requires possession of precise writing skills, strong listening skills, and excellent oral presentation skills in order to understand the requirements of their clients and provide an explanation on the working of various systems, create user manuals and document project scope (Dilevko, 2014). Before embarking on this unit, I did not perceive communication skills to be an important component of the ICT practice. This perception has however changed upon completion of this topic. In my plan of becoming a competent ICT professional, I did not envision communication skills as one of the requirements that I would be required to have but the lessons drawn from this topic I have learnt of the significance of communication in the advancement of my ICT career.

References

Adams, A. A., & Mccrindle, R. J. (2008). Pandora's box: social and professional issues of the information age. Chichester, England, John Wiley & Sons

Bott, F. (2014). Professional issues in information technology. Swindon

Crowley, W. A. (2012). Defending professionalism: a resource for librarians, information specialists, knowledge managers, and archivists

De George, R. T. (2013). The ethics of information technology and business. Malden, MA, Blackwell Pub. https://site.ebrary.com/id/10236583. . [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Dilevko, J. (2014). Politics of Professionalism A Retro-Progressive Proposal for Librarianship.

Duquenoy, P., Jones, S., & Blundell, B. (2008). Ethical, legal and professional issues in computing. Australia, Thomson.

Dwivedi, A. N. (2009). Handbook of research on information technology management and clinical data administration in healthcare. Hershey, Pa, IGI Global. https://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-60566-356-2. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Huston, C. J. (2014). Professional issues in nursing: challenges & opportunities. Baltimore, Philadelphia

Kultgen, J. H. (2008). Ethics and professionalism. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press. https://grinnell.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/3661/.[Accessed 23 May 2018].

Lloyd, I. J. (2017). Information technology law. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Mazzeo, A., Bellini, R., & Motta, G. (2008). E-Government Ict Professionalism and Competences Service Science. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09712-1.

Mccormick, K. A., & Gugerty, B. (2013). Healthcare Information Technology exam guide for CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician and HIT Pro certifications. New York, McGraw-Hill. https://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=50545.

Pollock, J. C. (2017). Making human rights news: balancing participation and professionalism. Routledge.

Pande, R., & Weide, T. V. D. (2012). Globalization, technology diffusion, and gender disparity: social impacts of ICTs. Hershey, PA, Information Science Reference.

Remley, T.P., and Herlihy, B., 2014. Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Reynolds, G. W. (2019). Ethics in information technology. Boston, MA: Cengage

Rothman, D. J., et al. (2010). Medical professionalism in the new information age. New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University Press. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=832045. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Schultz, R. A. (2010). Information technology and the ethics of globalization: transnational issues and implications. Hershey, PA, Information Science Reference.

Zetler, J., & Bonello, R. (2011). Essentials of Law, Ethics, and Professional Issues in CAM - E-Book. https://nls.ldls.org.uk/welcome.html?ark:/81055/vdc_100052493331.0x000001. [Accessed 23 May 2018].

Weckert, J., Lucas, R., & Selgelid, M. J. (2013). Professionalism in the information and communication technology industry. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4585025. [Accessed 23 May 2018].