Your Attitude Towards Your Software Licence Reflects The Ethos Of Your Organisation

June 27th, 2011 fwriter 0 Comments

Most people have a pretty firm understanding of the risks of neglecting their software licence: lack of technical support, out-of-date software yarda yarda yarda.

What many people won’t have considered is the impact being complicit in software licence piracy has on the overall morale and attitude of an organisation. When software licence regulations are broken, then so is the law. Many people do not consider the effect this will have on the attitude of staff at an organisation.

The Trust Bond

There should always be a relationship of trust between the managers and workers of an organisation. The best office environments are the ones where staff can be trusted to get on with their work, without having to be babysat.

This trust will be established by the ideology and ethos of the organisation. The relationship should be symbiotic. Staff have a dishonest attitude bred into them when the company they work for engages in dishonest practices.

Lying, cheating and backstabbing are rife at dishonest organisations. It will then only be a matter of time until they turn this attitude onto the organisation itself.

Software piracy is one way of encouraging this attitude at your organisation. Whereas, if your staff see that you go out of your way to abide with the law, it will promote a culture of honesty and respect.

Misapprehension

The reason software licence regulations are so widely broken is because there is a fundamental misunderstanding among its use. Many people think when they purchase software that they then own it; in fact, they are actually only purchasing a licence to use the software.

This has come through a lack of education in businesses over how software can be used. It is important that organisations understand the fundamentals of software licence law and ensure that they are complicit.

The maintenance of an honest ethos is imperative if any business is to develop to its full capacity. If it transpires your company has been using software illegally, then it can be a public relations nightmare.