Ethical Dilemma in Software Development

This assignment examines an ethical dilemma in software development. A young programmer, Courney, creates a successful health service system, but her manager, Michael, takes all the credit. The case study analyzes how Michael's actions violate the Australian Computer Society's Code of Ethics, particularly regarding professional conduct, honesty, and respect for colleagues. The assignment also proposes recommendations to prevent such ethical breaches in the future, including establishing reporting frameworks and ensuring developers receive proper recognition for their work.

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Code of Ethics
Name:
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

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Introduction
In this case, Courney a young and ambitious programmer develops a new system which offers
web based health services for the aboriginal communities living in remote areas. The system is a
great success and the company receives a lot of recognition for the system by receiving a
national business award. The ethical issue in this case is that Michael takes all the credit for this
project and Courney receives no acknowledgement for her efforts.
In this regard , Michael the manager has breached the following code of ethics of the Australian
Computer Society(Code of ethics, 2010):
1. The manager, failed to act professionally when dealing with her employee and in this
case Courney.
2. As the code of ethics number one stipulates, that a professional in the society should
serve the interests of the employers, community and employees, as equal to the interest of
self. The manager, Michael has served his interests by taking credit of the system when
he knows very well that the credit should go to Courney and therefore she is the one who
is supposed to receive the recognition(Huskey, 2012). It is not enough to be recognized
in the company only but also she deserves to be recognized nationally for her good work.
3. The manager also has violated the code of ethics that states that any certified professional
in the society should be honest in representing their knowledge, skills, products and

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services. The manager has acted unethically by taking credit as if the system was
developed by him.
4. Michael has also failed to enhance the development of Courtney by taking credit of her
work. This is another unethical conduct by the manager.
5. He has also failed to respect the integrity for the computing profession and the respect for
its members including Courney.
Recommendations
The following are the recommendations to rectify the above ethical issue. First,The Australian
Computer Society should develop a framework that will enable software developers report such
cases for disciplinary action in order to prevent such occurrences to other interns(Code of ethics,
2012). The process should be well communicated and should ensure that those who report the
cases are not victimized. Second, when a software is developed, the ACS should ensure that the
creator or the one who developed the system is known so that he/ she can benefit from the patent
and rights. Third, companies should ensure that they adhere to the code of ethics put by the
Australian Computer Society(Guo and Yau, 2000).

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References
Code of ethics. (2010). Canberra, A.C.T.: Australian Association of Social Workers.
Code of ethics. (2012). Melbourne, Vic.: Australian Psychological Society.
Guo, L. and Yau, S. (2000). Lectures on systems, control, and information. Providence, RI:
American Mathematical Society.
Huskey, J. (2012). Software development. Delhi: Research World.