Ethical Dilemma in Software Development

This assignment requires students to analyze a scenario where a software development company is faced with the decision to launch their product early without incorporating encryption. The company's CEO pressures them to meet a deadline, but the developer is concerned about the security risks. Students must identify the ethical issues, consider the options for resolving the dilemma, and choose the best course of action. This assignment helps students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the context of business ethics.

Running head: DOING ETHICS TECHNIQUE
Doing Ethics Technique
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note
Word Count: - 1000

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What's going on?
The scenario is to analyze the ethical dilemma with the help of Doing Ethics
Technique. The case provided in the scenario is that the organization is in a dilemma as to
whether they should launch the Willis project early without incorporating encryption. The
higher authorities plan that once they release the software early they would gain immense
benefits and later they would update the software and incorporate the encryption code into it
such that the security issues in the software could be mitigated as they are confident that there
are less chances for the software to be hacked. Moreover, the successful early launch of the
Willis project would also ensure the confirmation of the next deal worth 3 million, but the
security of the software launched without encryption was the main concern for Gregg, as it
prevents the unauthorized access to the information stored in the software and those vital
information’s should be kept confidential. However, Gregg’s boss was more concerned about
the future profits and contracts obtained there from (YouTube, 2018).
What are the facts?
The scenario deals with the dilemma of whether the organization should launch the
Willis project software without encrypting the encryption code in it (Crane & Matten, 2016).
The major fact involved in the scenario is of encryption. It is a process in which the original
data is modified into Cipher text using some encryption algorithms. In recent times, there
were instances of numerous software projects being hacked due to the fact that the software’s
lacked encryption. Encryption is an essential step that should be incorporated in the software
as it is means of securing the vital information incorporated in the software. Encryption
assures the blockage of unauthorized access to the information incorporated in the software
and also minimizes the chances of the software getting hacked by the attackers.
What are the issues?

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The major issue of consideration here is that whether the Willis project software
should be launched without incorporating encryption algorithm in the code of the software.
The CEO pressurizes the software developer as well as Gregg such that he would agree to the
launch of the product without encrypting it as they consider encryption as a necessity for the
security of the software (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). However, Gregg’s boss ensures him that
the software has minimal chances of getting hacked, but the launch poses reputation threat to
the company as the code is not encrypted and is vulnerable to attack by the hackers.
Who is affected?
There is a long list of people affected by the launch of the software namely, the
company officials, the software constructing team members and the stakeholders associated
with the software (Lawson et al., 2016). In case of the early launch of the product, Gregg, his
team members as well as his company would gain immense profit in terms of bonus but the
Willis will suffer loss as the software could get hacked by the attackers that may lead to loss
of essential information from the company and lower down the reputation of both the
company and in turn, the bond between the company would also get affected.
What are the ethical issues and their implications?
The ethical issue concerned in the given scenario is the early launch of the project
without incorporating the encryption code in the project software. The early launch of the
project will increase the vulnerability of the project being hacked by the attackers. The
implication would be that the vital information contained in the software would get leaked
(Nathan, 2015). Thus, the company in order to gain profits is delivering low quality service to
the Willis Company. Moreover, even the lower probability of the product getting hacked by
the attackers, could lower down the reputation of the company. However, if the product gets
hacked it will also have serious impact on the reputation of the Willis Company.

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What could have been done about it?
The early launch of the software without encrypting the code would be a highly risky
situation according to Gregg and the software developer as there are high chances of the
product being hacked. The higher authorities of the company should seek in the advice of the
Willis Company about their idea of the early launching of the product without encrypting the
code (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Moreover, the company officials would have delayed the
launch and would properly incorporate the encryption code in the software as it was
necessary to encrypt the software. However, the company would also have increased the pace
of work such that they would get the encryption of the software completed within the time.
What are the options?
The options available for the company officials are that they would hire more
employees such that they would complete the encryption of the software within a month’s
time such that the information contained in the software is secured. Hiring more employees
would lead to the completion of task in within a month’s time. Moreover, the second option
would be to inform the Willis Company of the early launch and then propose the idea of
updating the software later embedded with the encryption code (Trevino & Nelson, 2016).
This option would be ethical up to some extent but it increases chances of the hacking
activities by the hackers. This option would also lead to the lowering of the reputation of the
company as they in greed of future contract are not serving the quality product and there may
be a condition that they would not be provided the upcoming contract.
Which option is the best and why?
According to the DET Analysis, the best option could the first choice, in which the
developing company plans to hire more employees such as to finish the task within the

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stipulated amount of time (Yazdani & Murad, 2015). This option is the best one as the
company would be providing the Willis Company a quality product with countermeasures to
the security flaws as well as this would earn them the confidence of the Willis Company and
would successfully receive the upcoming projects as well. This would also be ethical as they
would provide what they were asked for and also build a strong relationship with the
company.

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References
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases.
Nelson Education.
Lawson, C., Beer, C., Rossi, D., Moore, T., & Fleming, J. (2016). Identification of ‘at
risk’students using learning analytics: the ethical dilemmas of intervention strategies
in a higher education institution. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 64(5), 957-968.
Nathan, G. (2015). Innovation process and ethics in technology: an approach to ethical
(responsible) innovation governance. Journal on Chain and Network Science, 15(2),
119-134.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business: A skill building approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to
do it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Yazdani, N., & Murad, H. S. (2015). Toward an ethical theory of organizing. Journal of
Business Ethics, 127(2), 399-417.
YouTube. (2018). Scenario 3: Early Launch. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5M7ohdZ6qA [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].