Ethical Dilemma: FABIO's System Security

The scenario presents a situation where Harry, a system security analyst at FABIO, has been rejected for a position back in the company after he had initially left to start his own business. The organization and its stakeholders, including shareholders, would benefit if action is taken to rehire Harry. If not, Brockley and Jill, two executives at FABIO, will personally benefit from their decision to reject Harry's solution. The assignment requires making a defensible ethical decision by considering the rights and duties of employees involved, as well as the benefits of each alternative. Ultimately, the decision is made in favor of rehireing Harry, with steps outlined for implementing this decision.

Unit Code:
Unit Name: Professional Environment Assignment No. 1
Name of the document: Ethics Assignment –
Lecturer/Tutor’s Name:
Student Details:
Name:
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Ethical Analysis and Decision making process
Step 1: Understanding the situation
1A: Enlistment and number of relevant facts associated
1. Harry is a diligent employee working under the organization named FABIO, a
major graphics providing Software Company located in Australia, as a system
security analyst.
2. Harry is extremely talented and a dedicated employee with all the security
information required for the benefit of the company, inclusive of all the
methodologies and updates.
3. Addressing the major security issues, Harry decided and eventually developed
self-programmed software, potential enough to provide higher level of security
for the systems involved with specific relevant features, ahead of fellow
competitors.
4. Believing in his expertise, Harry decided to go ahead for entrepreneurship,
purchasing all the required hardware and software necessary for his star-up
enterprise.
5. Harry decided to approach Jill, the manger to him and head of the IT security
department in FABIO to offer the software at a discounted price, considering it as
the first client.
6. Jill on the proposition rejected the software being judgmental about it and stating
it to be dangerous for the company and informed she would not purchase such a
commodity even it was free.
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7. Unable to pursue his dream, Harry decided to become a web consultant to all the
prospective users, pseudonymously blogging solution as Safe-T utilizing the name
Lock Smith.
8. Soon enough, the manager Jill, discovers about this pseudonymous blogging and
easily derives that to be Harry, as the program became a trend-setter in the
market.
9. Realizing the immense popularity Harry achieved for the software, Jill at once
decided to sack him and informs her manager Brockley.
10. Brockley, the manger and executive head of the IT department, did not enquire
about the situation and directly agreed to the termination.
11. Amidst these happenings, the fame rose to a level that eventually, Iris Bigg , the
owner of the company FABIO, decided and ordered Brockley to enquire about
Lock Smith and immediately heir him for their company.
12. Brockley, now has to offer Harry his job again.
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1 B: Which of these raise an ethical issue
SITUATION NUMBER POTENTIAL HARM
3 Organization is unaware of Harry’s excellent
research
5,7 Employee’s trust and rights are breached
8,9 Manager Jill did not consult high-level
management and the company lost a diligent
employee
10 Unethical decision from Brockley
Table: 1
Notation: the pointers stated above indicate all the former and the present issues.
Number 4 is nt a major issue alongside of 5, 7, as employees like Harry excels
overcoming challenges. Addressing 8,9- it is a past action and is already taken, so the
major issue revolves around number 10, the factual present dilemma of offering Harry
his position back.
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1 C: The stake holders involved in the analysis
Based on the narrative the major stake-holders list below would help us determine for
whom it will be beneficial
 FABIO Inc.
 Competitors to FABIO
 Stakeholders at FABIO Inc.
 Internal prospective Security users
 Harry
 Jill, Head of IT Security department at FABIO
 Brockley, Executive Head of IT department at FABIO
Step II: Isolation of the Major Ethical Dilemma involved
Should and Would Brockley decide to offer Harry a position back to this company, for the
general profit of the organization?
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Step III: Ethical Analysis of the situation
Using the theory of Consequentialism:
A. If action in Step II is done, who will be harmed?
Certainly, this would harm Jill and Brockley, who failed to realize the importance and
benefits of Harry’s developed software.
B. If action in Step II is NOT done, who will be harmed?
FABIO will be at great loss then, as it will fail to compete in the market.
C. Which alternative results in the least harm?
Option A provides the least harm possible in such a situation.
D. If action in Step II is done, who will benefit?
The entire organization and the employee alongside the shareholders would benefit from
the action in Step II.
E. If action in Step II is NOT done, who will benefit?
In such a case, the benefits are personalized focused on Brockley and Jill.
F. Which alternative results in the maximum benefit?
In all certain ways, the alternative stated in option D is beneficial.
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Comments on Consequentialism (Options at A. and D.):
Following the chosen options, lesser number of people that is Jill and Brockley would be harmed
even might get terminated from the organization (Carlson, E., 2013). While eventually the
organization would get benefited if Harry is approached for a position back in the company, as
his solution would provide better system security and market position for FABIO.
Rights and Duties:
G. Enlistment of relevant breached rights and neglected duties are done in following part of
the section.
1. Organizations possess the right to enquire or know about any additional interests of any
of its employee. Harry had the ethical sense to inform his senior management about his
advanced thinking, as a part of his duties.
2. The management system has the right to know about any innovative ideas emerging from
an employee. Eventually, should support it. Harry had the duty to inform his management
about a better solution that could be beneficial for the company.
3. Harry had the right to know about the official and valid ground for the rejection
forwarded by the management. It was the duty on Jill’s part to properly analyze the
solution from Harry before disapproving it.
4. Harry possessed the right to express his views to his seniors while, Brockley had the
responsibility to enquire about the situation before supporting the judgment of Jill.
5. Following the rejection it was Harry’s right to launch the software on a platform that
offered full support to benefit the graphic security users. While, the duty of Jill was to
take up the news relative to the sensational buzz the launch created.
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Rights and Duties Comments:
From the pointer mentioned above it will be correct to state that the right and the duties
involving employee as Harry, Jill, Brockley and the organization is at an argumentative point,
which needs to be resolved and judged ethically and with transparency.
Utilization of Kant’s Categorical Imperative:
H. If action in Step II is done, who will be treated with disrespect?
Jill, the head if IT and Brockley, the executive head.
I. If action in Step II is NOT done, who will be treated with disrespect?
Iris Bigg, the owner of the company would be disrespected as eventually he will come in
terms with the fact how the employee, Harry initiated his Start-Up.
J. Which alternative is preferable?
Option I is preferable in all means.
K. If action in Step II is done, who will be treated unlike others?
Harry, system security analyst will be treated unlikely.
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L. If action in Step II is NOT done, who will be treated unlike others?
No one.
M. Which alternative is preferable?
Option presented in pointer K is preferable.
N. Are there benefits if everyone did action in Step II?
Yes, it will be a definite benefit for the organization FABIO and the market involved.
O. Are there benefits if nobody did action in Step II?
Yes, in this way, Harry will fulfill his dream of being an entrepreneur.
P. Which alternative is preferable?
Addressing this query both are potential but since, Harry wanted to sell his program
initially so option N is preferable.
Step III: Discussion
On analysis of the pointers stated, it would be constructive to deduce who
eventually would benefit in the end, the organization FABIO and society or Harry and the
prospective users.
In the both the stated alternatives, the societu anyhow would benefit, so it is of
prior importance to decide between Harry and the organization who would and should be
benefited (Sherman 2014).
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However, in the process of decision making it is important to consider the other
employees who are involved in the case, Brockley and Jill. They will get adversely
affected if Harry is offered a position back in the organization, while if not, Bigg will lose
the trust in Brockley. With the entry of Harry back in the organization, both Jill and
Brockley would have to face the consequences of neglecting their duties.
Step IV: Making a Decision
IV: A. Make a defensible ethical decision
Harry should be offered his position back in the organization, as he has established his
stature based on his expertise, which would as a result benefit the society, Harry and the
organization FABIO (refer to part IV.B).
IV: B. List the steps needed to implement your defensible ethical decision
1. Brockley should first explain the situation to the owner, Bigg and offer the
rectification needed on his end by proposing Harry his position.
2. Brockley should arrange a meeting with Harry and explain to convince him in this
situation. They together should plan ahead for the betterment of Harry and the
Organization FABIO.
3. Brockley should advice Jill to apologize to Harry and convince him to return to
FABIO.
4. Brockley, being the executive head should offer help to Harry if in any way, he feels
dissatisfied in FABIO.
5. Brockley, should promise to give up on unethical biased decision as earlier.
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Another notation to add would be to inform Iris Bigg about the entire situation, about all
the ill- treatments Harry was subjected to. Eventually, Harry should be offered a greater
compensation.
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References list
Carlson, E., 2013. Consequentialism reconsidered (Vol. 20). Springer Science & Business
Media.
Sherman, N., 2014. The place of emotions in Kantian morality. In Kant on Emotion and
Value (pp. 11-32). Palgrave Macmillan UK.
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