Ethics in Professional Decision Making

This assignment examines a case study where Hardeep, facing a professional decision, must choose between two ERP companies – Company A offering a superior system and Company B, his friend's company, with a less advantageous solution. The analysis focuses on how Hardeep's decision should align with the ACS Code of Ethics principles: 'The Primacy of the Public Interest,' 'Honesty,' and 'Professionalism.' It argues for prioritizing public interest, honesty in decision-making, and professional conduct over personal relationships.

Running head: ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM AND GOVERNANCE
Ethics, Professionalism and Governance
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM AND GOVERNANCE
Case Study 2
According to this case study, if Hardeep accepts the offer from Company B, he will be
violating three major codes of ethics of ACS. According to the provided case study, Hardeep
has received offer from Company A and Company B; and Company A is providing better
solution than Company B. However, Hardeep’s best friend Mandeep is the general manager of
Company B and asking Hardeep for favor by selecting his company in spite of having less
superiority than Company A. According to ‘The Primacy of the Public Interest’ principle of ACS
Code of Ethics, public interest needs highest priority over personal, private and sectional
interests and the conflicts should be resolved in public interest (Clarke, 2016). Thus, according
to this principle, Hardeep is required to take decisions for the interest of the company and he
should select the superior system for this company. In case he accepts the offer of Company B
due to his personal interest of friendship, he will violate the principle of ‘The Primacy of the
Public Interest’. According to ‘Honesty’ principle of ACS Code of Ethics, managers should not
break the trust of public or the stakeholders for any reason (acs.org.au, 2018). They should take
any professional decisions with utmost honesty and integrity. In the provided case, honesty and
integrity demand the selection of best ERP providing company for the organizations that is
Company A. Though the initial cost of Company B is less than Company A, further modification
will increase the cost the software of Company B. In this situation, Company A will be optimal
for Hardeep’s company. However, in case Hardeep selects Company B on the basis of his
friendship with Mandeep, he will fail to select the optimal solution for his organization and will
break the trust of the stakeholders (Burmeister, 2013). In this way, he will break the principle of
‘Honesty’ of ACS Code of Ethics. According to the ‘Professionalism’ of ACS Code of Ethics, it is
required for the employees and managers to act in the most professional way in the
organization. In this case study, Hardeep will not act in the professional way in case he accepts
the offer of Company B due to his friendship with Mandeep and will break the principle of
‘Professionalism’ of ACS Code of Ethics (acs.org.au, 2018).
Thus, it is recommended for Hardeep to comply with the ACS Code of Ethics in his
professional life. Compliance with these codes of ethics will make Hardeep take professional
decisions for the interest of the organization or the interest of the stakeholders. This aspect will
also make Hardeep to take correct decisions for his company. Apart from these, compliance
with these codes of ethics will make Hardeep work in the most integrated and honest manner.
For this reason, it is recommended for Hardeep to comply with each principle of ACS Code of
Ethics. The compliance will be beneficial for Hardeep as well as for the business organization
also. These are the major recommendation for Hardeep.

2ETHICS, PROFESSIONALISM AND GOVERNANCE
References
ACS Code of Ethics. (2018). Acs.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2018, from
https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-documents/Code-of-Ethics.pdf
ACS Code of Professional Conduct. (2018). Acs.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2018, from
https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/rules-and-regulations/Code-of-Professional-
Conduct_v2.1.pdf
Burmeister, O. K. (2013). Achieving the goal of a global computing code of ethics through an
international-localisation hybrid. Ethical Space, 10(4), 25-32.
Clarke, R. (2016). Big data, big risks. Information Systems Journal, 26(1), 77-90.