Solution of Ethical Dilemma from Chris McDonald's Perspective

The solution of the ethical dilemma from the lens view of Chris McDonald
(A)
Recognition of the Moral Dimension
The moral dimensions associated with the ethical dilemma of John are related to the declaration
of the fact that he has plagiarized certain parts of his program from a source present on the
internet. He didn’t take the permission of the original author. He has this option to hide this
plagiarism; however, a revelation of the same in the future can attract heavy penalties for his
company and tarnish their reputation. The ACS code designed for the professionals and software
developers identifies this condition under the heading of the “Code of honesty.” If john is not
declaring his plagiarism then it is a violation of the keywords “wrong representation of
knowledge” and “wrongful delivery of service and products (ACS Code of Professional
Conduct, 2014).”
(B)
Interested parties and their relationships
This equation identifies three stakeholders, John is an employee of an organization, this
organization is offering its services under the capacity of a software developer to a client and
john’s manager is representing the organization in front of the client (Ferguson, 2005). If John
fails in acknowledging the plagiarism in the software then it is a breach of code 6 that describes
the “professionalism.” The code of professionalism signifies the integrity of a business
environment prevailing in the industry. An elaboration of this code also covers certain other
unwritten codes of conduct; transparency related to the features and ingredients of software is

primary among them. If John’s hides about plagiarism then it is a breach of professionalism by
all the possible standards because he is keeping his organization in dark and covering up a fact
that can bring disrespect for everyone who is involved in the deal (Heath,2018).
(C)
The involvement of the Values in the present case
In the present case, we can see that John is passing through a condition that can be considered as
“conflict of interest.” It is clash between the moral values of “trust and competence.” If John
commits that he has done plagiarism then it shows that he was not competent enough to deliver
the goods (McDonald, 2006). If he hides this plagiarism from the manager then it is a breach of
trust. Competence denotes the code number fourth of ACS rule book. It requires diligent disposal
of the services, John failed in serving diligently, and by hiding this fact from the stakeholders he
can also break the trust of the stakeholders (Gunz,2014).
Benefits and burdens
There are two situations, in the first situation, John can disclose about the plagiarism to his
immediate boss.
Pros of situation one
Let’s hypothetically assume that the plagiarism done by John is undetectable, In case John hides
the plagiarism then his actions can be justified under ACS code which dictates the “primacy of
the public interest” under the present case John’s non-disclosure can serve the interests of the
clients and the company. In this case John’s act can be justified by all the possible standards.