Analyzing Ethical and Legal Issues in Academic Software Usage

This case study delves into an ethical dilemma faced by a college's Director of Information Technology regarding the use of unlicensed, outdated software provided to students. The stakeholders include the system administrator, the IT director, and the students, each with distinct rights and duties. The core ethical concern revolves around violating software licensing agreements and potentially affecting students' learning experiences due to the software's limitations. The analysis considers the ACS Codes of Ethics and Professional Practice, proposing a resolution that balances ethical compliance with practical constraints, such as budget limitations. The Copyright Act 1968 of Australia is referenced for its legal implications on digital piracy. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of proactive measures, such as regular IT infrastructure reviews and transparent communication with college authorities, to prevent similar ethical dilemmas. Desklib provides access to this and many other solved assignments.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF ETHICAL ISSUES
ANALYSIS OF ETHICAL ISSUES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF ETHICAL ISSUES
1. Who are the stakeholders in the scenario?
The stakeholders in the scenario are:
 system administrator
 college’s Director of Information Technology
 student of the university
2. What are the facts in the scenario?
Some of the facts identified in the scenario are:
 software that the college has provided to its students is not an licensed one
 it is an outdate version
 funding is not available for purchasing new and licensed software
3. Which facts raise ethical concerns? Why?
The engineer-designing tool that is provided to students is not a license one. It is a violation
of ethics as they do not pay the required amount to the company who has developed the
software which is a violation of honesty, an important aspect of ethics.
4. What is the single major ethical dilemma that must be resolved immediately?
As the software is an old version it is not offering all the features that the new version of the
software offers, affecting the learning process of students. Pirated software means a violation
of ethics, but find is not available for purchasing new software. Whether to offer new
software for improving the student learning process and comply with ethics or think about the
college fund while allowing pirated software although it violates ethics is an ethical dilemma
to the director of information technology which has to be resolved immediately.

2ANALYSIS OF ETHICAL ISSUES
5. What are the rights and duties of each of the stakeholders?
 System administrator should identify issues with IT resources and notify it to the
college authority
 College director should care about reputation of college and ensure that students are
learning properly
 Students should provide feedback about any improvement that they need for learning
effectively
6. Does the ACS Codes of Ethics and Professional Practice provide any advice on these
issues? If so what?
According to ACS code of conduct pirated software should be replaced with new and
licensed one for avoiding legal and ethical issues.
7. How would you resolve the dilemma identified in point (4) above? Justify your decision.
I will contract with college authority and explain them the need for replacing the old software
as it will benefit students and required to avoid legal consequence that might affect the
college and its reputation.
8. How are each of the stakeholders listed in point (1) above affected by your decision?
It will help student to learn effectively with new software, the college director might face
legal consequence for providing pirated software to students. However, replacing this
software might help the college to avoid legal consequences as well.
9. What should have been done to avoid the dilemma in the first place?
To avoid the dilemma request for additional funding should have been made to the higher
authority for the replacement of the pirated software for avoiding legal and ethical issues

3ANALYSIS OF ETHICAL ISSUES
10. What federal and/or state legislation currently exists in Australia that could apply in this
The Copyright Act 1968, which makes digital piracy a legal offense in Australia.
11. What policies and procedures, if any, should be in place at the organizational level to
address this and other similar issues?
 periodic review of IT infrastructure and software
 always consider new software for enhanced feature and security
 inform college authority about any issue in the IT resources
 develop budget considering IT infrastructure improvement and software purchasing