COIT20249 Portfolio: Responding to an Ethical Dilemma in ICT

This portfolio entry addresses an ethical dilemma concerning a friend's use of ghostwriting services for academic assessments. The author grapples with the decision to report the misconduct, weighing friendship against the principles of academic integrity and the ACS Code of Professional Conduct. The response emphasizes the importance of honesty, professional development, and enhancing the quality of life for all students by ensuring fair evaluation. Ultimately, the author resolves to first counsel their friends about the detrimental effects of ghostwriting, and if unsuccessful, to report the misconduct to maintain ethical standards within the ICT field. The author also considers the impact on other students who are completing their assessment by their own effort.

Running head: PORTFOLIO
COIT20249: Professional skills in Information
Communication Technology
Portfolio 3: Responding to an Ethical Scenario

1PORTFOLIO
Ghost writing is an ethical dilemma, and my friends had made serious academic
misconduct which is now going to affect the effort of other students. When I show my friends are
taking the help of ghost writer to complete their assessment, I thought first to inform my lecturer,
but somewhere in my mind, I thought that if I complain I will lose my friends. I thought a lot
about it then decided to make my friends understand that it would not be fair to complete the
assessment through a ghost writer. By this, they would not be able to gain the skills and
knowledge about the subject, and later in future, they might face the problem. In this case, if my
friends listen to it then well and good but still if they continue then I would be left with only
choice to inform my lecturer about it. As it is affecting the effort of other students, who are
completing their assessment by their own.
As the member of the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, I have considered the
enhancement of Quality of Life, Honesty, Professional Development and Professionalism as a
key element to avoid such ethical dilemma (Graham & Low, 2018). If I consider the
enhancement of Quality of Life from the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, then it plays a very
important role in the ICT particularly for the negative effect and with disabilities. My friends are
just finding an easy way to get good marks but are it making their life or ruining it they are not
able to realise. Thus to enhance their Quality of Life, taking this step can some way change their
thinking and learning style. Another student will be personally satisfied that their efforts are not
gone waste as they all are trying to put their self-effort to get a good job. Another ethical value
is, to be honest. Ghost written assessment are misleading my friends. They are not only
impacting their career but also setting a bad example for the juniors who will also again follow
the same ways to workout with their assessment without making any effort. I am those friends
who can understand what I would be doing is not unfair will not leave me. I will instead try to

2PORTFOLIO
help them even to complete their assessment if they make a little effort by themselves.
Professionally if I think, it will encourage my friends to develop their skill and knowledge by
continuing the professional development in the ICT. Every student who has completed their
assessment with self-effort must get the opportunity to grow in their career paths.

3PORTFOLIO
References
Graham, R., & Low, G. (2018). ACS Code of Professional Conduct Professional
Standards Board Australian Computer Society [EBook]. Ruth Graham, Graham Low. Retrieved
from https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/rules-and-regulations/Code-of-Professional-
Conduct_v2.1.pdf