Case Study: Ethical Dilemmas in Diane's Company ICT Practices

This case study analyzes the ethical challenges faced by Diane's Company, an ICT consultancy firm. The company is tasked with designing a database management system (DBMS) for a medium-sized client. The client prefers a less secure system to save costs, while Diane recognizes the importance of strong security for sensitive information. The analysis employs the Doing Ethics Technique (DET) to evaluate the situation, addressing eight key questions to determine ethical considerations. The study also applies the ACS Code of Ethics to assess professional conduct. The analysis highlights the conflict between cost-effectiveness and data security, examining the ethical implications of choosing a less secure system. The report concludes with recommendations, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing data security and ethical decision-making in ICT practices to protect client interests and maintain professional integrity. The best course of action is to convince the client to choose a highly secured DBMS, even if the cost is higher. According to Deontology theory, selling a safe product will produce happiness among the users and according to Utilitarianism theory, this decision is the best decision.

Running head: DIANE’S COMPANY
Case Study: Diane’s Company
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Analysis using DET.........................................................................................................................2
Q1. What is going on?.................................................................................................................3
Q2. What are the facts?................................................................................................................3
Q3. What are the issues?..............................................................................................................4
Q4. Who is affected?...................................................................................................................5
Q5. What are the ethical issues and implications?......................................................................5
Q6. What can be done about it?...................................................................................................6
Q7. What are the options?...........................................................................................................6
Q8. Which option is best and why?.............................................................................................6
Analysis using ACS Code of Ethics................................................................................................7
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Diane runs a consultancy firm. Diane’s Company has several employees as well as
clients. They advise their clients for setting up corporate intranets and designing DBMS. They
are also responsible for giving security related advises to their clients. Diane has taken up a
project to design the DBMS of a company that is medium sized. Diane has allowed the
participation of the client in the process of designing. The client opted for a less secured system
as the cost of a highly secured system will be high. According to Diane, the system requires
more security features as it contains sensitive information.
This report analyzes the entire case study from the ethical point of view. It analyzes the
entire situation the is presented in the Diane’s Company case study by taking the help of Doing
Ethics Technique or DET. This report answers eight main questions to evaluate the situation and
determine whether it is ethical or not. This report also analyzes the Diane’s Company case study
from the perspective of ICT Professionals by taking the help of ACS Code of Ethics. This report
also combines the analysis based on DET and ACS and gives overall recommendations
regarding the situation.
Analysis using DET
DET or Doing Ethics Techniques is used for the purpose of analyzing ethical issues in
various situations (Wachs 2017). This technique helps the people to think in an ethical manner. It
does not ensure best solutions but it helps in providing an ethical solution. Eight questions can be
answered to get an accurate result. The Diane’s Company case study is analyzed by DET and by
answering eight questions as follows:

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Q1. What is going on?
The Diane’s Company was founded three years ago. It deals in consulting business.
Diane is involved in giving several types of corporate advices to the clients. There are several
employees and clients of this company. Recently this company has taken up a DBMS project of
a company that is medium sized (Bernstein and Jain 2014). The client is also participating in the
process of design of the DBMS. Diane has found out that this database will store sensitive and
valuable information and therefore it requires advanced and strong security features. The cost of
incorporating strong security features will become much more than they had planned and this
made the client opt for less secured system. According to Diane, if the system does not have
strong security features then it will become easy for any attacker to hack into the system and
therefore she gives suggestion to use a strong security system. She tried to explain about the
various risks of a less secure system but the computing director, personnel director as well as the
CEO was in favor of a less secure system (Shapiro, Stefkovich and Gutierrez 2014). Diane is in a
state of dilemma whether she should build a highly or less secure system.
Q2. What are the facts?
Several facts have been observed in the case study.
 Diane’s Company is a consultancy firm. The business is running for the past three
years.
 The company provides advice regarding designing of DBMS and setting up
corporate intranet. This company is also engaged in advising their clients
regarding security.

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 Recently Diane has taken up a project for designing DBMS of a medium sized
firm.
 The client is also involved in the design process of the DBMS.
 The company needs to take decision regarding the degree and level of security
that is to be incorporated in the system.
 Several options were presented to the client.
 The project cost would be higher than the planned cost by incorporating strong
security features.
 The client wanted a less secured system because it would be less costly.
 The computing director, personnel director as well as the CEO was in favor of a
system with less security features.
 Diane knew the security risks that can harm the system and wanted to build a
highly secured system.
Q3. What are the issues?
There are several issues involved in this case. The case depicted a scenario where Diane
can understand the importance of the security risks involved in the DBMS that they are
designing for a medium sized company. The client as well as the computing director, personnel
director and the CEO is in favor of a system with less security features. They are unable to
understand the information security needs of the DBMS. This can lead to a conflict between
Diane and directors of the company. This issue of conflict can disturb the harmony of the work
environment leading to low productivity and low customer satisfaction (Shafer-Landau 2014).
Another issue can be conflict between Diane and the client company. The client company might
misunderstand Diane and think that she is suggesting in designing a high security system because

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of high price. The client company might not understand the real importance of the security needs
(Ford and Richardson 2013). This situation can lead to low customer satisfaction. Another
important issue that can occur is ethical in nature. Designing a less secured DBMS will harm the
company later. It will not be ethical for a IT company to deliver a project with less secure
features. Delivering a less secure project will not only affect the reputation of Diane’s Company
but also affect the users as their sensitive data will be lost due to any security threat and attack.
Q4. Who is affected?
The people who are affected in this case study are the CEO, computing director,
personnel director, Diane and the client company. There can be conflict among the stakeholders
due to the security decisions of the DBMS of the client company. This can lead to disharmony in
the work environment leading to low productivity. Low productivity will dissatisfy the
customers. On the other hand if the company decides to deliver a low secure DBMS then it will
affect the entire reputation of the company (Durkheim 2013). If later on the system’s
vulnerabilities are exploited by the attackers to access the sensitive information then it will harm
the users of the DBMS. The financial data and other valuable data will be lost. The users will be
affected in this case.
Q5. What are the ethical issues and implications?
IT companies must look into the safety features of the projects that they deliver. They
must deliver a safe project incorporating security features in the system. It will not be ethical for
a company to deliver an unsafe project that can harm the client company in the future (Dewey
2016). If the company delivers an unsafe project and later on if any security breach occurs then it

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will harm the reputation of Diane’s company and will also affect the users whose valuable data
will be lost.
Q6. What can be done about it?
A mutual decision can be taken in order to resolve this issue. Diane can compromise with
her decision. She can compromise with the security features of the DBMS for the client
company. This solution is unethical. Diane can explain the importance of information security
and convince the client to opt for a highly secure database system.
Q7. What are the options?
There are several options that can be taken in order to resolve the issues:
 Diane can agree to deliver the DBMS to the client company with low security
features.
 Diane can try to explain the need for information security to the client and
convince to deliver a highly secure system.
 Diana can give up the project because she does not want to deliver a less secure
product to the client.
Q8. Which option is best and why?
The best option is to convince the client to take up a highly secured DBMS. The client
should not compromise the security features because of the cost of the system. If Diane agrees to
sell a less secure product to its client company then it will not be an ethical act. Loss of sensitive
data will harm the users and it will also affect the reputation of Diane’s Company. According to
Deontology theory it is morally correct if Diane carries out her responsibility and delivers a safe

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system to its client (Conway and Gawronski 2013). Selling a safe product will produce happiness
among the users, stakeholders as their data will be secured and it will give happiness to the
shareholders of the company as it will create a good reputation of the company (Albee 2014).
Therefore according to Utilitarianism theory, this decision is the best decision (Mulgan 2014).
The contract theory can be divided into moral as well as legal contracts that promote
ethical activity. In this case study, Diane has entered into a legal contract for developing DBMS
for the client company. She knows that the database will contain sensitive data and loss of
valuable data can harm the users of the system. Diane’s moral values stop her from developing
an insecure or less secure database system as this can cause an adverse effect in the future (Levitt
and Moorhead 2013). Therefore the best option according to Contract theory is not to develop an
insecure system or convince the client to choose a secure database system.
Analysis using ACS Code of Ethics
ACS code deals with professional conducts. Its main focus is to guide the behavior in a
professional society. This code of conduct encourages adherence to certain society values:
1. Public Interest Primacy: According to this code, the interest of the public should be
given primary importance. In this case study, Diane is morally correct because she looks into the
interests and benefits of the client first (Craft 2013). She thinks about the negative effects of a
less secure system and suggests the client to opt for a highly secured system. She discusses the
negative effects of a less secure DBMS and aims to preserve privacy and confidentiality of the
data of the stakeholders. Here Diane is acting in an ethical manner as she gives importance to the
public interest.

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2. Enhancement of Quality of Life: According to this code, the ICT professionals must
try to improve the quality of the life of all those people who will be affected by their projects and
works (Crane and Matten 2016). In this case study, Diane understood the importance of
information security. She understood the severe effects of selecting a less secure DBMS. She
told her clients that the employees will be able to gain access to the client data and she also
explained the chances of hacking that can occur. Here it is clear that Diane thought about
improving the quality of life of the client by suggesting them to choose a highly secure system
and hence it is ethically correct.
3. Honesty: According to this code, the ICT professionals must be honest with their
clients. They must not hide any important aspect of the services or products which they are
delivering (Hart and Graham 2012). They must not give any false ides to the clients for selling
products. This code of conduct also includes rules like not to accept bribery and differentiate
professional and personal opinions and advices. In this case study, Diane is honest with her
clients and tells the client company about the negative effects of adopting a less secure DBMS.
4. Competence: According to this code, the ICT professionals must work in a competent
as well as diligent manner for stakeholders. Their aim is to deliver products that will be able to
meet the operational as well as financial needs of the clients. They are supposed to give the best
advices to the clients. In this case study, Diane is involved in the designing and development of
DBMS for a medium sized firm. She suggests the client company a product that will fulfill the
maximum operational needs of the company (Gotterbarn 2013). She knew that the client
company will store sensitive data in its system and this will require high security. She gave
correct advice to the client company for preventing any loss of valuable data.

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5. Professional Development: According to this code, the ICT professionals must
enhance their own professional development (McDermid 2015). They must also try to enhance
the professional development of the staffs and employees working in the organization. The focus
must be to be aware of advanced technologies, practices as well as standards related to work. The
staffs of the organization must be motivated to upgrade their skills and knowledge. In this case
study, Diane is fully aware of the recent technologies and the security threats and risks. She
knows the importance of information security (Gray and Schein 2012). She knows the negative
impact of a less secure database. She even tries to enhance the professional development of the
CEO and directors by explaining them about the various risks associated with less secure
database.
6. Professionalism: According to this code, the ICT professionals must try to enhance the
society’s integrity. This code also aims at increasing the respect of the members towards each
other in the society (Boughton 2013). The aim of this code is to resolve ethical dilemma so that
appropriate actions can be taken. The company must take action against any member who does
not follow ACS code of ethics or conduct (Wright and Mordini 2012). This code is responsible
for promoting cooperation among different professionals. Public interest is given primary
importance. In this case study, there is a dilemma regarding designing of a less secure database
system (Miller et al. 2012). The client company does not want a highly secure database because
of high cost factor. The ACS code of ethics does not support the idea of developing a less secure
database system.

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Conclusion
This report concluded that Diane should not agree to build a less secure database system
for the client company. According to this report it is not ethically correct to build and design a
less secure database system for the client. The ICT professionals must take care of the security
features of the products and services that they deliver to the clients. This report analyzed the
situation by using the Doing Ethics Techniques and suggested that the best option is to convince
the client to opt for a highly secure database system. Loss of sensitive data will harm the users
and it will also affect the reputation of Diane’s Company. The best option as suggested by the
DET is supported by the ethical theories. The client should not compromise the security features
because of the cost of the system. This report also analyzed the situation by using ACS code of
ethics. ACS code deals with professional conducts. In this case study, Diane was morally correct
because she looked into the interests and benefits of the client first. She thought about the
negative effects of a less secure system and suggested the client to opt for a highly secured
system. She discussed the negative effects of a less secure DBMS and aimed to preserve privacy
and confidentiality of the data of the stakeholders. The ACS code of ethics does not support the
idea of developing a less secure database system.

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