Case Study Analysis: Ethical Issues in Software and Business Practices

This report analyzes two case studies related to business ethics. The first case explores a scenario where a supervisor wants to install software on a client's computers without the developers' permission, violating an existing agreement. The report examines the ethical implications of this action, considering contract theory, deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics. It identifies non-ethical issues and the stakeholders affected, along with potential resolutions, including informing management and adhering to the agreement. The second case study involves a software company launching a product with known bugs. The report discusses ethical theories like deontology and utilitarianism in this context, highlighting violations of professional codes of ethics such as honesty and concern for others. The analysis concludes that the company's actions are unethical and emphasizes the need for bug-free products and ethical conduct. References are provided to support the analysis.

Running head- Ethics
Ethics

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Ethics
Part 1
Answer1
In the given case study, the supervisor wants to install the software in the computers of ABC
Hardware without seeking the permission of the developers of that software. ABC hardware is
one of the most important clients of the organization, and the organization wants to keep the
client happy at any cost. The X Company has an agreement with the developers of that software
that the company would not install it in any of its client computers. The computer programmer is
concerned about the agreement that has been made with the software developers. So, he raises
complaints about it. But the supervisor is not ready to follow the agreement and wants to install
the software in the computers of ABC Hardware.
Answer2
If the concerned organization installs the software in the computer of ABC Hardware, it will
violate the agreement that has been done between the company and the developers of the
software. According to the Contract theory of ethics, the organization should seek the permission
of the developers of the software (Tarzian et al., 2015). However, the supervisor wants to do so
without taking permission or modifying the agreement that will be a significant unethical step.
The Deontology theory of ethics states that the obligations should be fulfilled which is not being
fulfilled in this case. It is the obligation over the X Company that the developer of the software
should be informed before installing the software in any computer. It will violet the professional
code of conduct (Honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, and trustworthiness, etc.). Installing the
software in the computer of ABC Hardware is an unethical step that the computer programmer is
raising. If the software is installed in the computers of ABC Hardware, it will only benefit the

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ABC Hardware, and the developers of the software will suffer (Tarzian et al., 2015). So,
according to the theory of Utilitarianism, most of the people or all the involved parties should be
benefited. In this case, it is not being ensured. If the company wants to install the software in the
computer of ABC Hardware, the company should modify the agreement with the developers of
the software or seek the permission of the developers. The supervisor is also forcing the
computer programmer to install the software. Thus, according to the Virtue theory of ethics, the
action of the supervisor is not ethical.
Answer3
The following are the issues (non-ethical) that are present in the given case;
The company is ready to violet the agreement made between the company and the software
developers that is illegal (Bloch et al., 2018).
The supervisor is inducing the computer programmer to install the software in the computers of
the client.
Answer4
In the result, the software developers are affected along with the computer programmer. These
two parties are being negatively affected by the step of the supervisor. The supervisor and the
ABC Hardware are positively affected. The employees and of ABC hardware are also affected
because they will be able to manage the inventory effectively. The customers of ABC Hardware
are also affected because they will get the product on demand. The developers are affected
because they are not being informed (Lucas et al., 2016). They have developed to generate
revenue, but in this way, they cannot generate revenue. The computer programmer is being

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forced to install the software. The ABC Hardware without investing a single penny will avail the
benefits of the software, and the supervisor will be able to make the client happy.
Asnwer5
The ethical issues, in this case, are the following;
The supervisor without informing the software developers wants to install the software in the
computers of ABC Hardware. If in case the software developers come to know about it, they will
then not trust anyone. It will also harm the reputation of the company. The level of revenue of
the software developers will reduce as the supervisor is not ready to inform them. The other
ethical issue is that the computer programmer is being forced to do unethical work (Carroll and
Buchholtz, 2014). It will decrease the level of motivation and morale of the employee. It will
again harm the reputation of the organization. It may also lead to a high rate of employee
turnover that will ultimately increase the cost of the X Company.
Asnwer6
The following are the options available in order to resolve the issue. The management should
take appropriate steps to ensure that the agreement made with the software developers is being
followed. The organization should develop a code of conduct for each employee of the
organization and also determine that what would be the punishment if any of the employees are
not following the prescribed code of conduct (Crane and Matten, 2016). The computer
programmer should try to convince the supervisor not to involve in unethical practices by
demonstrating the consequences of the unethical practices.
Answer7

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In order to resolve the issue, the company can approach another organization to get the same
software which is not so costly because the concerned software is very costly. The supervisor can
also ask the client to pay extra as the concerned software is costly because in this case, ABC
Hardware will have to incur only installation charge. The software does not need to modify
because it meets the requirement of the client organization. So, the X Company should follow
the agreement. The computer programmer can also take appropriate action to resolve the issue.
The programmer should inform the management of the organization regarding the decision of the
supervisor and recommend following the agreement. It will help the organization to save its
reputation and image in the market.
Answer8
The best option for resolving the issue is that the computer programmer should inform the
management about the unethical practices of the supervisor. It would help the organization to
avoid unethical practices and also help the organization to save the reputation of the
organization. It will also help in building a healthy relationship with the software developers as
they will be able to gain the trust of the developers. The computer programmer can also request
the management to keep this information confidential that the programmer has told the
management about the supervisor behavior (Sorokin, 2017). In this way, the relationship of the
computer programmer with the supervisor would not be ruined.

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Part 3
Introduction
The given case study is about a software company that has produced or developed a new
software package. The newly developed software package contains tax laws as well as figure
taxes for the individuals and small businesses. It has been identified that there are some issues
with the programming of the software. However, the company goes for launching the product
into the market with wide advertisement instead of eliminating the bugs. The president of the
company is also well-aware about the bugs and believes that many of the consumers will
complain about it. The company wants to debug the software but only after receiving the
feedback of the consumers. The one thing that the company did well is that they included the
disclaimer of the bugs with the CD of the software (Sorokin, 2017). However, some of the
consumers filed the incorrect tax return due to which they were penalized as well. So, the step
taken by the company is unethical. It is the responsibility of the company is to offer bugs free
software to the consumers.
Ethical Theories
According to the ethical theory of Deontology, the individuals should follow the obligations to
the society or another individual (Turrens, 2018). It means if an individual is offering any
product or service to an individual, the product or service should meet the need of the later. In
the same way, the product of the concerned organization should be bugs free and if the product
contains bugs and the consumers are facing issues while filling the tax returns; it is unethical.
The organization should take necessary steps in order to eliminate the bugs and provide bugs free
product to the user.

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According to the utilitarianism theory of ethics, the action of an individual should provide the
greatest benefit to most of the people (Fine, 2017). On the other hands, if the action of an
individual fails to do so is unethical. The product of the company contains bugs, and due to that
some of the individuals have been penalized by the ATO. So, this is ethically not correct, and the
company should take appropriate steps to tackle this issue on an immediate basis.
Example of Professional Code of Ethics
There are several codes of ethics that are essential to maintaining in the business. In the given
case Honesty and Concern for Others are the main professional code of ethics that are being
violated by the company (Williams and Izaak, 2018). The company offers the product with bugs
despite they are well aware of it. It also shows that they are not concerned for their clients, and as
a result, many of the consumers have faced issues.
Conclusion
In the last, it can be concluded that the concerned organization is not following the ethical code
of conduct that despite the fact that their product contains bugs, they offer it to the consumers.
The company is not the concern for their consumer because due to their act many of the
consumers got penalized by the ATO. So, the company needs to make its product bugs-free on
an immediate basis.

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References
Sorokin, P. (2017). Social and cultural dynamics: A study of change in major systems of art,
truth, ethics, law and social relationships. Routledge.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder
management. Nelson Education.
Lucas, K., Van Wee, B., & Maat, K. (2016). A method to evaluate equitable accessibility:
combining ethical theories and accessibility-based approaches. Transportation, 43(3), 473-490.
Turrens, J. F. (2018). Ethical Issues and Decision Making for Respiratory Therapists.
Fine, B. A. (2017). The evolution of nondirectiveness in genetic counseling and the implications
of the human genome project. In Genetic Counseling (pp. 101-118). Routledge.
Bloch, S., Kenn, F., & Smith, G. (2018). Revising the Royal Australian and New Zealand
College of Psychiatrists code of ethics. Australasian Psychiatry, 1039856218789791.
Tarzian, A. J., Wocial, L. D., & ASBH Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Committee. (2015).
A code of ethics for health care ethics consultants: Journey to the present and implications for the
field. The American Journal of Bioethics, 15(5), 38-51.
Williams, C. S. A. C., & Izaak, L. (2018). Practice-based conundrums and existentialist
quandaries of a professional code of ethics. Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and
Practice, 3(1), 1.