Ethics, Professionalism, and Governance Case Study: ACS Code of Ethics

This case study analyzes an ethical dilemma faced by Maureen, an ICT professional working in a government agency dealing with drug and alcohol abuse. Maureen is tasked with creating a report using sensitive client data, including names and addresses. To meet a deadline, she copies the data to a USB drive and works from home, ultimately leaving the USB unattended. The assignment requires Maureen to evaluate her actions using the ACS Code of Ethics, the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, and the Australian Privacy Act 1988. The solution employs Chris Macdonald's framework for ethical decision-making, considering the moral dimensions, stakeholders, principles, and potential courses of action. The analysis highlights the importance of respecting intellectual property, maintaining confidentiality, and ensuring professional competence, while adhering to legal and organizational policies. The case explores how Maureen should balance the need to complete the report with her ethical obligations to protect client privacy and data security, emphasizing the potential consequences of her decisions and the importance of seeking guidance to make the right choices.

Assignment Cover Sheet
Subject Name: Professional Environments
Assignment Name/Number: Ethics, Professionalism and Governance (code 1-6 of ACS
code of ethics used).
Date of Submission: 28/10/2018
Participant Name: Jithendra Vepareddygari
ACS Member Number: 4167171
Email Address: [e-mail]

Declaration:
I declare that the assignment is based on my own work and that all material previously
written or published in any source by any other person has been duly acknowledged in the
assignment. I have not submitted this work, or a significant part thereof, previously as part of
any academic program. In submitting this assignment I give ACS permission to copy for
assessment purposes only.
Case Study 2
Maureen works in a large government state department dealing with drug and alcohol abuse.
The agency administers programs for individuals with drug and alcohol problems, and
maintains a huge database of information on the clients who use these services. Some of the
data files contain the names and current addresses of clients.
Maureen has been asked to take a look at the track records of the treatment programs. She is
to put together a report that contains the number of clients seen in each program each month
for the past five years: length of each client’s treatment, number of clients who return after
completion of a program, criminal histories of clients, and so on. In order to put together this
report, Maureen has been given access to all files in the agency’s main server. After
assembling the data into a file that includes the clients’ names, she downloads the file to her
office computer.

Under pressure to get the report finished by the deadline, Maureen decides she will have to
work at home over the weekend in order to finish on time. She copies the file to a USB and
takes it home. After finishing the report, she leaves the USB at home and forgets about it.
Maureen being an ICT professional will take a decision by explaining the Australian ethics
and standards to CEO using Chris Macdonald’s framework. There are eight steps which
needs to be followed for the use of this framework. They include recognizing the moral
dimensions, the interested parties, involved principles and values, course of action, benefits
and burdens, analogous cases, compliance with organization rules, discussion with others and
whether the decision has been taken with confidence.

ACS Code of Ethics
Maureenhas to consider ACS code of ethics to take a decision for resolving the issue and
support technicians(Anon., 2014)
The Primary of the Public Interest: Maureen has to respect the intellectual property of others
and endeavour to preserve the confidentiality and privacy of the information of others as
provided under code 1.2.1 of the ACS code of ethics
Honesty: Maureen must aware even misleading a client not knowingly is a breach of code of
Ethics as provided under code 1.2.3 of the ACS code of ethics
Professional Development: Maureen has to increase her awareness of issues affecting the
profession and its relationship with the public as provided under code 1.2.5 of the ACS code
of ethics
Professionalism: With respect to the code of ethics, Maureen has to enhance the integrity of
the society by considering the professionalism as provided under code 1.2.6 of the ACS code
of ethics
ACS Code of Professional Conduct
Maureen will consider the five clauses from the ACS code of professional conduct to analyse
the consequences of output(Anon., 2014)

1. With respect to the intellectual property of others, Maureen will consider not to assign
the work that are related to the privacy and security of the clients as the wrong
decision may impact the company as provided under code 1.2.1 of the ACS code of
ethics.
2. Maureen has to take the responsibility of protecting the data, privacy and security of
the clients as provided under code 1.2.1 of the ACS code of ethics
3. Maureen will enhance the difference between professional and personal options by
considering the privacy and security of client’s data as provided under code 1.2.2 of
the ACS code of ethics.
4. Maureen will consider the competence by acting according to the standards and the
Australian legislation as provided under code 1.2.4 of the ACS code of ethics
5. Maureenhas to note that the according to the code of ethics and professional conduct
the decisions are subjected to change as provided under code 1.2.6 of the ACS code of
ethics.
The Australian Legislation
According to Privacy Act 1988 (except for Ministers), has to consider the privacy and safety
of the clients and fosters a culture of respect for privacy and the value of personal
information.(Anon., 2018)
Chris MacDonald Framework
1. Maureen has to consider the conflicts that are going to raise in making a decision.
2. Enhancement of quality of life, respect for privacy, competence, and professionalism
are the ethics and values to be considered in resolving the situation.

3. Juan has two options, one of them is to work extra time and not to breach the privacy
policies.
4. On considering the options and the opinion taken by Maureen,only the company has
benefited as the clientscan face privacy issues.
5. Based on the analysis made on the outcome of the decision, Maureenhas to discuss
the consequence of the situation and the outcome of both the options in order to
comply the company values and the Australian standards.

References
Anon., 2014. ACS. [Online]
Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/rules-and-regulations/Code-of-
Professional-Conduct_v2.1.pdf
Anon., 2014. ACS Code of Ethics. [Online]
Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-documents/Code-of-Ethics.pdf
Anon., 2018. Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code. [Online]
Available at: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy-law/australian-government-agencies-privacy-
code/