University ICT Ethics Assignment: Professional Conduct and Dilemmas

This report examines a case study involving an ICT professional's ethical dilemma related to scholarship allocation within an organization. The report emphasizes the importance of the ACS Code of Ethics in guiding professional conduct, particularly focusing on the primacy of public interest, honesty, and fairness. It explores the ethical implications of disclosing information about the organization's unethical practices, such as awarding scholarships based on personal contacts rather than academic merit. The report also addresses the significance of professional development and the need to balance ethical responsibilities with the protection of intellectual property and organizational security. The analysis highlights how the ACS Code of Ethics can be used to justify actions taken to address unethical behavior and ensure the integrity of ICT systems. References to relevant literature are included to support the arguments and provide a comprehensive understanding of the ethical considerations in the ICT field.

Professional skills for Information and Communication Technology
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Portfolio 3
In the specific scenario, I would prefer to disclose the information in public which
could be validated on the grounds of the different codes of conduct established in the domain
of ICT professionals. The scenario refers to the classification of primacy of public interest as
a primary code of ethics highlighted by the ACS Code of Ethics. The responsibilities of an
ICT professional as a trainee database administrator would be directed towards addressing the
needs and interest of the public effectively through communicating the corruption of the
organization (Leicester, 2016).
The primacy of public interest value as incorporated in the ACS code of ethics is
largely reflective of the planned measures for communicating the probable conflicts between
professional activity and the legal precedents. In this case, the professional activity as a
trainee database administrator is at conflict with the legal precedent for the organization to
ensure the provision of scholarships on the basis of academic performance rather than
personal contacts. The ethical implications of honesty and fairness could also be brought into
consideration for validating my action of disclosing information about the corruption
committed by my employer organization in providing scholarship.
The ACS code of ethics provides appropriate validation for certain professional
actions and a formal substrate for improving the realization of skills into actions as well as
other areas of working. The concerns for professional development could also be derived
from the ACS code of ethics in order to validate the actions against the organization to deal
with ethical dilemma. The professional development dimension in the code of ethics refers to
the obligation of an individual to emphasise on own professional development. In this case
professional development is hampered due to the lack of access to scholarship necessary for
completing degree education. Therefore the barrier to professional development in ICT sector
should be communicated openly which would not be calculated as an ethical violation.
However, special concerns shall be addressed in context of protecting the intellectual
property and preservation of the integrity and security of the organization’s ICT systems.
The ACS code of ethics could also be used to emphasize on the dimensions of
professionalism that could be considered helpful for addressing the dynamic and responsive
industry trends observed in the domain of ICT (Warren et al., 2016). The dimension of
professionalism is largely inclined towards the requirement to implement countermeasures
and reprimanding initiatives for members engaging in unethical behaviour. The organization

has committed an ethical violation by refraining from disclosure of academic performance
details of the student that has acquired the scholarship on the basis of personal contacts in the
organization. Therefore, the decision for disclosing the information discovered by me
regarding the unethical action of the enterprise could be considered appropriate on the
grounds of references to the ACS code of ethics and code of professional conduct (Wang et
al., 2014).
References
Leicester, N. (2016). Ethics in the IT Profession: Does a Code of Ethics have an Effect on
Professional Behaviour?.
Warren, M., Warren, M., Lucas, R., & Lucas, R. (2016). Ethics and ICT: Why all the fuss?.
Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 14(2), 167-169.