Professional Environments Assignment: Ethics, Professionalism, ICT

This assignment, focusing on professional environments, delves into the ethical considerations and legal requirements within the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It encompasses discussions on cultural impacts in organizational mergers, the application of the Macdonald framework for analyzing ethical scenarios, and the ethical implications of various situations, including conflicts of interest. The assignment also covers the importance of company value statements, codes of ethics, and the application of ethical principles such as personal integrity, relationships with others, and accountability. Through journal entries and forum discussions, the assignment explores real-world scenarios, such as an accountant's theft and a conflict of interest in awarding a tender, highlighting the importance of ethical decision-making and adherence to professional conduct, especially within the public sector. Furthermore, it emphasizes the significance of corporate values, corporate culture, and their influence on professional behavior, risk management, and corporate social responsibility.

Professional Year 1
Professional Year
Assignment Cover Sheet
Subject Name: Professional Environments
Assignment Name/Number:
Date of Submission:
Participant Name:
ACS Member Number
Email Address:
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.

Professional Year 2
Week 3- Introduction to Ethics and Professionalism
Part 1: Solving of Ethical Dilemmas
Week 3 -Discussion Forum answers
Question 1: The Cultural Issues that can have an impact on an ICT Professional if one of
the Organization Merges with another
Being an ICT Professional, there are indeed numerous cultural issues that will have an
impact on me especially if my organization has merged with another one. For example, such an
impact can occur in cross cultural issues as the tradition in which such people in the different
organization execute their jobs. It is prudent to note that the culture of an organization can either
help or even hurt its productivity through the creation of an environment which promotes a good
or viable work ethic. Having the appropriate organizational culture implies that a business is
capable of performing its competition (Flatau et al, 2017). Generally, merging one particular
culture into another one may actually be called using different names such as development,
transculturation, or eclecticism.
As an ICT professional, the merging of an organization with another one which has a
different cultural background may prove hectic to me because not only will it create
communication barriers among the people I will interact with but it also implies that it I will take
a significant time before I finally comprehend what is associated to their cultural backgrounds.
Question 2: The Framework that will be used in Analyzing Scenarios in Assignment One
After going through the seminar for this week, I opted to use the Macdonald framework in order
to effectively analyze the scenario. I highly believe that the Macdonald framework is the best and
easy one since it covers all areas that can help in solving the issue in the case study. The steps
involved in the Macdonald framework greatly help in analysis of not only stakeholders, but also

Professional Year 3
in the decision’s impact, professionalism, and ethics. This is quite true since Macdonald greatly
helps in the recognition of moral dimensions on staff management in the scenario because it
comprises of sketches and principles about the next course of action. Apart from that, Macdonald
further suggests the taking of legal decisions which are within the organizational rules. This is
because it further discusses decisions with the appropriate persona and the effects of decisions
which have been implemented. In essence, the major reason as to why I selected the Macdonald
framework in making decisions is that its wide range of steps helps in coming up with good
decisions. For the Macdonald framework to work better, it is important to ensure that each
sequence is followed one by one.
Question 3: Analyzing of a Situation
In the organization I was working in during internship, one of my friend found that the
accountant had not locked the door and therefore he decided to take 5000 dollars. He informed
me that he was ready to share with me the amount as long as I did not reveal the sensitive
information to anyone in our company. In order to ascertain whether this indeed was an
unethical situation, I asked myself several questions such as how will the accountant feel to
realize that I knew the person who took the money and I did not reveal him? What if the office
we were in had the CCTVs in it and our conversation was being reported? One of the facts I
needed to consider was the reaction of my friend if I told him to return back the money. In order
to help me come up with a viable decision and responses to such questions, I had to use the
“White’s 3-step method” to effectively frame my responses.
As an ICT professional, it is quite unethical to take anything that belongs to another
person without permission and thus the action that was taken by my friend of taking money from
the accountant’s office without authority was straight away an unethical behavior. That apart, the

Professional Year 4
endeavors by my friend to bribe me in order to keep quite or keep a secret was also unethical
because as a professional, I am supposed to reveal any evil deeds that occur in my organization.
Question Four: the Company’s Value Statement/Code of Ethics
Based on the organization that I was working for while I was in internship, it is quite
evident that it had a good code of ethics. This is attributed to the fact that all the employees in the
organization were supposed to have Personal Integrity. This implied that the employees in the
organization were supposed to act with due care and intelligence and ensure that any decisions
which they made were not only fair and honest but they were also timely, impartial, and
considered all information which was relevant. That apart the Relationships/Interaction of
employees with others was supposed to be positive. This implies that they should treat all people
in the organization with sensitivity, courtesy, respect and also ensure that they realize their
safety, welfare, rights, and interests. That apart, employees in the organization were also
supposed to be Accountable (Morris et al, 2017). This implies that the employees were supposed
to use the resources of the organization in an accountable and responsible way and ensure that
they are not only efficient, but also appropriate and effective use of the financial, natural,
physical, information, property, and human resources in the organization.
A Discussion of the Ethical, Professional, and Legal issues that arose from the Scenario
Week 3 Journal
There is lots of information, experience, and knowledge that I have learnt in the
professional Environments, Internship activities, as well as learning week. As an Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) Practitioner, I have learnt to not only how to effectively
manage risks at my respective place of work but I have also learnt the various issues of
sustainability and made aware of the various aspects of Corporate Social Responsibility at my

Professional Year 5
place of work. It is through the learning week and internship activities that I was able to learn
that at all times, I am always supposed to not only behave ethically but also deal with any daily
events as well as problems in which the occurrence of conflicts of interests can make the arrival
of decisions that are ethically correct to become a problem. It is also through the learning week
that I was accorded with the opportunity of examining numerous problems in theory which
significantly helped me in resolving any issues in an ethical manner whenever they arose at the
work place. The use of case studies helped me to get first hand information on how issues should
be handled in a professional and ethical manner in the organization.
The second Case study
Based on the second case study on the “Conflict of Interest”, it is quite apparent that it
will unprofessional and unethical for Hardeep, the IT manager of the government department to
award the tender to Company B just because the owner of the company and General Manager, a
Mr. Mandeep is his best friend. That apart, it will also be unethical for Mr. Hardeep to award the
tender to of an “Enterprise Resource Planning” (ERP) system to company B knowing or being
well aware that despite the fact that its software appears less as opposed to that of company B, it
will ultimately become expensive at last because it will require some of modifications before it is
finally used thus increased the costs.
Despite the fact that Hardeep got a phone call requesting a favor from Mandeep, it is
important that he does not honour the favor even though his friend wants the work. Based on the
case study, it is quite evident that the friendship that Hardeep has with Mandeep will quite
ultimately result in an ethical problem especially if Hardeep goes ahead and awards the contract
to his friend Mandeep knowing very well that his friend will be supplying substandard software
that will eventually require some modifications in future.

Professional Year 6
Owing to the fact that Hardeep is heading a government department which is also in the
public sector, it will be important for him to ensure that the “minimum standards of conduct and
integrity” are duly compiled with and also expressed through three major principles namely
personal integrity, relationships with others, and on accountability. This implies that Hardeep
must act with due diligence and care and ensure that the decisions he makes on behalf of the
organization and not only fair and honest but they are also impartial and they are done for the
general good and benefit of the organization. That apart, Hardeep must also ensure that he treats
all individuals in the organization with utmost sensitivity, courtesy, and respect and also ensure
that he duly puts into consideration the welfare, the safety, the rights, and the interests of all
stakeholders in the organization. That apart, it will be prudent for Hardeep as the organizational
manager to ensure that he becomes accountable to the organization. This implies that Hardeep
should use the resources belonging to the state organization in an accountable and manner which
will ensure that there is efficient, appropriate, and effective use or utilization of the
organization’s physical, financial, natural, and human resources.
As an employee of the public sector, Hardeep will also be forced to ensure that he strictly
follows the codes of conduct and more specifically the principles of official conduct based on the
“Public Sector Principles” of part 2 of the “Public Sector management Act 1994 (the Act” which
fully outlines the relevant principles associated with public administration as well as
management, conduct, and human resource management. This implies that Hardeep should
always ensure that all decisions that he makes on behalf of the company do not negatively affect
it but rather should work for the common good of the organization.
Week 4- Introduction to Ethics and Professionalism Part 2: It Governance and legal
Requirements

Professional Year 7
Journal Entry
Based on my internship activities, professional environment, and other general learning
aspects, I can truly assert that there is a lot that I have learnt regarding not only corporate values
but also about Corporate Culture. It is actually through them that I have learnt about the
appropriate professional and ethical behaviours that I am supposed to uphold while at not only
my place of work as an ICT professional but also while interacting with all people of the society
under different situations or circumstances. My internship provided me with a good opportunity
of knowing the values corporate values that had to been embraced by various stakeholders in the
organization.
It is through the internship program I underwent that I was able to ascertain that indeed,
there were various Corporate Statements, Visions, and Values that were embraced by the
organization and which greatly helped it to not only achieve its goals and productivity but to also
enable it to become more productive and generate more profitability as a business entity. That
apart, it is through the professional environments and learning that I was made aware that some
of the major reasons as to why some organizations displayed their corporate values and explicitly
tied them towards their respective goods or services was so as to secure the confidence of the
consumers or customers and also create a harmonious working environment. It is also through
learning that I was able to know that values greatly determined the behavior of an organization
and also formed the basis for the codes of conduct of such an organization.
Forum Feedback
1. In the company that I worked in, there was no evidence of a Formal Information
Technology Governance Framework but however, to ensure that it had efficiency,

Professional Year 8
value, and control, there was a set of rules and regulations hanged in the organization
which were supposed to be followed by all and sundry.
2. One of the situations in my internship in which I will be supposed to take into account
or consideration of the Australian Standard in order to fulfill my ICT task is when I
am doing the cabling for any network in the organization. I will ensure that I use
appropriate cables that conform to the Australian standard.
3. While networking computers to the Intranet in my internship organization, I will have
to ensure that I take into account compliance or legislation in order to fulfill my ICT
task so that the organization is not sued for failing to comply with the legislation.

Professional Year 9
References
Thielking, M., Gerardi, N., Williams, B.B., Terjesen, M.D. and Flatau, P., 2017. Resources for
Ethical School Psychological Practice in Australia. In Handbook of Australian School
Psychology (pp. 111-124). Springer International Publishing.
Zutshi, A., Wood, G. and Morris, L., 2017. Reflections on teaching business ethics. Business
Education and Ethics: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, p.1.