Analysis of ICT Professional Practice: A Case Study Report

This report examines a case study involving a statistical database programmer, Jeans, who faced pressure to complete a project, leading her to incorporate code from a colleague and a commercial software package without disclosure. The analysis explores the ethical implications of this situation, as well as the manager's role in creating a stressful environment. The report assesses the situation from an ICT professional's perspective, using the ACS Code of Ethics to highlight violations of ethical principles such as honesty, integrity, and respect. It emphasizes the importance of open communication, respect, sincerity, and excellence within the workplace. The conclusion brings together both analyses, recommending that employees uphold ethical standards, management provide adequate support, and organizations implement training programs to prevent unethical behavior, ensuring the integrity of the ICT industry. The report also discusses the importance of ethical leadership and the long-term benefits of ethical conduct for both the organization and its stakeholders.

ict Professional Practice

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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the situation..............................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the situation from the point of view of an ICT Professional using the ACS Code of Ethics.....4
Conclusion that brings together the two analyses and presents overall recommendations...........................8
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................................8
References.................................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
The present case study relates to a statistical database programmer, Jeans who is engaged in
writing a large statistical program for her company. Her work is delayed due to the complex
nature of the work, but her manager pressurized her to submit the project within a few days. As a
result, she merged some parts of the code from the work of her co-worker and a commercial
software package of another company into her work. Without mentioning these facts to her
manager, she submits the work in a day(Aynsley, 2015).
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Analysis of the situation
The present case discusses about the use of unethical means by the statistical database developer
who is under pressure to submit the project in a few days without understanding the complex
nature of the work. The course also takes notice of the employee who uses wrong techniques in
order to furnish the work on time and hiding the same from the authorities. The ethical norms of
the organization are not followed in the organization. It was unethical on the part of the manager
to put so much pressure on the employee that there was no option left for her except to complete
the project at any cost. However, whatever may be the circumstances, she should not have used
the parts of the program of her colleague and commercial software package of another company.
The situation has become more difficult by hiding the same thing from the management of the
organization who are ultimately responsible for the rising as well as the downfall of the
organization(Gilman, 2005).
The major ethical issue involved in the case is the wrong use of technology by Jeans, the
software developer who is given such a responsible task for the betterment of the organization.
Being in such a responsible position, he should have behaved ethically and should not have
incorporated the parts of the work of other projects into her project. Moreover, she does not
reveal the incorporation of the parts of the project from other sources to the management. Such
type of activity on the part of the employee is unethical as well as bring negative effect on the
organization. The manager is also equally responsible for breaking the ethical norms of the
organization. He should have understood the problem of his employee and the complex nature of
the work. Putting pressure on the employees to finish the project in a few days is unethical and
such type of behavior is not acceptable ethically(Association, 2010).
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The shareholders and investors had spent a lot of money for the enhancement of the organization.
The company is highly affected by the employee’s wrongdoings. The training of the employees
is very important for the benefit of the organization, otherwise the company will suffer a huge
loss and perform in an unethical manner (Hutchings, 2016). The company has the responsibility
to provide the training to employees regarding the consequences of the unethical behavior.
Therefore, training programs should be held in the organization from time to time in order to
give knowledge to the employees about the adverse effects of their activities. Employees are the
main part of the organization as the development and progress of the organization is dependent
on the performance of the employees. However, the company owners and management team
focused to spend the extra time, money and efforts on the training and development programs.
Apart from this, the company should also focus on reducing the communication gap between the
management and employees and it is very important to share the problems with each other in an
open way and to communicate freely(PMI, 2012).Openness is the essential part of the code of
ethics and it is mandatory to manage the code of ethics by the management of the company.
Analysis of the situation from the point of view of an ICT Professional using the ACS Code
of Ethics
The Information and communication technology industry has not yet laid down its own
legislations and standards and normally follow the ACS code of ethics. Ethics are the most
important part of the industry as they are contributing with an intent of enhancement and
betterment of the industry by implementing the process of code of ethics in a proper way. Ethics
are those values that protect the working environment of the company as it it includes the several
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elements such as the reliability, esteem, sincerity and the trustworthiness(American Counseling,
2014). These elements are required to manage in the organization properly to avoid the unethical
activities. As per the ACS code of ethics, the organization can maintain the appropriate standards
in order to enhance the integrity of the ICT industry. According to the ACS code of ethics, every
employee working in the information and communication technology treated with the esteem and
honor. However, discrimination should be strictly avoided as per the ACS code of ethics.
Therefore, these ICT industries are liable to take the legal and corrective actions against those
people who engaged in the unethical behavior(CIMA, 2015).
Code of ethics consists of the four main principles that are required to follow in order to maintain
the integrity of the organization. Open communication is the first principle of the code of ethics.
This communication stands for communication between the management and employees. Every
employee and management need to listen about the problems facing by each other patiently as
well as carefully. The lack of communication between the two may create the problems and
unethical issues. The problems of the employee and management can be resolved if there is a
strong connection exists in the employees and management of the company(Merkel &
Burmeister, 2015).
Respect each other is the second principle and it is a common practice which focuses on the take
respect and give respect to others. Nobody can give respect to the person if they are disrespectful
to others. The arrogant behavior of the management and workers have the negative impact on the
working environment of the company.
Sincerity is the third principle of code of ethics that demands loyalty and honestly from the
employees. All the principle of the code of ethics leads to the development of the organization.
The excellence is the fourth and last element of the code of ethics. The excellence in the code of
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ethics stands for the satisfaction as well as the obligation of the employees towards the
organization(NASW, 2017). The implementation of these principles of the code of ethics is
largely dependent on the management. Ethics is the framework that helps in the determining the
right and wrong activities of the employees. The sharing of the opinions is assumed to be the
ethical in nature that results in the increase of the performance of the organization. Ethics is a
framework which sets the limits of the activities of the employees and helps them to distinguish
between right and wrong activities. It is ethical to share the opinions between the management
and the employees which increase the performance at workplace. In case of absence of proper
ethics, the employees do not communicate freely with the management as a result the integrity of
the organization is endangered and can prove disadvantageous for the organization(Rogerson,
2012).
In the present case both the employee and the manager failed to follow the professional ethics.
The Manager should have considered the complexity of the project and should not have forced
his employee to submit the work in a quick way. On the other hand, Jeans should also not hide
the important information of integration of the work from other sources from the manager. The
employee had made use of the technology in a wrong way in order to reduce the efforts and
made the project easier in order to submit it on time. And the more unethical professional
practice on the part of the employee is not to reveal these facts to the manager of the
company(Society, 2009).
Every employee of the company should respect the ethical system of the organization and should
try to maintain the same. It is necessary on the part of the management as well as on the
employees to establish their precedence, capabilities while aiding the society and their acts
should not in any way have adverse effect on the shareholders and investors of the company.
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Skilled development training should be given to the employees so that they would be able to
understand and analyze the ultimate consequences of their unethical activities. Technology can
play a significant part in this regard. In the present case both the employee and the manager
failed to implement the necessary standards, regulations and code of ethics in professional
practice. It is essential that code of ethics should be applied and implemented properly in the
organization while making use of the technology. The use of technology should not be made
beyond the standards and regulations of the organization. Jeans had made the misuse of
technology by integrating the work of another co-worker in her project(Graham & Low, 2014).
Using the software package of another company and the integration of the same in her project is
also unethical and against the norms set by the organization.
Every organization who maintain and implement ethics in the workplace obtained good
performance and is able to maintain the integrity of the organization. Human beings are not
ethically perfect. It is the organization which needs to spend time, effort and money to maintain
ethics in the employees through training programmes and a proper control system (Zahedi et al.,
2013). Using unethical means can be beneficial for a short term but in order to maintain the
integrity of the organization for a long turn ethical behavior is required to be maintained and
implemented in the organization. The loyalty and honesty of the employees towards the
organization is required in order to achieve competitive advantage. It is very easy for the
customer to distinguish between the ethical and unethical organization and they are attracted to
the organization who uses ethical means in the organization. The Ethical structure of the
organization is important in recruiting ethical employees. Every person is embedded with some
moral principles, whether given by parents or teachers(Ferguson, et al., 2005). The ethical and
unethical behavior of the employees can be judged by the organization at the time of the
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recruitment process. The code of ethics of the organization further minimizes the risk of ethical
dilemma.
Conclusion that brings together the two analyses and presents overall recommendations
It is concluded that both the employee, Jeans and the manager are equally responsible for the
unethical behavior. The manager should have shown a respectful and cooperative behavior
towards Jeans so that she can concentrate on her project freely. But the pressure he put on Jeans
was unethical. Software developer projects are the tasks of difficult and complex nature which
needs sufficient time for the accomplishment of the project. The pressure build on Jeans shows
the unethical behavior of the manager. On the other hand, the software developer Jeans also uses
unethical means to accomplish the task in less time. In order to reduce her effort, she made use of
other parts of the project of her co-worker into her work. In both the cases it is the organization
who is ultimately affected by the unethical behavior of the employee and the manager(Wheeler,
2003). The arrogant behavior of the manager who failed to understand the complexity of the
project is the main reason that she does not reveal this fact to the management of the
organization.
Recommendations
 It is recommended that that the employees should uphold ethics while making use of the
technology in the workplace.
 The management should also keep a proper watch on the employees regarding their
activities, performance, behavior and the technology they use on the regular basis.
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 It is necessary that self-awareness should be created among employees as regard to the
code of ethics in professional practices. Ethical management becomes impossible when
there is lacking in the control system of the organization(Leicester, 2016).
 A tremendous enhancement can be seen in those organization who have the employees of
superior capabilities and follow and maintain the ethics of the organization in the
workplace. In order to establish and maintain the ethics, a lot of time and efforts should
be devoted in the organization by the management.
 Training programs should be held in the organization from time to time in order to give
knowledge to the employees about the adverse effects of their activities. Employees are
the main part of the organization as the development and progress of the organization is
dependent on the performance of the employees. However, the company owners and
management team focused to spend the extra time, money and efforts on the training and
development programs(Dileepk, 2015).
 Communication within the organization is required in order to prevent unethical issues. If
the ethics within the organization is properly implemented, it can increase the efficiency
of the organization for a long term. A proper communication system can reduce many
problems relating to ethical issues in any organization.
 A proper strategy can be made with regard to communication and training programmes.
There should be a proper knowledge among the employees relating to the consequences
and results of ethical and unethical issues.
 Training workshops should be conducted from time to time for the implementation of the
code of ethics in the workshops. A safe learning environment is required to be established
in the organization in order to build trust in the training workshops (Bowern et al., 2006).
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There can be some employees if the organization who keep silence in serious issues prevailing in
the organization for the fear of loss of job. As a result, the organization is adversely affected by
these acts of the employees. Ethical framework is required to be followed by every organization.
The Ethical framework of the organization helps in making the right decision about the
organization. The goals of the organization can be achieved if the ethical code of conduct is
effectively implemented in the organization. The growth and development of any organization is
dependent on the performance of its staff. The capable and ethical staff who is embedded with
the principles of honesty, loyalty and integrity prove a boon for the organization. The proper
implementation of ethics in the organization can be beneficial for the reputation and integrity of
the organization. No organization can sustain competitive advantage without the implementation
of ethical structure in the workplace.
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References
Association, A. P., 2010. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Available at:
https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf
Aynsley, B., 2015. Ethics essential for ICT professionals, Available at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/opinion/ethics-essential-for-ict-
professionals/news-story/78307af0586683a61e7a0d537c5f6cf8
Bowern, M., Burmeister, O., Gotterbarn, D. & Weckert, J., 2006. ICT Integrity: bringing the
ACS code of ethics up to date. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 13(2).
CIMA, 2015. Ethical checklist: You need to act quickly when facing an ethical dilemmal,
Available at:
http://www.cimaglobal.com/Global/Images/standards-and-ethics/ethics_checklist_web_June201
5_update.pdf
Dileepk, 2015. Introduction to the ICA05 Training Package, Available at:
http://dileepk.com/multimedia/05_THEORY_Ethical_Conduct_ICAW4214A/resources/
ASC_CodeofEthics.pdf
Ferguson, S. et al., 2005. Case studies and codes of ethics: the relevance of the ethics: the
relevance of the, Available at: http://www.canberra.edu.au/researchrepository/file/e4e124f4-
b65b-1813-688a-8787cb3cf95d/1/fulltext_published.pdf
Gilman, S., 2005. Ethics codes and codes of conduct as tools for promoting an ethical and
professional public service: comparative successes and lessons, Available at:
https://www.oecd.org/mena/governance/35521418.pdf
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