Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in IT: The ACS Code of Conduct

The field of Information Technology (IT) is fraught with ethical dilemmas that require careful navigation. This essay explores these challenges through the Australian Computer Society's (ACS) Code of Professional Conduct. The case study centers around Wayne and Deborah, IT professionals faced with a crucial decision: deliver software with known defects or request an extension to rectify issues. Their dilemma underscores the tension between meeting client deadlines and maintaining professional integrity and competence as outlined in the ACS code. Analyzing this scenario highlights three potential solutions: delivering the software as-is, informing the client of defects, or requesting additional time for a quality product. Each option is weighed against ethical codes emphasizing honesty, responsibility, and commitment to quality. The essay concludes that adhering to these guidelines not only ensures professional integrity but also protects stakeholders' interests, including clients, employees, and end-users. This analysis underscores the significance of ethical conduct in IT practice, advocating for decisions aligned with the ACS's ethical standards.

Running Head Ethical Analysis Report
IT Culture
Ethical Analysis Report
Occidental Engineers
Student Name
[Pick the date]
Submitted To

Ethical Analysis Report 1
Executive Summary
In this report ethical dilemma faced by the test engineer (Wayne Davidson) and project manager
(Deborah Shepherd) at Occidental Engineers is being analysed. This analysis is done with the help of
code of conduct developed by Australian Computer Society. Important questions like “why did
Occidental engineers aggressively bid for the project? How is US Federal Aviation Agency affected
by its decision to accept this bid? Who all are at the risk of being affected? And what duties Test
engineer and Project manager are aware of?” are addressed. Finally, to conclude three alternatives are
suggested to solve the dilemma with the help of ACS code of conduct.

Ethical Analysis Report 2
Contents
Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
What is ACS Code of Conduct?............................................................................................................3
Ethical Dilemma....................................................................................................................................3
Wayne Davidson (Test Engineer)..........................................................................................................3
Deborah Shepherd (Project Manager)...................................................................................................4
Why Occidental Engineers quote a figure below estimated costs?........................................................4
Consequences for US Federal Aviation Agency....................................................................................4
Other Stakeholders................................................................................................................................5
Alternative Solutions.............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................7

Ethical Analysis Report 3
Introduction
Business ethics are the standards and principles which define an acceptable behaviour in business
environment (Ferrell, Hirt, & Ferrell, 2016). Code of ethics differentiates members of a professional
body from those who have similar qualifications. In this report, after briefing the ethical dilemma
faced by Test engineer and Project manager at Occidental Engineers, consequences for various
stakeholders will be discussed. The report will also point out the ethical grounds based of which
Occidental Engineers indulged in aggressive bidding. It will also cover what duties do Wayne and
Deborah have as test engineer and project manager respectively, before the software is rolled out.
Finally, possible alternatives to solve this ethical dilemma will be suggested.
What is ACS Code of Conduct?
Australian Computer Society (ACS) is a recognized association of information and communication
technology (ICT) professionals. It has around 25,000 members from all over Australia
(www.acs.org.au, 2017). ACS was formed on January 1, 1966. ACS has established a Code of
professional conduct in which it has listed six core ethical values and parameters of professional
conduct (Australian Computer Society , 2014). All the members of ACS are required to abide by these
values while performing all their professional activities. The aim of developing this code was to
define acceptable standards of conduct for IT Professionals (Burmeister, 2000).
Ethical Dilemma
Ethical Dilemma can be defined as a situation where there is a conflict between two or more ethical
principles (Allen, 2017). In business ethics are concerned with making right choices when managers
have to make choices which create tension between ethics and profits. In this case, Occidental
Engineers, software firm which is in the midst of a financial crisis, bids for a project by quoting
figures lower than the actual costs. US Federal Aviation agency gives the contract of developing an
air traffic control system to Occidental Engineers. It is agreed that Occidental engineers will deliver
this software after two years. In spite of limited financial resources and understaffed team the
software was developed, but, at the time of testing it was found that if there are too many aircrafts the
system might lose track of one or more of them. Now three days before the delivery the test engineer
does not want to release faulty software and asks for extension and on the other hand, Project
Manager does not want to jeopardize the career of her team members by missing the deadline and
asks the team to do a quick patch instead.

Ethical Analysis Report 4
Wayne Davidson (Test Engineer)
As a test engineer Wayne is aware of the fault in the prototype. Now he has two choices in front of
him i) to release the software in next three days after mending the code with a quick patch or ii) to
refuse to roll out the software till it meets all the specification and is tested thoroughly, which will
take 30 more days. At this point of time Wayne is aware of following duties:
1. He must keep Project manager informed of all the challenges or additional costs which
might impact the timely delivery of software.
2. Running extensive tests on software to determine that it meets all the specifications and is
free from defects (Johnson, 2017).
Deborah Shepherd (Project Manager)
As a Project Manager, Deborah is aware that delivering this software on time is important for the firm
to uphold its reputation and to save the jobs of those working on this project. Now she has to choose
between following options i) deliver the software in 3 days by covering the fault to meet the deadline
or ii) inform the client about the defect and ask for extension. Right now Deborah is aware of
following duties:
1. Meeting the deadline of the project without exceeding the budget.
2. Maintain the relationship with client and other stakeholders.
3. Project manager is also responsible for safeguarding the interests of her team members
and to uphold their morale (Project-Management.com, 2015).
Why Occidental Engineers quote a figure below estimated costs?
From the case study it is clear that Occidental Engineers had bid less than the actual cost it would bear
in developing the software. They did so to beat their competitors and to improve their financial
condition. From the point of view of ethics their decision to bid aggressively can be justified by
Utilitarianism. According to (Eggleston, 2012) utilitarian theory of ethics judges the actions as right
or wrong based on the outcomes of those actions. Utilitarianism can be identified by following
characteristics: a) Consequentialism, b) welfarism, c) individualism, d) aggregation and e)
maximisation. In this particular case, Occidental Engineers was aiming to achieve two things firstly,
improve its financial condition and secondly, job security for its employees. It is clear that by
aggressively bidding for the project Occidental Engineers was actually looking at ‘the greatest good
for the greatest number’.

Ethical Analysis Report 5
Consequences for US Federal Aviation Agency
US Federal Aviation Agency accepted a bid in which quoted amount was clearly below the actual cost
of doing the project. By accepting such a bid US federal aviation agency might face following
consequences:
1. It has been seen that in cases where the contract was given to lowest bidder the
completed work did not completely addressed the needs of clients and was expensive
to maintain (Markus, 1997). In this case, if Occidental Engineers decide to deliver the
product as is than US Federal Aviation Agency would have to bear additional costs
for improving the software.
2. Another consequence of accepting faulty software would be increased risk of
accidents. If this software is put to use and it loses track of one or more airplanes this
can put the lives of passengers travelling in such airplanes at risk.
3. Accepting a bid way below the actual costs puts the officials handling the bid under
scanner. Sanctioning such a bid can raise questions over the integrity and intensions
of those who sanctioned the bid in first place.
4. Lastly, if Occidental engineer decides to deliver the software as it is US Federal
Aviation Agency all the money spent by them for last two years will go in wane and
if Occidental Engineers ask for extension of deadline it will again result in added
costs for US Federal Aviation Agency.
Other Stakeholders
Following is the list of stakeholders who will be affected by this bid:
1. Company: If Occidental Engineers decide to deliver the software with the fault it will
affect their goodwill in a negative manner and if they ask for extension to rectify the
issue it will result in extra costs for them when they are already struggling financially.
2. Team of developers: Employees of Occidental engineers might have to lose their job.
It has been mentioned in the case study that if the deadline of project is not met or if
the software delivered is not up to the mark employees might have to pay with their
jobs.
3. Finally, the passengers traveling by airplanes monitored by such faulty software are at
the risk of meeting with an accident if the software loses track of their airplane.
Alternative Solutions
Analysing this case by keeping Codes of professional ethics given by ACS in perspective following
are the alternatives Wayne and Deborah have in front of them to ethically resolve their issues:

Ethical Analysis Report 6
1. Letting the client know about the defect: The third code of ethical conduct guides the
professionals to be honest about their services and products. As per this code Occidental
Engineers should clearly tell US Federal Aviation Agency about the fault and be
prepared to do whatever the client seems well.
2. Cover the fault with a quick patch: It is the responsibility of every IT professional to
work towards completion of work within timeframe. To honour the deadline the team can
initially add few codes to solve the issue for the time being. This way the client will
receive the product in time but the quality would be compromised.
3. Deliver competent software: Finally, Occidental Engineers can ask for extension of
deadline and rewrite the code to eliminate the defect and finally deliver a completely
functional and fault free software to its client.
Conclusion
Code of ethics developed by ACS define guidelines for ethical conduct of IT Professionals. IT
professionals like any other professionals face ethical dilemmas in their day to day work life. In this
case Wayne and Deborah faced ethical dilemma over delivery of faulty software. With the help of
ACS code of ethics it was concluded that they could i) release the software as is and be ready for
repercussions, ii) secondly they can let the client know of the defect or iii) finally, they can ask for
extension to fix the fault.

Ethical Analysis Report 7
Bibliography
Allen, K. (2017). What Is an Ethical Dilemma? Retrieved January 4, 2018, from
http://www.socialworker.com:
http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/What_Is_an_Ethical_Dilemma
%3F/
Australian Computer Society . (2005). ACS code of professional conduct and professional practice.
Australian Computer Society.
Burmeister, O. K. (2000). Applying the ACS Code of Ethics. Journal of Research and Practice in
Information Technology, 32(2), 107.
Eggleston, B. (2012). Utilitarianism. Lawrence: Elsevier Inc.
Ferrell, O. C., Hirt, G., & Ferrell, L. (2016). Business: A Changing World. McGraw Hill.
Johnson, D. W. (2017). Automated software testing: The role of a test engineer. Retrieved December
27, 2017, from techtarget.com: http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/tip/Automated-
software-testing-The-role-of-a-test-engineer
Markus, E. (1997). Low bid alternatives. Retrieved January 4, 2018, from
americancityandcounty.com:
http://americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_low_bid_alternatives
Project-Management.com. (2015). Project Manager Roles and Responsibilities for Software Projects.
Retrieved December 27, 2017, from www.project-management.com: https://project-
management.com/project-manager-roles-responsibilities-software-projects/
www.acs.org.au. (2017). www.acs.org.au. Retrieved December 28, 2017, from www.acs.org.au:
www.acs.org.au