University IT Ethics Assignment: Case Study and Analysis

This assignment analyzes an IT ethics case study involving an HCL consultant evaluating a new accounting product for Company A. The consultant discovers that the product's GUI has been copied from a patented product of Company B, which she previously evaluated. The assignment explores ethical dilemmas arising from this situation, including plagiarism and confidentiality. The solution addresses questions related to the consultant's actions, obligations, and the application of the ACS Code of Professional Conduct. Furthermore, it delves into ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, virtue theory, and social contract theory, applying them to the case study to determine the right course of action. The document also discusses dealing with misconduct, specifically plagiarism and its consequences, referencing the Elsevier press controversy as an example of ethical misconduct. Overall, the assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of ethical issues in IT and the application of ethical frameworks to resolve them.

TOPICS ON IT ETHICSTOPICS ON IT ETHICS
TOPICS ON IT ETHICS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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ACS Code of Professional Conduct (Part-1)
Answer to Question 1: In the above described scenario, the action of the HCL consultant to
evaluate an accounting product created by Company A that has the same GUI as to the
Company B’s patented product has been highlighted. Co-incidentally, the consultant had
worked on the Company B’s product too, which she has an obligation to the confidentiality of
the B’s evaluation. Thus, copying the B’s GUI implementation to company A’s raises an
ethical issue.
Answer to Question 2: The consultant is viable to continue the evaluation of the new
product with distinct ideas. However, it was noticed that Company A has copied the GUI of a
patented product of product B. This act of copying raises an ethically immoral performance
of ‘Plagiarism’.
Answer to Question 3: Here, it is observable that Company A is copying the patented
product of Company B. This is an act of plagiarism. Thus, Company A is responsible for the
dishonest act.
Answer to Question 4: The HCL consultant is affected by the action. She is obligated to
Company B to the confidentiality of the patented product, while the Company A has
intentionally or unintentionally copied B’s GUI.
Answer to Question 5: The effect of the following scenario to the HCL consultant is that she
is obligated to keep the confidentialities of the both companies. The employee is finding it a
difficult task to decide whether to inform the company B of the plagiarism by Company A or
to inform the company A of the patent violation. Else, she can continue with her work, which
might or might not be appropriate for the completion.
Answer to Question 6: The ACS code of conduct suggest the following topics:

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 The Primacy of Public Interest
 Enhancement of Quality of Life
 Honesty
 Competence
 Professional Development
 Professionalism
For the above discussed plot, the code of Honesty and Professionalism has been
violated and is relevant to the case study.
Answer to Question 7: The evaluation an issue in respect to an individual’s or an
organization’s pursuance of ACS codes clarifies their moral importance in the society
(Bowern et al, 2016).
For the following plot, the act of plagiarism by Company A while evaluating their
product’s GUI similar to Company B’s patented product’s GUI. This act is known as
plagiarism. In the context of reference to the ACS codes, the following issue is Company A’s
disapproval to honest behaviour to the society as they have kept the confidentiality of the
copied program. As the honesty code suggests an individual to be honest in the representation
of skills, knowledge, products and services; the following context can be seen to be violating
the honesty to the society. Again, it was also noticed that the act of plagiarism is immoral to
the influence in the society, thus diminishing the integrity of the society. This is also an issue
in respect to the code of ‘Professionalism’. The factors needs to be scrutinized according to
the correct removal and solution to the specific summary.
The HCL consultant is also facing charges against the ACS codes as she is keeping
the secret of the copied GUI from both the parties. She is indecisive of the correct option that

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she has to choose for correct results. Hence, Honesty is the code that she has observed to
have an issue with.
Ethical theory (Part-2)
Answer to Question 8: Utilitarianism is defined as an ethical theory which determines the
right action from the wrong action while the focus is prioritized to outcomes (Smart and
Williams, 2017). Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism (Mill, 2016).
In the above described context, it has been observed that the HCL consultant has been
facing double minds whether to continue the evaluation or inform any of the companies of
the plagiarism. It is also said that she has an obligation to keep the information confidential
for both the parties. While, the act of plagiarism is wrong in the scenario, it is wise to inform
the company A about the plagiarism in the GUI with respect to company B’s patented work.
The outcome of the sequence might be a rework on the same task, however an authentic work
is better than a copied task. On the other hand, if company B discovered the plagiarism task
by company A, the outcome might end with a legal sue statement to company A from
company B. Again, letting continue the task instead of knowledge of the plagiarism might
make the company vulnerable to plagiarism practice evaluation and risks in the future for
company A. Thus, the theory of utilitarianism can be directly implemented in the following
context.
Answer to Question 9: The theory of deontology is the ethical theory which suggests the
right action in a context is to follow the rules (Alexander, 2014). It distinguishes the right
from wrong.
In the above discussion, the HCL consultant is confused to choose the next option for
rightful evaluation of the task. She is already obligated to both the companies for keeping the
confidentiality of their subjects. However, the act of plagiarism is immoral while being

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carried out by Company A. Thus, to follow the theory of deontology, the consultant is
required to follow the rules and execute the task as required. Moreover, the decision to
inform company A of the plagiarism in the first place would be the right action to follow.
Conclusively, the theory of deontology is applicable in the described context.
Answer to Question 10: The virtue theory is developed by Aristotle and the other ancient
Greek philosophers (Sherman, 2014). It is subjected to understand and experience the life of a
moral individual. Moreover, it gives the audience the knowledge of being a virtuous human
being (Sreenivasan, 2015).
In the above context, HCl consultant is facing a troublesome situation where she has
the right to share the wrong plagiarism activity by Company A to Company B’s patented
GUI. Also, she has an option to inform the company A of the plagiarism act else, can
continue her work. She is indecisive of the futuristic action that she has to take. The situation
can question the moral of the HCl consultant, however the critical scenario is vulnerable to
certain follow-able risk’s introduction. The lead character is dedicated to her work yet the
experience of deciding the right option among the three critical ones is observed to be
complicated. Thus, the theory of virtue is applicable to the following scenario.
Answer to Question 11: The social contract theory suggests people to live together in a
society according to approval of establishment to political and moral rules of behavioural
standards. Social contract is targeted to bring harmony in the society (Rosenfeld, 2018).
For the discussed plot, it is evident that the HCl consultant is confused to her next act.
Company A has violated the social contract theory by plagiarizing Company B’s patented
GUI. This is very unethical and immoral. If noticed by the other company, company A is
viable to face serious charges. Moreover, the consultant shall decide on what she believes to
be the right act; not the supported one.

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Answer to Question 12: Dealing with misconduct is a bright area of ethical study. The
identification of the misconduct should be evaluated to understand the type of issues that is
being alleged (plagiarism, authorship misidentification, fraud and more). Next, appropriate
steps will be taken depending on the circumstances and the allegation type.
The following essay is subjected to the same policy related allegations to the
renowned Elsevier press by the authors. The authors have shared deep regression and
disapproval to the pricing and policy of the press company, and finally held a boycott under
mathematician Tomothy Gowers on 2015. The collection of 16,000 signatures in a petition
from different scholars around the world have resulted in end of manuscript publish at the
Elsevier’s.
From the above described plot, the seriousness to the act of misconduct can be clearly
observed. Fraud is a serious crime from a scientific perception. It misleads other researchers,
confuses readers and causes harm to individuals (if the study is applicable to medical
science). Elsevier might have few sanctions in their pricing and policies. Yet, the importance
of publication under a correct notice is often kept unappreciated. Moreover, the acting party
(Scientists, scholars and mathematicians) have misconducted while raising false community
awareness which is an ethical problem committed by Tomothy Gowers. It is a serious matter.
However, the authors have violated the ethical codes such as social, political and
more by ignoring the societal influence and judgement. Joint submission of the manuscript
had made all the authors bearable to joint responsibility for the content and compliance with
the ethics to publishing. Therefore, consequences would have been same for all the authors in
case of withdrawal decision was made.
Conclusively, it is clear that the authors have taken a major step against the publishing
company of Elsevier. While proving the guilt of the publisher, they have eventually forgotten

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about the consequences and the reason behind their noted allegation. However, Elsevier faced
the charges and stopped publishing manuscripts. This act has a disapproval to compliance to
the society. Nevertheless, better methods could have been adopted for effective results.

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References
Alexander, L. (2014). Deontology at the Threshold. San Diego L. Rev., 37, 893.
Bowern, M., Burmeister, O., Gotterbarn, D., & Weckert, J. (2016). ICT Integrity: Bringing
the ACS Code of Ethics up to date. Australasian Journal of Information
Systems, 13(2).
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven Masterpieces of Philosophy (pp. 337-383).
Routledge.
Rosenfeld, M. (2018). Contract and justice: The relation between classical contract law and
social contract theory. Iowa L. Rev., 70, 769.
Sherman, N. (2014). The fabric of character: Aristotle's theory of virtue.
Smart, J. J. C., & Williams, B. (2017). Utilitarianism: For and against. Cambridge
University Press.
Sreenivasan, G. (2015). Errors about errors: Virtue theory and trait
attribution. Mind, 111(441), 47-68.