Ethical Implications of Information Technology: A Case Study

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Information Technology in Ethics
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Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
ACS Code of Professional Conduct.......................................................................................................3
Australian Computer Society Code of Professional Conduct................................................................3
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................6
References:............................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
The information technology ethics refers to the ethical issues which arise in the usage and
development of electronic technologies. Their main goal is to identify and formulate the
answers of the question which includes the individual responsibilities and actions which are
related to the moral of public policy. In information security ethics they secure all the
information and system that forms proper support in order to have proper ethical use. In this
report we will discuss about the consequences of different actions which are taken by ICT
and the involvement of Australian computer society code of Professional conduct.
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ACS Code of Professional Conduct
According to the videos the Ken is in the stage of dilemma as he does not aware what to
pursue next in accordance with the company operations should he fight back? The second
option for Ken is to resign from the company but afterwards company finds out he has signed
contract which involves the some sort of negligence in the system and offered Ken one month
extension. Ken adopts the choice of resigning the office but it also has various consequence
he would not paid the amount of instalments from past 2 months. The failure of EMI leads to
the deport of Ken and also the loan department officer provides him the option that if you pay
the instalments in future at regular intervals there are chances you would not get deported.
The implication refers to the consequences of the action or proposed action which considered
as the ethical implication. They tell about the situations which are right or wrong in nature
also their implementation in the workplace. Ethics referred to the rules which are provided by
the external sources and they are referred as codes of conduct in the workplace (Capurro,
2018).
Australian Computer Society Code of Professional Conduct.
ACS code of professional refers to the Australian computer society and ACS code of ethics
is also the part of ACS constitution. The members of ACS upholds and advances the dignity,
honour and effectiveness of the professional as it speaks about being the good citizen and
acting according to the law.
The ACS is consisting of six ethical values which have al the requirements which are
required in the professional environment are as follows:
The primacy of public interest
In this public interest takes the priority of the primacy of the public interest. In this code of
conduct the conflict which arise in the workplace and should be resolved in the interest of
public favour. Ken was in the dilemma of taking the decision which will be beneficial for
them and will result in their favour. The public interest here means which include the matters
of health and safety and the environment of the public (Hu and Cooke, 2012)..
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The enhancement of quality of life
The ICT has developed the considerable impact on the society and it has been seen beneficial
to the huge extent but at the same it also has some negative effects for all the technologies.
These affect can be minimize up to the extent and also recognize with the help of ethical
approach which will be beneficial for the work. The company must promote all the equal
access of benefits to employees of the ICT by all the society members.
Honesty
In every organisation stakeholders or the business activities which you are pursuing you
cannot let break trust of general public. The actions and decisions must be followed with all
the dignity and honesty and there should be proper maintenance of professionalism under
every circumstance which arises in the organisation. The employees should be aware about
this behaviour and should not follow the same (Schnackenberg & Tomlinson,2016).
Competence
Every organisation in which an employee is working should accept that work in which he
believe you are competent to perform and does not involve any sort of hesitation towards the
work. They have the option to take proper advice for the individuals and they should their
limitation which are related to their work. Ken should have known all the things before
signing any sort of documents which can become a problem in his face.
Professional Development
It is much necessary requirement during the time of working and Ken should have updated
them with them relevant and useful with the work and also encouraged the employees and
other team members to pursue the same thing.
Professionalism
There are rapid changes in the ICT industry and they are followed accordingly by the people.
The ACS is focusing on getting the public confidence in the ICT industries. The society
member focuses on maintaining the professional standards which improve the image of
industry especially at the workplace. The ACS can also help in resolving the ethical
dilemmas which provides the support in taking the proper decisions (Weckert & Selgelid,
2013).
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Recommendation
According to the situation of Ken we would have used the approached of professional
development as dealing things on professional basis as they have proper involvement of
members of the organisations and other senior management people. The involvement of
people results should be done on fair and equal basis by considering all the facts and figures
which are involved in the process.
According to ECS ethics rule in the company they have to maintain honesty, professionalism,
competence and public interest in their work. Every work requires some amount of time in
completion but the requirement of the person can be immediate which can affect the whole
working environment. Ken was in the stage of dilemma at the time of leaving from the job as
he was facing problems should he fight back or leave the company without taking any reason
from them. He adopted the option of resigning from the company as he was failed to pay the
instalments of the loan which he has been using from the specified amount of time (Teirstein
&Topol, 2015).
Ken has been deported which was crucial thing for him but on the top of it company people
offered him to stay in the company and provided him one month extension for the desired
time. The company also provided him the option if he will pay the future instalments on time
there is chance he may not get deported and continue his working in the proper manner. Ken
talked to the higher authorities of the company regarding the situation and also asked them
about the way out which can be beneficial for them in the long run. They have provided the
ethical advice on which how they should continue their work with the reasons. They also put
emphasis on the action which is incurred in your professional role which may or may not
impact the image of the profession in a specific manner.
The rules of ACS does not allow the company or any organisation to deliver the wrong
message to the general public and their customer about their product and services which arfe
used in the organisation. Ken got helped from the organisation and after getting proper
knowledge he resolved his ethical dilemma (Floridi & Taddeo, 2014).
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Conclusion
This report concludes about the information technology in ethics and their role in any
company or organisation which helps in smooth functioning of the organisation. They put
emphasis on the individual’s goals and objectives which are required for the betterment of the
individual or company. In this report we have discussed the ethical dilemma which Ken was
facing in his life due to some mistakes but he has taken the decision for the betterment of
their lives. This report summarizes about the Australian Computer Society Code of
Professional Conduct and their importance in the organisation. ACS has numerous roles
which are beneficial for the company and in their working style. The ACS also helps to
overcome their dilemma and take the decision which would be beneficial for the people can
generate which would be beneficial in the future.
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References:
 Floridi, L., & Taddeo, M. (Eds.). (2014). The ethics of information warfare (Vol. 14).
Springer Science & Business Media.
 Capurro, R. (2018). Intercultural information ethics. In Localizing the Internet (pp.
19-38). Wilhelm Fink Verlag.
 Hu, Q., Dinev, T., Hart, P., & Cooke, D. (2012). Managing employee compliance
with information security policies: The critical role of top management and
organizational culture. Decision Sciences, 43(4), 615-660.
 Schnackenberg, A. K., & Tomlinson, E. C. (2016). Organizational transparency: A
new perspective on managing trust in organization-stakeholder relationships. Journal
of Management, 42(7), 1784-1810.
 McGuigan, J., & Mcguigan, J. (2012). Culture and the
public sphere. Routledge.
 Boyd, D. and Crawford, K., 2012. Critical questions for big data: Provocations for a
cultural, technological, and scholarly phenomenon. Information, communication &
society, 15(5), pp.662-679.
 Weckert, J., Lucas, R., & Selgelid, M. J. (2013). Professionalism in the information
and communication technology industry (Vol. 3). ANU E Press.
 Teirstein, P.S. and Topol, E.J., 2015. The role of maintenance of certification
programs in governance and professionalism. Jama, 313(18), pp.1809-1810.
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