Management Case Study: Addressing Ethical Dilemmas in Programming Task

This case study analyzes an ethical dilemma faced by John, a statistical database programmer, who is pressured to use existing code to meet deadlines, raising concerns about integrity and confidentiality. The analysis identifies key stakeholders, including John, his colleagues, and the company, a...Read More

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Case Study Analysis
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Dilemma of John........................................................................................................................3
Methodology that demonstrates the analysis of the situation and resolution of the dilemma. . .3
Recommendation of Actions......................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

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Recognizing moral Dimensions
Ethics is one of the most important elements in a workplace and during the operations
of the business. In the particular case it has been seen that John who is a statistical database
programmer had faced some critical problems in the development of programs using own
codes. The question of ethics rises more because John works for such a company which has
its roots in the development of cods and programmes by means of own data and statistics
(acs.org.au 2019).
Interested parties
The interested parties in this case are John, his co-worker, his manager, the
organization and the company whose codes are being used. John was left with no other option
rather to practice this unethical means (acs.org.au 2019). It is important for John to
understand the policy of the business and then understand the values involved.
Values or Principles involved
The values of integrity, confidentiality and conduct are much important in this case.
This is because a previous work is being directly used for meeting the tight schedules.
Courses of Actions
The recommendations after analysing the total task are as follows;
a. Creation of an ethical statement- The creation of an ethical statement is highly
necessary for the organization. This can help employees like John to follow the
guidelines and in case they face any problems they can refer to the following
(McGhee and Grant 2018).
b. Ethical communication style- The presence of an ethical communication style must be
maintained by the management accordingly to ensure business success (Kumar 2017).

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c. Employees should be asked about ethics- Employees must be asked about ethics and
their understanding related to ethics.
Weighing the benefits and the burdens
The benefits that can be achieved are timely achievement of the goals. At the same
time the satisfaction of getting the job done can be achieved. The burdens however are the
guilt that can occur due to the usage of external help.
Looking for Analogous cases
Another way for solving the issue is to develop better teamwork. This can help to
create better possibilities. The reconsideration of the issue can be done. Moving forward, the
management of the issue needs to take place.
Discussion with relevant others
In this case, John can seek the help of any trusted friend concerning how he can move
forward in regard to the issue at hand. He needs expert advice and can find better ways to
resolve the ethical dilemma. He can also directly speak with the clients.
Accordance with legal and organizational rules
The decision of John is important in view of the legal factors. This is because he can
get affected by laws that are against any form of plagiarism. At the same time confidentiality
is a legal factor that can be an important hindrance.

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References
Acs.org.au. (2020). ACS - The Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector. [online]
Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/ [Accessed 10 Jan. 2020].
Kumar, J., 2017. Institutionalization of ethics at workplace: A study of contributory role of
HR and line functionaries (Doctoral dissertation, Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad).
McGhee, P. and Grant, P., 2018. Workplace Spirituality and Virtue Ethics. The Palgrave
Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment, pp.475-489.
Yoder, D.E. and Denhardt, K.G., 2019. Ethics education in public administration and affairs:
Preparing graduates for workplace moral dilemmas. In Handbook of administrative
ethics (pp. 85-104). Routledge.