Professional Ethics Case Study: Analyzing a Programming Dilemma

This assignment delves into an ethical dilemma faced by a programmer named John, as presented in a case study. John is under pressure to complete a statistical program but is struggling with certain aspects. The assignment analyzes John's situation, which involves considering code from a coworker and a commercial software package to meet the deadline. The solution employs Chris MacDonald's guide to moral decision-making, including identifying moral dimensions, interested parties, and relevant values. The assignment also integrates clauses from the ACS code of ethics and professional conduct, such as honesty, competency, and professional development, to provide a comprehensive approach to resolving the ethical challenges. The analysis highlights potential conflicts and offers recommendations for ethical conduct in the IT sector, emphasizing the importance of transparency, respect, and adherence to professional standards.

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Introduction
Every employee face a challenge in decision making regardless of where the individual operates.
In the information technology sector, decision challenge which is also known as an ethical
dilemma can be described as the difficulty in deciding between alternatives. In whatever
direction the employee goes, he or she feels that his principles have been compromised. The
important issue is that despite the challenging situation, an employee should consider whether his
or her move is right or wrong. In this task, it will dwell of case study 1 given on the document to
discuss the ethical dilemma. The solution will also make use of Chris MacDonald guide to
demonstrate how John can solve the issue. Lastly, the assignment will focus on clauses from the
ACS code of ethics and ACS cod of professional conduct to give the best solution to the
challenge.
Chris MacDonald guide to moral decision making
Identifying the moral dimension
It is the initial step of making a moral decision according to Chris MacDonald. In the first case
study of the document, John has to agree that the approach he is going to take has a certain level
of moral benefit. For instance, if he has the pressure from the employer and borrowing a section
of code is the only option he must recognize that acknowledging the owners is an important
factor. It brings a sense of moral to him in the company.
Identifying the interested parties and their relationships.
In the case of John, the parties that he must take into consideration while making a decision
include his manager and the co-worker who have a working code. According to the standards in
this company, every programmers are supposed to do their own and publish in professional

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journals. However, John has taken a portion from a colleague. The relationship between these
three people is professional. If the manager may detect this behavior, he may think that John and
the colleague had the intention of making the mistake despite the standards of the company being
against the action (Lam, 2016: p430).
The values and principles involved
In this step, the main consideration is whether the decision one is going to take is harm to
another individual. For instance, the case of John one can consider the people who are going to
feel the effect of his decision. The two main participants are the manager and the co-worker.
However, it would be unfair for the co-worker to get fired because of John’s actions (Kaposy,
Brunger, Maddalena, and Singleton, 2016: p.640). John may have taken the portion of the code
without notifying the coworker. Apart from that, he lacks documentation to show that he has
borrowed part of the program from a co-worker.
Apart from the above procedures, Chris MacDonald has other methodologies to follow. One
thing is that one has to discuss the decision he or she is about to take with other individuals
(Hendricks-Ferguson, Ruebling, Sargeant, Kienstra, Eliot, Howell, Sebelski, Moore, and
Armstrong, 2018: p.485). For instance, John should have discussed the issue of limited time with
his manager and also talk to the co-worker to allow him to use his part of the program because of
limited time. Secondly, one should be comfortable with the decision he is taking. In John’s case,
he is uncomfortable because he is not sure of the outcome of the decision. He may even end up
losing his job.
ACS code of ethics
i. Honesty

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Honesty requires employees to tell the truth of their situation and discuss the possible action that
they can take at the end. For example, the case of John honesty requires him to tell the manager
that time is limited and he is requiring support from a co-worker to avoid future wrangles.
ii. Competency
The above conduct relates to the skills and knowledge that one possess. For the best way, one
should recognize his abilities and limits. For instance, John was able to write a program but
could not solve the bug while colleague had a solution. The best solution was to consult the co-
worker before using the code.
iii. Professional development
The above code relates to the development of an individual. When John encountered a challenge,
it was the best moment for him to develop through consulting the co-worker.
The ACS of professional conduct.
The following are the major ACS code of professional conduct that can relate to John’s case
study:
i. One should not try to improve his own reputation at the expense of other people. For
example, John wants to succeed while the co-worker may end up in troubles
ii. One should respect and also ask for assistance from other experts and colleagues when stuck
in a situation.
iii. Refrain from any conduct or action in your professional role which may tarnish the image
of the profession or detract from the good name of the ACS (LaMontagne, 2016:p.39).

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References
Hendricks-Ferguson, V.L., Ruebling, I., Sargeant, D.M., Kienstra, K., Eliot, K.A., Howell, T.G.,
Sebelski, C.A., Moore, K.S. and Armstrong, K., 2018. Undergraduate students’ perspectives of
healthcare professionals’ use of shared decision-making skills. Journal of interprofessional
care, 32(4), pp.481-489.
Kaposy, C., Brunger, F., Maddalena, V. and Singleton, R., 2016. The use of Ethics Decision‐
Making Frameworks by Canadian Ethics Consultants: A Qualitative Study. Bioethics, 30(8),
pp.636-642.
Lam, H., 2016. Social media dilemmas in the employment context. Employee Relations, 38(3),
pp.420-437.
LaMontagne, R.M., 2016. Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace: HR Managers' Perceptions of
Behavioral Influences with Implications for Building an Ethical Culture in
Organizations. International Journal of Knowledge, Culture & Change in Organizations:
Annual Review, 15.