A Case Study on Ethical Issues in Project Management: ITC 506

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ITC 506
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ICT is the abbreviation for “information and computer technology”. The use of information and
computer technology is visible in all the fields of businesses and in daily lives too. Information
and computer technology is the use of the internet and computer systems. The application of
information and computer technology makes the activities and tasks of the business easy. It saves
the time and efforts of people. Information and computer technology has been widely used in
carrying out the business effectively. Businessmen use ICT in various forms. Some companies
use ICT for marketing and advertisements of the products and services whereas some companies
use ICT to provide a decisions support system to the business. The people making use of ICT has
to follow some guidelines and rules. If these rules are violated, it can be disadvantageous for the
parties attached to the system (Al-Saggaf, et. al., 2017). Ethics in ICT are very important. The
essay is written to analyze a case in which ethics are not followed by business people just for the
sake of their own benefits. The essay will also include some suggestions that could help in
avoiding unethical situations.
Description of the case
There is a case which has been described for this essay. In the case, there is a project manager
and a senior developer who is working on a very important project. The project is highly
prestigious for the organization and the benefits of the project manager as well as the
organization. According to the case, the deadline given by the client to the project manager to
complete the project is about to end, and the project has not been completed yet. The project is
regarding the development of software. The senior developer was asked to meet the project
manager in the meeting room, and he was asked about the progress report of the software
development. The senior developer replied that they would start the project and serve the client
the three versions of the software in the given period. The project manager again asked the senior
developer that would it be possible for him and his team do so in such a short period. The senior
developer was under pressure and said yes to the project manager. The project manager also
knew that the software would also require to be tested effectively to check its performance and
that would also need time which they do not have. The completion of the project was like
impossible, and the project manager knew it very well. The senior developer said that he wanted
to test himself about his capabilities under work pressure. In this case, the person in fault is the
project manager (You Tube, 2016). This is because the project manager had full knowledge
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about the project and the effective time that would be required to accomplish it but then also he
permitted the senior developer to start the project and complete it in the stipulated time period.
The ethical issue is that the project manager gave permission to the senior developer to start with
the development process for his own benefit and for the benefits of the organization. It was the
fault of the project manager that he became selfish and wanted his own profits and the profits of
the company.
It is the responsibility of the project manager to think of the benefits of the employees too as they
are working hard for the organization. Ethics are very crucial to be followed in every business
situation.
Australian Computer Society code of ethics
The national management committee operates and supports and an organization called the
Australian Computer Society code of ethics (ACS). The organization has laid down certain
guidelines that are mandatory to be followed by businesses. As per the rules of the organization,
all the members of the association must think of the public interest before their own interest or
the interest of the business. There must be honesty in all the acts of the members. All the projects
carried out by the members of the association must be beneficial for the parties attached to it, and
the project should raise the living standards of the people (Acs, 2019).
Analysis of the case according to ACS
The case has an ethical issue that the project manager just thought of his own advantages and the
profits of the business. This is in contrast to the ethical codes of ACS. As mentioned above, the
organization has the rule of public interest and this rule is breached in this act. The project
manager was aware that the completion of all three versions is not possible in such a period of
time, but then also, he permitted the senior developer to start the project. This was not at all
justified as it was not good for the employees of the organization. The act of not beneficial for
the development team also as they the project manager knew that to complete the task, all the
employees have to work under pressure which is not good for their physical and mental health
(Al-Saggaf, et. al., 2017).
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Suggestions
As a project manager, the person had the responsibility to take care of the interest of the
employees also as they without them no project can be completed. The recommendation for the
project manager to handle this situation is that the project could have asked the senior developer
and his team to start and complete only one version of the software. If he had taken this decision,
the employees would be at ease and get enough time to develop and test the quality of the
software. The client would also be benefitted as he would get his full-fledged software in time.
The company and the manager would be in profits too.
The essay reflects that the implementation of ITC is for reducing the burden of the people and it
must be used effectively. The guidelines and rules of ACS are for the sake of people and must be
followed by the members.
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Reference
 Acs, (2019). About ACS. [Online]. Acs. Retrieved from:
https://www.acs.org.au/governance/rules-and-regulations.html on 24 March 2019.
 Al-Saggaf, Y., Burmeister, O. K., & Schwartz, M. (2017). Qualifications and ethics
education: the views of ICT professionals. Australasian Journal of Information
Systems, 21.
 YouTube, (2016). Overseas Codeshop. [Online]. Youtube. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBfJ07gfHyc on 24 March 2019.
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