Exploring Ethical Dilemmas in Software Development: A Case Study

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Topics in Information Technology Ethics
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background of the Case Study........................................................................................................3
Ethical Issues...................................................................................................................................3
Australian Computer Society Ethical Code.....................................................................................4
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
The report provides the ethical code and its importance in the business organization. The report
will explain the role of Information and Communication Technology. It will also explain how
significant it is for the business organizations to follow the professional code of ethics using the
(ACS) Australian Computer Society. The organizations following the ICT follow the code of
ethics and standards of Australia. The purpose of this report is to discover the ethical problems
and issues which business companies face according to the Australian Computer Society Ethical
Codes in the area of Information and Communication Technology. The report will include the
recommendations and suggestions which will assist ethically in resolving the unethical issues
faced by the organizations.
Background of the Case Study
The case study as being provided of the business organization deals with an ethical issue of early
launch that too with inscription. The organization was being outsourced the project of software
development for one of the clients. The client asks the organization to complete the project a
month earlier without inscription. The project manager tries to convince the program director for
completing the project by taking shortcuts which might cause serious problems. The project
manager tries to convince him by saying the program director and his team can get extra bonuses
which would be pretty handsome. In this given case, the project manager behaves unethically
and aims to commit unethical practices in the business organization. The given case concludes
that the project manager asks the senior developer to launch the software without testing in order
to save the time and cost of the project and hence launch it a month early. And hence, there is an
unethical practice conducted in the organization that the senior developer launched the software
without Turnitin-Topics in Information Technology Ethics testing the same (Al-Saggaf, 2016).
Ethical Issues
The ethical issues faced in the company include the behavior of the project manager with the
program director. According to the case study, the project manager forces the program director to
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launch the software one month earlier which is an unethical means of practice. It is the
responsibility of the project manager to behave ethically with its team and inspire them to
perform their operations ethically and complete their activities within the prescribed time. The
project manager conducts the unethical practice by launching the website without testing which
will require certain shortcuts and can result in the hacking of the website, security implications,
etc. The ethical issue faced in the organization is the behavior of the project manager with the
program director and software developer (Komić, et. al., 2015). Testing of the software is
essentiality to complete the activity ethically. And it is the responsibility of the project manager
to get the testing done efficiently and successfully before launching the software. The project
manager ensures that the project gets completed before the time constraints instead of focusing
on maintaining the ethical code. Pressurizing the employees to develop the software one month
early, that too without testing is considered as unethical behavior and must not be practiced by
the organisation. It is vital to follow ICT so as to abide by its rules and conduct ethical practices
(Coeckelbergh, et. al., 2016).
Australian Computer Society Ethical Code
The ICT companies abide by the ethical code and professionals working in such companies
perform their roles, responsibilities, and duties ethically. According to the case study, the
business organization is facing several ethical issues. For the same there are various components
which are mentioned in the ethical codes of ACS (Australian Computer Society) which
comprises of honesty, truthfulness, the standard of life, professionalism, competence,
enhancement of the professional development, increase competition and public interest. The
ethical issues faced by the organization consists of internet regulation, privacy, safety measures,
cybercrime, Information, and Communication technology professionalism, social inclusion,
identity and community, concurrent computing (Giorgini, et. al., 2015). The basic ethical issue is
that the program director does not abide by the ethical code and conducts its duty unethically.
The program director pressurizes the project manager to launch the software without testing and
explains benefits to him of the same. It can cause hacking and other social implications. It is the
responsibility of the program director to maintain ethics and morals in the company instead of
pressurizing others as well to behave unethically and cause problems to the health of the people.
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It is vital on the part of the company to maintain ethics and professionalism and conducts
business activities with honesty and by following the ethical codes. In the given scenario, the
program director tries to convince the project manager to launch the project one month earlier as
per the demand of the client so that he can get benefitted in his next contract. It is an unethical
means of practice and breach of ethical codes (Stahl, et. al., 2015). Professionalism is important
in the organization to improve organizational culture and inspire employees to improve their
efficiency and productivity. So, the business organization should launch the product with
inscription and prevent the causes which may occur and create a positive impact.
Recommendation
Recommendation 1 According to the ACS, i.e. Australian Computer Society Ethical Codes, it is
being recommended that the executives of the business organizations should behave in the
ethical means and influence its team as well to not only behave ethically but also performs their
duties in an ethical manner.
Recommendation 2 The program director is being recommended and suggested to follow its
moral and ethical duties and launch the product with inscription and proper testing so that it does
not harm the people and their safety, privacy, and security.
Conclusion
According to the ICT and ACS ethical code, it concludes that business organizations should
abide by all the morals, ethical codes while performing their business activities. As per the codes,
the top executives should follow ethical means and influence employees to follow ethics. The
report concludes that the companies abiding with the ethical codes and practices create a positive
image in the marketplace and gain a competitive advantage which results in long-term growth
and development of the company.
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References
 Al-Saggaf, Y., (2016). Scenario 3: Early Launch. [Online]. YouTube. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5M7ohdZ6qA. [Assessed: 22nd March 2019]
 Coeckelbergh, M., Pop, C., Simut, R., Peca, A., Pintea, S., David, D., &Vanderborght, B.
(2016). A survey of expectations about the role of robots in robot-assisted therapy for
children with ASD: Ethical acceptability, trust, sociability, appearance, and attachment.
Science and engineering ethics, 22(1), 47-65.
 Giorgini, V., Mecca, J. T., Gibson, C., Medeiros, K., Mumford, M. D., Connelly, S.,
&Devenport, L. D. (2015). Researcher perceptions of ethical guidelines and codes of
conduct. Accountability in research, 22(3), 123-138.
 Komić, D., Marušić, S. L., &Marušić, A. (2015). Research integrity and research ethics
in professional codes of ethics: Survey of terminology used by professional organizations
across research disciplines. PloS one, 10(7), e0133662.
 Stahl, B. C., Timmermans, J., &Mittelstadt, B. D. (2016). The ethics of computing: A
survey of the computing-oriented literature. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 48(4),
55.
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