Examining Willer System Project Ethics Based on ACS Code of Conduct

This essay delves into the ethical considerations surrounding the development of the Willer system, where the project manager, Greggs, faces pressure from the CIA to expedite the project's delivery by a month. This acceleration, however, necessitates foregoing encryption, which raises significant security concerns. The analysis is conducted through the lens of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Professional Conduct, examining aspects such as the primacy of public interest, enhancement of quality of life, honesty, competence, professional development, and professionalism. The essay identifies the potential negative sociological impact of delivering an unencrypted system, highlighting the risks of data leakage and compromised customer security. Ultimately, the essay recommends implementing robust encryption, raising awareness of cybercrimes, and prioritizing the protection of sensitive data to mitigate these risks and uphold ethical standards.

Running head: ETHICS
Topics in information technology ethics
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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1. Introduction
The paper mainly reflects on the case study that focuses on the development of Willer
system. It is found that the project manager “Greggs” was asked by the CIA to deliver the project
one month earlier than the expected completion date of the project. However, the project
manager finds it difficult as delivering system without encryption can create number of security
implications that further can destroy the brand image (Program Director Listens to team, 2019).
However, as per the CIA, if the company is not able to deliver the project earlier then the
organization “Willer” will not provide them the next contract that is around $3million.
In this paper, proper research on the ethical issues are undertaken in order to determine
the ethical issue that is associated with the help of the selected scenario. It is found that the paper
analyses the ethical issues from the perspectives of the Australian Computer Society Code of
professional Conduct. In addition to this, proper recommendations on the basis of analysis is
generally provided.
2. Identification of ethical issues
As Gregg is engaged with the development of the Willer system, the CIA of the
organization wants to deliver the project one month earlier in order to impress the organization
so that they can provide next contract to the company that costs around 3 million. It is found that
if the project manager delivers the project one month earlier without encryption, then it is found
that there are number of ethical issues that can generally occur within the organization (Lin &
Liao, 2017). It is identified due to absence of encryption a number of security issues can occur
which can leak the sensitive information of the customers and further can rise number of issues
as well as challenges.

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3.Mapping and analyzing the issue with the help of ACS code of ethics
3.1 The primacy of the public Interest
It is found that as per this ethical code of ethics, the interest of the public must be placed
above those of the personal business as well as sectional interest (Leicester, 2016). It is found
that the ethical issue that mainly occurs within the organization due to delivering the Willer
system without encryption does not prioritize the interest of the people rather it focuses on the
business interest.
3.2 The enhancement of quality of Life
With the help of the ACS code of ethics, quality of life will be enhanced with the help of
the work. It is found that the ethical issue that arises does not enhance the quality of life but it
creates number of challenges for the public due to number of security concerns as well as
leakage of personal data as well as information.
3.3 Honesty
With the help of this ACS code of ethics, it is found that one need to be honest in
representing skills, knowledge as well as services. It is found that as Greg knows that delivery of
system without encryption will compromise the security of the customer’s data and he was
honest in representing his skills, knowledge as well as services (Mabrouk & Schelble, 2018). On
the other hand, the company delivers the system to the organization by knowing the fact that in
the absence of encryption, security issues can occur within the project.
3.4 Competence
As per this particular ACS code of ethics, it is very much necessary to work competently
as well as diligently for the stakeholders of the organization. It is found that the head of the

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department influenced the project manager to deliver the system to the company without
encryption which is mainly done in order to get all the contracts of the company that would cost
around $3 million. The head of the organization has done this as the decision that is beneficial
for the stakeholders of the organization.
3.5 Professional development
As the per the ACS code of conduct, one need to focus on the professional development
of the colleagues as well as staffs. It is found that the CIA of the organization wants that the
system must be delivered without encryption so that they can be able to get all the future
contracts of the Willer organization which will further helpful in increasing the professional
development of the staffs. However, the step that is taken by Gregg is unfair and unethical as it
would compromise the security of the staffs (Jurjevich et al., 2018).
3.6 Professionalism
With the help of this ACS code of conduct integrity of the society as well as respect for
its team members will increase. It is found that the actions that are taken by Greg is not
professional as he has not focussed on the problems that generally can occur due to absence of
proper encryption facility. In addition to this, it is found that due to improper facility of
encryption, security of the customers gets compromised.
4. Sociological impact
It is found that the decision that is taken by the organization of delivering the system
without encryption generally creates negative sociological impact. As due to the absence of
encryption, the system is unable to provide proper security to the data as well as information and

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as a result the chances of data leakage is quite high that would further create number of
challenges as well as issues within the project (Roybal & Lim, 2017).
5. Suitable recommendation
It is found that in order to resolve the problems as well as challenges that are associated
with data security, it is very much necessary for the organization to take some of the important
steps that are elaborated below:
Facility of encryption: Proper facility of encryption must be provided that helps in
encoding messages as well as information in order to keep them secure.
Beware of the cybercrimes: It is necessary to beware of the cybercrimes so that the
chances of security issues can be avoided.
Protection of important data: It is necessary to keep the sensitive data protected so that
chances of data hacking can be minimized.

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Scenario III 3 Program Director Listens to team. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLK_JjAu48