Ethical Dilemma Assignment: Analysis On The Actions Taken By Ict Professionals

Question

Task: In the following YouTube videos, consequences of different actions taken by an ICT professionals have been depicted, when faced with an ethical dilemma. Watch the videos and then proceed as per the instructions given below, to prepare your report.

1. Video1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5M7ohdZ6qA
2. Video2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLK_JjAu48
3. Video3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4LoEdnw7iA
4. Video4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfGeK08y10o

• Identify the main ethical dilemma involved in this case and undertake further research about it.
• Analyse the ethical dilemma, considering  the different actions by the ICT professionals (as suggested in the videos or you can think about other possible actions), from the perspective of theAustralian Computer Society Code of Professional Conduct.
• Make a recommendation on the basis of your analysis providing reasons for this recommendation.
• Include a Reference list at the end of your work using the correct APA referencing style. You must include at least five (5) quality academic references. Please note that these references are in addition tothose provided to you through this subject (for example, you still must reference, Reynolds textbook, the Interact subject lecture notes, links to the three videos etc BUT these references cannot be used as one of your five quality academic references from different sources). All items included in the Reference List must be cited within the body of the report. The word limit is 1500 words ± 10%.
  
  Note: Headings, citations, references and any appendices do not count towards your word limit, but quotations do. At the start of the assignment indicate in brackets the word count of your assignment excluding those items mentioned above.

Answer

What is the main ethical dilemma discussed in the context of this ethical dilemma assignment?
The report on ethical dilemma assignment revolves around the concept of ethical considerations that play an important role in achieving better responses in terms of facilitating better operational associations all along the process. In the present situation a possible limitation in the ethical considerations has been evident across the relative organizational operations (Schwartz, 2016). Different conditions and their relative impacts over the organizational ethical framework is assessed and incorporated to promote a better outreach and understanding of the possible outcomes across the entire process are included.

The main ethical dilemma discussed in the context of this ethical dilemma assignment that is included under this situation defines the lacking basic considerations across the product or service based ethical consideration in an organization. The liabilities and assumptions are assessed and incorporated to withstand better understanding and innovation based approach for formulating better insights and assessing the benefits prevailed across the process of software development. The situation depicts a project delivery deadline related issue for a software development company (Mair, Mayer & Lutz, 2015). The project manager is unsure about the implications which will be introduced across the customer information security as limited timeline would bar them from including a better encrypted software support. Higher management positions have been making significant pressure over the project manager which is ultimately leading to a complication across the entire process (Graham, Ziegert & Capitano, 2015). The code of ethics under Australian Computer Society have been negatively affected as factors such as primacy of public interests and professionalism will be compromised in case of a compromise over the quality attributes. The lacking perspective in terms of these code of conduct are liable to impact the overall health of the company and include a less responsible approach towards the design fragments (Tsoukas, 2017). There are a number of significant ideologies which can be assessed to promote less disturbing impacts by limiting the deadline shifting process. Thus, it must be taken in to account through a responsible discussion between the project teams and higher organizational authorities across the company.

Limitations in the ethical considerations for the organization is liable to support the whole process and incorporate better understanding of the security and quality of the product delivered. In case of no consideration across ethical fragments, there can be a major loss to the whole process of analysis and significance to the entire process of managing developments (Wu et al. 2015). The overall liabilities are set to incorporate the available jurisdictions and include the challenges in the ethically justified ways for managing operational ethical values. Any product based organization is responsible for maintaining basic ethical considerations and achieving a more intact and consumer friendly process to practice operations. Thus, it is stated herein ethical dilemma assignment that the considerations are liable to integrate the challenges and associate the liabilities for facilitating the overall operability and associating the entire process through extensive ideologies (Shafer, 2015).

Analysis of the decisions
Public interest is one of the most specific and generalized ethical consideration included under the Australian computer society code of professional conduct. An organization and its related employees must keep public interest above all in the entire process of product or service development. This includes a suitable approach for facilitating better security, availability and usability of the product by the common users (Baron, Zhao & Miao, 2015). The provided situation describes a number of options which have been provided as a way out to the crucial situation. The main issue that is incorporated with the project management team is the relative deadline of the project. The project manager needs to complete it earlier to the prior available deadline and thus concerns in terms of overall product quality remain an important issue for the manager. The scenarios depict a variety of higher management professionals forcing some shortcuts which can help in sooner delivery than the set deadline (Huhtala et al. 2015). The differences between feasible solutions and the practices used remain intact and thus different scenarios are developed which can be assessed for a better option.

The first scenario examined in the context of this ethical dilemma assignment depicts a situation where the project manager has been convinced to avail the shortcuts and shift the delivery date sooner as compared to the prior set date. Under this scenario, the project manager along with the entire team compromises over some basic ethical codes (Shin et al. 2015). The surety of quality across the product remains insignificant and thus the basic ideology of serving over public interest is barred under this consideration. Under this particular scenario, the chances of failure for the provided software are also there which is directly linked to the creditability losses for the company (van Gils et al. 2015). Thus, this decisive segment may be beneficial for shorter run but it will have serious negative implications over the organizational image in longer run.

The second scenario illustrated in this segment of ethical dilemma assignment describes the team manager rejecting the idea of using shortcuts in order to reduce the submission deadline. This decision will be based on the set professional principles across the ethical dimensions for a professional organization (Fan, Kühn & Lafontaine, 2017). The relative ideologies and assumptions are to be assessed and a software solution with at least medium requirements must be there. This process will be helpful in retaining the ethical considerations across the professional delivery perspective of this organization. The jurisdictions across operational limits are more reasonable to the set standards and their respective implications are perfectly planned. Long term benefits are the key attributes which can be assessed and incorporated under the organizational structure under this particular factor (Evans, Dillon & Rand, 2015). It will be quite helpful in exploring the designated outcomes and retaining true value of public interest across their software development process. Apart from the wellness segments achieved throughout the process, it can result in providing serious issues for the project manager. The project manager can be held responsible of fewer competencies and can lose the project. The higher authorities within the organization can also take suitable disciplinary actions that can be highly disturbing for the project as well as the manager itself.

There is also a third scenario that includes the most feasible and competent operational fragment across the process. This scenario describes convincing of the management for applying the related security implications and facilitates an extension over the project. As the higher management will convinced under this particular factor, there won’t be any issue regarding the deadline. It can be considered as the most convenient way to complete this project (Bartels et al. 2015). It will be including all the major factors and thus there won’t be any issue regarding the ethical implications along the provided solution. Considering the findings obtained from the study illustrated in the ethical dilemma assignment signifies that the relative assumptions and considerations are placed to facilitate better outcomes and indulge differential aspects for incorporating an all focused process of software development (Jennings, Mitchell & Hannah, 2015). Each of the required liabilities will be included and assessed under this perspective and a more viable approach is developed that encourages ethical considerations and management.

Recommendation
The current situation of the project and its related management authorities are critical and thus there must be a suitable process implication which can facilitate better outcomes. In order to suggest a recommendation, the project manager should discuss the impacts of limited security encryption as an aftermath of less time segment available. This discussion on the case scenario of ethical dilemma assignment must include each of the desired and expected outcomes related to both negative as well as positive perspective (Chen, Chen & Sheldon, 2016). Ideas and suggestions from the whole team must be considered for a detailed overview. This will enrich the authenticity of decisions and retain better understanding of the ethical considerations available all along the process. Based on this analysis, a suitable outcome can be developed which can be used for framing the operations further. The entire obligation that is associated with the process are liable to secure innovation and security as the two major considerations for facilitation of a suitable process. Consideration of the moral issues as a significant factor is the main possibility which is to be assessed and incorporated extensively all along the process (Newell & Marabelli, 2015). The entire situation must be liable to integrate better end results in terms of the software delivery process and enhance the entire process without any security limitations. The recommendation is based on promoting organizational decision making in consideration with the available code of ethics under Australian computer society (Acs.org.au, 2019). The ethical codes are provided in the below mentioned sections.

• Primacy of public interest
• Honesty
• Competence
• Professionalism
• Quality of life enhancement
• Professional development

Reference
Acs.org.au (2019), ethical dilemma assignment ACS code of ethics, retrieved on: 12 December 2019, retrieved from: https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-documents/Code-of-Ethics.pdf

Baron, R. A., Zhao, H., & Miao, Q. (2015). Personal motives, moral disengagement, and unethical decisions by entrepreneurs: Cognitive mechanisms on the “slippery slope”. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(1), 107-118.

Bartels, D. M., Bauman, C. W., Cushman, F. A., Pizarro, D. A., & McGraw, A. P. (2015). Moral judgment and decision making. The Wiley Blackwell handbook of judgment and decision making, 1, 478-515.

Chen, M., Chen, C. C., & Sheldon, O. J. (2016). Relaxing moral reasoning to win: How organizational identification relates to unethical pro-organizational behavior. Ethical dilemma assignment Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), 1082.

Evans, A. M., Dillon, K. D., & Rand, D. G. (2015). Fast but not intuitive, slow but not reflective: Decision conflict drives reaction times in social dilemmas. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(5), 951.

Fan, Y., Kühn, K. U., & Lafontaine, F. (2017). Financial constraints and moral hazard: The case of franchising. Journal of Political Economy, 125(6), 2082-2125.

Graham, K. A., Ziegert, J. C., & Capitano, J. (2015). The effect of leadership style, framing, and promotion regulatory focus on unethical pro-organizational behavior. Journal of business ethics, 126(3), 423-436.

Huhtala, M., Tolvanen, A., Mauno, S., & Feldt, T. (2015). The associations between ethical organizational culture, burnout, and engagement: A multilevel study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(2), 399-414.

Jennings, P. L., Mitchell, M. S., & Hannah, S. T. (2015). The moral self: A review and integration of the literature. Ethical dilemma assignment Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S104-S168.

Mair, J., Mayer, J., & Lutz, E. (2015). Navigating institutional plurality: Organizational governance in hybrid organizations. Ethical dilemma assignment Organization Studies, 36(6), 713-739.

Newell, S., & Marabelli, M. (2015). Strategic opportunities (and challenges) of algorithmic decision-making: A call for action on the long-term societal effects of ‘datification’. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 24(1), 3-14.

Schwartz, M. S. (2016). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 755-776.

Shafer, W. E. (2015). Ethical climate, social responsibility, and earnings management. Journal of Business Ethics, ethical dilemma assignment 126(1), 43-60.

Shin, Y., Sung, S. Y., Choi, J. N., & Kim, M. S. (2015). Top management ethical leadership and firm performance: Mediating role of ethical and procedural justice climate. Journal of Business Ethics, 129(1), 43-57.

Tsoukas, H. (2017). Don't simplify, complexify: From disjunctive to conjunctive theorizing in organization and management studies. Journal of Management Studies, 54(2), 132-153.

van Gils, S., Van Quaquebeke, N., van Knippenberg, D., van Dijke, M., & De Cremer, D. (2015). Ethical leadership and follower organizational deviance: The moderating role of follower moral attentiveness. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), 190-203.

Wu, L. Z., Kwan, H. K., Yim, F. H. K., Chiu, R. K., & He, X. (2015). CEO ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility: A moderated mediation model. Ethical dilemma assignment Journal of Business Ethics, 130(4), 819-831.