Ethical Analysis Of Using Code Segments Without Attribution In A Statistical Program

Background

Question:

Discuss about the Statistical Program for Doing Ethics Technique.

In the case “Statistical Program”, Jean is a statistical database programmer in a company. As the company needed a large statistical program therefore, she is trying to write it. The other programmers of the company are also encouraged by the company to write in relation to their work as well as to publish the algorithms in the professional journals. Jean faced problems in the many of the parts of program, after some months of tiresome programming. The manager of Jean was not able to recognize the difficulty related to the problem. The manager wanted Jean to complete the work in next few days. Jean was having no clue to solve the problem she was facing in programming then she remembered that one of the co-worker of her had provided with the source listing which was related to current work as well as from a commercial software package which was developed at some other company. Jean studied these two of the programs and she found that she can include these codes in her program. She used the segments of code from commercial software as well as from co-worker but she does not informed anyone in the company as well as not mentioned in documentation that she is using the segments of codes. Through this, she completed the project.

The report related to the case will include the analysis of the situation and the identification of the ethical issues in the case as well as the solution for the issue will also be suggested.

The “Doing Ethics Technique” is one of the processes that are used for the purpose of analyzing the ethical issues in any type of scenario. It provides with the support to think ethically as well as help in understanding the application of the technique for the analysis in ethical manner (Simpson et al., 2003).

1. In the case, it has been observed that Jean was facing the difficulty in the completion of the project because she was stuck in some of the parts of the programming and her manager was not recognizing the problem of Jean and wanted her to provide with the project in few days. In order to complete the project on time Jean, included some of the segments from the codes of the co-worker and the commercial software package and presented the project on time.
2. The facts that have been found in the case are:

• Jean is a statistical programmer.
• The company wanted her to write a large statistical program.
• While writing the program Jean stuck in the many parts of the program.
• Jean was facing the problem in programming and was not able to proceed the programming further.
• Her manager does not recognize the difficulty she was facing because of the problem.
• Later she used the segments of codes from the co-worker and the commercial software package provided by the co-worker to her.
• She incorporated the segments of codes from the both of the work and does not mentioned in the documentation as well as not informed to anybody regarding this and completed the project.

1. The issues that have been found in the case are:

• The manager of Jean was not helping or supporting her for solving her problem and expecting her to complete the project on time.
• Jean was using the segments of the code from the work of her co-worker as well as the commercial software package.
• She does not informed to anyone in the company as well as not mentions it in the documentation.

1. The stakeholders in the case are Jean, her manager, company and co-worker.

The people who are affected by the issue are:

Jean: She is affected because at the time when she was facing the problem in some of the areas of the programming and her manager was not recognizing the difficulty because of the problem she was facing because she was not able to proceed the programming because of the problem. She does not get any kind of help or any kind of support for solving the problem and pressurized by the manager to complete the project in few days. As because the manger did not helped her and understood her problem she took this step that was unethical as well as can affect her image as well (Melden, 2008). The irresponsibility of the manager affected her highly and made her took the unethical step for the purpose to accomplish the project on time.  

Analysis of Ethical Issues

Her manager: Jean did not inform even the manager that she is using the segments of codes in her own project to complete it on time. This affected the manager as he was not informed by Jean regarding the incorporation of the codes in the project and this is unethical to use the work of the others before taking the permission or mentioning the contribution of the others in the project. This affected the manager highly as under his management, the employees are conducting unethical activities in the company.

Company: The company was affected by the issue in the case because the unethical activities in the company is responsible for creating an unprofessional and unethical environment in the company which might also affect the reputation of the company as well as it might also affect the other employees of the company at the same time. Jean did not inform the company that she is using the segments of codes of the work of co-worker and the commercial software package developed for other company. Apart from this, the manager had not helped Jean in solving the problem of Jean in programming. The manager had not performed his responsibility in an efficient manner. The company is highly affected as manager is not performing well as well as the employees are not following the ethics in the company which results in the development of unethical environment as well as behavior in the company (Jamieson, 2008).

Co-worker: The co-worker of Jean was also affected by the issues in the case because her co-worker provided her with the commercial software package of another company as well as provided her with his work as well. He provided it to her as he was co-worker of Jean. This developed a feeling of distrust in the co-worker as well as Jean has not mentioned his name for the contribution in the project. This affected the co-worker moderately and developed distrust for Jean as she used his work and did not even mentioned his contribution.    

1. The ethical issues that have been identified in the case are:

• The unethical activity was conducted by Jean for the sake of completing the project which was incorporation of the code segments from commercial software and the work of her co-worker.
• She did not informed to anyone in the company as well as not mentions in documentation that she is using the codes in her own project.
• Her manager did not help her for solving her problem and asked to provide him with the project in few days. He did not perform his responsibility effectively and did not follow the ethics being a manager in the company.

In context to the classical ethical theory, the deontology theory of ethics can be said as suitable to the case as Jean has used the work of the co-worker and the segments of code from the commercial software package. She has taken the step to do so because, she was in pressure to complete the project on time. Her manager was not recognizing the difficulty because of the problem in programming. The deontology theory of ethics defines that the person has to perform his or her duty as it is compulsory to do so (stanford.edu, 2016) (McCartney & Parent, 2017). In order to show the positive attitude towards the work, it is essential for a person to follow the obligation and the duties (Cline, 2017). In this case, Jean was responsible to provide the manager with the project on time and in order to accomplish her project on time, make use of the segments of code from the work of the co-worker as well as the commercial software package. This helped her to complete the project and provide the manager with the project on time. Apart from this, the method was unethical as she used the segments of code without informing anyone in the company and did not mention it as well in the documentation. The ethics says that if a person is using the work of any other person then there is a need to inform and mention the contribution of the person in the project as Jean was able to accomplish the project on time because she used the codes (Mayhew, 2017).

People Affected

The issues affected the co-worker of Jean, manager and the company as well. The co-worker was affected by this as it was his work that was used by Jean in the programming and she was not aware about this that his work was used by jean as well as his name was not mentioned in the documentation. The issue created an unethical environment in the company. The manager was also affected as he noticed the employees are conducting the unethical activities in the company under his management. This issue arises because he did not give importance to her problem and did not help her in solving her problem (Birsch, 2013).

1. For the purpose to resolve the issues of the case, it is essential to consult the code of ethics of the company for the formal guidance. The sharing of the issue with the supervisor can help in resolving the issue as he/she will be able to take advantage of the experience in resolving the same(ICAEW, 2017). Discussing the ethical issue with the other executives of the company will help in making the decision and they can also help in making you understand the challenges to the ethical issues. The other perspective for resolving the issues is to check whether there is any kind of the issue that has been faced by the company in the previous years and how it was handled(Ingram, 2017). These methods can help in resolving the issue. As the issue states Jean and the manager both as the responsible people for the issue then it should be considered to make sure that these issues might not occur in future (Haydon, 2006).
2. The three options through which the ethical issue can be resolved are:

• In order to solve the issue, it should be suggested to Jean to mention the name of the Co-worker for contributing in completing project on time. This can help in resolving the issue as through this, Jean will be able to remain ethically right as well as it will help in reducing the chances of developing the feeling of distrust in co-worker towards Jean.
• The second option for solving the issue can be that the company should ask Jean, the reason for conducting the unethical activity, this will also consider the irresponsibility of manager towards the employees and the company can mention the name of the co-worker in the completion of the project by Jean(Bigg Success, 2008).
• The third option can be that the company can restrict the manager from the provided authority for some time as penalty for not supporting the employees. Jean should be warned for conducting the unethical activity in the company and should comply with the ethics of the company. The co-worker should be rewarded for his good work(Schreiner, 2017).

1. The third option is the best option because restricting the manager from his authority will make him understand his fault. Warning Jean to follow the ethics of the company will not reduce the chances of the occurrence of such issues in the future. Awarding the co-worker will help in boosting the confidence of the co-worker to perform well. It is also important to warn the manager and Jean as well regarding their activities(Tallant, 2011). As the deontology theory of ethics was followed by Jean in order to accomplish the task but it was not right ethically because it affected the co-worker as well as the company (McDunnigan, 2017). In order to perform such actions, it is essential to inform the company and mention in the documentation.

As per the ACS Code of Ethics, It is essential to understand the people who are affected by the work, give due regards to the person, increase the satisfaction of the person who are affected by the work, encourage the colleagues and the employees for developing the professionalism, give credits to the others for their work, accept the responsibility of work, not misrepresent the skills and the knowledge and should enhance the integrity of the profession of information technology (teaching.csse.uwa.edu.au, 2017) (McDermid, 2015).

An ICT professional complies with the code of ethics and respects the profession of information technology as well as always encourages the other to follow the code of ethics (McDermid, 2015). In this case, it has been found that Jean used the segments of code from the work of Co-worker as well as used the segments of code from the commercial software package which was developed for some other company. In the IT profession, it is not ethical to make use of the work of the others without their consideration or mentioning their names in the contribution as this is not ethical to not give the credit of the work to person who has done the work (Rockenbach & Mendina, 2002). It is mentioned in the case that jean used the codes without informing the company which is ethically not right.

On the other hand, it has been found in the case that the manager of Jane did not helped her when Jean was stuck in the programming and was not able to proceed further because of the problem in programming. The manager did not play his role in an efficient manner as according to ACS Code of Ethics, it is the responsibility of the person to encourage, support and help the employees. The manager did not comply with the rules and the responsibility; therefore he is also stated as the defaulter along with Jane.

Application of the Deontological Theory of Ethics

Through this case, it can be stated the ethics were not followed by both Jean and manager which affected the company and the co-worker as well as affected the environment of company. In order to resolve the issues, it is essential to encourage the employees and the managers to follow the code of ethics in order to maintain the environment of ethics in the company (Burmeister, 2014). In order to resolve the issue, there is a need to warn the employee not to conduct such unethical activity and comply with the code of ethics as it is their responsibility to maintain the environment of ethics in the company. The company can also punish the employee for conducting the unethical activity in the company (Leicester, 2016).

Conclusion

It has been analyzed through the both of the analysis that Jean has conducted unethical activity in the company as well as the manager did not perform his responsibility efficiently. This affected the company as well as the co-worker of the company. It is essential to mention and inform to the company while using the work of others as it is ethically correct. The company should take the actions that is best and can do justice to all the stakeholders of the company. As Jean performed the unethical activity for the sake of providing the manager with the project on time but it was not right ethically.

• The company should provide the training as well as encourage to the employee of the company so that the ethical environment can be maintained.
• It is essential for the managers to support the employees and guide them at the time when they face some problems.
• The company should not tolerate the unethical activities in the organization.
• In order to resolve the issue, the company should inquire the whole issue.
• The decision should be taken while following the ethics.

References

Bigg Success, 2008. 3 Steps to Solve an Ethical Dilemma. [Online] Available at: https://biggsuccess.com/bigg-articles/3-steps-to-solve-an-ethical-dilemma/ [Accessed 2017].

Birsch, D., 2013. Introduction to Ethical Theories: A Procedural Approach. Waveland Press.

Burmeister, O.K., 2014. ACS Code of Professional Conduct Professional Standards Board Australian Computer Society. acs.org.au.

Cline, A., 2017. Deontology and Ethics. Thoughtco.

Haydon, G., 2006. Education, Philosophy and the Ethical Environment. Routledge.

ICAEW, 2017. Framework for resolving ethical problems. [Online] Available at: https://www.icaew.com/technical/ethics/framework-for-resolving-ethical-problems [Accessed 2017].

Ingram, D., 2017. How to Resolve Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace. Hearst Newspapers.

Jamieson, D., 2008. Ethics and the Environment: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Leicester, N., 2016. Ethics in the IT Profession: Does a Code of Ethics have an Effect on Professional Behaviour?. https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz.

Mayhew, R., 2017. How to Handle Ethical Issues in the Workplace. Hearst Newspapers.

McCartney, S. & Parent, R., 2017. Ethics in Law Enforcement. opentextbc.ca.

McDermid, D., 2015. Ethics in ICT: An Australian Perspective. Pearson Higher Education AU.

McDunnigan, M., 2017. Techniques Used to Solve Ethical Dilemmas. Leaf Group Ltd.

Melden, A.I., 2008. Ethical Theories. Read Books.

Rockenbach, B. & Mendina, T., 2002. Ethics and Electronic Information: A Festschrift for Stephen Almagno. McFarland.

Schreiner, E., 2017. 7 Guidelines for Making Ethical Decisions. Hearst Newspapers.

Simpson, C., Nevile, L. & Burmeister, O., 2003. Doing Ethics: A Universal Technique in an Accessibility Context. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 10(2).

stanford.edu, 2016. Deontological Ethics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Tallant, J., 2011. Procedural Justice Organizational Ethics Issue Resolution in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry. GRIN Verlag.

teaching.csse.uwa.edu.au, 2017. Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics. teaching.csse.uwa.edu.au.