ISYS 90050 IT Project and Change Homework: Managing Ethical Challenges- The University Melbourne- School of Computing and Information Systems
Aimed
1. Gaining a practical understanding of the issues involved in project management, including the handling of conflict situations and experiencing ethical dilemmas; and
2. Developing the ability to resolve project management issues under pressure and within a short time frame, as project conditions change.
Learning Outcomes
1. Analysis of the information provided;
2. Depth of understanding of the scenarios involved;
3. Ability to assess a situation and suggest different strategies and;
4. Reasoning as to how and why you will use one or more strategies to resolve the situation / deal with the ethical dilemma.
Scenario - An Ethical Dilemma
Kate's first job after graduation from the University of Timbuktwo is to begin work as a quality assurance (QA) engineer with a highly respected technology company CarbTech, based out of Melbourne. The sole focus of CarbTech is the design and
development of (both hardware and software) that help towards reducing the pollution and carbon
Kate's role as a QA engineer is to test and ensure that integrated technology solutions developed by CarbTech specifications. Just three months into her position, the company has signed a very large deal with a strategic customer AusLab, thereby helping CarbTech to consolidate its dominance in the industry. AusLab provides expert advice to the Australian Government on carbon emissions. Specifically, Kate's company CarbTech is contracted to design and develop an air pollution monitoring application that would be integrated into AusLabs' digital platform. AusLab has this work to CarbTech because they are experiencing rapid growth and cannot meet the demand of developing this new solution themselves. They chose Kate's company because of its good reputation and fast turnaround time to deliver integrated technology solutions. Kate's role was to test the new air pollution monitoring application, and make sure it accurately measures the air pollution levels. These measures have to be in alignment with prescribed technical and environmental specifications provided by the Australian government. Accurate monitoring is all the more important in areas prone to extreme weather conditions, such as high humidity areas near the Queensland coal mines.
Following the guidelines and quality measures provided, her test results showed that the air pollution monitoring application did not meet the quality standards agreed upon, but only by a very small margin. This impacts the reliability of the application to make accurate measurements of the air pollution during extreme weather conditions. She informed her immediate boss Ben Shaw and he instructed her to push it through anyway, stating that the risk of failure was not great enough to delay production and the roll out date. Moreover, the likelihood of the product ever being placed in such extreme situations was so small that the manager did not feel jeopardizing the contract was worth it. She was faced with the choice of ignoring company protocols or going against management. Sweeping the problem under the rug would require Kate to sign off on a report that she knew to be fraudulent. Not to mention, the company would have to delay production and possibly lose the contract. Kate is in an ethical dilemma.
She talks to one of her team members Jack about her dilemma. Jack suggests two aspects: (A) to talk to Ben's senior manager about this dilemma; and (B) she find a way to convince her boss Ben that fixing the errors is a better approach to signing an inaccurate report. What should Kate do?
Instructions: Before answering this question, students should seek to understand the case study and create a visualization of the dilemma. Put yourself in this situation to answer the question.
1. As your first step, reflect on the approach mentioned in the lecture on how to go about making a sound ethical and address each point listed below - use a couple of sentences to briefly explain each point below:
i. What fact will you use to make an ethical decision in this case?
ii. Define the ethical issue in a few santences.
iii. Identify the affected stakeholder in the scenario.
iv. Identify the consequences
v. Identify the obligation if any.
2. Once you have assessed the situation, explain whether or not you will follow your immediate b oss Ben's instruction? Justify your answer.
3. Should Kate go to the senior management although her immediate boss Ben has asked her to sweep the problem under the rug? Why/Why not? Justify your answer.
4. If you were Kate, how would you go about convincing Ben that fixing the errors is a safer option?
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.