Professional IT Culture
Faculty of Science and Technology
Individual Written Assignment Term 1, 2016
Overview
Business report giving an analysis of a case study on ethical decision-making, ethical repair and recovery.
Submission
Submit your report at the Assessment section of Moodle by the due date. Refer to the Course Description for information regarding late assignments, extensions, special consideration, and plagiarism. Note that all academic regulations can be accessed via the university’s website especially statutes 5.3 and 6.1, url: http://federation.edu.au/staff/governance/legal/feduni-legislation/feduni-statutes-and-regulations
Assessment weight
15% (mark out of 60 converted)
Learning Outcomes
This assessment task relates to the following learning outcomes:
• K1. Research and discuss underpinning theories of ethical philosophy and apply these to a range of scenarios in an IT workplace environment.
• K2. Interpret the principles of the Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics and synthesize them into daily IT practice.
• S2. Utilise professional presentation and communication approaches in a range of IT workplace settings.
• A1. Construct written and verbal arguments in a variety of formats on the evolving nature of ethical norms relating to new technologies.
• V3. Value ethical decision making approaches when working as an IT professional.
CRICOS Provider No. 00103D
Case Study
Refer to ACS case study number 2, Diane the Consultant, reference:
https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/30964/ACS_Ethics_Case_Studies_v2.1.pdf
Task
Prepare a business report of about 1500 words that analyses the ethical issues raised in the case study and explores how the client might respond if something goes wrong after the client implements the new software. In particular include in the report responses to the following sub-tasks:
• Using each of the four philosophical theories in turn, identify the factors that contribute to an ethical decision.
• The case study lists relevant clauses of the Code of Professional Conduct. Explain, for each of the six clauses, how the clause applies to the case study.
• On the basis of the previous two sub-tasks, advise Diane with regard to the ethical decision she should make indicating the main arguments for and against your recommendation.
• For this section only, extend the case study as follows: Diane accepted the client’s wishes to provide low security only; the database management system (DBMS) that she developed for the client was put into operation by the client; six months later the DBMS was penetrated and damaged by a hacker (recall that Diane had clearly advised the client of this risk); consequently many of the stakeholders associated with the DBMS lost all confidence in the client. In this sub-task you are to explain the principles behind ethical repair and recovery and make recommendations as to how the client might regain the confidence and trust from its stakeholders. [Note that this section requires some research on your part as the topic is not covered in the Moodle course materials.]
Resources
The description of each of the six ACS ethical values is amplified by several requirements. Refer to the ACS Code of Professional Conduct at: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4901/Code-of-Professional-Conduct_v2.1.pdf
At least three additional resources should be used in the preparation of your report.
Standards Required
1. The structure of the business report should be as described in the source at:
http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4b.html Additional headings should be used within the body of the report according to the sub-tasks.
2. The introduction section should clearly indicate the issues being discussed and provide an overview of how it is intended to address these issues.
3. The body section of the report should show an analysis of research undertaken that is synthesised with your own ideas. Writing should be validated with concepts from other people’s work. Gather these references from various sources such as the Internet and relevant assigned reference books.
4. The conclusion should be in your own words and should not introduce new material.
5. All uses of source material (including paraphrasing) should be acknowledged with both in-text citations and corresponding entries in the reference list.
6. APA format is to be used. Refer to the APA citation style in the General guide to referencing at:
http://federation.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/164121/FedUni-General-Guide-to-Referencing-2014.pdf
7. Adhere to academic writing standards such as correct grammar and spelling. Demonstrate signposting in your writing.
Criteria of Assessment
These criteria are listed in the marking and feedback table shown in the next page. The criteria have been matched against the details given above.
Written Assignment Feedback – Term 1, 2016
Student
Elements Marking Scale
Attempted/Aver./Excellent
1 ……. 3 ……. 5
Report structure and contents of executive summary 0
Quality of introduction 0
Analysis - Utilitarianism 0
- Deontology 0
- Contract theory 0
- Character-based theory 0
- ACS Code of Professional Conduct 0
Ethical repair and recovery – explanation of principles 0
– advice to client 0
Quality of conclusion and recommendations 0
Choice and use of resources, referencing accurate 0
Writing skills – spelling/grammar accuracy, ease of reading, use of signposting 0
Total Mark [out of 60] 0
Weighted Total [out of 15] (rounded to 1 decimal place) 0.0
Comments
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