RECENT ASSIGNMENT

John, A statistical database programmer, is trying to write a large statistical program needed by his company. Programmers in this company are encouraged to write their own work and to publish their algorithms in professional journals. After months of tedious programming, John has found himself stuck on several parts of the program. His manager, not recognising the complexity of the problem, wants the job completed in the next few days. Not knowing how to solve the problems, John remembers that a co-worker had given him source listings from his current work and from an earlier version of a commercial software package developed by another company. On studying these programs, he sees two areas of code which could be directly incorporated into his own program. He uses segments of code from both his co-worker and the commercial software, but does not tell anyone or mention it in the documentation. He completes the project and turns it in a day ahead of time.
Briefly discuss the dilemma for John. Show your utilisation of either Thomas White or Chris MacDonald's methodology to demonstrate how John might analyse and resolve the dilemma. Provide a recommendation of what actions John should have taken.
Include in your answer those clauses from the ACS code of Ethics and ACS code of Professional Conduct that are relevant and briefly explain why. Refer also to any relevant legislation with an explanation of how it relates.
Assignment Task
From what you have learned during Week s 3 and 4 of your Professional Environments Course, discuss ethical, professional and legal issues which you consider arise from this scenario. Make some recommendations of actions which could be taken to resolve the situation and/or to minimise the chance the scenario may recur. Support your answers with relevant references (as well as the Codes and Laws).
Things to Consider in Your Assignment:
You should list at least 3 values from the ACS Code of Ethics and up to 5 clauses from theACS Code of Professional Conduct, you think are specifically relevant in deciding how to resolve the situation. Make sure that you refer to the most up to date ACS Codes which are available on the ACS website – www.acs.org.au.
You should also list any relevant Australian legislation that you think applies to this scenario.
Your analysis, discussion and recommendations should use the framework you selected in
Week 3 – Solving an Ethical Dilemma.
Your assignment should be 500 - 800 words in length (excluding your code lists, legislation list and references).
You may need to undertake a small amount of research, however, most information you will need is available via the seminars and their references. Also,
use a cover page – as per the suggested template,
use in-text referencing,
use complete Harvard Notation, submit in “Word” format or equivalent format that can be
readily opened in MS Word, keep your formatting simple: Arial 11pt, 10pt after paragraph, single line spacing, headings in bold, maximum 2 indent levels/bullet levels. Do not use page borders, word art, page backgrounds or similar extraneous decoration
Your uploaded file name should identify you as part of its name – e.g. PE_Assignment1_William_Smith.
Marking Guide
Marks will be awarded using the following guidelines.
15% meeting the procedural requirements, including, spelling, grammar, number of words, document formatting,
30% how logically and thoroughly you identified and described professional ,ethical and legal issues arising in the scenario,
30% how well you developed your recommendations and supported them with relevant, correct referencing,
20% how well you convinced the reader that you understood the issues,
5% did the material generate interest in the reader?