Professional Development
Assignment
Topic
"Being a Professional" - a study of the six values specified in the ACS Code of Ethics and their relationship to the four philosophical ethics theories introduced in this course.
This assessment task relates to the following course objectives:
• understand the principles of the Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics to IT professional practice
• value and understand the legal, social and ethical issues involved in IT professional practice within a cultural context.
Background
What does it mean to be a professional? For Australian Computer Society (ACS) members the answer is provided in the ACS Code of Ethics, part of the ACS constitution. This essay provides the opportunity to compare the six ACS values specified in the Code of Ethics with the principles contained in the four philosophical ethical theories introduced in the early weeks of this course.
Task
Prepare a business report that examines the six values expressed in the ACS Code of Ethics and determines how close the links are between these values and each of the philosophical principles concerned with the wellbeing of others (utilitarianism), impartiality (deontology), the recognition of human rights (social contract) and the behaviour of a virtuous person (character-based).
The length of the report should be about 1500 words, not including the reference list or the appendix (if any).
Resources
The description of the six values is amplified in the ACS Code of Professional Conduct, url: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/4901/Code-of-Professional-Conduct_v2.1.pdf
Examples that can be used to illustrate points made in the essay can be found in 33 case studies (each with pointers to the six ACS values) in the ACS Code of Professional Conduct Case Studies at: https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/30964/ACS_Ethics_Case_Studies_v2.1.pdf
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 as listed in the Assessment Feedback tables at the end of this task description should also be used and any others thought to be appropriate.
2. The introduction section clearly indicate the issues being discussed and provides an overview of how it is intended to address these issues.
3. The body section of the report should contain an evaluation of the ACS values against each of the philosophical theories in turn. The discussion 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, assigned text books and readings etc.
4. The conclusion should be in your own words and should summarise your findings from the body.
5. All uses of source material (including paraphrasing) should be acknowledged with both in-text citations and corresponding entries in the reference list. 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
6. Adhere to academic writing standards such as correct grammar and spelling.
Additional Tasks for Postgraduate Students
Provide an annotated bibliography of at least three of your sources. The annotated bibliography should be about 500 words in size and be included in the appendix.