Topic: Ethics, Professionalism and Governance

Read the 3 Case Studies below and select ONE as the basis of your analysis and discussion.

Please indicate clearly which Case Study you have chosen

Case Study 3

James is contracted by a Web design consultancy company to interview their staff to ascertain their current knowledge. The aim of the study is to inform the company about the type of training courses they need to implement. The aim of the study therefore, is to highlight areas of overall weakness as opposed to individual shortcomings.

Despite this, the type of data collected will be able to identify individual weaknesses. James has been advised that individual's information gathered from interviewees is to remain private. Following the study. A senior Vice President of the company approaches James and asks: "Who did well in this study?" How should James respond to this question?

Discuss briefly the ethical dilemma that James faces. Show your utilisation of either Thomas White or Chris MacDonald's methodology to demonstrate how James might analyse and resolve the dilemma. Provide a recommendation of what actions James should take and with whom he might communicate throughout the process.

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.

Case Study 5

When Ilnaz, a 22 year old female originally from Iran, did well in her job interview, the manager of CompuSoft, an Australian company that specialises in the design of specialised DVDs offered a job immediately. Ilnaz, who needed this job, was so happy and accepted the offer straight away. When she reported to work the following week, she found that she was to share an office with Mark, a male colleague. Her manager had placed her with Mark, as both of them would be working on the same project and could help and learn from each other.

Ilnaz was not happy with this arrangement as it was against her religion and culture to be in complete isolation with an unrelated man. Her husband was also upset and threatened to stop her working when he learned of this arrangement.

Ilnaz decides to approach her manager to find a solution.

Discuss briefly the ethical dilemma that Inez faces. Show your utilisation of either Thomas White or Chris MacDonald's methodology to demonstrate how Inez might analyse and resolve the dilemma.

Provide a recommendation of what actions Inez should take and with whom she might communicate throughout the process.

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.

Case Study 8

U-Wear-It is involved in manufacturing tiny processors for use in the manufacture of wearable technology.

During manufacture, 64 gold wires, each much finer than a human hair, must be soldered from the chip to the pins of the processor. Robots were trialled for the soldering, but the error rate was unacceptably high. One single mistake in positioning a wire or soldering it, ruined the chip. The robots were also not only prohibitively expensive but required frequent and expensive calibration.

Juan, the IT Production Manager was asked to carry out trials using human technicians for the work. The trials clearly demonstrated that humans had a much lower error rate and were less expensive than robots, but the technicians complained that constantly staring through a microscope at a brightly illuminated object gave them headaches and was harmful to their eyes. He reported back to management that he believed the trial had failed.

The CEO was very disappointed, because he thought that the solution was good, and ‘worth a few headaches'. He asked Juan to get a professional medical opinion. Juan discussed the issue with two senior doctors, who confirmed that this work could permanently damage a person's eyesight in as little as 5 months and could lead to blindness in as little as 18 months.

The company's legal advisors confirmed that this was clearly in breach of the Work Health and Safety Act in Australia, so they could not go ahead. The CEO was really angry.

Next morning the CEO called Juan into his office. Juan was surprised to find him quite cheerful. The CEO said that he had discovered that there was an island in the Indian Ocean that does not have health and safety laws, and so it would be quite legal for people of that island to solder the processors. And, better still, they were willing to work for one tenth of the wages of Australians. He said that this was a ‘win win'.

What do you think that Juan should do?

Discuss briefly the ethical dilemma that Juan faces. Show your utilisation of either Thomas White or Chris MacDonald's methodology to demonstrate how Juan might analyse and resolve the dilemma.

Provide a recommendation of what actions Juan should take and with whom he might communicate throughout the process.

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.