2 essays

IT Strategy & Management

Description of the Project and Ethical Dilemma

“A Client opts for a less Secure System” is a case study about Diane who has established a consulting business to handle IT solutions for companies. She has secured a contract to design a database management system for a medium size enterprise. During the design process, the director of personnel, the director of computing and the CEO are involved. After everything to do with the design is done, the concern comes on the level of security that the system should be equipped with. Diane is concerned that the information that will be housed in the system is significantly sensitive. This is because it will entail data on performance evaluations, salaries, and medical records for filing insurance claims among others. Diane states that if this data happens to land in the hands of the employees or the general public through malicious operations such as hacking, it is going to be extremely bad for the company. However, because having a strong security protection cost more, the CEO, the director of computing and the director of personnel still insist they want it done their way. The ethical dilemma is whether Diane should adhere to the proposal of the company’s management which is insecure or stand for the more secure protection mechanism. According to the fundamental canons of the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers, in fulfillment of their professional responsibilities and duties, engineers must avoid deceptive acts. More so, engineers are expected to embrace the highest standards of integrity and honesty. Therefore, this is a computer engineering project that is associated with security risks. In other words, the project qualifies as engineering ethics because Diane is bound by NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers to act truthfully and disclose any information related to the risks of various system options. This is what she is doing, but the management is concerned that her proposal could cost the enterprise immensely hence the cheaper alternative is better according to them. Diane has followed various ethical canons in her reasoning. The first one is that of the fundamental canons of the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers that entails deceptive acts. Anyone who deceives the client for personal gain is guilty of violating this canon. Secondly, Diane has decided to act as a faithful agent and trustee for the employer. According to the rules of the same Code, if the judgment of an engineer is overruled by circumstances which engage the life of the enterprise, property or life, they shall notify the relevant authority for immediate action. The code of ethics that I am referencing is the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. This is because it talks extensively regarding the fundamental basics that govern the actions of engineers. It also talks the professional obligations that are evident in Diane’s case with the enterprise. One of the ways of dealing with this problem is to adopt the security system being proposed by Diane despite it being expensive. Diane can provide facts and extensive explanation about the system and the significance of adopting her proposed alternative. Alternatively, the management can adopt the system of their choice but limit the form of information stored in the designed database system.

References

NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. Retrieved from https://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics

Anderson, R.E., Johnson, D.G., Gotterbarn, D., & Perrolle, J. (1993)   Using the new ACM code of ethics in decision making , Communications of the ACM, Volume 36 Issue 2, Feb. 1993, Pages 98-107. Retrieved from < http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/scene3.aspx?layoutChange=print >