Ethics

You just started working as a system administrator for a computer lab at a small insurance company last month. Your first assignment was to help one of the Senior Manager to partition his hard disk workstation. Wanting to make a good impression, you immediately take out various utility tools to make the task efficient and quick. Upon having access to the workstation, you discovered that there were many applications installed to the computer without updated licensing. You looked through the licensing file agreements in the company databases for checking if the licensing is still valid, but to your surprise, you discovered that the company never updated the licenses of the installed applications once its expired. When you ask your immediate manager about installing a licensed software, the person in charge says The license for this software would cost us $40,000, which we dont have in our budget right now. For the time being, just keep the current version running so that the Senior Manager can use his workstation.

(a) Assuming that you have decided to highlight your concerns that the use of unlicensed software is wrong, by applying your knowledge on the Kantianism ethical principle, explain to your superior the morality aspects of the companys action. [5 marks]

(b) Provide the practical approach to correct the current situation to your immediate manager, assuming that you have other choices of workable ethical principle of your preference. [5 marks]