MIS303: Professional Ethics Assessment Task 2

Case Study/Scenario 1: Shawn

KSoft, a software solution provider, wishes to expand its business and open new offices in another country. The organisation anticipates the expansion strategy to be profitable. To work on the new strategy, the organisation hires Shawn, who is very familiar with the culture of the country in which the new offices are to be opened. Given his expertise, Shawn is tasked to work with the local government authorities (in the country where new offices are to be opened). A major part of his job is to get the approval required to rent and open offices. Shawns manager, Ian, wants Shawn to get the location of the new office approved as soon as possible so that the company can begin its operations in the new destination.

As soon as Shawn kickstarts his work, he comes across major hurdles. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Shawn is unable to obtain permissions from the local government authorities within the deadline mutually agreed on between Shawn and Ian. Shawn explains to Ian that the permit approval process would take longer than anticipated because of the local governments policies for overseas companies. Ian is not pleased with the delay and stresses upon Shawn to do whatever it takes to accelerate the process because the management in the headquarters is not very happy with the slow progress of the expansion project.

Shawn calls Peter, his main government contact who works on approving overseas organisations permits and explains to him his situation. Peter asks Shawn to meet him personally so they can sit together and discuss this situation in detail. In their meeting, after listening to Shawns predicament, Peter tells Shawn that he can speed up the permit approval process if he is paid a fee.

Shawn is not comfortable with the idea of giving money to Peter. He calls Ian and explains the situation to him, telling him that paying the money to Peter is the only way to accelerate the permit approval process. Ian ponders over the idea for a while, then permits Shawn to pay Peter the amount he demands, because it isnt much money. Ian further explains to Shawn that it is the companys policy to respect the culture in which they work. Shawn, backed by Ians response, agrees and pays Peter the money. The permits get approved by the local authorities and the first office opens quickly in the new destination. KSofts business flourishes in this new location and this impels the company to expand and acquire more locations to open their offices in the region. Shawn continues to pay the local authorities to get permissions approved.

One day, Shawn gets a frantic phone call from Ian. He informs Shawn that someone found out about the payments made to Peter and an investigation is being launched. He also tells Ian that even though the amount paid was small, any type of bribery is a crime under the countrys Bribery Act. Ian instructs Shawn to find any documentation that might be incriminating for the company and destroy it, and to deny making any payments in case he is asked as part of the inquiry.

Shawn hangs up the phone. He knows that if anyone finds out about the payments, the company can face massive fines. He and Ian could also get into serious trouble. However, he also knows covering up the bribery would make it worse for everyone if discovered. On the other hand, Shawn thinks there is a good chance that the payments would not be noticed. He knows that almost all companies have to make these payments to get work done in different countries and many have not been caught.

	ASSESSMENT 2 BRIEF
Subject Code and Title	MIS303 Professional Ethics
Assessment	Case Study Report
Individual/Group	Individual
Length	1200 words (+/- 10%)
Learning Outcomes	The Subject Learning Outcomes demonstrated by successful completion of the task below include: Analyse and discuss the impact and consequences of ethical and unethical IS practices. Critically reflect on the relationship between ethics and legal frameworks in the IS industry.
Submission
Weighting
Total Marks

Task Summary

Understand and analyse the effect of ethical and unethical practices and the legal frameworks applicable to the information systems industry. To learn this, read the case study and write a 1200- word report.

Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context

In Modules 2 and 3, you learnt about the various ethical and unethical practices in the information systems (IS) industry. You learnt how these practices affect organisations and the relationship between unethical practices and legal frameworks. You now have the opportunity to analyse an ethical situation in the IS industry and its impacts. Your learning facilitator will provide you with a case study to analyse.

Task Instructions

Read the case study/scenario in the file MIS303_AssessTask2_Case Study_1.pdf and write a 600 - 1200 word report. Please refer to the Assessment Rubric to ensure you address all the assessment criteria.

Important Notes

1. You must ensure that the report is relevant to the case study given.
2. You can consider the following questions as a guideline to writing your report. These questions are not given in a systematic manner, and you are not limited to these questions use these as a guide only.
   • Who are the internal and external stakeholders in this case study? How are they affected?
   • What are your comments about the moral standards of the individuals?
   • Identify the pressures that caused the ethical issues to develop.
   • What insight does this scenario give into the ethical culture of the organisation?
   • Do you think there should be a certain code of ethics in the organisation that should guide this situation?
   • Are there legal ramifications to this kind of behaviour? If yes, name the legal frameworks associated with it and enumerate the potential consequences.
   • How can business be affected by such situations?
   • What steps should be taken by the organisations leadership team to prevent such situations?
   • If you are in this situation what would you do?

Referencing

References are not required for this assessment.