Ethical Considerations An overview of some Ethical Considerations for a member of the HRD of a large manufacturing organization.

“I hold a copy of this assignment that can be produced if the original is lost/damaged. To the best of my belief, no part of this assignment has

been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the text. No part has

been written for me/us by any other person, except where such collaboration has been authorised by the lecturer concerned.”

Andrew Cole

CIS13 Assignment 2 February 2011

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Executive Summary

Helen is an employee of the Human Resources Department (HRD) at a large

manufacturing organization. She has been approached by a friend of hers and asked

to release some information considered confidential by the HRD.

This report considers the ethical situation that Helen has been placed in through her

friend’s actions. The possible actions that Helen can take are considered against the

Australian Computer Society (ACS) Code of Ethics, the ACS Code of Professional

Conduct and Professional Practice, the Australian Public Service (APS) Values and

the APS Code of Conduct.

Two appendixes present Data Flow Diagrams for a business process in the Human

Resources Department.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .................................................................................................... i

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ii

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Ethics ................................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Decision ............................................................................................................. 1

1.3. Guidelines .......................................................................................................... 1

2. Arguments against disclosure ............................................................................. 2

2.1. Confidentiality .................................................................................................... 2

2.2. Legality .............................................................................................................. 2

2.3. Improper Use ..................................................................................................... 2

3. Arguments for disclosure .................................................................................... 3

3.1. Equity ................................................................................................................. 3

3.2. Quality of Life ..................................................................................................... 3

4. Other Considerations .......................................................................................... 4

4.1. Conflict of Interests ............................................................................................ 4

4.2. Advice ................................................................................................................ 4

5. Recommendations .............................................................................................. 5

5.1. Disclose or not ................................................................................................... 5

5.2. Alternate course of action .................................................................................. 5

6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 7

References ................................................................................................................. 8

Appendix A. Context Diagram ................................................................................. 9

Appendix B. Level Zero Data Flow Diagram .......................................................... 10

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1. Introduction

Helen works for the Human Resources department of a large manufacturing

organisation. She has been approached by a close friend of hers, Chen, and asked

to confirm a suspicion he holds concerning a recent bonus. Chen suspects that his

bonus was not equitable when compared to those of his colleagues.

1.1. Ethics

Helen is concerned about the ethical implications of the situation Chen has placed

her in. While she has easy access to the information that Chen has asked her to

disclose and considers fairness and equity important, the information is confidential

and disclosing it would be a violation of the ethical guidelines the HR department

operates under.

1.2. Decision

The choice Helen faces is between disclosing the information to Chen and not

disclosing the information. In making her decision Helen must take into account

every effect the decision would have, whether it is on Helen, Chen, their colleagues

or the company as a whole.

1.3. Guidelines

Helen’s company has a set of ethical guidelines that she presumably agreed to abide

by as part of her employment agreement. Standards such as these are common in

the workforce today. Examples of such standards can be found in the Australian

Computer Societies (ACS) Code of Ethics (ACS n.d.) and Code of Professional

Conduct and Professional Practice (ACS 2005). The Australian Public Service (APS)

operates under the Public Service Act of 1999, which includes the APS Values

(Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 10) and an APS Code of Conduct (Public

Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 13). These standards are used here to support a

solution for Helen’s dilemma.

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2. Arguments against disclosure

The obvious solution is for Helen to refuse to release the information Chen has

requested, as it is confidential. Several clauses in the ACS and APS codes would

support this decision.

2.1. Confidentiality

The information Chen has requested is considered confidential by the company.

Disclosure of this information would be a breach of such confidentiality.

The ACS code states “You must not disclose information acquired in the course of

your professional work” (ACS 2005, A3). The only exceptions allowed to this

requirement are when disclosure is legally required or consent has been obtained.

2.2. Legality

Release of the information could be considered a breach of the Privacy Act (Privacy

Act 1988 (Cwlth)), which prohibits the release of personal information.

The APS code explicitly states that employees should adhere to applicable laws

(Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 13, 4), as does the ACS Code (ACS 2005, L1).

2.3. Improper Use

Use of the information that Helen has gained during her employment to benefit

another would constitute improper use of that information. As the information was

collected to support the payroll process, proper use of that information is limited to

that use.

The APS code states that employees must “not make improper use of inside

information … in order to gain, or seek to gain, a benefit or advantage for the

employee or for any other person.” (Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 13, 10 a).

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3. Arguments for disclosure

An argument for Helen disclosing the information Chen has asked for was presented

by Helen herself during her interview; her strong belief in fairness and equity. If Chen

has been given a “raw deal” and has been compensated in a way that is not

equitable with his colleagues, this would be unfair.

Chen has promised to maintain the confidentiality of the information if Helen where

to release it. He has proposed to use the information only as part of a case for

equitable compensation with his supervisors.

Several APS and ACS standards would support disclosure of this information, or at

least would support the motives behind Chen’s request.

3.1. Equity

Chen has the right to fair remuneration for his efforts. Assuming that Chen performs

the same tasks and has the same performance as his colleagues Chen should be

rewarded equally.

An APS Value is “the APS provides a fair, flexible, safe and rewarding workplace”

(Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 13, 1 j). If Chen’s reward for work is not the

same as his colleagues and argument could be made that this would be considered

unfair.

3.2. Quality of Life

A requirement under the ACS Code of Ethics is to “enhance the quality of life of

those affected by your work” (ACS n.d.). Clearly if Chen’s bonus was to increase it

would enhance his quality of life. Conversely, if it was discovered that the bonuses in

Chen’s team where not equal, the decision might be made to decrease all of the

bonuses, which would clearly not improve the quality of life of Chen’s colleagues.

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4. Other Considerations

In making her decision, there are some APS and ACS standards that Helen could

consider that are neither for nor against disclosure.

4.1. Conflict of Interests

The fact that Helen has a personal relationship with Chen implies that there may be

a conflict of interest. On one hand Helen has an interest in her friend receiving the

best salary possible, and on the other hand Helen has an interest in maintaining the

security and privacy of the information she has access too.

Both the ACS Code of Professional Conduct (ACS 2005, A4) and the APS Code of

Conduct (Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), s. 13, 7) require disclosure of any conflicts

of interest. If Helen were to disclose this conflict she may be instructed to not involve

herself in professional matters relating to her friend.

4.2. Advice

Helen need not make this decision without seeking advice. While neither the ACS or

APS codes require it, if Helen was unable to make this decision she could certainly

seek out the opinion of her superiors, trusted friends or family, or other mentors.

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5. Recommendations

5.1. Disclose or not

Duska (2007) states that in making a decision on a course of action, one should ask

the following questions:

Is the action good or harmful for me;

Is the action good or harmful for society;

Is the action fair or just;

Does the action violate anyone’s rights; and

Have I made a commitment, implied or explicit?

Duska does not seek to imply that one of these reasons is more important than any

of the others; he states that all should be considered equally.

Applying these questions to Helens dilemma brings the following answers:

Helen does not directly benefit nor suffer regardless;

Society (here being Chen and his team) could either suffer or benefit;

It would be fair for Chen to be equally renumerated;

Releasing the information would violate Chen’s teams right to privacy; and

Helen has made a commitment to upholding the company’s code of ethics.

Therefore, assuming that the company’s code of ethics talks about confidentiality, or

legality if not, Helen should not release the information to Chen directly. Doing so

would be a breach of Chen’s team’s privacy (and would be against the law).

5.2. Alternate course of action

Helen should attempt to have Chen’s concerns resolved, as they may be legitimate

and he is acting reasonably in bringing them to HRs attention. An appropriate course

of action for Helen to take that is within the ethical guidelines might be as follows.

Helen should refuse to disclose the information Chen has asked for, explaining that

to do so would be a violation of the HR departments ethical use guidelines. She

should also ask that Chen not come to her directly with such concerns again, which

would ensure no conflict of interest would arise in the future.

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Helen should encourage Chen to bring the matter to his management’s attention,

whether in person or in writing, and offer to arrange another HR department

employee to provide assistance. In bringing up this matter Chen should ensure not to

act in a potentially unethical manner. He should ensure it is clear that he is not

interested in the personal information of his colleagues; he is just concerned that he

is not being treated in an equitable manner.

Regardless of what Chen decides to do, Helen should make sure to inform her

management of this incident. Full disclosure on Helen’s part would help eliminate

any conflict of interest concerns that may arise.

If Helen was not sure that this course of action was appropriate she could seek out

advice from her superiors or peers in the Human Resources department.

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6. Conclusion

If just for the reason that in doing so Helen would be violating her employer’s code of

conduct, Helen should not disclose the information that Chen has asked for. She

would be supported in this decision by both the ACS and APS codes of conduct,

specifically the clauses talking about Privacy, Legality and Improper Use. As

outlined, Helen has an alternate course of action that would not violate the codes of

conduct.

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References

Australian Computer Society (ACS) n.d., Code of Ethics, Sydney, viewed 9 February

2011, <http://www.acs.org.au/attachments/Code_of_Ethics.pdf>.

Australian Computer Society (ACS) 2005., Code of Professional Conduct and

Professional Practice, Sydney, viewed 9 February 2011,

<http://www.acs.org.au/documents/codes/CodeofProfConductPractice.pdf>.

Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth), Commonwealth of Australia Law - Commonwealth

Consolidated Acts, viewed 10 February 2011,

<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/psa1999152/>.

Privacy Act 1998 (Cwlth), Commonwealth of Australia Law - Commonwealth

Consolidated Acts, viewed 11 February 2011,

<http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/>.

Duska, Ronald 2007, Contemporary Reflections on Business Ethics, Springer,

Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

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Appendix A. Context Diagram

Leave Report

Application

ApplicationFeedback

Staff MemberNewspaper/

Journal

Government Department

DepartmentsHuman Resources Department

Wage Report Request

Leave Report RequestWage Report

Staff StatisticsReport

AdvertisementRates

AdvertisementRequest

Annual Leave ReportSick Leave ReportL.S.L. Due Report

Wages Y-T-D ReportWages M-T-D Report

Resignation NotificationNew Position NotificationSuitable Applicant Report

Staff Turnover ReportAvg. Length of Service Report

>5yrs Service Report

General Manager

Prospective Employee

Annual Leave SummarySick Leave SummaryL.S.L. Due Summary

Wages Y-T-D Summary

Wages M-T-D SummaryStaff Turnover Summary

Avg. Length of Service Summary>5yrs Service Summary

Figure 1 - Context Diagram

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Appendix B. Level Zero Data Flow Diagram

Staff Member

Newspaper/Journal

Government Department

Departments

Wage ReportRequest

LeaveReport

Request

Wage Report

LeaveReport

AdvertisementRates

AdvertisementRequest

Annual Leave Report

Sick Leave Report

L.S.L. Due Report

Wages Y-T-D Report

Wages M-T-D Report

Resignation Notification

New Position Notification

Suitable Applicant Report

Staff Turnover Report

Avg. Length of Service Report

>5yrs Service Report

Leave Database

Salary Database

Generate WagesY-T-D Report

Leave Data

Wage Data

Generate Ad-HocWage Report

Wage Data

Generate Ad-HocLeave Report

Leave Data

Prospective Employee

Application

AdvertisementRates File

Record Rates

Rates Data

Create JobAdvertisement

Rates Data

Position File

Position Details

Evaluate Application

ApplicationFeedback

Position Details

Create NewPosition

Position DetailsMark Position Empty

Position Details

Applicant File

Evaluate Application

Applicant Data

Evaluate Application

Applicant Data

Applicant Data

Generate AnnualLeave Report

Generate SickLeave Report

Generate L.S.L.Due Report

Generate WagesM-T-D Report

Wage Data

Leave Data

Leave Data

Generate StaffTurnover Report

Generate Avg. Lengthof Service Report

Generate >5yrsService Report

Position Details

Position Details

Position Details

Annual Leave Summary

Sick Leave Summary

L.S.L. Due Summary

Wages Y-T-D Summary

Wages M-T-D Summary

Staff Turnover Summary

>5yrs Service Summary

Summarise WagesY-T-D Report

Summarise AnnualLeave Report

Summarise SickLeave Report

Summarise L.S.L.Due Report

Summarise WagesM-T-D Report

Summarise StaffTurnover Report

Summarise Avg. Lengthof Service Report

Summarise >5yrsService Report

Position Details

Position Details

Position Details

Leave Data

Leave Data

Leave Data

General Manager

Salary Database

Wage Data

Wage Data

Generate StaffStatistics Report

Position Details

Staff StatisticsReport

Avg. Length of Service Summary

Figure 2 – Level Zero Data Flow Diagram