Case Study Conflict of Interest

Question: Discuss about theCase Studyfor Conflict of Interest. Answer: Introduction: Case study discusses about the conflict of interest arising from the response made to the IT department regarding the acquisition of resource planning system. Offer has been made by to two companies A and B. Offer made by company B is better than made by company A. However, offer made by company B is from general manager of company, who is Hardeeps friend. Company Bs software would eventually increase total cost as compared to company As software. The particular situation causes an ethical issue as Hardeep is in dilemma due to the proposal made by Mandeep regarding software acquisition. Discussion: In order to resolve this situation of ethical dilemma, the following values from ACS code of ethics should be followed and they are as follows: Honesty- concerning the scenario of case study 2, organization should be adhered societal values as being honest. This means that it will not knowingly mislead potential clients about the suitability of services or products (ACS - The Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector 2017). Competence- Organization will work diligently and competently for stakeholders. Public interest- It would raise any potential conflicts arising between your professional activity and legal or any other accepted public requirements with stakeholders (Bowern and Burmeister 2013). Professionalism- This values involves taking action against members who is involved in any behavior that is contrary to this code. Employees would refrain from getting involved in any activities that would tarnish their professional image and detract from good name of Australian Code of conduct (Section 5: Conflict of Interest APSC 2017). List of Relevant Australian Legislation Applying to above Scenario: The Australian Public service Code of conduct - This legislation requires the employees of any organization to take possible steps for avoiding any arising from conflict of interest arising in relation with their employment. Therefore, Hardeep should take necessary steps while acquiring an enterprise resource planning and it should in the best interest of company. Legislations concerning disclosing material interest is also applicable to this scenario. If Hardeep is not able to avoid material personal interest, then for proper management it must be disclosed. Disclosure is intended to ensure that any personal interest of employees are well known to head of agencies (Leicester 2016). This also includes any relationship of employees, which might be seen as improperly influencing duties of employees. Recommendation: Employee should have a thoughtful consideration of fundamental principles in order to address ethical dilemma, rather than relying blindly on detailed regulations. All these principles should influence employees to consider broadly, who is affected by work. The demanding and dynamic software concept requires a code that is relevant, viable and adaptable to circumstances they are occurring. However, the code in general provides platform for acquiring software and IT manager requires to take positive actions in specific case by documentation of ethical instance of profession. In this case, if it is evident that decision made by employee has been compromised due to personal interest, then the situation should be handled as suspected misconduct. In addition to these, arrangement should be made by organization to manage the conflict. In this case, it is also recommended to reassign the duties and making employees stand aside from relevant decisions. Reference: ACS - The Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector. (2017).Acs.org.au. Retrieved 22 February 2017, from https://www.acs.org.au/home.html Section 5: Conflict of Interest - APSC. (2017). [online] Apsc.gov.au. Available at: https://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/aps-values-and-code-of-conduct-in-practice/conflict-of-interest [Accessed 22 Feb. 2017]. Leicester, N., 2016. Ethics in the IT Profession: Does a Code of Ethics have an Effect on Professional Behaviour?. Bowern, M. and Burmeister, O.K., 2013. 14. Business benefits from keeping codes of ethics up to date.Professionalism in the Information and Communication Technology Industry,3, p.295.