Australia
United Kingdom
UAE
Essay
Question Description
Report in 1500 words
This assignment assesses the Unit Learning Outcome ‘b’. The purpose of this assignment is to develop skills in research, business communication and academic writing of high standard. On completion of this assignment students will be able to: Comprehend appropriate business communication, research standards in writing report and presentations of research.
Answer all questions
This assessment requires students to critically examine two case studies and prepare a group report and a group presentation. The report must include a contribution made by each member and a statement that there was equal contribution from all members. Only the group leader is required to submit the report and the presentation slides on behalf of the group.
You are required to make a group (3-4 members from your laboratory class – please email your group details to your lecturer for approval) to complete this assignment.
1. Case Study I:
“A computer company is writing the first stage of a more efficient accounting system that will be used by the government. This system will save tax payers a considerable amount of money every year. A computer professional, who is asked to design the accounting system, assigns different parts of the system to her staff. One person is responsible for developing the reports; another is responsible for the internal processing; and a third for the user interface. The manager is shown the system and agrees that it can do everything in the requirements. The system is installed, but the staff finds the interface so difficult to use that their complaints are heard by upper level management. Because of these complaints, upper-level management will not invest any more money in the development of the new accounting system and they go back to their original, more expensive system”
(Source: ACS case studies 2014)
Discussion Questions
- 1.1 Identify the ethical issue related to this case.
- 1.2 Relate ACS code of professional conduct to this case? Please use the relevant clauses to highlight the professional responsibilities to computer company towards various stakeholders.
2. Case Study II:
“A software development company has just produced a new software package that incorporates the new tax laws and figures taxes for both individuals and small businesses. The president of the company knows that the program has a number of bugs. He also believes the first firm to put this kind of software on the market is likely to capture the largest market share. The company widely advertises the program. When the company actually ships a CD, it includes a disclaimer of responsibility for errors resulting from the use of the program. The company expects it will receive a number of complaints, queries, and suggestions for modification. The company plans to use these to make changes and eventually issue updated, improved, and debugged versions. The president argues that this is general industry policy and that anyone who buys version 1.0 of a program knows this and will take proper precautions. Because of bugs, a number of users filed incorrect tax returns and were penalised by the ATO.”
(Source: ACS case studies 2014)
Discussion Questions
- 2.1 Identify the ethical issue related to this case.
- 2.2 How can ACS code of ethics assist resolving this ethical dilemma? Relate the key ACS values that are relevant to this case.
3. Group based presentation
Prepare a power point presentation (with 10 slides) on both the case studies from 1 and 2. Each group will be provided 10 minutes to present. All group members are required to participate in the presentation and individually assessed.
