Ethics - Professionalism and Governance ERP System

Question: Discuss about the Ethics, Professionalism and Governancefor ERP System. Answer: Introduction: The case study shows the ethical issues between Hardeep and Mandeep. Hardeep is the IT manager in an Australian Government department. The department eventually decides to acquire an ERP for which it advertised in various newspapers. Two local companies send their offers to the department. Hardeep finds that Company As offers are much better than Company Bs offers. Later on, Hardeep finds that his friend Mandeep is the general manager of Company B who urges him to purchase the ERP system from his company. Hardeep knew this might increase the total cost as ERP system of Company B required many modifications. Ethical Issues: In the given case study, initially Company B offers an ERP system at a cheaper price as compared to Company B. However, Hardeep realizes that eventually the ERP system of Company B shall cost more as it required many modifications. Later on, he comes to know that his friend Mandeep was the general manager of Company B. The ethical issue arose when Mandeep started to urge Hardeep for accepting his offer as he was in need of the work. Values under the ACS Code of ethics: The following are the values mentioned in the ACS Code of Ethics: Honesty: An ACS member must be honest in his representation of skills, abilities, knowledge of products and services. Enhancement of quality of life: An ACS member must try to enhance the standard of life of those people who are influenced by their work. Primacy of public interest: An ACS member should give primary importance to the interest of public rather than his personal interests. Competence: An ACS member shall have to work with proficiency and conscientiousness for the stakeholders. Professionalism: An ACS member is responsible for enhancing the morality of the society and ensuring respect among its members (org.au. 2017). Recommendations: The following are the recommendations to the above ethical issue: Firstly, Hardeep must focus his attention on the needs of his department as it is unethical to have his personal or socials needs met at the place of his work. This is stated as the primacy of public interest in the ACS Code of Ethics. Secondly, any wrong decision taken by Hardeep shall have an immense effect on the other members of his department. Therefore, in order to ensure the enhancement of the quality of life, he should choose the best ERP system for his department. Lastly, Hardeep should keep into consideration the value of honesty towards his department. Accepting ERP system from Company B shall challenge his honesty and loyalty towards his organization. Therefore, Hardeep must choose the ERP system of Company A and reject the offer of his friend Mandeep in order to ensure that his department gets the best deal that ensures the quality of life in his department. Section 180 of Corporations Act, 2001 states that the decision-maker of the company must take decisions in the best interest of the company and avoid any personal interest that might come in the way (Legislation.gov.au. 2017). Conclusion: The values mentioned in the ACS Code of Ethics and according to the Corporations Act, 2001, Hardeep must purchase the ERP from the company, which provides him better quality product at a reasonable price and not let his personal interest (his friendship with Mandeep) come in between. He must act in the best interest of his department. References Acs.org.au. (2017). ACS - The Professional Association for Australia's ICT sector. [online] Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/home.html [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017]. Brown, A.J., 2013.Whistleblowing in the Australian public sector: Enhancing the theory and practice of internal witness management in public sector organisations(p. 333). ANU Press. Legislation.gov.au. (2017). Corporations Act 2001. [online] Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2013C00003 [Accessed 12 Apr. 2017].