You Decide Scenario: IT Breach

Abstract

The company in the You Decide Scenario is having trouble with its web developers, who have failed to protect the content and integrity of the company's website. In this case, the fault lies with the IT Director and Web Development Manager who are both aware that, due to recent downsizing, they have been operating with two instead of the legally required five web developers. The CEO may also know about this legal and ethical breach, which was a failure in the governance of their information systems and the likely source of the website being compromised. As a result, staff members are tense, overworked and understaffed. Morale is low, and some staff members are blaming one another, to the detriment of the team. Better leadership from the CEO and other staff could alleviate this problem, as well as adding three additional web developers to the staff as soon as possible. In listening to a recent conference call, I found that: 1) the working relationship between the IT Director and Web Development Manager are strained and unproductive; 2) the CEO has dealt somewhat with internal relationships, but not the source of the legal and ethical breaches that caused the problem; and 3) the CEO's asking others to be quiet about the breach and not talk to vendors about it comprise an additional ethical problem, creating an obstacle to the creation of a truly ethical workplace.

Introduction

The company in the You Decide Scenario is having trouble with its web developers, who have failed to protect the content and integrity of the company's website. In this case, the fault lies with the IT Director and Web Development Manager who are both aware that, due to recent downsizing, they have been operating with two instead of the legally required five web developers. The CEO may also know about this legal and ethical breach, which was the likely source of the website being compromised. As a result, staff members are tense, overworked and understaffed. Morale is low, and some staff members are blaming one another, to the detriment of the team. Better leadership from the CEO and other staff could alleviate this problem, as well as adding three additional web developers to the staff as soon as possible. In listening to a recent conference call, I found that: 1) the working relationship between the IT Director and Web Development Manager are strained and unproductive; 2) the CEO has dealt somewhat with internal relationships, but not the source of the legal and ethical breaches that caused the problem; and 3) the CEO's asking others to be quiet about the breach and not talk to vendors about it comprise an additional ethical problem, creating an obstacle to the creation of a truly ethical workplace.

Since this is my first investigation into this company, I am curious to find out why this website breach happened in the first place, and also discover ways in which the workplace could operate within an ethical framework and be more productive going forward.

Morality, integrity, and ethical or unethical behavior

I discovered several possible ethical issues that could arise if Michael Jefferson, IT Director, is allowed to go forward with his investigation of Web Development Manager Jimmy Anderson in order to try to fire him. The first is that it could be found that Jimmy was negligent in managing his workers. On the conference call, Jimmy admitted that he was not surprised that there had been an issue with the website and that he had previously expressed that his department was understaffed, with two instead of the required five developers.

The second is that Jimmy also made two veiled threats on the conference call. One of the threats involved "someone" (it seemed obvious that this could be him) possibly blowing the whistle on the company. This is because their contract with a vendor insists upon five developers, not two. The second threat involved charges of racism since he said that he has heard racial slurs in the break room. Though no one addressed either point he made, Mary Lopez, the Hispanic HR Director, and Anita Chang, the Asian CEO, tried to take her share of the blame, and subtly diffused any potential racial tension on the call.

The third ethical issue I discovered had to do with the company's policies. Michael Jefferson, IT Director, and Web Development Manager Jimmy Anderson both knew that their contract with a particular vendor required them to be working with five web developers. However, both also know that they're only working with two now, which is in violation of the contract. It is unclear whether anyone else on the staff knows about this breach of contract, but it's possible that they told Mary or Anita.

Lastly, CEO Anita Chang's request that no one ruffle any feathers by talking about the breach could be construed as requiring collusion on a potential legal and ethical violation.

Avoiding negative publicity

The company's CEO, Anita Chang, avoided negative publicity by not publicizing the breach they experienced. On the conference call, she also pointed out that sometimes, everyone had to take one for the team so the company could stay afloat, and all of its employees could keep their jobs. She made sure that everyone on the call understood what was at the stake for the company, and clearly asked that no one ruffle any feathers.

Maintaining ethical standards

I found that CEO Anita Chang made it troublesome to maintain ethical standards in this company. Though her manner on the call was diplomatic, and she clearly strove to create harmony among her employees, her request for everyone to remain silent about the breach showed that she was more concerned about word getting out than correcting internal problems. The ethical breach is still present as long as the company has two web developers working instead of the contractually required five. This needs rectifying if the company is to become successful again and repair the breach of ethical standards.

Creating an ethical work environment

Both Mary Lopez (HR Director) and Anita Chang (CEO) are the ones the rest of the company's employees look to for the creation of an ethical work environment. I found that Mary was quick to take the blame for the situation, and tried to diffuse any tensions among the various departments. But Anita Chang asked everyone to cover up the breach. This means that the ethical problem is still present in the company. Only by dealing with that central issue will everyone be working in an ethical work environment. The firm must consider hiring three more web developers as soon as possible in order to make this happen.

Additionally, Jimmy’s concern that there were racial slurs in the break room needs to be addressed. Mary Lopez, as the firm's Human Resources Director, should make clear the company's position on racism in the workplace and at a minimum offer to hear Jimmy's complaints privately to determine whether further steps are required.

Safeguards that could prevent similar occurrences in the future

This company needs to rectify its central problem, which is the requirement of five web developers. Downsizing has not only cut the company's bottom line. It's also caused potentially legal and ethical issues that could become very expensive if the breach is discovered, and lawyers get involved. My recommendation is to hire three qualified web developers immediately in order to get the breach fixed, and the company functioning in a legal and ethical way again. This would also bring more trust in the company's working environment.

Secondly, I suggest that the company create policies to hear grievances in the future. This will mitigate some of the frustration clearly evident on the conference call, such as when Mary Lopez, HR Director, talks about everyone being overworked and understaffed.

Reference

Bredeson, D., & Goree, K. (2012). Ethics in the workplace (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.