Topic in Ethics Alcoholism and Drug Aabuse

Question: Discuss about the Topic in Ethics for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. Answer: The selected case study describes the story of Max who used to work in a large state department of alcoholism and drug abuse (Acs.org.au, 2016). The organization serves to help individuals suffering from drug and alcohol problems. Max was asked to develop a report that will contain some clients seen in each program each month for the past five years. Max was given access to all files in the agencys mainframe computer. However, while doing the task, Max involved himself in unethical behavior. His behavior will be discussed in this study using Doing Ethics Technique (DET) mechanism. In order to gain most from the DET technique, eight questions will be answered. What is going on? The case is all about Max who was assigned with a job to develop a report on the clients of his organization. The deadline to complete the task was short; therefore, Max gathered all the data from the mainframe information and burned it onto a CD. He took the CD home and completed the job within the deadline. However, in the end, he left the CD at home, which is a massive unethical behavior. The chances are high that anyone can get his hands on the CD and can access all the classified information about the clients who are suffering from drug and alcohol problems (Berleur Whitehouse, 2013) The facts After going through the case study, one might think that Max must face severe consequences for his behavior. However, the fact is Max wanted to complete his task in time, and that is why he gathered all the information so that he can execute it from home. This shows his commitment towards the organization. However, another fact is because of this negligence; there is a chance that the company will suffer as their policy of keeping all the client related information classified at stake (Weiss, 2014). Ethical issues The only ethical issue that exists in this case study is related to the clients. The CD is full of information about the people who are suffering from alcohol and drug problems. If that information is spread, then those people will have a hard time to live a normal life (Mitonga Cilliers, 2015). Who is affected? Clients of the organization and the agency itself will be affected if any third person accesses the CD. Unethical issues Max downloaded all the client related information on his computer at the office without anyone's consent. The deadline to complete the task was short. He did not ask for more time and decided that he will work at home over the weekend in order to finish it on time. He burned all the information onto a CD and took it home, again without seeking permission for it. After completing the task the left the CD at home, that contains a huge amount of sensitive data including the names and criminal histories of the clients. What can be done about it? Considering the mistake done by Max, his organization can terminate him. Besides, the clients can also file a lawsuit against the organization for leaking information including their names, contact details and criminal records. In order to avoid all these unwanted situations, Max must retrieve the CD at the first place. According to the ACS code of conduct, it was an unethical behavior of Max; however, his company must understand that Max did this only to complete his task within the time, which shows his commitment and ability to carry out responsibilities. Therefore, a second chance can be offered to Max. In order to avoid such incidents in the future, higher authority of the company must provide ample amount of time to the employees (Dale, 2012). In this way, they will be able to complete their tasks within the deadline without taking any step that might affect both the employee and the organization. What are the options? Some options to resolve the issue are, The organization can terminate Max for his negligence and for disobeying ACS code of conducts. Maxs agency can ask Max to retrieve the CD as soon as possible with an assurance that no one else accessed any information for it. If any third person collects any information, then Max will be responsible for that, not the agency (Feng et al., 014). The case study clearly demonstrates that Max did not communicate with his superiors about the deadline issue and tried to handle the task on his own. Therefore, the organization must ensure that employees can interact about their problems with the senior management more frequently and comfortably. Max burned all the information onto a CD. The agency must ensure that employees cannot carry such accessories on the premises without permission. Max has the access to the mainframe computer which is another mistake done by the agency. No employee should get the access to a mainframe computer. If any task is required to execute using the information from the mainframe computer, then senior personnel will share that information with the employees (McLeod, Payne Evert, 2016). Organization does not terminate Max but implements all other solutions described above. The best solution Among all the solutions that are proposed in the question 8, it is important for the organization to give Max another chance. It is true that Max committed a big mistake; however, it is also true that he tried to complete the task given to him within the deadline which is a characteristic that every employer wants in his employee. Therefore, if the agency terminates Max, then other employees will be demotivated (Weber Wasieleski, 2013). References Acs.org.au,. (2016).www.acs.org.au. Retrieved 11 August 2016, from https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/30964/ACS_Ethics_Case_Studies_v2.1.pdf Berleur, J. J., Whitehouse, D. (Eds.). (2013).An ethical global information society: Culture and democracy revisited. Springer. Dale, K. (2012). The employee as dish of the day: the ethics of the consuming/consumed self in human resource management.Journal of business ethics,111(1), 13-24. Feng, J., Han, X., Liu, X., Song, L. (2014, January). The Right Amount of Ethics Inspires: A Cross Level Investigation of Employee Creativity. InAcademy of Management Proceedings(Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 17773). 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