You are employed by a medium sized New York consulting engineering firm. You hav

Question

You are employed by a medium sized New York consulting engineering firm. You have a degree in software engineering, and up until now, you have performed services almost exclusively in the software and IT field. You learn that your firm has begun a new marketing campaign, and in its latest web site and printed literature, you are listed as a systems engineer. There are other systems engineers working in the firm. You alert the marketing director (who is also an engineer) to the error in the promotional literature, and he indicates that the error will be corrected. However, after six months, the error has still not been corrected. To your alarm, you have been invited to attend a series of meetings in Houston to discuss a large manufacturing system contract with a prestigious client and you are the lone “systems” engineer in the team.

Questions

Which portions of the ACM code are relevant to this case? (Please list them explicitly.)

Why do you think the error was not corrected? (Identify impediments to responsible action)

Under the given circumstances, what actions (if any) should you take in this situation?

(Apply ethical concepts to support your plan of action)

Should you inform the client that you are unqualified? Or what should you do?

Explanation / Answer

4.1 and 4.2 are relevant to this code.

4.1 Uphold and promote the principles of this Code.

The future of the computing profession depends on both technical and ethical excellence. Not only is it important for ACM computing professionals to adhere to the principles expressed in this Code, each member should encourage and support adherence by other members.

4.2 Treat violations of this code as inconsistent with membership in the ACM.

Adherence of professionals to a code of ethics is largely a voluntary matter. However, if a member does not follow this code by engaging in gross misconduct, membership in ACM may be terminated.

The primary reason may be the lack of knowledge because of which the errors were not corrected.

The actions should correspond to the ehtical standards set by ACM. Appropriate action should be taken depending on the portion of the ACM code which is not undertaken by the user.

Yes it should be informed to the client if you are not qualified for a certain role or do not possess certain knowledge in the required field.

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