Ethical Scenarios

Indicate whether the scenarios below are acceptable or non-acceptable.

Briefly justify your response.


  1. Scenario 1: A programmer modifies a bank's accounting system to hide his overdrawn account and avoid the overdraft charge. After making a deposit, the programmer corrects his modification.
  2.  

     

  3. Scenario 2: A person received software ordered from a mail-order company but also finds another software package sent in error. The extra software was not listed on the invoice. The person keeps the program and does not pay for it.
  4.  

     

  5. Scenario 3: A programmer uses company equipment to write programs for his friends on his own time at weekends.
  6.  

     

  7. Scenario 4: A person who was inadvertently given access free of charge to a proprietary program uses it without paying the fee.
  8.  

     

  9. Scenario 5: A company employee contracts with a government agency to process data involving information about children and their parents. The employee copies the data at the boss's request. The job contract does not prohibit this.

  

 


Scenarios from Kreie and Cronan, "How Men and Women View Ethics", CACM, September 1998.

Page maintained by: kwb@csee.usf.edu