Ethics play an important part into how coding is made. It means the person has formality and conscience into doing what is legally right in the line of work. However, when that work is unethical, it can lead to harsh consequences. Even though it technically wasn’t his fault, the emotional distress of what happened affected him because of the creation he was told to make by a pharmaceutical company. “The Code I’m Still Ashamed Of” by Bill Sourour details of his coding experience with the company and the unethical practice that existed with the quiz he made. [In this Case Analysis, I will argue that deontology shows us that the code was morally problematic because it created the illusion that he was doing a good deed for the pharmaceutical company, the consumers, and that Sourour should not have done anything differently because he wasn’t aware of the practice’s ethics at the time.
The idea for all members of a group or company is that everyone has the same amount of responsibility towards performing their main objective, whether that’s through their own part of the teamwork or all together. When their main objective is to create or achieve something that has good intentions for the community, everyone has equal responsibility in achieving this. This can be well supported by Mary Beth Armstrong’s concept in “Confidentiality: A Comparison Across the Professions of Medicine, Engineering, and Accounting.” Armstrong’s concept explains that the strength of a duty is determined by the responsibility shared between each other and the purposes this duty holds (Armstrong 74). The maximum potential the group can achieve would be limited if equal responsibility wasn’t held. It also wouldn’t make the duty as purposeful and beneficial for who it’s targeted towards because unequal responsibility can unequal effort. If a duty falls short of expectations, everyone is part of the failure together.
When the author of the article, Sourour, first joined the marketing firm he was unaware of the hidden scheme that was behind the drug being marketing from the quiz. Part of sharing responsibility between each other in a group is exchanging information crucial to the development of the positive duty, as part of an ethical standard. “It’s easy to make an argument that I had no part in it at all. Still, I’ve never felt okay about writing that code” (Sourour). Because of Sourour not having any knowledge about the effects of the drug beforehand, he only thought about the positive duty he was doing rather than the consequences of what could happen, thus as a result the pharmaceutical company never gave shared responsibility by not exchanging drug information to him.
The tool of deontology involves that people do what is expected of their role in any given situation and whether what they do is ethical or not. In this case, what they were achieving was to find a drug that can help consumers, which they fulfilled as being part of their role. However, they failed in the ethical sense of deontology because they failed to address the possible effects of the drug first before they implemented it with the quiz. This created a situation of where they tried to create good intentions by supplying a drug to help consumers but ended up being ethically wrong because they didn’t study the drug effects first and that it affected others emotionally, specifically Sourour in which he wasn’t a part of creating the drug. Based on this assessment, the pharmaceutical company should have studied the drug effects first, as if there were concerning effects, they could work on fixing that first which would have prevented the situation. They also should have exchanged information relevant about the drug to Sourour before they launched the quiz. This would show that they are properly fulfilling their role to the consumers as a company and that they ethically care about them by addressing the drug’s effects before implementation. Because they failed to address these matters, the coding made Sourour question his morals.
As part of fulfilling their role, companies and their employees must do their duties while still holding safety to the public and that their practices are ethically right. Practices that are ethically right means that their procedures are done in a manner that considers both the consumers and their employees well-being and how it could affect them. The NSPE Code, “Code of Ethics for Engineers,” tells of how important these rules are in fulfilling their role of what’s expected of them and concerning the health of everyone involved by mentioning, “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.” This involves modifying business practices that focuses on safety first and that their products are deemed safe for use by the consumer. Part of fulfilling a role as an employee is to exchange important and keeping each other informed on information that is important towards the development of their business. Not making sure everyone is constantly up to date on the direction of the company is against the concept’s idea and leads to ineffective practices
A part of being a company is understanding how strong computing is in communicating information and utilizing actions across spectrums. Computing can have negative consequences if it’s used in an unethical manner. The ACM Code explains into better detail by saying professionals in IT have a responsibility to share their knowledge and to understand the impacts of what their work holds (ACM Code). Sharing knowledge with others will help educate more on how to properly use technology in a sense that is beneficial and ethical for companies. Understanding the impacts of using computing is important for companies to be educated on because it can have an effect if used in unethically. With the sharing of knowledge and education, companies can use them optimally and how vital the way computing is used can affect business.
When the pharmaceutical company gave Sourour the task to create the pharmaceutical quiz, he was partially left in the dark of what lied behind these drugs. The role Sourour had of coding was substantial because computing can create an immense effect of what work is being created. Based on the ACM Code concept, the pharmaceutical company should have understood going into launching the idea of the quiz that computing can have great consequences if it’s used in an unprofessional and unethical manner, especially if it’s directed towards the public. Even though the ACM Code concept is directed towards IT professionals, companies also have a responsibility that they look over the IT’s work before it’s implemented to ensure it’s ethical, which they failed on. The company failed on the concept of the NSPE Code because it deals with the importance of the well-being of employees and the consumers, which they neglected on as well. Business practices that don’t have the upmost importance of well-being and health of others is improper role fulfillment. They also failed on role fulfillment by not informing Sourour on vital information behind developing the quiz, as he wasn’t aware that the idea by the company was an unethical practice.
Analyzing the case from a deontological perspective, they failed on the basic requirement of following their role and the rules that apply to it. They developed an unethical practice that unequivocally involved Sourour in which he no knowledge of, which violates the ACM Code concept of sharing knowledge with others in a group. Because Sourour had a responsibility of coding the pharmaceutical quiz, the pharmaceutical companies themselves also had the responsibility as well to make sure it’s ethical and considers the safety of the drug first for its consumers. However, because they failed to address the drug effects, it is a neglect of consumer health and thus violates the NSPE Code. Based on this assessment, the right thing to have done is consider the drug’s effects first and whether it’s ethically safe enough to launch for consumers. Also, either way even if the drug was safe or not, the company should have educated Sourour on the drug’s background instead of leaving him in the dark and creating a moral problem.
In conclusion, the pharmaceutical company developed an unethical practice in which Sourour, unbeknownst to him, coded a quiz that made him question his morals. The drug created inherited devastating effects that put an effect not just on the consumers, but on Sourour as well even though it wasn’t his fault. The company could have best handled the situation by first addressing the drug’s effects first and then when ready, focusing on whether the quiz is ethical to the consumers. Sharing responsibility between Sourour and the company and exchanging information about the drug would have helped Sourour understand more about what work he is going into. Because they failed on all these matters, they created a situation that was not just unethical, but it was also morally wrong because it made Sourour feel as if what happened to the consumers was his fault and that he questioned if what he did was right or wrong even though the coding has nothing to do with the drug’s effects.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Mary Beth. “Confidentiality: A Comparison Across the Professions of Medicine, Engineering, and Accounting.” Professional Ethics. (1994).
ACM Council. “ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.”
National Society of Professional Engineers. “Code of Ethics for Engineers.”