MN501 Assignment 1 ethical issues in ICT and smart technologies short‑essay

MN501 Network Management in Organisations – Assignment 1 (Updated Ethical ICT Assessment Brief)

Assessment overview

• Unit code: MN501

• Unit title: Network Management in Organisations

• Assessment type: Assignment 1 – Short analytical essay

• Assessment title: Ethical issues arising from the use of ICT and smart technologies

• Weight: 10% of unit grade​

• Length: 800–1,000 words (excluding reference list)

• Due date: Week 7, Friday, 11:55 pm (learning management system time zone; check current unit outline for exact date)

• Submission: Online via Moodle with completed Assignment Cover Page

Purpose and learning outcomes

This task develops your skills in research, critical analysis and high‑standard academic writing in the context of ICT and networked environments. You are expected to:

• Identify potential ethical and social issues related to IT and network administration.

• Discuss ethical and social issues arising from the deployment and management of ICT systems.

• Interpret professional codes of ethics published by recognised bodies (e.g. ACS, EA, ACM).

• Evaluate ethical behaviour with reference to these codes.

• Propose ethically defensible solutions that protect individuals and benefit society.

You must work at an abstract, conceptual level, support arguments with clear reasoning, and demonstrate critical thinking rather than descriptive commentary.

Task description

Scenario allocation

Select one scenario based on the last digit of your student ID:

• ID ends in 0 or 5 → Scenario 0: Wearable technologies in the workplace

• ID ends in 1 or 6 → Scenario 1: Smartphones for clinical communication in hospitals

• ID ends in 2 or 7 → Scenario 2: Fear of Missing Out (FoMo) and social media

• ID ends in 3 or 8 → Scenario 3: Oversharing on social media apps and cyberbullying

• ID ends in 4 or 9 → Scenario 4: Consumer apps and weak security

You will investigate and reflect on your allocated scenario using one or more recognised ICT professional ethical codes, such as the ACS Code of Professional Ethics, EA ethical guidelines, or the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Scenario prompts

You must address the prompt for your allocated scenario:

0. Wearable technologies in the workplace
   Smart glasses, smart watches and other wearables are entering workplaces. Their always‑on recording capabilities make it easy to capture and share images, audio and video of colleagues and customers without consent.

   • What ethical issues arise from the use of wearable technologies in the workplace?

   • Consider privacy, consent, surveillance, data ownership, power imbalance and workplace culture.

1. Smartphones in clinical communication
   Nurses and other clinicians increasingly use smartphones for messaging, clinical apps and workflow support in hospitals. Storing or transmitting patient data on these devices raises privacy and security concerns.

   • Identify the key privacy risks in this context and explain them in detail.

   • Consider confidentiality, access control, data leakage, device loss, cloud backup and regulatory expectations.

2. FoMo and social media addiction
   Social media platforms encourage constant engagement and can foster Fear of Missing Out (FoMo).

   • Discuss how prevalent FoMo has become in society and analyse its ethical impacts.

   • Consider mental health, autonomy, manipulation by design, data exploitation and social relationships.

3. Cyberbullying and oversharing in apps
   You receive an event invitation from an unknown third party via a mobile app and do not know how they obtained your details.

   • Discuss what security and privacy issues arise from sharing too much personal information on social media apps.

   • Consider profiling, data brokerage, harassment, cyberbullying and loss of control over personal data.

4. Consumer apps and weak security
   Many consumer apps (health, ride‑sharing, banking, retail) provide convenience yet may expose users to security and privacy breaches.

   • Choose a real app that you have used recently and identify any known or potential privacy/security breaches associated with it.

   • Is it ethical for companies to release apps with only basic levels of security? Discuss from a professional‑ethics perspective.

Required structure and headings

Use the following headings in your 800–1,000‑word essay. Each heading aligns with marking criteria.

1. Introduction (4–6 sentences)

   • Briefly introduce your scenario and the ICT or smart technology involved.

   • State the main ethical issue(s) you will discuss and mention which professional code(s) you will refer to.

2. Identification

   • Identify at least two significant ethical issues in your scenario (e.g. privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, duty of care, misuse of data, professional responsibility).

   • Name each issue clearly.

3. Analysis

   • Analyse the identified issues in terms of their impact on:

     • the organisation or business (reputation, legal exposure, trust, security posture, operational risk), and

     • individuals and society (wellbeing, rights, fairness, vulnerability, digital divide).

   • Use relevant concepts from ICT ethics and network management where appropriate.

4. Evaluation and justification

   • Evaluate the situation using at least one professional code (e.g. ACS, EA, ACM).

   • Explicitly link the behaviour or decisions in your scenario to specific principles or clauses (e.g. public interest, privacy, competence, honesty, respect).

   • Justify what would count as ethical or unethical conduct and argue for one or more practical, ethically sound courses of action or policy responses.

5. Conclusion (2–3 sentences)

   • State your overall judgement about the ethical acceptability of the practices in your scenario.

   • Briefly summarise how adherence to professional codes and improved policies can mitigate the issues.

6. References

   • Provide a properly formatted reference list using APA or IEEE consistently.

Formatting and submission requirements

• Format: MS Word document (.doc or .docx).

• Spacing: 1.5 line spacing.

• Font: 11‑point Calibri (Body).

• Margins: 2 cm on all sides.

• Headings: Use the section headings listed above.

• Referencing:

  • In‑text citations and reference list in APA or IEEE style; choose one and use it consistently.

  • Use credible academic and professional sources (e.g. journal articles, professional codes, reputable reports).

Academic integrity

• All work must be your own.

• You may not copy solved assignments or essays from online repositories, “study help” sites, or other students. Using third‑party solutions (including contract cheating services) breaches academic integrity policies.

• Academic misconduct penalties range from a mark of zero to exclusion from the course or cancellation of the award, depending on severity. Check your institution’s Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism policies for full details.

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Marking criteria (100 marks, 10%)

A detailed rubric mirrors the above aspects and differentiates performance levels (HD to Fail) in terms of critical thinking, argument quality, use of sources, cohesion and referencing accuracy. Essays that simply describe technologies without ethical analysis, that fail to use professional codes, or that rely heavily on uncredited online solutions will not meet higher‑grade standards.

A concise introduction to Scenario 1 would state that smartphone use among nurses promises faster clinical communication yet creates significant risks for patient confidentiality and data security whenever unsecured messaging apps or personal cloud backups are involved. A strong identification section would name privacy breaches and professional duty of care as the core issues, since unencrypted photos of wounds or lab results can be copied, forwarded and stored beyond hospital control. In the analysis, effective work links these practices to reputational harm and regulatory exposure for the hospital, as well as loss of trust, embarrassment and potential discrimination for patients whose data is disclosed. When evaluating the scenario, high‑quality answers explicitly tie recommended behaviour to clauses in the ACS or ACM codes that require respect for privacy, protection of personal information and prioritisation of public interest, and then argue that policies must restrict clinical images to approved, audited systems. The justification usually concludes that unmanaged personal‑device use is ethically unacceptable, and that providing secure clinical communication tools plus staff training offers a more responsible balance between efficiency and patient rights.

References

Stahl, BC, Timmermans, J & Flick, C 2016, ‘Ethics of emerging information and communication technologies: On the implementation of responsible research and innovation’, Science and Public Policy, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 369–381, doi:10.1093/scipol/scw069.​

• Australian Computer Society (ACS) 2023, ACS Code of Professional Ethics, viewed 10 February 2026, <https://www.acs.org.au/&gt;.​

• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) 2018, ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, viewed 10 February 2026, &lt>https://www.acm.org/code-of-ethics&gt;.[3]

• Ventola, CL 2014, ‘Social media and health care professionals: Benefits, risks, and best practices’, P&T, vol. 39, no. 7, pp. 491–520, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103576/>.

• Koivunen, M & Saranto, K 2018, ‘Nursing professionals’ experiences of the use of electronic health records in everyday practice in hospital wards’, International Journal of Medical Informatics, vol. 110, pp. 31–37, doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2017.11.006