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TOC o “1-3” h z u ABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc71975075 h 2INTRODUCTION PAGEREF _Toc71975076 h 2PROBLEM DESCRIPTION PAGEREF _Toc71975077 h 2PROPOSED SOLUTIONS PAGEREF _Toc71975078 h 3ANALYSIS OF RISKS AND ETHICAL ISSUES PAGEREF _Toc71975079 h 4CONCLUSION PAGEREF _Toc71975080 h 5REFERENCES PAGEREF _Toc71975081 h 6

Abstract – The report looks at UCCyber, a start-up cybersecurity organisation, intends to create an innovative product to address concerns relating to cyber security, but faces a problem of poor organizational culture, insufficient employee expertise, and a lack of a clear decision making structure. The proposed solutions include a change of structure, a focus on creating a working relationship to inform the decision making structure, and hiring more experienced employees. Ethical issues explored include intentional release of a poor quality product to the market and a paternalistic and harassing culture. The proposed mitigations for these ethical issues include implementing a quality control program and definition of roles and a clear communication structure.

INTRODUCTIONUCCyber, a start-up cybersecurity organisation, intends to create an innovative product to address concerns relating to cyber security. The product, UCEduSecure, is an antivirus program specifically created to address unique cyber security requirements of modern educational institutions, specifically universities and different levels of colleges. The development of this program began mid-2019 and is still in its development phase. The three directors of UCCyber, Jill, Chris, and Leon saw an opportunity arising from the notable lack of specialized programs to address cyber issues for educational institutions. Despite good progress and an initial consensus regarding the direction of the company, a number of problems have emerged that have threatened the welfare of the organization as well as the timely development of the product. The aim of this report is to present these problems, analyse them, propose solutions, and lastly provide an evaluation of risks and ethical issues involved.

PROBLEM DESCRIPTIONThe main problem facing the organization is a clear lack of a decision-making structure. The problem emerge due to background of the directors as software engineers without any management background. As a result, there is little to no directions given to other members of the team and instead every initiative is presented as a suggestion and debatable concept. For example, there were divergent views on what program should be completed first including the specifics. While this is a good thing in a project because of how it leads to innovative solutions and involvement from every employee, it also means that the organization will face a major issue in terms of its decision making capacity. In the case of UCCyber, the decision making process became a painfully slow process, leading to delays in product development, uncertainty, and other issues relevant to the success of the organization. The implications and consequences of the problem is that the organization is facing a possible shutdown following reduced commitment from the employees and the investor is threatening to pull out. The poor decision making structure has also led to project delays and a divide within the organization.

The second major problem facing UCCyber is a lack of relevant technical expertise in one of the critical development areas for the antivirus software. The team lacked qualified developers conversant with the implementation phase of the program that included a clear understanding of operating systems, statistics, and other technical outfits. This is a major problem because it means that the implementation phase would not be as the organization intended, or even what was presented to different stakeholders. The final product is more likely to have been through shortcuts due to the lack of technical expertise on a critical stage. The problem led to further disagreements on how to proceed and a deeper divide on the strategy that the organization should follow to ensure that they were able to meet their financial and development targets. The problem was caused by a poor structure in management that failed to note the need to hire qualified expertise. Financial constraints can also be assumed to have contributed to the decision to retain their current staffing without a need for more. The consequences and implications were a decision to follow a “me too” product approach in an effort to earn some quick revenue to keep the project afloat. A “me too” strategy sent a negative message to the investor and the market that the company did not have an innovative strategy or product but rather similar to the competitors.

Lastly, UCCyber faces a problem of a poor organizational culture introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic and fuelled by remote working while the product was in its development phase. The main consequences of the problem is that the change in the mode of working has led to an interrupted work flow that has resulted in low employee morale, notable turnover, and an organizational divide. A poor organizational culture means that there are no established norms and modus operandi that are aligned to the goals and objectives of the shareholders [1]. The situation can be partially attributed to the pandemic that meant remote working for all employees as well as a lack of management expertise from the three directors. Progress is therefore retarded by the constant arguing and disagreements, even where decisions should be informed by a timeline and objectivity structure. This has led to loss of one of the engineers and managers, exiting because of an unclear organizational direction and lack of security of tenure. The founding partners are also demotivated and on the verge of losing their organization if the investor withdraws support.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONSUCCyber is a project-driven organization. Therefore, it is crucial that the problem of a clear lack of a decision-making structure be addressed because the success of the organization requires that the project be completed and successful. The solution to this is multi-faceted. The first solution is to look at the organizational structure. Browning [2] observes the need to ensure that the definition of relationships between managers and other individual contributors is clear in order to ensure the mode of communication and resolution of conflicts are efficient. A top down structure is recommended for a start-up organization because of the competence created [3]. The decision making process is made up of complex skills including the ability to analyze information, assess various risks, and consider divergent views of all participants. Therefore, a top down organization structure should enable the organization to use a professional director to oversee decision making in conjunction with the founding partners for better implementation and applicability. By changing the organizational structure to a top down framework and using a professional manager, the decision making process would be improved to include the definition of problems, identification of limiting factors, development of potential alternatives, analysis of alternatives, selection of the best option, and the proper implementation of a decision and a control and evaluation system.

In the second problem identified, UCCyber lacks relevant technical expertise in one of the critical development areas for the antivirus software. Insufficient team skills may spell doom for the entire project. The solution to this can be simplified to documenting the core skills and technical expertise required to accomplish the workload and analyse the weaknesses or strengths of the entire team. In the case of the organization, the only way to eliminate the skill gaps is to hire a professional with the required level of expertise to ensure the program is implemented. Hiring a professional will provide the advantage of solving the issue while creating more efficiency because they would also hold other positions and roles within their area of specialization. An enterprise resource planning (ERP) approach can also be used to manage and coordinate information, resources, and functions within UCCyber to reduce the damages caused by the problems identified [3]. ERP system would ensure that every problem is registered and the solutions presented to management for solutions and decision making.

Lastly, the problem of a poor organizational culture introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic and fuelled by remote working while the product was in its development phase can also lead to organizational failure. A poor organizational culture means that there is a general lack of direction usually caused by lacking leadership and leading to neglectful attitudes [4]. To solve this issue, a change to a strong organizational structure, such as the aforementioned top-down framework, is recommended to ensure clear direction and unity in the decision making process. A clear leadership will help to give direction to all employees, motivate them to be participative, and ensure that the project gets back on track.

ANALYSIS OF RISKS AND ETHICAL ISSUESRisk Description Likelihood Impact Mitigation Strategy

Cost risks The scenario presented shows that the organization is likely to surpass the project budget. Already the founders have begun to push a half-baked product into the market to recoup some of the losses made 1 High To reduce cost risks, the team must begin to prioritize the projects that are most essential in the present to have the product ready for release in the market. Adequate planning and budgeting from a professional project manager is also required [5].

Performance risk From the scenario, this risk involves a probability that the project will fail to produce the benefits and results outlined in the specifications and those expected by the shareholders. 0.5 High To reduce the risk of failure in meeting the results and benefits expected, the project must work with a professional manager to ensure that the cost, schedule, are aligned with the intended outcomes.

Resource risk From the solutions presented above, there is a risk that the resources available to the project are not enough to cater for needs such as a change of organizational structure or hiring new employees such as the proposed new manager and a technical expert 0.2 Medium To mitigate this risk, the proposed solutions must endeavour to ensure that the available resources are effectively managed to fit the demands of the project and to ensure satisfaction of the team

Ethical Issue Description Mitigation Strategy

Intentional release of a poor quality product to the market The scenario presents that the product presented to the market may be of low quality and one that is unsuitable for use The ethical concern will require that the founding partners implement a quality control program to ensure that the product is able to do as promised to shareholders and the end user

A paternalistic and harassing culture The proposed solution to have a top down structure may lead to abuse of power and a dictatorial management setup The definition of roles and a clear communication structure will be important to solve this ethical concern.

CONCLUSIONUCCyber, a start-up cybersecurity organisation, intends to create an innovative product to address concerns relating to cyber security, but faces a problem of poor organizational culture, insufficient employee expertise, and a lack of a clear decision making structure. The proposed solutions include a change of structure, a focus on creating a working relationship to inform the decision making structure, and hiring more experienced employees. These solutions will ensure the survival of the organization amidst the current crisis.

REFERENCES[1]L. Thomas G., and D. Dvir. “An alternative taxonomy of project management structures: linking project management structures and project success.” IEEE Transactions on engineering management, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 198-210. 2020.

[2]T.R. Browning “A quantitative framework for managing project value, risk, and opportunity.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 583-598. 2014.

[3]Q. Yang, T. Yao, T. Lu, and B. Zhang. “An overlapping-based design structure matrix for measuring interaction strength and clustering analysis in product development project.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 159-170. June 2013.

[4]S. Anwer, L. Wen, Z. Wang, and S. Mahmood. “Comparative analysis of requirement change management challenges between in-house and global software development: Findings of literature and industry survey.” IEEE Access, Vol. 7, pp. 116585-116611. 2019

[5]D. D. Silva, D. Campos, L. P. Santiago, and P. M. S. Silva. “Impact of premature information transfer on cost and development time of projects.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 692-704. April 2012.