Case Studies based on Professional Ethics and Human Values

Study the following cases in detail, analyze the ethical issues

and comment on what one should do.
State the relevant ethical principles, codes of ethics of
professional societies if any, to support your comments.

CAS1:ABOUT
CO-WORKER(integrity,responsibility,loyalty,Caring
others)
Krish is a junior engineer. in a big oil company. She has been
working under Andy’s supervision for the past three years. Krish
knows that Andy is a good manager, but she has noticed that he
frequently has liquor on his breath at work and that sometimes
his speech is slurred(indistinct). One day Krish learns that Andy
is about to be offered a better paying position. She is happy for
Andy until she learns that his new job will be the Chief Safety
Inspector for all the oil rigs that the company owns in the region.
Krish worries that Andy’s drinking habit will interfere with his
future job. Andy agrees that he will have to cut back on his
drinking, but he tries to assure Krish that he has things under
control. He says that he is going to take the job, and he asks
Krish not to tell anyone about his drinking. (a) Should Krish
take her concerns to higher management?
The process of resolving the issue is as follows
(a) The conflicting obligations, values, and interests include worker’s safety, loyalty to the
employer and to fellow employees, Caring Andy’s career, and loyalty to Andy,
(b) Assuming that there is no way to convince Andy to reject the offer or to refuse it until he
brings his drinking under control; Krish’s options seem to be two: (1) inform management or (2)
do not inform management.
(c) The audience is Krish, Andy, the employees of the company, and the employer.
(d) If Krish informs management, Andy looses right to earn, acquire property, to enjoy privacy,
and for self-respect. If she does not inform the management, the employees who operate the oil
rigs may have their right for safety and integrity at stake.
(e) Assuming that Andy really does have a drinking problem that might badly affect his job
performance, if Krish does not inform management it would result in disturbances to the other
employees around causing serious damage to the company . Informing the management will not
endanger the routine existence of Andy. So, it seems that the action of Krish informing the
management is morally justified even though it is not obligatory on the part of Krish.

CASE 2: ABOUT CHALLENGES AT WORK PLACE

Catherine is a new employee at a startup that produces LCD displays for

large venues, such as shopping malls. Part of her job requires her to
troubleshoot malfunctioning displays.

One day, a shopping mall reported that two display units out of twelve
had stopped working from their installation three months prior. The
customer also noted serial and revision numbers on the two units were
different from the rest of the units.

At the job site, Catherine inspected the displays and realized her
company had sold units that were from a bad batch (i.e. group of
displays that did not have over 50% yield during manufacturing).
Catherine wanted to tell the site why the units failed, but recognized that
if she disclosed this information, the site would be eligible to receive
replacement displays at no additional cost. On the other hand, if she
blamed the failing units on a weaker cause, such as improper
installation, her company would be able to charge the site for
replacement units.

Catherine knew her manager would want her to choose the option that
would minimize the company’s losses; however, she wanted to be
honest with the site as they were one of the company’s best customers.

What should she do? Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional
ethics as per your vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

Jocelyn Tan was a 2014-2015 Hackworth Fellow in Engineering Ethics at the Markkula Center
for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

CASE 3: ABOUT COOPERATION and

RESPONSIBILITY
Jocelyn Tan

Sherry has been working at a computer hardware company for

over 25 years. In recent years, many recent college graduates
(approximately 100 per year) have been hired into the company.
This year, 3 new hires were introduced into her group.
Occasionally, Sherry must train these hires by leading technical
workshops and giving one-on- one advice. However, she feels
that, instead of growing from within, the company has spent a
lot of resources finding young and talented employees to
increase its development of new products. Although she is not a
manager, established employees, like her, must often assume
responsibility for these hires. Sherry is unhappy because she
feels that the time used to train these new employees could have
been spent completing her projects.

Sherry wants to bring her concerns up to her manager or ethics

department, but is unsure if it is necessary.

What should she do? Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional
ethics as per your vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE 4 : ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES

Data-Time Inc. is a company which manages databases for a
large city in Colorado. Included in these databases is
information collected from the city’s homeless shelters and free
clinics. Specifically, the databases contain personal information
of the users of these services over the past 10 years; this includes
people’s Social Security numbers and health records.

This data is highly secure and only accessible to the employees

of Data-Time Inc. Employees are given a laptop when they are
hired which allows them to access the database remotely.
Unfortunately, one of these laptops is stolen and the security of
the database is compromised.

A majority of the people whose information was compromised

are homeless; therefore there is no easy way to contact them in
order to alert them of the security breach.

How should Data-Time Inc. manage this breach in security? Give

your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your vision
and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE 5: ABOUT PROFESSIONAL DILEMMA(PRIORITY OF VALUES)

Brad is a production engineer at a bicycle company. Part of his job includes inspecting broken
bikes and drafting the design plans for their repair.

One day, Brad receives instructions from his supervisor to repair a bike whose brake cables had
snapped. When Brad inspects the bike, he notices the cables had snapped because they were
made from a low-quality material. He suspects that this bike had been custom designed, and that
the customer simply did not know what materials would be best suited for the brake cables.
Therefore, when Brad drafts his design plans for the repair of the bike, he incorporates a more
durable material for the cables.

When Brad goes to repair the bike, he finds out the customer had specifically requested that the
bike be repaired, but no aesthetic changes should be made to the bike. Brad’s design for the bike
will change the look of the bike, but it will also make the bike more durable. When Brad goes to
his manager and asks him what to do, his manager tells him that “the customer is always right”
and he should repair the bike as the customer requested.

Brad knows he could repair the bike according to the customer’s wishes, but if he does, the bike
will break down again in a few months, perhaps dangerously. However, if he implements his
design improvements, he risks going against his manager and the wishes of the customer.

What should Brad prioritize? The customer’s safety or the customer’s desires?

Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.
 CASE 6: ABOUT COMMITMENT and WORK ETHICS
Sarah was recently promoted to a managerial position at her industrial engineering company. With her
new position, she is now responsible for overseeing the company’s production factory, meaning
approximately 50 factory workers now report to her. Although Sarah previously worked as an engineer
and does not have any experience running a factory, she is excited to begin her new position.

At the end of her first day, Sarah is confused to see her factory workers continuing to work well
past the end of their 8-hour shift. She then goes to the factory supervisor (who reports to her) to
express concern because the factory does not have the budget to pay so many workers overtime.
The supervisor smiles at Sarah and explains that the factory meets production goals by making
the factory workers work off the clock. The workers are well aware of this expectation and went
along with it in order to keep their jobs. Sarah is shocked to learn this illegal practice had
become part of the company culture, but the supervisor explains that the company’s CEO (who is
Sarah’s boss) is well aware of this expectation.

What should Sarah do?

Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE 7: ABOUT COMPLEX SOCIAL PROBLEMS and ETHICS

A manufacturing company provides jobs for many people in a small town where employment is
not easy to find. The company has stayed in the town even though it could find cheaper workers
elsewhere, because workers are loyal to the company due to the jobs it provides. Over the years,
the company has developed a reputation in the town for taking care of its employees and being a
responsible corporate citizen.
The manufacturing process used by the company produces a by-product that for years has flown
into the town river. The by-product has been considered harmless but some people who live near
the river have reported illnesses. The by-product does not currently violate any anti-pollution
laws.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does the
company have, and what should it do and why?
Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE 8: ABOUT COMMITMENT and WORK ETHICS

A woman died recently, after a short, unhappy life. She wanted her ashes to be scattered in the
ocean near a place she lived during one of the brief happy times of her adult life. Her parents and
immediate family had already passed away, so she discussed her wishes with her mother-in-law,
who said she would comply with her daughter-in-law's wishes. In her will, the woman gave
control of her estate to the mother-in-law. The will stated that the woman's ashes should be
scattered in the ocean, as described above. Instead, her mother-in-law buried the ashes in a
family plot near her home, because she wanted to keep the ashes close to her because of her own
grief.
Assume that the mother-in-law is legally required to follow the wishes stated in the will, but that
no one will check and it is very unlikely that the mother-in-law will have any problem with the
law. What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does
the mother-in-law have, and what should she do and why?

Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE9: ABOUT RESPONSIBILTY and HONESTY

An undergraduate course required for graduation has a reputation for being extremely hard to
pass, much harder than similar courses. When posting materials to the class website, the teacher
accidently posts a test with answers indicated at the end. The teacher notices the error
immediately and deletes the test, but before she does so a student downloads the test. The
website does not allow the teacher to see whether the test was downloaded, and because she
deleted the test with the answers so quickly, the teacher later uploaded the same test without the
answers and required students to take the test. The Student Code of Ethics prohibits students
from taking a test when there is reason for them to believe they have confidential information
regarding the answers to a test they are not supposed to have. Violations of the Student Code of
Ethics are punishable.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options do the
teacher and the student have, and what should they do and why?

CASE 10: ABOUT PROFESSIONAL ETHICS,MORAL and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

A country with a history of corruption and bribery has made great efforts via education and
prosecution to conduct government business in an open and fair way. The country has made
considerable progress. As part of its reform, the country overhauled its visa procedures for
foreigners wanting to live in the country. In the previous corrupt environment, people with
money would secretly pay off a government employee to have their visa application approved
quickly, while other visa applications took much longer. Now the government has made the
application procedure transparent and established a new procedure in law. The new procedure
offers two visa tracks, the "Regular Track", which does not require any payment, and the
"Premium Track", which requires a US $10,000 payment. The Regular Track takes just as long
to process a visa application as an application without a bribe took before the reforms. The
Premium Track moves along just as quickly as a visa application with a bribe took before the
reforms. Most people wanting to immigrate to the country cannot afford the Premium Track.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does the
country have, and what should it do and why?

Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.

CASE 11: ABOUT WORK ETHICS,MORAL and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

An international soft drink company has a signature soft drink that it sells all over the world. In
India, the version of the soft drink complies with Indian food and health regulations, but is less
healthy than the drink sold in the European market where the law is stricter. The soft drink
company is obeying the law in India, but it is selling an inferior, less healthy product in a
developing country.
What are the issues of integrity, ethics and law posed in the case study? What options does the
soft drink company and the government of India have, and what should they do and why?

Give your solution by identifying the relevant values of Professional ethics as per your
vision and understanding with a reasonable acceptance.
CASE 12: BORROWED TOOLS
ABC Company permits its employees to borrow company tools. Engineer Ali took full
advantage of this privilege. He went one step further and ordered tools for his unit that would be
useful for his home-building projects even though they were of no significant use to his unit at
ABC. Engineer Green had suspected for some time that Ali was ordering tools for personal
rather than company use, but he had no unambiguous evidence until he overheard a revealing
conversation between Ali and Bob, a contract salesman from whom Ali frequently purchased
tools. Green was reluctant to directly confront Ali. They had never gotten along well and Ali was
a senior engineer who wielded great power over Green in their unit. Green was also reluctant to
discuss the matter with the Chief Engineer of their unit, in whom he had little trust.
Eventually, Green decided to talk with the purchase officer, whose immediate response was,
“this really stinks”. The purchase officer agreed not to reveal that Green had a talk with him. He
then called the C.E. telling that a reliable source had informed him of Ali’s inappropriate
purchases. In turn the C.E. confronted Ali. Finally, Ali confronted all engineers in his unit he
thought might have ‘ratted’ on him. When Ali questioned Green, he denied any knowledge of
what took place. Later Green explained to his wife, “I was forced to lie. I told Ali, “I don’t know
anything about this”.
Discuss the ethical issues this case in the role of different stakeholders.

CASE 13: ENVIRONMENT CONCERN

You are an environmental engineer for one of the many local plants. That plant discharges
effluents into a lake in a flourishing tourist area. Although all the plants are marginally
profitable, they compete for the same customers. Your responsibilities are to monitor the water
and air discharges at your plant and the periodic reporting to Dept. of Anti-pollution. You have
just prepared a report that indicates that the level of pollution in the Plant’s water discharges
slightly exceed the legal limits. Your supervisor says you should regard the excess as a mere
‘technicality’, and he asks you to ‘adjust’ the data so that the data appears to be in compliance.
He says that slight excess is not going to endanger human or fish life any more than if the plant
were actually in compliance. However he says, solving the problem would require a very heavy
investment. He explains, “We can not afford new equipments. It might cost even a few jobs. It
will set us behind our competitors. Besides, he says that many of the competitors are doing the
same and the bad publicity we would get might scare off some of the tourist industry, making
it worse for everybody”

Discuss the ethical issues this case in the role of i)Supervisor ii)Environmental engineer

CASE 14: ETHICAL INQUIRY

Bharath is the Project Leader for the prototype testing of a new appliance model for LIVELONG Co.
One specific plastic component of the new model failed frequently before successful operation. Stress
tests are needed on the redesigned component, but Bharath was running short of time and needed to get
on with building the prototype.
Bharath sought the help of the Metallurgy dept. of a college who recommended this material, in
running stress tests on samples of new components. With this help he could go ahead with building the
prototype and conduct the test simultaneously. The prototypes would not be released to field test, until
the stress tests on the redesigned components proved its design to be satisfactory
2. Whether the component was satisfactory in terms of the tests and requirements? Is there any
minimum number of specimens or repetitions prescribed for the tests? If so whether this
criterion was followed?
3. What would count as error on Jagan’s part? If the test equipment was faulty, would it be an
error on Jagan?