2.2 Toysmart case exercises - student module  (Page 11/19)

Exercise 1b

Instructions for table 2:

1. This module links to another Connexions module, Socio-Technical Systems in Professional Decision-Making. There you will find short profiles of the values listed in the above table: security, privacy, property, justice, and free speech. These profiles will help you to characterize the values listed in the above table.
2. The second ethical reflection in the Toysmart case narrative (at Computing Cases) also contains a discussion of how property comes into conflict with privacy.
3. Identify those components of the Toysmart STS that embody or embed value. For example, list the values realized and frustrated by the software components discussed in the Toysmart case in the STS description.
4. Look for ways in which different elements of the STS that embed value can interact and produce value conflicts. These conflicts are likely sources for problems that you should discuss in your problem statement and address in your solution.

Exercise 1c:

Harris, pritchard, and rabins provide a useful approach to problem specification. see references below.

Exercise two: solution generation

Generate solutions to the problem(s) you have specified in exercise 1. this requires that...

• each member of your group develop a list of solutions,
• the group combines these individual lists into a group list, and...
• the group reduces this preliminary list to a manageable number of refined and clarified solutions for testing in the next stage.

Helpful hints for solution generation

1. solution generation requires proficiency in the skills of moral imagination and moral creativity.

2. problems can be formulated as interest conflicts. in this case different solution options are available.

• Gather Information. Many disagreements can be resolved by gathering more information. Because this is the easiest and least painful way of reaching consensus, it is almost always best to start here. Gathering information may not be possible because of different constraints: there may not be enough time, the facts may be too expensive to gather, or the information required goes beyond scientific or technical knowledge. Sometimes gathering more information does not solve the problem but allows for a new, more fruitful formulation of the problem. Harris, Pritchard, and Rabins in Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases show how solving a factual disagreement allows a more profound conceptual disagreement to emerge.
• Nolo Contendere. Nolo Contendere is latin for not opposing or contending. Your interests may conflict with your supervisor but he or she may be too powerful to reason with or oppose. So your only choice here is to give in to his or her interests. The problem with nolo contendere is that non-opposition is often taken as agreement. You may need to document (e.g., through memos) that you disagree with a course of action and that your choosing not to oppose does not indicate agreement.
• Negotiate. Good communication and diplomatic skills may make it possible to negotiate a solution that respects the different interests. Value integrative solutions are designed to integrate conflicting values. Compromises allow for partial realization of the conflicting interests. (See the module, The Ethics of Team Work , for compromise strategies such as logrolling or bridging.) Sometimes it may be necessary to set aside one's interests for the present with the understanding that these will be taken care of at a later time. This requires trust.
• Oppose. If nolo contendere and negotiation are not possible, then opposition may be necessary. Opposition requires marshalling evidence to document one's position persuasively and impartially. It makes use of strategies such as leading an "organizational charge" or "blowing the whistle." For more on whistle-blowing consult the discussion of whistle blowing in the Hughes case that can be found at computing cases.
• Exit. Opposition may not be possible if one lacks organizational power or documented evidence. Nolo contendere will not suffice if non-opposition implicates one in wrongdoing. Negotiation will not succeed without a necessary basis of trust or a serious value integrative solution. As a last resort, one may have to exit from the situation by asking for reassignment or resigning.