5.1 Gray matters for the hughes aircraft case  (Page 6/14)

Hughes case socio technical system

Responsible dissent

Sources

• Computing Cases is the primary source for the material below on responsible dissent. It is based on the materials for responsibly carrying out dissent and disagreement that was formerly posted at the IEEE website. The IEEE has since taken this material down.
• The Online Ethics Center has also posted the IEEE material on responsible dissent. The origin of this material as well as a thorough discussion of its content can be found in Carolyn Whitbek, Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research: 2nd Edition , Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Chapter 7, "Workplace Rights and Responsibilities, pp. 227-269.
• Much of this material (IEEE Guidelines and a discussion of Dissenting Professional Opinion Guidelines) can be found in Chapter 7 ("Averting the Conflict at the Source")in the following: Stephen H., Unger, Controlling Technology: Ethics and the Responsible Engineer: 2nd Edition , New York: John Wiley and Sons, INC.

Generic forms of dissent

• Gather more information
• Nolo Contendere (Don't fight it. Go along.)
• Oppose diplomatically . Offer your supervisor alternatives to the wrong he or she has ordered.
• Oppose by confronting . Threaten to go over your supervisor's head or threaten to blow the whistle.
• Distance yourself . Ask to be transferred to another section to avoid being implicated in the wrongdoing.
• Exit . Quit and do nothing or quit and blow the whistle.
• Document your position if your company has a Dissenting Professional Opinion process. If it doesn't, work to have one implemented. By establishing your opposition, you distance yourself morally from the wrong you have documented.
• Which one is right? Use your tests. Which does the best job of satisfying the three ethics tests of reversibility, harm, and publicity? Which does the best job with the ADEM values: justice, responsibility, respect, trust, and integrity?