This exercise in Business and Professional Ethics uses the DVD developed by the National Institute for Engineering Ethics, "Incident at Morales" to teach the ethical leadership and social responsibility in business and engineering. It also raises issues of how professionals must work to realize professional standards while operating within the constraints posed by the financial objectives. This derived copy has been developed to go along with the presentation given on engineering and surveying ethics before the Puerto Rico State Society of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors on November 15, 2007. This activity was co-sponsored by the Puerto Rico Office of Governmental Ethics. As with the original Incident at Morales module, this module has been completed as a part of the NSF-funded EAC Toolkit project, SES 0551779.
I. module introduction
In this module, you will view the DVD Incident at Morales and carry out a series of activities designed to familiarize you with issues in ethical leadership, social responsibility, and globalization. Links to interviews with major figures on globalization, to the Connexions module "Socio Technical Systems in Decision Making" and to online material on "Incident at Morales" will help you to gather the information you need to complete this module.
Issues in incident at morales
The "Incident at Morales" is the dramatization of a series of decisions and actions that culminate in the actual incident. It provides an excellent opportunity to discuss a number of issues in engineering and professional ethics: conflict of interest, confidentiality, the paramountcy of public welfare (including environmental integrity), and the way in which engineering and business constraints interact to create ethical dificulties. A chemical engineer, Fred, is hired by Phaust Chemical to build a plant for manufacturing a paint stripper, one of Phaust's leading products. While Phaust officials deny that they hired Fred because his previous job was with their main competitor, Chemitoil, they nevertheless press Fred for details about the Chemitoil plant Fred just designed. When mergers and acquisitions of Phaust's parent company in France translate into sharp budget cuts on the new plant Fred is designing, he finds himself confronted with a series of ethical problems that become increasingly difficult to resolve.
Below is a list of ethical issues raised in the video. the quotes below come from the study guide to "incident at morales"
- Confidentiality: "Although the lawyers note that Fred has no legal obligations to Chemitoil because he did not sign a non-disclosure agreement, does Fred have a moral obligation to ensure the confidentiality of the information he may have learned at Chemitoil?
- Wally's "One Rule": What is the impact of Wally's "One Rule" on Fred's ability to do his job? More importantly, does this interfere with Fred's ability to meet his professional ethical obligations in the course of conducting his job?"
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Lutz and Lutz Controls: Wally claims that
Lutz and Lutz controls are the best among the available alternatives. He also claims that the fact that Chuck's brother-in-law works with
Lutz and Lutz is not a relevant factor. How should Fred choose in this situation regarding controls?
- Couplings: In choosing both the type of couplings and piping as well as to use a local (Mexico) supplier without a plant inspection, what factors should Fred take into account? What should be the margin of error in terms of pressure? How does Fred balance safety and reliability with the need to cut costs due to the parent company's recent acquisitions?
- Environmental Regulations--When in Rome...: Should Fred take advantage of less strict environmental regulations in Mexico to save money for Phaust corporation? What are the responsibilities of multi-national corporations that operate in countries like Mexico?
