This module has been revised to fit better within courses and modules in business education. It presents socio-technical analysis as a method for integrating ethical and social values into business practice. Socio-technical system analysis facilitates understanding the ethical and social impacts aspects of business but more fundamentally it helps to anticipate potential problems early on in the business process where they can be dealt with more effectively. This module includes different ways of setting up a STS analysis, provides case studies to make STS analysis concrete and realistic, and relates STS analysis to the dimensions of moral imagination and moral creativity which are so essential for effective problem-solving.
Two socio-technical system tables are attached that serve as templates for decision making exercises as well as business product and process analyses. One table outlines the general components of the socio-technical system underlying the practice of engineering in Puerto Rico. Another, prepared by William Frey, Efrain O’Neill, Alberto Ramirez, and Agustine Irizarry, describes the socio-technical system underlying power systems engineering in Puerto Rico. A final table turns STS analysis more toward the business process by looking at the different components of the STS of a fictional corporation named "Burger Man." (This exercise was developed and taught by Paul Thompson in agricultural ethics classes and made available to the author during an Ag-Sat sponsored, multi-university course in agricultural ethics offered by Thompson in 1992.)Socio-technical analysis provides an excellent pedagogical response to various accreditation requirements including ABET (Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology) and AACSB (American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business).This module is being developed as a part of an NSF-funded project, "Collaborative Development of Ethics Across the Curriculum Resources and Sharing of Best Practices," NSF SES 0551779.
Module introduction
Milagro beanfield war
Joe Mondragon has created quite a stir in Milagro, a small village in New Mexico. He has illegally diverted water from the irrigation ditch to his field to grow beans. Access to scarce water in New Mexico has created sharp political and social disputes which have reached a crises point in Milagro. Competing with traditional subsistence farmers like Joe is the profitable recreation industry. Ladd Devine, a wealthy developer, has joined with the state government in New Mexico to build a large recreational center consisting of a restaurant, travel lodge, individual cabins and a lavish golf course. Since there is not enough water to cover both recreational and agricultural uses and since Ladd Devine's project promises large tax revenues and new jobs, the state government has fallen behind him and has promised to give to the recreational facilities all the water it needs. Hence, the problem created by Mondragon's illegal act. You work for Ladd Devine. He has asked you to look into local opposition to the recreational facility. Along these lines, you attend the town meeting scheduled by Ruby Archuleta in the town's church. You are concerned about Charlie Bloom's presentation and the impact it may have on the local community. Prepare a STS analysis to test Bloom's assertions and better prepare Ladd Devine for local opposition to his facility.
