reading assignment

Homework #4

I. True/False

1. Not lying is sufficient for honesty. T F

2. Revealing potential conflicts of interest is necessary for loyalty. T F

3. Respecting proper management decisions regarding budget and schedule is necessary for faithful agency. T F

4. Engineering is sufficient to solve complex material problems. T F

5. The distinctive value of the client function for the engineering project is its coordination of the resources necessary to solve complex material problems. T F

II. Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following conditions, according to DeGeorge, needs to be met in order for whistleblowing to even be permissible:

a. exhausting internal channels

b. documented evidence to convince a reasonable impartial observer

c. that the information to be revealed derive from the whistleblower’s own work

d. likelihood that blowing the whistle will in fact prevent some serious harm

2. Which of the following conditions, according to DeGeorge, needs to be met in order for whistleblowing to be obligatory.

e. exhausting internal channels

f. documented evidence to convince a reasonable impartial observer

g. both e and f

h. neither e nor f

3. On the standard account, the point of whistleblowing is to

a. avoid complicity with employer wrongdoing

b. protect the public from undue harm

c. reorient a company toward its proper function

d. satisfy a legal obligation

4. On the standard account, blowing the whistle is permissible only when

a. the law requires it

b. personal values override pragmatic self-interest

c. the grounds for loyalty are removed

d. the duty to the public overrides the duty to employer/client

5. On the alternative account, the question of blowing the whistle arises with an apparent conflict between:

i. Duty to the public and duty to employer

j. Pragmatic self-interest and personal values

k. Legality and morality

l. Apparent interests and proper function of a business

III. Matching: For each of the action scenarios below determine which faithful agency duty, if any, is violated.

Action	Duty Violated
1.______ Did not show a client some reliability data on one of the products she could choose from	A. Informed Consent
2. ______ Took a position on a government committee that might oversee one of your company’s projects after getting an ok to do so from both parties	B. Confidentiality
3. ______ Developed a design that would put your company well over budget on a particular project	C. Proper Management Decisions
4. ______ Told an engineering friend of yours about your new client’s business plan	D. Conflicts of Interest
5. ______ Didn’t tell your boss that you have financially invested in one of the suppliers your company uses	E. None
6. _______ Used a fairly specific strategy developed for a previous client to solve a very different kind of problem for a new client

IV. Short Essays:

1. Why should an engineer respect a client’s confidentiality?

2. Apply DeGeorge’s account of whistle blowing to justify a judgment about whether Roger Boisjoly should have blown the whistle on the Challenger the night before the launch.