Ethical Failures Of A Professional Work Environment

Sometimes a social worker can experience conflicts and ethical dilemmas in the practice, and the decision-making process requires a separation form the personal values and professional ethics. One conflict that may arise while working with a client is keeping personal feelings and values separated from the professional role. In the case, social worker Ajia Meux is working she is faced with some conflicts that can intertwine with her personal values and professional ethics. She was concerned with her client’s decision of having children, his living situation, and his environment. Ms. Meux is trying to make sure that the client use protection to avoid having more children and suggest him to have a DNA test done. She understands that this is a decision that can help him better his life and give him a more positive outcome for his future.

1. Discuss an ethical dilemma that you have had to face in the workplace. Ethical dilemmas

In Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities, Dennis Gioia relives the case of the Ford Pinto. Throughout the article Gioia questions his involvement in this highly debated issue, consequently wondering where he fit in ethically. This piece brings together the ideas of technical, social, and political ethics, ultimately showing the importance of an engineer’s decision. Overall, I realize that the remorse or consequence of an ethical decision drives the examination of what is moral.

During the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, many professional responsibilities were neglected. First, engineers did not “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” (Ethics Code II. 1. a.). For example, although the ice inspection team found the launch situation to be of great concern, the launch director authorized it anyway (Texas A&M University 5). At this point, professional bodies or public authorities should have been notified.

The first fundamental canon of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics states that engineers “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.” The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) takes it a step further by amending the NSPE canon and adding that chemical engineers “protect the environment in performance of their professional duties.” These ethical standards were placed in order to prevent contaminations to maintain a healthy work environment, and prevent the general public and environment from being harmed. The “Aberdeen Three” case is an instance of three knowledgeable and high ranking engineers, as well as the United States army, disregarding the safety of the public or their

Some engineers would have buried the design flaw. Instead, LeMessurier set out to confirm the student’s suspicions, confirmed the findings, and set-out to find a solution. Ethics in engineering signify are necessary to leadership since the consequences can be so high.

Regarding the essence of ethics within NASA, it should be understood that the culture at the organization may be characterized the one in which as leaders do not clearly understand the nature of risks, faced by the company. Moreover, at NASA the use of logic along with reasoning each risk separately instead of testing the probability of failure plays a major role in the formation of total safety leadership. That is, the company pays more attention rather to the final outcome of the encountered problems, even if the process of their mitigation would be extremely unethical. There is a need for understanding that it is unacceptable to act following the principle “No harm intended, it’s just business,” (Launching Into Unethical Behavior, 2011).

At the BSSL we would like to make work a legal, profitable, and comfortable environment to be at during your careers here with us. We are going to start implementing an open door policy. We want all employees to feel they can speak with any member of management, without risk or fear of loosing their jobs, if they feel uncomfortable about something they are asked to do here. Also, all employees need to keep their eyes and hears opened for illegal and unethical behaviors. If an unethical or illegal behavior is reported and proven we would like to offer the employee that comes forth with the information a reward to show our

Engineers hold a valuable place in our society. They lay the groundwork for and create artifacts based on the foundation of knowledge that science grants. In our culture, however, it is not uncommon for people to be confused about the role that engineers play. Often times, engineers are portrayed as being skilled and knowledgeable, but lack a sense of moral responsibility for their creations. This mentality is shown in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, in which, the inventor, Victor Frankenstein attempts to defy the natural laws of life and death without first considering the consequences. This phenomenon is not just present in works of fiction. The man who designed the atom bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, said to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission,

Moreover, the concepts of hegemonic masculinity and organizational deviance are also evident in the NASA Space Challenger and Martin Shkreli cases. The Space Challenger Explosion occurred due to a problem with the O-Ring, however, Morton Thiokol Inc. (MTI) management ignored the engineers’ advice and proceeded with the launch (Messerschmidt 1996:35). MTI was under pressure from Congress to launch the Shuttle on time to keep their funding or would be held bureaucratically accountable. Subsequently, both the MTI management and engineers understood the risks when launching the Shuttle, but NASA labeled it as a ‘normal, acceptable risk’. Here, masculinity is perceived as a structured action, meaning that men take certain actions under particular organizational constraints (Messerschmidt 1996:32).

Engineers play an integral role in shaping in day-to-day life from designing the structural components of buildings to coding the computer software that makes the modern lifestyle possible. Engineers have an ability to greatly improve the standard of living that is unparalleled by most careers, and also must actively ensure their work leads to good. Many standards have been put in place to act as guides, but their role is largely limited to prohibitive and preventive ethics, terms referring to the ethical claims that seek to prevent unethical conduct and reduce the threats technology could pose to the public, respectively (Harris). These codes do not specify the virtues, or commendable character traits, that make engineers successful in both work and community. Yet virtues are important, especially within the field of Biomedical Engineering, where medical care intersects technology and human lives are directly at stake.

Ethical dilemmas are particularly sensitive issues in the workplace because the well-being of the individuals and the organization as a whole are at stake. Employees must feel as though they are being supported and not punished, and should not feel as though they were being put on display; their dignity should always remain intact. This paper examines how, as a high school principle, I would address the issue of one of the high school teachers becoming addicted to prescription drugs.

There were four ethical concerns that arose in the case study of the Challenger. The first ethical concern was the defective rocket booster joints design. Roger Boisjoly discovered that the primary O-rings failed to seal the joints in flight 51C. Luckily, the secondary, backup O-ring caught the leak. He believed that the temperature was a factor of the flawed design since the flight analysis shows that the temperature was 53 degrees Fahrenheit. In the NSPE Code of Ethics, it states, “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.” Boisjoly followed this code by reporting this to NASA and Morton Thiokol management. However, they just concluded that it was not desirable but acceptable. Therefore, no actions were

Personal values may conflict with ethical decision making if those personal values are different than the organizational norms of the business or institution. Constructing, and maintaining personal ethics in the workplace rests with the individual, and how willing he or she is in assimilating to the evolving cultural dynamic of the corporate world. Many times a person find their personal, cultural and/or organizational ethics conflicting and must reconcile a course of action that will mitigate cognitive dissonance. In order to be a productive member of society, in small groups and globally, one must reconcile these conflicts on a daily basis and continually move forward while maintaining personal integrity and

This case study was a powerful example to illustrate the presence of ethics within the