My response to scenario 1

Looking at the statistics, 1.5% of USB devices are faulty. In a big order of 20000, 300 USB devises would contain this problem. If the problem was not serious, E.G. the USB device just did not work, it would be easier to ignore the situation. But the fact remains that the devices could be potentially dangerous or even life threatening if a failing results in a fire! Any percentage of problems is not small enough if a consumer’s health or even life is in danger. This is very serious and could cost the company legal battles and compensation. This also will reflect badly on the company image and may result in closure.

As a junior engineer I am the lowest in the company and by telling my Supervisor about the problem I have already done my job. If I took the situation to a higher manager, I would be concerned about being disciplined by my supervisor and having a black mark on my personal record which may hinder my job prospects in the future. Also if the devises did get recalled, testing them would take time and money. If no safety problems arise then I would be held responsible for lost profits, as well as giving myself a bad reputation at work.

However ignoring potential safety risks to clients defies the point of my job, as well as being against my Ethical Principles. If something potentially catastrophic did happen, E.G. The clients building caught fire and people were hurt or even killed, myself and indeed the company could get potentially charged for even manslaughter, in a worst case scenario, as I was aware of the problem and just ignored it. Not to mention the fact that I would have to live with the guilt of people dying due to my poor practice.

I can relate this scenario to my own personal experience. When I asked my dad's opinion on a knocking noise I heard in my car of which I was concerned about. He believed the noise to be related to the age of the vehicle so trusting his opinion, I just ignored it. A few days later the car broke down, the garage confirmed that the noise came from the cam belt slowly degrading, and then snapped. From this I have learned to trust my own opinion as I would have gone to the garage earlier thus preventing the car from being written off. The consequences of ignoring unsafe products at work would be a lot more serious than buying a new car. Therefore to cover myself and protect the client I would challenge my supervisor’s opinion.

My first line of action would be to call an urgent meeting with the higher mangers, outlining the problem of the USB devises and explaining to them about the possible consequences for the company and the consumers. Then I will advise the higher manger to get in contact with the important client emphasising that we need the USB devises back for safety reasons. Once the USB devices have been retrieved they will need to be retested to find the faulty ones. The appropriate incident reporting procedure will then be followed in relation to company protocol.

Secondly I would express my concerns to the higher management about my supervisor and how he advised me to ignore this serious problem. As a manager of safety testing, reducing risk to the client should be of priority and therefore I do not feel he is fulfilling his role sufficiently as the statement of ethical principles sets a standard that engineers should minimise and justify any adverse effects on society. In addition to this, the supervisor didn't listen to my expressed concern therefore undermining the leadership section of the ethical principles.

Thirdly I would ask the higher manager why the shipment of products was sent to a client without the appropriate safety testing as surely this situation shouldn't have occurred in the first place.