Response to case study scenario 1

Firstly I feel by telling the manager that 3 of the power consumption tests have failed and that they could be a fire hazard I have made the correct and responsible work based decision. It’s what happens next which is of concern. As the manager has said to ignore it do I leave it there or take it further?

I would say that it would be my ethical responsibility to take the issue further either to a senior manager, to the customer themselves or even by taking legal representation. If there was an issue with 3 of the 200 products but there was not a fire hazard I probably would not take it forward but as this is a fire hazard and could result in a major catastrophe or even a loss of life, I feel I would have to take it further. Ultimately the customer maybe angry at being told that all 200 units need retesting and replacing as this would cost them time and money but will be relived in the long term as it means there is zero risk of the units becoming a fire hazard, as far as my employers are concerned the cost of retesting and replacing the units would be insignificant compared to the cost if one was to cause a fire which could quite possibly cause the business to be shut down. Some would also say that if I went against what my manager said then I am putting my own job at risk and in these times of recession would it be worth putting my personal financial worries in jeopardy. However the IEEE (http://www.ieee.org/portal/site) would back me if I found a breach and the management decided to ignore it.

The first point in the IEEE’s code of ethics is that its members and communities agree to commit and to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment
This has been broken straight away by not highlighting the problem and by refusing to take further action like asking the consumer to return the faulty products.


I could also argue that having told the manager I have done all that is asked of me as a junior engineer and that as I have passed the blame it is no longer my problem however this has its downsides if something did go wrong and there was a loss of life I would feel partly to blame and have to deal with the guilt, also unless it was documented properly management could deny all knowledge of me telling them and therefore making me liable for any loss of life or financial losses.

To conclude I feel it’s my duty to take this issue forward on the grounds of health and safety, the consequences of which are that the consumer and employer are going to lose money but it is a small price to pay when it comes to a life of a human being.