Developed and
Presented by the
National
Institute for
Engineering
Ethics
Acknowledgements
This Project was made possible in part
by a Grant from the
National Science Foundation
Grant NSF SES-0138309
NSF Program Directors:
Dr. Rachelle Hollander - 2003
Dr. Joan Sieber - 2002
And Financial Support from
Harry E. Bovay, Jr., P.E., Past President, NSPE
Victor O. Schinnerer and Company, Inc.
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
William J. Lhota, P.E., American Electric Power
Steven P. Nichols, Ph.D., P.E., Clint W. Murchison
Chair of Free Enterprise, University of Texas at Austin
Robert L. Nichols, P.E., Past President, NIEE & NSPE
Donald L. Hiatte, P.E., Past President, NSPE
Jimmy H. Smith, Ph.D., P.E., Past President, NIEE &
TSPE
Developed by the
National Institute for Engineering Ethics
Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism, Texas Tech University
Presented by
<Name of Presenter>
Producer & Writer/Director
Great Projects Film Co., Inc.
New York City
Kenneth Mandel, Producer
Paul Martin, Writer & Director
Executive Producers - Video Team
Jimmy H. Smith, Ph.D., P.E., Texas Tech University, PI & PD
Steven P. Nichols, Ph.D. J.D., P.E., Univ. of Texas at Austin
Michael C. Loui, Ph.D., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Vivian Weil, Ph.D., Illinois Institute of Technology
Philip E. Ulmer, P.E., Eagle River, Alaska
Fredrick Suppe, Ph.D., Texas Tech University
Carl M. Skooglund, Texas Instruments, Dallas (Retired)
E. Walter LeFevre, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., University of Arkansas
and Patricia Harper, Assistant to Team of Executive Producers
Incident at Morales
How the Video Project Evolved
&
Consideration of Basic Concepts
Basic Concept
Needs in Engineering Education
NSF
Funding
INCIDENT
AT MORALES
Private
Funding
NIEE
Video Team
Idea for graphic based on Professional Responsibility: The Role of the Engineer, Journal of Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 3, No. 3, 1997
by Drs. Steve Nichols and Bill Weldon, UT/Austin
The NIEE Video Team
Our Video Team communicated on a frequent basis
and met as a group twice during 2002 for 2 days
each. We started with basic ideas of:
• Sensitivity - To raise awareness of ethical aspects of
professional work
• Knowledge - To learn about professional standards
such as codes of ethics
• Judgment - To develop skills in moral reasoning
• Commitment - To strengthen personal dedication to
exemplary conduct
The NIEE Video Team
• Identified a variety of ethical issues they wished
to convey in the video.
• Developed situations where these issues may be
encountered.
• Specified critical ethical elements of the video.
• Proposed a story line to the producer & writer.
• Critiqued two draft scripts.
• Reviewed and approved the final script and the
“fine cut” of the video.
The NIEE Video Team Wanted
Viewers To be Able To:
• Identify ethical, technical, and economic
issues and problems
• Identify affected parties (stakeholders) and
their rights and responsibilities
• Identify social and political constraints on
possible solutions
And to:
• Determine whether additional information
is needed to make a good decision
• Suggest alternative courses of action for the
principal characters
• Imagine possible consequences of those
alternative actions
• Evaluate those alternatives according to
basic ethical values
Tests That Were Considered
(Davis, 1997)
• Harm test - Do the benefits outweigh the
harms, short term and long term?
• Reversibility test - Would I think this
choice were good if I traded places?
• Colleague test - What would professional
colleagues say?
And ...
• Legality test - Would this choice violate a
law or a policy of my employer?
• Publicity test - How would this choice look
on the front page of a newspaper?
• Common practice test - What if everyone
behaved in this way?
• Wise relative test - What would my wise
old aunt or uncle do?
Evaluation & Assessment
• The evaluation and assessment phase will
be conducted during 2003 – 2005, lead by
Dr. Michael Loui, Professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Basic Ethical Concepts
• Ethical considerations are an integral part of
making engineering decisions.
• The professional obligations of engineers go
beyond fulfilling a contract with a client or
customer.
• Codes of ethics can provide guidance in the
decision-making process.
Basic Ethical Concepts ...
• Ethical obligations do not stop at the United
States border.
• Wherever engineers practice, they should
hold paramount the health, safety, and
welfare of the public.
• How an engineer fulfills those obligations
may depend on the social and economic
context of engineering practice.
Outline of Story
• Phaust is the manufacturer of Old Stripper, a
paint remover.
• Phaust’s learns that competitor Chemitoil
plans to introduce a new paint remover.
• To remain competitive, Phaust decides to
develop a new paint remover.
• To save money, Phaust decides to construct a
new plant in Mexico.
Outline of Story ...
• Phaust hires a chemical engineer, Fred Martinez,
who had been a consultant to Chemitoil.
• Chemistré is Phaust’s parent company in France
and they insist that budgets be radically cut.
• Chuck, a Vice President of Phaust, encourages
Fred to reduce construction costs.
• Fred confronts several engineering decisions in
which ethical considerations play a major role.
The Interactive DVD Version will:
• Provide the viewer with interactive control of the
action in the sense that they will have a variety of
options to more effectively benefit from studying
the elements of the video.
• Include interviews with and comments by NIEE
Video Team Members and others.
• Raise and discuss Issues/Concepts/Questions that
should be considered by the viewers.
Supporting Materials
Supporting Materials that are available on the
Internet :
• Script
• Synopsis of the Story
• Study Guide
• Power Point Slides
• Recommended Uses
Characters & Format
Incident at Morales
An Engineering Ethics Story
Characters in Incident at Morales
Dominique - French corporate liaison to Phaust
Fred - Chemical engineer hired by Phaust to
design a new plant to manufacture a new paint
remover
Wally - Fred’s supervisor at Phaust
Chuck - Vice president of engineering at Phaust
Maria - Fred’s wife, an EPA compliance litigator
Characters ...
Hal - Market analyst at Phaust
Jen - Research chemist at Phaust
Peter - Project manager of the construction firm
that builds the new plant in Morales
Jake - Plant manager for the SwisseChem plant in
Big Springs, Texas
Manuel - Plant manager for the new Phaust plant in
Morales, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Suggested Assignments
• List the ethical issues you observed in Incident at
Morales.
• From your personal perspective, prioritize these
ethical issues from most critical to least critical
• Discuss the video from the three following
perspectives:
Fred’s Perspective:
Assume you are Fred
• What specific ethical issues do you (Fred) face?
• What are some things that you should consider?
• From whom or where would you seek guidance?
Wally’s Perspective:
Assume you are Wally
• What specific ethical issues does Wally face?
• What do you think Wally's motivation was for
having “One Rule”?
• What do you think about Wally’s “One Rule”?
• What decisions would you change if you were
Wally?
Responsibility Perspective:
If you were in charge and had the authority and
the funding to make any changes you wanted to
make in company policies:
• What specific steps would you take to improve
the company culture?
• Who would you involve in this process?
• How and when would you communicate the
company policies to: Your employees? Your
clients? The public?
Let’s Watch and Discuss
Incident at Morales
An Engineering Ethics Story