You are employed by a company which has almost completed the testing of a new product,...

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You are employed by a company which has almost completed the testing of a new product, and a launch date involving major media exposure has been set. Prior to this day, final safety testing fell behind time and is only 95% completed the day before the launch. You are the engineer in charge of testing. Absolutely no problems have been identified; all completed tests show generous safety margins; no one anticipates any safety issues could arise from the unfinished routine proving. Management suggests you 'abandon' the rest of the testing, implying it will not provide budgetary support, and asks you to certify that all necessary safety tests are complete. What would you do and why? Be sure to identify ethical issues. QUESTION 2 You are the engineering manager in a firm that has recently advertised for a new junior engineer. You are leading the interview panel for this position. This panel has agreed on a shortlist of applicants to invite for an interview. However, a colleague then informs you that one of the applicants for the position who did not make the shortlist is actually the niece of the firm's owner. Shortly after you learn this, the owner himself drops by your office and casually mentions that he has great admiration and high hopes for one of his nieces who has recently completed her engineering degree. What would you do and why? Be sure to identify the ethical problems involved and explain how you resolve them. QUESTION 3 You have just joined a research group, consisting of several students and a senior professor. The students help each other, share lab equipment, and generally make good progress on their respective projects. The professor sits in a big office and does not appear to contribute to the work with any advice. Nor does he give any particular instructions. The only time you see him is when visitors are around and then he continually talks about the great work being done in "his lab by his students." (a) Discuss the leadership being shown by the professor. Is it effective? Explain your reasons. (b) As a new member of the group, do you think anything needs to change? Explain your reasons. QUESTION 4 You lead an engineering team. The supervising manager (your boss) has just assembled the whole team to discuss the current project. It is due for completion in 2 weeks but running I or 2 weeks late. The team is not concerned by this. It would rather do a good job. Your manager tries a rousing talk and asks you all for "one big, final effort. Maybe some long hours for a week or two. It is absolutely critical to be finished on time." But he stops without offering a bonus or paid overtime. You actually believe that the project is not really time critical: it is an internal company-imposed deadline. But you know that your manager needs it completed on time because he has a promotion interview in a few weeks. (a) Discuss the leadership considerations that apply in this situation. (b) As team leader, what do you do next? Explain why. PART II (Attempt only 2 questions - 20 marks each) QUESTION 5 Recall the sentence; He should not have taken the money, because stealing is wrong. (a) Split up the above sentence over three lines to indicate the three different levels of prescriptive ethics. (b) Briefly discuss the difference between descriptive ethics and prescriptive ethics. QUESTION 6 Recall the formal frameworks used for ethics reasoning in this course: virtues, duties, rights, and utilitarianism. (a) Consider the technology of facial recognition in our phone cameras. Use ONE framework to argue that this is ethically permissible and then use ONE different framework to show that it is not ethically permissible. (b) What are the four tools for moral awareness? How do you apply them in a decision making process? QUESTION 7 (a) Consider the following statement: Technology is incomplete knowledge to achieve the unnatural. Do you agree with this statement? Explain your reasoning. (b) Briefly explain what is meant by sustainability. Give an example of sustainability in technology. You are employed by a company which has almost completed the testing of a new product, and a launch date involving major media exposure has been set. Prior to this day, final safety testing fell behind time and is only 95% completed the day before the launch. You are the engineer in charge of testing. Absolutely no problems have been identified; all completed tests show generous safety margins; no one anticipates any safety issues could arise from the unfinished routine proving. Management suggests you 'abandon' the rest of the testing, implying it will not provide budgetary support, and asks you to certify that all necessary safety tests are complete. What would you do and why? Be sure to identify ethical issues. QUESTION 2 You are the engineering manager in a firm that has recently advertised for a new junior engineer. You are leading the interview panel for this position. This panel has agreed on a shortlist of applicants to invite for an interview. However, a colleague then informs you that one of the applicants for the position who did not make the shortlist is actually the niece of the firm's owner. Shortly after you learn this, the owner himself drops by your office and casually mentions that he has great admiration and high hopes for one of his nieces who has recently completed her engineering degree. What would you do and why? Be sure to identify the ethical problems involved and explain how you resolve them. QUESTION 3 You have just joined a research group, consisting of several students and a senior professor. The students help each other, share lab equipment, and generally make good progress on their respective projects. The professor sits in a big office and does not appear to contribute to the work with any advice. Nor does he give any particular instructions. The only time you see him is when visitors are around and then he continually talks about the great work being done in "his lab by his students." (a) Discuss the leadership being shown by the professor. Is it effective? Explain your reasons. (b) As a new member of the group, do you think anything needs to change? Explain your reasons. QUESTION 4 You lead an engineering team. The supervising manager (your boss) has just assembled the whole team to discuss the current project. It is due for completion in 2 weeks but running I or 2 weeks late. The team is not concerned by this. It would rather do a good job. Your manager tries a rousing talk and asks you all for "one big, final effort. Maybe some long hours for a week or two. It is absolutely critical to be finished on time." But he stops without offering a bonus or paid overtime. You actually believe that the project is not really time critical: it is an internal company-imposed deadline. But you know that your manager needs it completed on time because he has a promotion interview in a few weeks. (a) Discuss the leadership considerations that apply in this situation. (b) As team leader, what do you do next? Explain why. PART II (Attempt only 2 questions - 20 marks each) QUESTION 5 Recall the sentence; He should not have taken the money, because stealing is wrong. (a) Split up the above sentence over three lines to indicate the three different levels of prescriptive ethics. (b) Briefly discuss the difference between descriptive ethics and prescriptive ethics. QUESTION 6 Recall the formal frameworks used for ethics reasoning in this course: virtues, duties, rights, and utilitarianism. (a) Consider the technology of facial recognition in our phone cameras. Use ONE framework to argue that this is ethically permissible and then use ONE different framework to show that it is not ethically permissible. (b) What are the four tools for moral awareness? How do you apply them in a decision making process? QUESTION 7 (a) Consider the following statement: Technology is incomplete knowledge to achieve the unnatural. Do you agree with this statement? Explain your reasoning. (b) Briefly explain what is meant by sustainability. Give an example of sustainability in technology.