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Introduction
This recently released video presents a study
of ethical responsibilities and choices similar to many encountered in
engineering practice.
The video shows that good and well meaning people can unintentionally get into situations that may result in unethical and unfortunate consequences. The video is designed to help viewers become more aware that:
v Ethical considerations are an integral part of making engineering decisions
v A code of ethics will provide guidance in the decision-making process
v
The obligations of a code of ethics do not stop
at the
v
The obligations of engineers go beyond
fulfilling a contract with a client or customer
Incident
at Morales is 36 minutes long when viewed without breaks and as much as 80
minutes if all discussions in the Interactive DVD are viewed. Thus, making it short enough for viewing and
discussing at society meetings, company lunches, and college classes, and
longer if presented in a series of educational meetings.
The
DVD contains the subtitles for the following languages:
Arabic
Chinese – Simplified
Chinese – Traditional
French
German
Hindi
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
English for the Hearing Impaired
Purpose of the Video was to Increase the Viewer’s:
v Sensitivity - To raise awareness of ethical aspects of professional work
v Knowledge - To learn about professional standards such as codes of ethics
v Judgment - To develop skills in moral reasoning
v Commitment - To strengthen personal dedication to exemplary conduct
Synopsis of the Story
Incident at Morales involves a variety of ethical issues faced by a company that wants to quickly build a plant in order to develop a new chemical product to gain a competitive edge over the competition.
Phaust Chemical manufactures Old Stripper, a paint
remover that dominates the market. On
learning that Phaust’s competitor Chemitoil plans to introduce a new paint
remover that may capture the market, executives at Phaust decide to develop a
competing product. To save money in
manufacturing the product, Phaust decides to construct a new chemical plant in
To design the new plant, Phaust hires a chemical
engineer, Fred Martinez, who had been a consultant to Chemitoil. As the project starts, Chemistré, Phaust’s
parent company in
Ø Whether to use expensive
controls manufactured by Lutz and Lutz, which has inside connections at Phaust
Ø Whether to line the
evaporation ponds to prevent the seepage of hazardous substances in the
effluents into the groundwater, although local regulations may not require this
level of environmental protection
Ø Whether to purchase pipes
and connectors made with stainless steel or a high pressure alloy
Ø After the automatic controls
fail, whether to allow someone to control the process manually
When samples of Chemitoil’s new paint remover
EasyStrip become available, it is clear that to be competitive with EasyStrip,
Phaust must change the formulation of its new paint remover, requiring higher
temperatures and pressures than originally anticipated.
These increases in temperatures and pressures cause
significant technical and ethical problems, the most serious of which is the
fact that the automatic controls no longer work as intended. Thus, the plant manager, Manuel, volunteers
to control the process manually. After
the plant goes into full operation, an unfortunate accident occurs, resulting
in serious consequences.
The 24-page study guide contains suggestions for use of the video, the story line, list of characters, synopsis of the video, purpose of the video, over 100 questions about ethical issues that the story raises, and a suggested assignment for students & viewers
Power Point Presentation (Free Download)
Twenty-six slides make up a power point presentation which may be downloaded free, modified to fit the presentation format and used as an introduction to the Incident at Morales.
Suggested Assignment (Copy and Print)
It is suggested that this information be copied and distributed before viewing Incident at Morales. After viewing the video, ask viewers to prepare a written assignment in response to the instructions below. (Suggested length: 2 to 3 pages; 1.5 space; 12 point type; 1 inch margins)
1. List the ethical issues you observed in Incident at Morales.
2. From your personal perspective, prioritize these ethical issues from most critical to least critical
3. Discuss the video from three additional perspectives:
a) Fred’s Perspective: Assume you are Fred:
i) What specific ethical issues do you (Fred) face?
ii) What are some things that you should consider?
iii) From whom or where would you seek guidance?
b) Wally’s Perspective: Assume you are Wally:
i) What specific ethical issues does Wally face?
ii) What do you think Wally's motivation was for having “One Rule”?
iii) What do you think about Wally’s “One Rule”?
iv) What decisions would you change if you were Wally?
c) 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:
i) What specific steps would you take to improve the company culture?
ii) Who would you involve in this process?
iii) How and when would you communicate the company policies to:
(a) Your employees?
(b) Your clients?
(c) The public?
Purchase Price of Incident at Morales
VHS Format List Price - $250 plus $10
S&H to
DVD Format List Price - $500 plus $10
S&H to
60% discount to engineering colleges
ordering copies for each of their departments (minimum of 5 copies) with the
restriction that the copies be used only for internal non-profit educational
purposes. These copies may not be for
resale or for use in any revenue-generating activity. See below for Policy on Use of NIEE Videos.
50 % Discount on single copies sold to educational institutions and professional societies with the restriction that the copies be used only for internal or external, non-profit, private or public, educational or training, but not for resale or for use in any revenue-generating activity. See below for Policy on Use of NIEE Videos.
Call 806-742-3525 to order
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Policy on Use of NIEE Videos
Incident
at Morales and Gilbane Gold
National Institute for
Policy Adopted: August 13, 2003
NIEE Videos may be used in either revenue-generating activities or in non-revenue-generating activities. Requirements and Conditions for both types of use are established below:
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Is Used to Generate Revenue
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following requirements when an NIEE video is used to generate revenue:
A check made payable to NIEE/TTU should
be sent to NIEE,
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Generate Revenue
Users accept the following
conditions when an NIEE video is not
used to generate revenue:
¨
Anyone or any group may use the National
Institute for
¨ “Specific activities” are defined as presentations to people within their own company, university, society, etc., such as presentations made to their own company employees, to their own students, or to their own chapter or state society members, and/or any free presentations made to the general public.
¨
Unrestricted use requires that the copy of the
video purchased is used only within the purchaser’s own organization
(e.g., a company or society would have unrestricted use of the video within
their own company or society, but the video may not be used elsewhere).
¨ Notifying NIEE (at engineering.ethics@ttu.edu) of such use is not required, but will be appreciated for purposes of internal information.
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A check made payable to NIEE/TTU should
be sent to NIEE,