Question

Engineering Ethics Course

Rights and Responsibilities of Engineers chapter

1-An engineer leaves a company and goes to work for a competitor. Is it alright for the engineer to use proprietary knowledge gained while working for the previous employer at the new job? Justify your answer.

2. You hold a position on a commission charged with selecting and approving construction contracts for the city. For a specific construction contract, one of the bidding companies employs one your relatives. If you choose to participate in the selection/approval process for this contract, does this represent a conflict of interest? If so, what type of conflict of interest is it?

3. What are the 4 criteria that must be met for whistle-blowing to be attempted?

Answer 1

1)This question can be realised in two possible ways. The first is the use of knowledge gained from the previous company. This knowledge has given sufficient confidence and has paved a way to move towards another company seeking higher package. This knowledge is the basic to learn more advanced technology in the new company because when a employer enters as a experienced candidate into a new company,he is directly assigned with projects related to the basics he learnt from his previous company. In this case,use of knowledge is very important. The second case is that when the new company tries to seek the technical secrets followed in the old company from the employee,it isn't good to expose the knowledge as it creates a bad impression on the employer for revealing the old company's technical secrets. The new company might think that you are unfit for the job as you are not truthful to the company. So knowledge gained must be used such that it does not affect the old company's technical secrets as well as in an effective manner to the new employer to gain his attention.

2)Definitely there would be a conflict of interest. When it is a third person who is present in the bidding company,the argument can be made more easier. But if one of our relatives are present,we are pushed to a situation to think about his/her position in the company they work for and automatically a helping tendency rises were we try to give the contract to their company inspite of the quotation quoted by their company. But it leads to many problems when their company quotation for the contract clashes with another company. Thus, inspite of relative feelings,according to commission norms,the decision must be taken.

3)Whistle blowing is an act of exposing wrong doing inside an company either public or private. For a whistle-blowing to be attempted,the criteria to be met is

*Confidence in exposing the organization's illegal activities.

*Proper collection of evidence about the illegal activities.

*Prepared mind to face problems from the illegal company.

*Gather a supportive group to stand against the illegals.