Ethics case study paper example

Writing Assignment 3: Ethical Case Study - Post-Mortem Report

For the second individual writing assignment, we would like you to examine, in detail, an engineering ethics case study. A list of topics is presented below.

The paper should be 1750 words (minimum) in length (about seven pages of text, not counting the bibliography) plus the bibliography, although you are welcome to write more if you wish. Your best beginning sources will probably be the pages of the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and news magazines such as The Economist and Time. In some cases, significant papers have appeared in technical journals or books on the older cases. Please see Mr. Browne if you’re having problems finding material.

A postmortem is a common task in engineering. It formalizes the process of learning from past experience. The post-mortem analyzes a project once it has ended and identifies what went well and what went poorly to improve the next project. This writing assignment asks you to write up a post-mortem of a well-known case of engineering failure, including not only the technical details of the failure but the ethical lapses that contributed to the failure.

The Writing Task -

Your post-mortem write up should explain how ethical lapses contributed to the engineering failure. Describe the actions, as an engineer, that should be taken (should have been taken) to come to grips with the failure, utilizing one of the ethical frameworks you have learned about as a guide in influencing or determining your course of action. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the actions you propose and provide justification using one of the ethical frameworks as a guideline in the analysis process.

Audience –

Identify an audience for your post-mortem write up – this can be either a government regulatory agency such as the NTSB or the FDA, the company’s board of directors, etc. – and write your post-mortem analysis to that audience, including information and analysis that would be of most interest and of most use to them. The audience you are addressing must be clearly specified in your paper.

Researching and Analyzing the Case -

Choose one of the cases of engineering failure most related to your future career or professional interests. First, read about the case and understand the complex issues surrounding the case, including the parties in the case (corporate, government, etc.) and the various components including engineering, management, regulatory, socio-technical and ethical. Second, decide what the major issues surrounding the engineering failure are. Also, consider which of the ethical frameworks you have learned best explains the ethical lapses in this engineering failure case.