ITCM 120 -301 Ethical Scenarios

1. A supplier sends a basket of expensive foodstuffs to your home at Christmas with a card:
"We hope you and your family enjoy the 'goodies.'". What action(s) might you want to
take?
a) The first action I would take would to put the basket up away from people
b) I would then inform my boss to see what the policies are.
c) I would then follow my companys policy.

2. The purchasing manager for a large company agrees to give you an order (their first),
expecting you agree to make a $200 donation to his favorite charity, a local youth sports
team. How do you respond?
a) First I would politely decline the offer politely saying it is against our
companies policy
b) I would then report it to my boss or HR
c) I would then follow company procedure

3. A large, prospective client calls you and asks about a competitor's reputation. One of your
long time customers had a very bad experience with this competitor. What information do
you share with the prospect? How do you respond to the prospect call?
a) I would be honest and tell them I have not had a good experience with them
but I cannot speak for other peoples experience
b) I would see what they are in need of
c) I would be honest about how our company could help the customer

4. As department manager, you are hosting an informal celebration in the office. The food
budget is $200. Your next door neighbor has just started her own catering business and
asks to supply the food. Since she is just starting out, she'll do it at cost and provide extra
items at no charge. What might you want to consider.
a) I would consider what other peoples prices would be compared to the
amount of food provided
b) I would also consider what she would be bringing and if that is what the
workers are wanting to eat
c) I would also consider who all is local to be the catering company.

5. You are in a head-to-head battle with your arch competitor, Evil Enterprises. One of your
co-workers approaches you. He has recently joined your company after having worked
for a second competitor for several years.
He suggests, "I made notes on all of Evil's bids when I could get the data. They use some
clear cost standards. Would you like me to bring my notes to the office tomorrow and let
you look through them?" How do you respond?
a) I would say I cannot look at the notes
b) I would tell him I would not want our information leaked if he were to
go to another company
c) I would then tell him I am open to suggestions to help improve our
company but do not want to hear any information regarding the other
company
6. SDX Alliance is a large company that sells computers, computer
components, and software. Ralph is hired as an entry-level software
engineer at SDX Alliance. His first project was to assist in writing the
code for SDX Alliances new hard disc controller. He had previously
worked on a similar system interning at a start-up and had written a
code which greatly enhanced the performance of their product. Ralph
quietly re-uses this same code in the SDX Alliance product, and does
not think to tell anyone that he has used the code from his last job. His
manager is thrilled with the speed improvements this code brings to
the product.
Before the product is released, it has to undergo a four-month long
quality assurance
process review. During the review of the product, it was found the code
which Ralph
developed had been copyrighted by the startup he had previously
worked for. Even
though Ralph had developed the code, his previous company still
owned the intellectual
property rights to it.
When his manager informed Ralph of the problem, Ralph admits he did
not realize he had made a mistake because he was not familiar with
copyright laws. Ralph then goes on to explain that the start-up he used
to work for is now out of business and is unsure if SDX Alliance would
be able to get in contact with the owner of the copyright. If SDX
Alliance cant use Ralphs code, then it will have to rewrite the entire
code of the product, delaying its release by many months.
What should they do?

a) First they should try to get ahold of SDK Alliance to get

the rights to the code.
b) While trying to get in contact they need to make a plan if
it falls through
c) They should start developing a new code
7. Kara has been working as an environmental engineer at a consulting firm for over twentyfive years. Well-known for settling disputes between her corporate clients before litigation
must be pursued, Kara often analyzes technical data, particularly distributions of solid
particle pollution, presented by disputing parties to help them reach a compromise on the
cost of environmental cleanup. For example, two parties may be separated from one another
by a strip of land; however, each party must fiscally contribute in keeping the land free from
pollutants.
One day, Kara was contacted by a journalist to talk about her experiences at the firm. Kara
spoke about how she often encountered cases where companies did not accurately depict
levels of solid particle pollution occupying the companies respective surroundings. Instead,
technical experts, who are mostly engineers, would misrepresent data in order to make it
seem that minority parties were responsible for a greater part of the contamination. At the
end of the interview, Kara emphasized the necessity of engineers taking ownership and
being honest about the presentation of data.
At what point does an engineers interpretation of data move from sound technical
reasoning to misrepresentation? How should engineers deal with the pressure to come up
with data that may indicate favorable results for their employers?
a) When the results have to manipulated or shown in a favorable perspective
instead of showing the results as is, is when technical reason turns into
misrepresentation
b) Engineers should stick with facts the data creates
c) They should focus on a solution to fix the data that way they do not have to
misrepresent
8. Sarah was recently promoted to a managerial position at her industrial
engineering company. With her new position, she is now responsible for
overseeing the companys production factory, meaning approximately 50
factory workers now report to her. Although Sarah previously worked as
an engineer and does not have any experience running a factory, she is
excited to begin her new position.
At the end of her first day, Sarah is confused to see her factory workers
continuing to work well past the end of their 8-hour shift. She then goes
to the factory supervisor (who reports to her) to express concern
because the factory does not have the budget to pay so many workers
overtime. The supervisor smiles at Sarah and explains that the factory
meets production goals by making the factory workers work off the clock.
The workers are well aware of this expectation and went along with it in

order to keep their jobs. Sarah is shocked to learn this illegal practice
had become part of the company culture, but the supervisor explains
that the companys CEO (who is Sarahs boss) is well aware of this
expectation.
What should Sarah do?
a) Sarah should make the workers go home first
b) Sarah should then enforce the policy of not working off the
clock
c) If an issue arises with the CEO she should take the problem
to HR

1. Dr. Naseer is a chemical engineering professor at the University of

Eastlands. Traditionally, various professors from diverse institutions
would visit Eastlands to learn about research conducted by the
Universitys scholars as well as explore potential collaboration. Last
month, Dr. Naseer discovered that his department would be hosting a
famous chemical engineering professor, Dr. Alston.
During his three-month visit, Dr. Alston observed various group meetings
presented by Dr. Naseer and his students. More importantly, he learned a
great deal about the research that Dr. Naseer was doing in the field of
reactor design. At the conclusion of his stay, Dr. Alston returned to his
institution without mentioning any plans for collaboration.
A few months later, Dr. Naseer was ready to publish a paper he had
written on his topic of research. However, through an online resource, he
discovered Dr. Alston had published a recent paper that used identical
theorems, background information, and results Dr. Naseer had written in
his work. The paper did not make any acknowledgments to Dr. Naseer.
The Eastlands professor was angry and felt betrayed. During his visit,
Dr. Alston did not mention that he was conducting research or about to
publish on the same topic in reactor design.
Dr. Naseers colleagues expressed disappointment in Dr. Alstons actions,
and in the field of higher academia in general. They urged Dr. Naseer to
take action, but, since it was not common practice, there had not been a
non-disclosure agreement between the two parties in conflict.
What, if anything, should Dr. Naseer do?
a) Dr. Naseer should go the president explained what happened
b) He should talk to Dr. Alston about the conflict and come up
with a compromise
c) He should then create a way for that to not happen again

2. Ramona is an intern at an up-and-coming power electronics startup. On

her first day of work, she was shown around a laboratory where she
would complete most of her projects. During this time, she was also
introduced to nine male interns who would be sharing the same lab
space. Since the lab could only accommodate five interns at a time, a
vote was held to determine who would work in the lab during the day
(e.g. 8am to 4pm) and who would work at night (e.g. 4pm to 12am)
during certain days of the week. The morning shift was a popular

option for a majority of the interns; Ramona was fortunate to be

selected for four (out of
five) morning shifts.
Weeks passed. Ramona had been enjoying her work and almost
completed one of her projects. However, one day, a fellow intern asked
how she was doing. Ramona commented that she was good but tired.
The intern replied that Ramona had no reason to be tired because [she
was] working mostly day shifts. Ramona was offended, but chose to
ignore his comment.
The next day, she ran into several interns, one of whom was the one she
encountered the previous day. At some point in groups conversation, the
same intern made a remark about how Ramona always got her way [in
the workplace] because she was a girl. Ramona was upset; however,
because she did not want to cause a scene, chose again to ignore his
remark.
During the following weeks, Ramona tried to avoid the intern who made
the inappropriate comments. However, certain settings forced her to
interact with him and, in those times, he made a point to make Ramona
feel guilty and trivial. Because she did not observe him behave
condescendingly towards the other interns, Ramona speculated that her
colleague held a prejudice towards female engineers.
How should Ramona respond?
a) Romano should confront him and explain that her being a
female has nothing to do with her work they are equal
b) Romano should go to HR explain the problem
c) Romano should continue do her job and not let the coworkers
opinions offend her