ENGR201 Professional Practice & Responsibility ©

Tutorial 5: Honesty
The case study you will discuss here is related to the lecture on honesty. In the lecture,
we discussed that you should carefully evaluate the degree of honesty in your
workplace relations. Use this case to illustrate honesty.

Case Study: The Deadline

Ruskin Manufacturing has guaranteed Parker Products that it will deliver a complete
order of small machines by the tenth of the month, a Friday. Parker had already
extended its deadline once. This time, Parker insists, the date must be met. Tim Vinson,
the head of quality control at Ruskin, had been confident that the deadline would be
met, but on the eighth he learns that a new component used in the machines is in short
supply. He thinks of several options:
• Approve breaking up and regrinding the remaining supply of the old component that was
being replaced. This could probably be accomplished in time, but the speed at which it
would have to be done raises concerns about impurities in the process.
• Approve using the old component in place of the new one. The product would still
function well, and it would be unlikely that Parker would ever detect the difference.
Although Parker would not be getting exactly what it ordered, the product would meet
minimum safety standards.
• Discuss the problem with the design engineer and see what they suggest.

1. Which of these options is the ‘best’? Can you think of other options that might be
preferable?

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Consulting the design engineer will provide insights into potential alternative or
modification conserving the component issue. Being honest about the component
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shortage is important, the transparency is essential in maintaining a strong relationship
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with customers and team members . We can also try to find an agreement with the
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client.

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 Suppose Vinson decides to consult Chuck Davidson, the chief design engineer for this
product. And Davidson says, “I don’t have a good answer for you. There’s no time to
come up with a completely satisfactory alternative. You could regrind but given the time
frame, you could get a lot of impurities. Or you could just use the old components. But I
am not going to advise either of those. I don’t want this hanging over my head. Maybe
you should call Arnold.”
Arnold Peterson is the vice-president of product engineering at Ruskin. Years ago, like
Tim Vinson, Peterson served as the head of quality control. Vinson is somewhat uneasy
about calling Peterson for two reasons. First, Vinson feels responsible for not seeing the
problem earlier and is reluctant to admit failure the vice-president of product
engineering. Second, he wonders if Peterson would really want to be bothered by
something like this. He might tell Vinson that the problem is his to solve – somehow.
Still Vinson is not comfortable with resolving the problem by himself.

2. What would you advise Vinson do next?

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Vinson should ask for advice from the vice president, it will show transparency and honesty.
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It will be the wisest thing to do, because the consequences will be far less major than if he did not.
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Also, Peterson was once in his shoes, so it will be a reccurent problem for him and would me more
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adapt toward the situation.

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Vinson decides to take a decision without asking Peterson. And because he approved
substitution of the old component, the order is completed on time. However, several
months later, Parker returns several of the machines to Ruskin from the order Vinson
completed. Parker complains that the machines in this part of the order are not
functioning as efficiently as the others. When a Parker technician disassembled several
of the less efficient machines and compared them with one that was working well, she
discovered that each of the less efficient ones has a key component that differs from the
components in the properly functioning machine. Parker asks for an explanation. Word
now comes to Vinson that he is expected to appear at a meeting with the Arnold
Peterson, the vice-president of Ruskin, and a Parker representative. What should he be
prepared to say at the meeting?

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without the permission of the owner. 2
 3. What should Vinson be prepared to say at the meeting?

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First he should admit and take responsibility about his actions, take the stand and
apologize for his team members and supervisors. For technical matters, he should
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show the deffrences between the components used. Vinson should also find a way to
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compensate the client for his wrong doing.
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4. Based on what he did, do you think Vinson was honest?

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No he was not. Vincent lied by omission since he hid the fact that he wasn’t using the
right components. Lying by omission is an act of dishonesty.
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Ahmed Deis ID#40086608

Siba Ammoura 40256814
Sabine Hleiss 40233571
Bulat Abdullin 40264963
Minh Giang Chiem 40238453
Walter Camacho 40290325

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