Assignment:
Objectives: To understand ethical frameworks To value different perspectives To recognize the value of frameworks indecision making To raise awareness of one's own ethical agendas Time required: 1 hour Group size: 4 to 5 members Students needed: 8 to 30 students Procedures Read the exercise and rank order choices. Ethical Decision Making You are the chief seismologist at one of the leading research facilities in North America. You hold a Ph.D, from the most prestigious university in the country specializing in this field.
For a number of year, you have been working on perfecting a method for predicting major earthquakes on the West Coast. You report to the director of the research center. The organization is dependent on government agency funds in the form of research grants along with funding from corporate interests.
Recently, you have developed a sophisticated technique that you believe is able to forecast, within 80%, the likelihood of the occurrence of an earthquake during a 48-hour period. The results of a rigorous study that your have just completed indicate that a 7.3-magnitude quake will hit one of four fault lines in Southern California within the next 2 days. Three of the faults are in less populated areas where major damage will be relatively low.
However, the fourth fault is the San Andreas, which, if affected would result in significant damage to structures and a considerable amount of causable. What is your ethical responsibility regarding the sharing of this information? Listed below are five alternative strategies. Indicate the action you would take by selecting the most appropriate item, and then rank order the remaining choices. That is, record your first choice by writing the letter of the item, followed by your second choice, and continuing until you have listed all five options.
(a) Without discussing your findings, hypothetically ask colleagues in your field what they would do in a similar situation. Seek the advice of experts like yourself to confirm your decision; avoid actions that are not supported by your peers.
(b) You must share the information with the media. After informing the research director, it is your responsibility to make sure the news of this potential disaster is released to the public. Notifying the director and other government officials is not sufficient; important information may be withheld. You must be sure the truth is known.
(c) Refer to the procedures and policies manual published by the research institution if the organization has a policy regarding the responsibility for the disclosure of information, you should follow these procedures.
(d) You must be very careful about the dissemination of your research findings. Three is a 20% probability that the quake will not occur, and even if the quake does occur sharing information could be harmful. You will likely be held responsible for the chaos and panic that may result. Your career is at stake, you cannot afford to be wrong.
(e) You need to calculate the expected costs associated with the quake. That is, you must compare the value of sharing the information openly to that of maintain silence. Given the probability of the occurrence of the quake, assign estimated values for injuries sustained, resources needed for cleanup, buildings/structures destroyed, and loss of life. Compare these calculations to estimated value related to releasing information. The amount should include an assessment of the reduction of injuries and deaths but should be offset by the costs of preparation and the pandemonium that is likely to result if prior information is have a computer program that contains the financial estimates; If releasing information to the public has a higher silent, then you must divulge your data.