Telecommunication in Jamaica

Air Force Brakes

1. Summary of Case study

LTD Aerospace Corp. contracted to purchase 202 aircraft brakes from B. F. Goodrich on June 28, 2007. The first contract would see B.F. Goodrich losing money but ultimately gaining in the future because of the commitment made by the government to purchase all future brakes from them. The brakes were needed by LTV Aerospace to be used in constructing a new plane for Air Force. The brakes were designed by the Chief Engineer; built and tested by Searle Lawson a Junior Engineer at B.F. Goodrich. After testing, it was discovered that the brakes could not stand up to the 51 consecutive stops required. The results were reported to the Chief Engineer who rejected the findings. The matter was then brought to the supervisor who informed Lawson to continue as per the Chief Engineer's directions. After the fourteenth series of unsuccessful testing Lawson asked Vandivier to help him write a report which falsified the results. Vandivier consulted with a senior executive in charge of his division who told him not to worry about things that did not concern him. He was then told to write the report and he and Lawson did just that.

2. Identify the ethical issues

All three levels of ethical issues are evident within this case. These are individual, organizational and systemic issues.

 Individual level

Both Lawson and Vandivier are faced with the issue of falsifying reports on the testing of the brakes.

 Organizational level

Company Executives and supervisor gave permission to employees (Lawson and Vandivier) to create fraudulent documents. Employees run the risks of being fired if they refuse to produce the fraudulent document.

 Systemic level

The case has legal implications as it is against the law to draft up fraudulent documents. The

faulty brakes if released can have harmful and dangerous effects on society.

3. Identify and explain the dilemmas/choices facing the decision makers

a) Lawson, after discovering that brakes did not meet specifications reported this to the Chief Engineer who rejected the report. Lawson then told his supervisor of this predicament but was told to continue the testing as per the directions of the Chief Engineer.

b) After further testing had failed, Lawson approached Vandivier, explained the situation and asked him to help him falsify the results in the report.

c) Vandivier was faced with a moral dilemma of participating in fraud or losing his job, due to the fact that he had just bought his home, he chose to falsify the report to protect his job especially after being told by the executive in his division to not worry about things that did not concern him.

4. Identify the stakeholders and explain why they are stakeholders and how they are being affected.

A stakeholder is an individual or group who can affect or is affected by the actions, decisions, policies, practices or goals of an organization, these include employees, customers, suppliers, government and any other group that can help or hurt the corporation. Stakeholders involved in this case are:

 LTV Aerospace corp. - this institution has contracted to purchase 202 aircraft brakes for a new plane that they are constructing for Air force.

 The Government is also a stakeholder as Air force would receive plane with faulty equipment.

 Employees of B.F. Goodrich such as Lawson and Vandivier are also stakeholders as they were the ones who falsified the report. Other employees such as The Chief Engineer, Lawson's supervisor and the Executive in charge of the division are also stakeholders

 The pilots who will test the plane after report is written and other members of the wider society that might be harmed by these faulty goods are stakeholders as well.

5. Identify the alternative courses of action

a) Lawson and Vandivier could have stood by their ethical principles and disagreed to falsify the report.

b) The Chief Engineer after being told of the problem should have redesigned a more effective products (brakes) and commission and even ensure