GS4 · 20 marks · 250 words

Ramesh, a very hardworking person, is the sole bread earner in his family. He has worked with an oil company's local affiliate for several years, and has established a strong, trustworthy relationship with Suresh, manager of the local facility. Suresh has recently recommended Ramesh to be recruited as the corporate consulting engineer for the company, which would be a position of greater responsibility along with a stable income. During a casual conversation, Suresh mentions an incident in the 1960s wherein 10,000 gallons of a petrochemical was leaked into the local environment by the company due to negligence, though at the time no damage was found, and no mention of this leak was made to the press. When Ramesh mentions that the state law requires him to report all spills, Suresh reminds him that no harm had been done and reminds him that the company can't have a consulting engineer who does not value loyalty and respect confidentiality. 20 (a) Identify the ethical issues involved in the given case. (b) What are the options available to Ramesh in this situation? Evaluate each of them. (c) Had you been at Ramesh's place, what would have been your course of action? Give reasons for the same.

Answered by 3 toppers · CSE 2017–2018

Ethical Dilemmas in GovernmentConflict of InterestPressure and LoyaltyCorporate GovernanceEnvironmental EthicsIntegrity

Syllabus: Case Studies on above issues.

How toppers approached it

From all 3 answers · about 360 words · 33% drew a diagram.

Opening

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Body

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Close

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The toppers’ answers

Sameer SaurabhAIR 32 · CSE 2018 · 199 wordsTheir whole copy

Opening · no separate opening

None written.

Body · points

a) ethical issues involved are:-

  1. Corporate governance demands a responsibility of the officials to declare the spill.
  2. Ecological damage caused by the spill is unquantified.
  3. Violation of state law in hiding the spill.

(b) Various options available to Ramesh are:-

  1. To cover up the spill and save his job.
  2. To convince Suresh to inform the State about the spill.
  3. To blow the whistle against the company and inform the state administration.

Close

Option 1 would be highly unethical and set a precedent for future coverups.

Option 3 would lead to loss of job, as Ramesh is the sole breadwinner. It may create financial problems for the family.

Option 2 would be the best as it would save his job and also complete his ethical duty.

If I had been in the place of Ramesh I would have convinced Suresh to inform the state administration. Since there were no casualties it would not be a criminal offence. However the company should pay for the damage to the environment. I would explain to Suresh about the corporate social responsibility and our obligation to the environment. Such action would also ensure honest decision making in the future.

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Ethical concerns and dilemmas arising in government and private institutions, and how a conflict between two duties is resolved.

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