UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SALAAM

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

ETHICAL SCENARIOS

Consider each situation and answer the following questions:

1
A professor supplements his income by consulting. He won a bid for a large project that was
billed according to his professional hourly rate; yet he uses his graduate students to do a lot of
the work under his close supervision and pays them a lower hourly rate. Opportunities for
applied experience in the field are limited in this geographical area, and students are even willing
to work for free to gain some applied experience that they need to meet their graduate school
requirements.

2
A consultant has a Ph.D. in engineering but is not registered. When asked by potential clients
about his credentials, he represents himself as a consultant trained in engineering (i.e. a qualified
engineer) and able to provide all the services that a registered engineer provides.

3
An employee wants to be coached by an engineer with whom he has had an extensive coaching
relationship in the past. The new employer of the Candidate agrees to retain and pay for the
engineer‟s services. After the coaching relationship is re-established, the Coach approaches his
client (the Candidate) and asks if she would recommend him for additional work in the new
company.

4
An engineer feels he has been harmed by the unethical behavior of an unregistered engineer
who is practicing outside of his area of competence. Consequently, the engineer files an ethics
charge with the ECSA. Scenario An engineer was asked by another consulting firm to develop a
specification for a client organization. The engineer paid a “finder‟s fee” to the consulting firm
that brings him into the organization. The organization is quite pleased with the work, comes
directly to the engineer, and asks him to quote for a related project.

5
An engineer in a large organization conceived and designed a major research project; however,
an intern collected and analyzed the data under the engineer‟s supervision. The engineer wrote
a paper to be presented at a professional conference and listed himself as first author and the
intern as second author. When the engineer showed the paper to the intern, he protested that
he should be first author since he did all of the work.

6
A group of engineers from different companies in one industry decided to develop a
specification. The engineering consultant hired by the consortium wrote criteria for the
specification. One engineer has a very difficult time meeting the study requirements and takes
some short cuts. The engineering consultant has no way to determine if the guidelines were
followed.

7
An engineer who works for a consulting firm asked another engineer employed by a client firm
out for a date. They hit it off and are now engaged to be married. Scenario An engineer was
retained by an organization to conduct an audit of its engineering practices in preparation for a
safety audit. Several years later, a plaintiff‟s attorney contacts the engineer and asked him to
serve as an expert witness in a safety case against the same company.
For each of the selected answer, clarify it clearly with reasons of the selection

8
You have discovered an error in the calculations that show a tall building designed by your firm
would be at serious risk of collapse in a 50-year wind. The building is complete and occupied.
The possibility exists of strengthening the building but at very significant cost to your firm.
Do you:

a. Assess and conclude that the likelihood of a 50-year wind is sufficiently remote and
accordingly is not a practical risk.
b. Tell the client that the building and the surrounding area should be evacuated until the
building has been strengthened.
c. Discuss the problem with the client and your Professional Indemnity Insurers and agree to
proceed with the strengthening in as discreet a manner as possible accepting the financial
consequences.

9
You have been appointed to provide structural advice to a tenant fitting out a retail unit. Your
scope is limited to specific areas of work e.g. formation of builder’s work holes, a new staircase
and floor loading checks on pieces of heavy equipment. A particular shop fitting display case is
very heavy but the floor is capable of supporting the load. The item has been used in over 300
stores. You are concerned that if the unit topples and falls, seriously injuries could occur.
Do you:

a. Confirm your concerns to the Client and recommend structural checks

10
You are engaged in the design of a project that involves reclaiming land from the sea. The
particular area that the client wants to reclaim is inhabited by a rare species of dolphin. You
have advised the client that the reclamation will have an adverse effect on the dolphins, but they
ignore you.
Do you:

a. Continue but tell the client that you think the World Wildlife Fund and similar bodies should
be informed and you will resign if that does not happen.
b. Alert the client to the environmental risks, possible mitigation measures and advise that
relevant bodies need to be consulted.
c. Contact the government department responsible for wildlife matters.
d. Call Greenpeace.