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Murphy's Law?

Challenger Disaster

Aristotle: The ‘Good Life’

Virtues Ethics

For the whistle blower case study

The ultimate good will be human flourishing.

Human flourishing:

  • Preservation of human life
  • To justify truth
  • Mean of duties

Medieval Cardinal Virtues

With regards to the three parties involved

NASA : Prudence

Morton’s Management: Courage

Boisjoly: Temperance

Kantian and Utilitarian

Definitions

Robert Boisjoly

Utilitarian

“Approves or disapproves of every action or whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question.”

Maximising total benefit

Categorial Imperative (Beneficence)

“ Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only”

Universalization

Humanity as an end in itself

His Actions:

Whistle-blower

Categorical Imperative

Universalisation

Moral obligations & duty

Treatment by Morton Thiokol

Isolation

Utilitarian

Profit Maximization

Biosjoly’s action

Deviation from the company’s goals

EVALUATION

Ethical Criteria & Standards

Corporate Social Responsibility

  • Customers
  • Employees
  • Shareholders

Underlying Objective

  • PROFIT

Ethical Criteria & Standards

  • Respect for Human Life
  • Responsibility to minimize risk
  • Subsequent treatment of Boisjoly

Morton Thiokol

  • Highly utilitarian decision making
  • potential loss faced
  • Insurance
  • way of calculating ‘risk’ costs
  • Gain > Cost in launching

Role of Ethics?

Benefits Stemming from Space Exploration

Boisjoly’s Point of View

Morton Management’s Point of View

Case Analysis

Background

Pre launch

1985 - Discovery of O-ring problem in STS 51-C Discovery by Roger Boisjoly

1985 - Task force assigned to investigate and provide proposal for the solving the O-ring problem. All launches were to be suspended till the problem could be solved

Jan 1986-STS-51L Challenger was scheduled for launch

26th Jan 1986 - Management reminded of seriousness of O-ring problem.

Launch was canceled and scheduled to be postponed

27th Jan 1986 - Upon pressure from NASA, Senior management overrode previous order and proceeded to launch

Post Launch

28th Jan 1986 - STS-51L Challenger launched and exploded in mid flight.

Investigation was carried out

  • Boisjoly and colleague informed authorities about the O-ring controversy.
  • Evidence went against management testimonies
  • Biosjoly reassigned and isolated from company programs

Impact on Biosjoly

Both Biosjoly’s mental and physical health were strained. He resigned and opened his own consultancy business before re-joining the industry as an engineer again.

Scope

  • Background
  • Analysis of case
  • Kantian and Utilitarian application
  • Virtue Ethics

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