DP2

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP2

Should Engineer B, as an ordinary chapter member with full disclosure made, proceed to solicit the chapter's public endorsement of route Y, or should he refrain from solicitation on the ground that using membership standing to amplify client advocacy is impermissible regardless of disclosure?

Engineer B is an ordinary dues-paying member of the local chapter — holding no leadership position, committee chair, or other institutional authority — and seeks to use his membership standing to access the chapter's forum and solicit a public endorsement of the route Y conclusion that his firm was retained to reach. The question is whether ordinary membership status, combined with full disclosure, is sufficient to render the endorsement solicitation ethically permissible, or whether the act of solicitation itself constitutes an impermissible exploitation of professional affiliation regardless of disclosure.

After making full and prominent disclosure of the retainer relationship and partnership financial stake, present the route Y technical findings, answer all questions completely, and explicitly request that the chapter publicly endorse route Y — relying on the chapter's independent peer judgment to evaluate the advocacy-framed analysis on its technical merits.

Appear before the chapter to present the route Y technical findings and answer questions as an informational matter — sharing the analysis with professional peers for their awareness and critique — but refrain from explicitly requesting a public endorsement, thereby avoiding the appearance of instrumentalizing the chapter's institutional credibility for client benefit while still contributing to professional discourse on a matter of local engineering concern.

Decline to appear before the chapter in any capacity on this matter, on the ground that the structural alignment between the firm's financial interest and the requested endorsement creates an appearance of impropriety that disclosure alone cannot cure — leaving the chapter to form its own view on the route controversy through independent channels or through presentations by parties without a financial stake in the outcome.

Engineer B