DP1

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

DP1

Should Engineer A continue to press his specification compliance position through further internal memoranda and an external ethics review request after management has rejected his concerns and imposed probation, or should he accept management's characterization of the override as a legitimate business decision and stand down?

Engineer A, having identified subcontractor specification deficiencies and formally advised management through written memoranda, faces management's rejection of his concerns on cost and schedule grounds, followed by placement of a critical memorandum in his personnel file and three months' probation with a termination warning. The core decision is whether Engineer A must continue to press his professional position — through further internal escalation or an external ethics review request — or whether he may ethically stand down after management has made its business decision, given that the concern involves unjustified public expenditure rather than direct danger to public health or safety.

Persist in the professional position on specification non-compliance through further internal memoranda and formally request an external ethics review, treating the continued advocacy as an exercise of personal conscience and ethical right even though no mandatory duty to do so exists under the Code.

Treat management's override as a legitimate business decision within its organizational authority, cease further internal advocacy after the professional position has been formally documented through memoranda, and accept that the Code imposes no mandatory duty to escalate in a non-safety public expenditure case.

Withdraw from the role in which acquiescence in non-conforming work would be expected, submitting a written resignation that clearly states the technical and professional reasons for departure — thereby avoiding complicity in specification non-compliance without breaching the faithful agent obligation through unauthorized external disclosure.

Engineer