DP1

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

DP1

Should Engineer Z immediately withdraw or correct all brochures and firm resume listings upon receiving Engineer X's resignation notice, or continue distributing existing materials during the notice period while initiating expeditious corrective steps for post-departure distribution?

Engineer Z, a principal in Firm Y, must decide how to handle the firm's existing printed brochures and firm resume that list Engineer X as a current employee after receiving Engineer X's two-week resignation notice. Engineer X is one of few engineers in the firm with hydrology expertise, but hydrology does not constitute a significant percentage of the firm's overall work. The core tension is between the practical reality that printed materials cannot be instantaneously reprinted and the ongoing obligation to ensure marketing materials accurately represent firm personnel.

Continue distributing existing printed brochures and firm resume during the two-week notice period without immediate recall, while simultaneously initiating correction procedures — including preparing errata sheets, updated brochures, and revised resume pages — to be deployed upon Engineer X's actual departure date, and refraining from affirmatively representing Engineer X as available for future project work.

Upon receipt of Engineer X's resignation notice, immediately withdraw all brochures and firm resume submissions listing Engineer X as a current employee, issuing errata sheets or cover letters to all prospective clients who have already received the materials, treating the departure notice as a mandatory trigger for immediate correction regardless of the administrative burden.

Continue distributing existing brochures during the notice period but proactively disclose Engineer X's pending departure to any prospective client who specifically inquires about hydrology capabilities or to whom the firm resume is submitted in response to a hydrology-specific solicitation, treating the disclosure obligation as context-dependent rather than universal.

Engineer Z