September 19, 2006; HW#1; Reading Reflection

In the reading of Chapters 6, 8 of Concise Guide and of chapter 2 of Ethics got me thinking--what one seemingly minor exclusion of a document could have a huge impact on others. The Concise Guide has examples of this on pages 96-97, briefly examining the Challeger space shuttle tragedy and the 3-Mile Island nuclear reactor accident.
In the case of the Challegershuttle tragedy-- why does management thinks "it" knows it all? In this instance, the engineers, knew about the 'inner workings' of the shuttle than anyone else! To my mind, the engineer who had chosen to write, in a memo, in strong language about the O-ring problem, was correct in writing that document; however, he probably needed to deliver that memo by hand.
Of the 3-Mile Island accident--oh, boy, someone really goofed in a big way or someone had the mistaken belief that 'no one will know'. Ha!
About this week's work: how much truth can I put forth in a resume or in a cover letter?
In the Concise Guide, on page 100, the authors cite from a work entitled, "Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning" and from another, "The Art of Thinking: A Guide to Critical and Creative Thinking" (this title does intrigue me) regard more contemporary principles of ethics versus the 1800s principles, namely of reasonable criteria involves obligations, ideals, and consequences.
My obligation to a future employer would be to state truthfully my experience, in relation to the job I'm applying for.
My ideals or values of dignity involve not lying on my resume and/or cover letter.
Of course, there consequences to what every one does and the consequences of being are that the future employer sees how honest I am and hires me!
In the Concise Guide, the authors cite C. D. Wickens, on page 104, who written "Engineering Psychology and Human Performance" and claims that as production gets the most importance, safety concerns are lower on the priorty list--which is true. This was evidenced in the recent past, of a medication of Multiple Sclerosis. The manufacturer of this medication was so "gung-ho" about putting it on the market, the product wound up being taken off the shelves because of medical safety concerns.