Ethics Essay

A code of ethics is necessary because it spells out moral and ethical obligations that
must be followed, in order to enhance society as a whole. If the code is not followed, it is very
likely that a part of society may suffer as a result (even if that part is you). The code of ethics
also allows individuals to reflect on how their contributions may benefit or harm society. By
strictly following the code of ethics, a person can be fairly certain that their actions are genuine,
and will allow the rest of society to remain untarnished in their own pursuits.
When I am faced with an ethical situation, my first step is to understand the situation. I
look at how the situation arose, and if the situation could have been avoided by taking a
different path. Once I understand the origin of the situation, I look to my own moral compass
and ethical upbringing. If there is any hint of turmoil or uneasiness, then I know something
about the situation is wrong, and corrective action should be taken. After consulting my own
ethical understanding, then I would speak with anyone else involved with the situation, and
understand their moral obligations as well. Lastly, I would consult the physically-written Code of
Ethics to determine if a part of my understanding conflicts with the written code. If it does, I
would examine it, and determine how the inconsistency came to be, and how it can be fixed.
For my small group, we chose to discuss the Case Study about Space Shuttle Colombia. I
realized that even with such a controversial ethics dilemma as a malfunctioning space ship,
there can be many differing opinions. I believed that safety waivers are a necessity for
forward movement, but there must be checks and balances as to how many can be accepted.
Counted at over 1,600 waivers, there were, in my opinion, far too many. However, as brought
up by our professor, and a couple others in the group, the real industry is almost entirely
centered on minimizing cost. Thus, safety waivers provide a convenient way of skirting costs,
and still making forward movement. However, where is the magical dividing line that tells you there
are too many waivers? The most ethical decision would be to not allow safety waivers at all. However,
in real industry, it would take decades to develop something with this stipulation at which
time, the technology would likely be replaced and irrelevant and new specifications would need
to be drawn up. Our groups general consensus was to allow a certain number of minor safety
waivers. As to an acceptable number, more thought would be needed.
While in some small way, all ethical virtues can relate to Space Shuttle Colombia,
there are several that stand out. Integrity would be the foremost virtue that was ignored in the
fiasco. While there was likely no major breach of integrity, the safety waivers each represented a small drop
in integrity both of the shuttle itself, and the specifications used to design it. Integrity is the
most important virtue to me, as I believe that a high integrity allows all other virtues to fall into
place. Next, I believe that responsibility played a key role. A large reason for the safety waivers

comes directly from the fact that someone was not able to complete what was given to them.
Thus, a safety waiver can also become a way of shedding some of ones accountability toward
an overall project. Responsibility, and ones ability to stand behind their work, is a close second
to integrity for me. If someone is not dependable or trustworthy, then how can another Shuttle
Colombia situation be avoided? Thirdly, I believe fidelity had a hand in the Colombia Space
Shuttle event. The proposed safety waivers were supposedly argued to senior engineers as to
the necessity of a specification. However, these senior engineers, as well as the senior
engineers, are all being motivated by forward motion, and their fear of being recognized for
slowing down the progress of building the space shuttle. Thus, in this case, fidelity may have
played a hand in harming the overall construction of Space Shuttle Colombia. However, fidelity
is an important characteristic to have. It is the primary trait that covers emotional bonds with
other entities. If no loyalties are present, then motivations may come into question as to the
development of a project.
While honesty, charity, and self-discipline are all extremely important virtues to possess,
their application is less relevant to the Colombia situation. Honesty was likely observed, though
there may have been some slight skewing of data when a safety waiver was argued. Charity was
very likely followed, since most everyone I know would love the opportunity to work toward
space travel for humanity. Self-discipline only has context with the ethical issue of having too
many safety waivers. Self-discipline actually helps define a good solution to the ethical issue of
the number of safety waivers. Perhaps one virtue that could be added is transparency. If the
teams who presented these safety waivers were fully transparent as to the effect of their
waiver on the overall specification of the space shuttle, security concerns may have
become more evident in the overall design.