Sandy Williams is the manager of General Company’s cutting department, which employs 70 people. The cutting department desperately needs new equipment to increase productivity and thus avoid the layoff of 25 people. This department is one of four departments being considered for new equipment. The budget committee has announced that only one department’s capital request will be approved this year.

Williams works up the cost savings from the new machinery and contacts suppliers to learn the equipment’s estimated cost. Williams knows that General Company uses the payback method to evaluate capital projects. The estimated costs for the equipment are extremely high, particularly with all the safety shields recommended by the manufacturer. If one of these recommended safety features, electronic safety sensors not on the current equipment, were left off, the cost would be \($200,000\) less and the payback period would decrease by three years. If only minimum electronic safety sensors required by the union contract were included, the cost would be \($70,000\) less and the payback period would decrease by one year.

Required 

What are the ethical considerations Sandy Williams faces as she prepares the equipment proposal?