5C Warren

U-Wear-It is involved in manufacturing tiny processors for use in the manufacture of wearable technology. During manufacture, 64 gold wires, each much finer than a human hair, must be soldered from the chip to the pins of the processor.Robots were trialed for the soldering, but the error rate was unacceptably high. One single mistake in positioning a wire or soldering it, ruined the chip. The robots were also not only prohibitively expensive but required frequent and expensive calibration. Warren, the IT Production Manager was asked to carry out trials using human technicians for the work.The trials clearly demonstrated that humans had a much lower error rate and were less expensive than robots, but the technicians complained that constantly staring through a microscope at a brightly illuminated object gave them headaches and was harmful to their eyes. He reported back to management that he believed the trial had failed. The CEO, Vincent was very disappointed, because he thought that the solution was good, and worth a few headaches.Vincent asked Warren to get a professional medical opinion. Warren discussed the issue with two senior doctors, who confirmed that this work could permanently damage a person's eyesight in as little as 5 months and could lead to blindness in as little as 18 months. The company's legal advisors confirmed that this was clearly in breach of the Work Health and Safety Act in Australia, so they could not go ahead. The CEO was really angry. The next morning Vincent called Warren into his office. Warren was surprised to find him quite cheerful.The CEO said that he had discovered that there was an island in the Indian Ocean that does not have health and safety laws, and so it would be quite legal for people of that island to solder the processors. And, better still, they were willing to work for one-tenth of the wages of Australians. He said that this was a 'win-win'.

What professional ethical dilemmas are Warren and Vincent dealing with here?(e.g.Should we allow or sanction Vincent or Warren's behaviour?Is there a public interest question raised by this scenario?What actions do everyone involved need to take to ensure that this kind of situation does not occur again?)