This week we will consider ethical conflicts through the lens of whistleblowing. Consider the following case.

Frank Camps was a principal design engineer for the Pinto automobile. Under pressure from management, he participated in coaxing the Pinto windshield through government tests by reporting only the rare successful tests and by using a Band-Aid fix design that resulted in increased hazard to the gas tank. In 1973, undergoing a crisis of conscience in response to reports of exploding gas tanks, he engaged in internal whistleblowing, writing the first of many memos to top management stating his view that Ford was violating federal safety standards. It took sixyears before his recommendations for redesign were finally incorporated into the 1979 model Pinto, after nearly 1 million Pintos with unsafe windshields and gas tanks were put on the road. Shortly after writing his memos, he was given lowered performance evaluations, then demoted several times. He resigned in 1978 when it became clear his prospects for advancement at Ford were nil. He filed a lawsuit based in part on age discrimination, in part on trying to draw further attention to the dangers.

If you were Camps'coworker, what would you have said to him throughout the ordeal? What would you have donewhen you learned that Ford was violatingthe law? What are your ethical obligations? How wouldyou assess Camps' actions? Under what conditions would you report illegal activities? Under what conditions would you keep quiet?

Did laws protecting whistleblowers exist to protect Camps? If the laws protecting you did exist, would you have acted any differently in blowing the whistle yourself? Use specific examples to help develop your response.