An engineer has been involved in the design of many large reservoir spillways for flood control and water-supply dams. The engineer attends a workshop on the subject and based on the material presented, deduces that he has not been applying the design concepts correctly. After the workshop, he does some calculations and determines that, while almost all of his past design projects are safe, two spillways may not pass the design discharge that was required. He believes that the dams are safe for the moment, but he believes that they could fail for some floods smaller than the design flood. He recognizes that if he makes it known that the two projects are underdesigned, his reputation will be tarnished, and his company will be responsible for costly retrofitting of the two spillways.
1. What value issues are involved, and how are they in conflict?
2. Are technical issues related to the values issues? If so, in what ay are the technical issues in conflict with the value issues?
3. If the hydrologist attempted to rationalize the situation, what rationalizations might he or she use? Provide arguments to suggest why the excuses represent rationalization.
4. What are the hydrologists alternate courses of action? Identify all alternatives, regardless of the ethical implications.
5. How would you resolve this conflict?
The response must be a minimum of 2 pages, double spaced, 12 pt font. Provide any sources or references that you use. Your grade will be based partially on grammar and flow, but more in ensuring that all 5 questions are answered thoughtfully and reasonably.
