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Decision Point Two

15 January, 2016 - 09:08
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Decision Point Two

  • Frank Saia has discovered that an employee under his supervision, Donald LaRue, has been skipping tests on the computer chips. Since LaRue began this practice, they have certainly been more on time in their shipments. Besides, both LaRue and Saia know that many of the "hot" parts are actually for systems in the testing phase, rather than for ones that will be put into active use. So testing the chips for long-term durability that go into these systems seems unnecessary. Still, LaRue was caught by Quality Control skipping a test, and now Saia needs to make a decision. Upper management has provided no guidance; they simply told him to "handle it" and to keep the parts on time.
  • He can't let LaRue continue skipping tests, or at least he shouldn't let this skipping go unsupervised. LaRue is a good employee, but he doesn't have the science background to know which tests would do the least damage if they were skipped. He could work with LaRue and help him figure out the best tests to skip so the least harm is done. But getting directly involved in skipping the tests would mean violating company policy and federal law.

Dialogue

  • Construct a dialogue in which Saia confronts LaRue about skipping the tests
  • Address the following issues:
  • Should Saia work with LaRue to identify tests that are not necessary and then have LaRue skip these?
  • How should Saia and LaRue deal with the concerns that Quality Control has expressed about skipping the tests? Your first item here

Debriefing Assignment for Decision Point Two

  • Each drama point revolves around one or more conflicts. What is the conflict in your drama point. How did you play this conflict out through your dramatization?
  • Your drama takes place over a socio-technical system. Look at the above table. What are the key values at play in the Hughes STS? How did these values enter into your dramatization? For example, did a value conflict drive and confrontation between characters in your dramatization? Think, in this section, about how the STS and its values enter into your dramatic portrayal of the events in this case.
  • What kind of narrative form did your drama take on? Was it a tragedy? A comedy? A story with a happy ending? Something else? What is it about the case that led you to pick the narrative form that you did?
  • Finally, did you learn anything about the case by constructing and acting out your drama? What was it? What is different about these dramatic rehearsals in comparison with other learning activities you have undergone this semester?