The monsoon is to arrive shortly. You are the contractor of a major civil works company with a good reputation. You have just completed a major bridge connecting two parts of a city which will decrease the congestion in the city and save a lot of time for the transport. The inauguration of the bridge is planned for the next week. One of your juniors approached you today and mentioned about some major cracks in the bridge which are beyond repair right now. The major cracks seem to be due to the use of some substandard material by some employees of your company. There is a huge pressure by the government to start the bridge soon as the elections as well as the monsoon is approaching.
Analyze the possible actions based on their merits and demerits:
- Ask the junior not to tell about the cracks to anyone and proceed with the inauguration as planned.
- Undertake a scientific analysis regarding the cracks and mend if possible.
- Resign from the post and let your follower take the action.
- Not to go ahead with the inauguration and launch an inquiry into the substandard use of material and legally punish those found guilty.
Answer:
The merits and demerits of the possible actions are as follows:
- This course of action of not telling anyone about the problem might gain the contractor a good reputation in the short term. But in this case he is endangering the lives of so many innocent people. Later on, if something goes wrong with the bridge, then his career, reputation, reputation of the company will be spoiled. Moreover, he sets a wrong example to his junior. There also might be a heavy legal punishment for hiding facts.
- Undertaking a scientific analysis is indeed a very good step. But there is a time constraint here. So at this point of time, it is not the right option. And this option also does not punish the guilty, which might encourage them to commit such mistakes in the future too.
- Resigning from the post is no solution. It shows an escapist tendency. Even after knowing the issue the contractor did not protest. Moreover, the follower might ignore the issue and carry on with the inauguration which can be dangerous.
- This seems to be the best option. Not proceeding with the inauguration might cause a lot of difficulty in the present time, but at least it will not put lives in danger. Human life is of utmost priority and its safety should never ever be compromised. A proper inquiry into the matter is a correct step in order to punish those guilty so that such acts are not repeated in the future. As a moral responsibility the contractor can resign as it was due to his lack of leadership that such a thing happened.
