Who Should Pay?
Personal Values & Organizational Ethics – OMP4610
Who Should Pay?
Dr. Katherine Cabai
01/26/2014
The following case involved Gene Elliot who was employed for Mabey Bridge and Shore. Mabey Bridge and Shore was a small business that rented temporary steel pedestrian bridges to other companies. In this particular case, Mabey Bridge and Shore rented a pedestrian bridge to Turner Construction. Turner Construction decided that it was necessary to use a subcontractor to actually perform the work, and this is where a company by the name of B&C Steel came into play. Apart from renting a bridge, Turner Construction also “rented” the services of Gene Elliot, an employee of Mabey Bridge and Shore, to oversee that B&C Steel performed the work satisfactorily under OSHA standards and general safety procedures for this line of work. I will attempt to explain why I believe Turner Construction is responsible for the injuries that Gene Elliot received while on the job.
Ethical Point of View According to Velazquez (2010), “Each year more than 4,000 workers are killed and 3,000,000 are seriously injured (killed or disabled) while on the job” (p. 418). Velazquez (2010), also points out that risk, unfortunately, is unavoidable in many occupations. There are rules and regulations in play to protect employers/employees should an injury result due to work related circumstances. In this particular situation, B&C Steel had not followed the proper procedures to ensure that the highest level of safety was practiced. In the very beginning the warning signs could be seen when B&C Steel had not adequately checked their route, and their truck hit a power line causing a fire. When it came time for the actual installation of the pedestrian bridge, B&C Steel employees neglected to acknowledge an all-stop OSHA signal made by Gene Elliott. Gene Elliott witnessed safety hazards that would have resulted in the bridge ending in failure. Not only did the bridge
Who Should Pay?
Dr. Katherine Cabai
01/26/2014
The following case involved Gene Elliot who was employed for Mabey Bridge and Shore. Mabey Bridge and Shore was a small business that rented temporary steel pedestrian bridges to other companies. In this particular case, Mabey Bridge and Shore rented a pedestrian bridge to Turner Construction. Turner Construction decided that it was necessary to use a subcontractor to actually perform the work, and this is where a company by the name of B&C Steel came into play. Apart from renting a bridge, Turner Construction also “rented” the services of Gene Elliot, an employee of Mabey Bridge and Shore, to oversee that B&C Steel performed the work satisfactorily under OSHA standards and general safety procedures for this line of work. I will attempt to explain why I believe Turner Construction is responsible for the injuries that Gene Elliot received while on the job.
Ethical Point of View According to Velazquez (2010), “Each year more than 4,000 workers are killed and 3,000,000 are seriously injured (killed or disabled) while on the job” (p. 418). Velazquez (2010), also points out that risk, unfortunately, is unavoidable in many occupations. There are rules and regulations in play to protect employers/employees should an injury result due to work related circumstances. In this particular situation, B&C Steel had not followed the proper procedures to ensure that the highest level of safety was practiced. In the very beginning the warning signs could be seen when B&C Steel had not adequately checked their route, and their truck hit a power line causing a fire. When it came time for the actual installation of the pedestrian bridge, B&C Steel employees neglected to acknowledge an all-stop OSHA signal made by Gene Elliott. Gene Elliott witnessed safety hazards that would have resulted in the bridge ending in failure. Not only did the bridge
References: Velasquez, M. G. (2012). Business ethics: Concepts and cases (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.