Ethics and Technology
What if you determined that your employer was more interested in corporate profits vs. informing the public about the possible health risks of their product? Would you feel that the public ought to look out for themselves, and quietly keep doing your job? Would you try to change your employers' attitude? Would you simply quit? Or would you blow the whistle, knowing that your employer would not only fire you, but attempt to discredit you? Let's hope you never face this situation. But Dr. Jeffrey Wigand did. The LabMan talked to Dr. Wigand in advance of his plenary lecture at LabAutomation 2009.
Dr. Wigand grew up in New York City and after a brief time in the military, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, he earned a Master's and Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a former Vice President of Research and Development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky where he worked on the development of safer cigarettes. Prior to that, he worked for several health care companies including Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. In addition he was employed as General Manager and Marketing Director at Union Carbide in Japan and as Senior Vice President at Technicon Instruments. Recently, he has taught chemistry and Japanese at duPont Manual Magnet High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and was named Kentucky Teacher of the Year. He has also founded a non-profit organization, Smoke-Free Kids Inc., which focuses on helping kids make better decisions and healthy choices regarding tobacco use.
Dr. Wigand faced the ethical dilemma I described above while directing cigarette research. His reaction was eventually to take his knowledge of tobacco product chemistry to Dr. David Kessler, who was at the time Commissioner of the FDA. He helped the FDA write jurisdictional documents regarding the regulation of nicotine in cigarettes. He was interviewed by Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes. As you might imagine, this was not a popular decision with his employer, so he lost his job. The legal and political wrangling that followed greatly disrupted his life. His court testimony influenced legal settlements totaling $246 billion. You can see the Hollywood depiction of these events in the movie "The Insider", in which Russell Crowe plays Jeffrey Wigand.
At LabAutomation 2009, Dr. Wigand will draw on his background to deliver a plenary lecture about "Mixing Research, Technology and Ethics". He believes today, across many different industries and professions, we have a "significant erosion of our moral and ethical compasses". In science, Wigand says, we search for the truth. But he has seen breaches in that trust at laboratories well known for their scientific prowess. He feels that in today's scientific environment there is a great temptation to report not "what you see", but "what you want to see" and to not publish what is factually correct, but something that is constructed to increase salary or career. Wigand is concerned that a culture of "whatever I need to do to get ahead, I'll do" has permeated science, as well as other professions.
When asked to give advice to anyone who might find themselves facing a work-related ethical dilemma, Wigand recommends that first you try to address the issue internally. If unable to affect the situation internally, he believes one must try to do something about it externally. Not acting, or what he calls "bystanderism", makes one just a guilty as those directly involved in the ethical breach. He says that from first hand experience, as he feels he acted as bystander for some time before acting, not knowing what to do with the knowledge he had. The question, as Wigand puts it is "what is the responsibility one owes to themselves and to society vs. loyalty to a company? Which trumps what?"
What, indeed? It's a fascinating topic, and rarely do we have the chance to meet and listen to someone who has lived through such an experience. We'll see you and Dr. Wigand in Palm Springs!
Until Next time,
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto!
Arumugam wrote on 08/16/09 7:39 AM
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