Gerald Wahr should not go to the interview for Pro-Growth Pesticides, Inc.

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because doing so opposes his personal and family values and violates the first rule in
the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Code of Ethics. While ProGrowth Pesticides is financially stimulating, there are several other solutions to cover
his fathers medical bills.
We encourage Wahr to adhere to his strong support for organic farming. An
interview with Pro-Growth Pesticides poses a threat to his and his familys values.
Wahrs father is adamantly against the use of pesticides and has always been
outspoken about this among the farmers in the area. If he discovers that a pesticide
company is paying his medical bills, he might not even accept the help and refuse to
allow Wahr to continue working at Pro-Growth Pesticides. The interview and the hiring
process would ultimately be futile. After all, Wahrs father inspired him to attend college
to show those pesticide folks a thing or two. Working for a pesticide company
revokes the motive of furthering Wahrs education and contradicts Wahrs growing
advocacy of organic farming. His father might even prefer that his family be in debt than
fall into disgrace with his sons new job. Therefore, Wahr should decline the potential
job opportunity at Pro-Growth Pesticides, because the company does not reflect the
same beliefs as the Wahr family.
A position at Pro-Growth Pesticides requires that Wahr adjust his opinions about
pesticides in correspondence with the AIChE Code of Ethics. The first principle expects
engineers to be honest and impartial and serve with fidelity their employers. How can
we ensure that Wahr remains loyal to a company that harms the farm products that his
family grows? If Wahr acquires the supervisory role at Pro-Growth Pesticides, he
immediately violates the first principle of impartiality. The college education has
solidified Wahrs strong conviction that organic farming is the best. As a supervisor
responsible for the chemical processing of pesticides, Wahr will be challenged to make
decisions that either attack his beliefs or weaken the companys production. Legal
complications that arise from this issue are one of the reasons for Wahr not to go to the
interview for Pro-Growth Pesticides.
We advise Wahr to seek other job offers, even those that do not require
engineering skills. Critics argue that since Wahr already missed many opportunities for
job interviews, he must proceed in the hiring process at Pro-Growth Pesticides to
escape from mortgage payments. The supporting factor is that Wahr can resign, apply
for a different position, or return to the farm once the payments are made. At first glance
that may be true, but upon a long-term reflection the decision to work at Pro-Growth
Pesticides might hurt his family farm business. Public relations can carelessly reveal
that a member of the Wahr farm business works in the pesticide industry without
including the important background story. Consumers might then be doubtful of the truth
behind the claimed organic farming practices. Consequently, they choose products from
a business that has a cleaner reputation in media, and the produce sales of the Wahr
farm decreases. Working at Pro-Growth Pesticides poses a threat to both Wahrs
personal values and his familys business.
Therefore, Wahr should look past the interview opportunity at Pro-Growth
Pesticides and search for both engineering and non-engineering job openings. We
suggest Wahr to also look for engineering internships as they may develop into full-time
job positions.