"The Concrete Sumo"

Engineers often encounter decision-making situations that are exigent—they call for immediate decisions. The circumstances may be so complex that engineers do not have sufficient time to reflect on ethical theories or principles, and they may be so novel as to discourage engineers from appealing to familiar case studies. Furthermore, there may be no "authority" figures to turn to for assistance. Howard University's Taft Broome, Jr. contends that the prevalent models of decision-making discussed in the Western ethics are inadequate for answering this question. Instead, he suggests we turn to the African perspective which invokes the rule, "Do what a person of good character would do," as this might be revealed by using literary methods of story construction. He illustrates this in his story, "The Concrete Sumo," the story of his first day on the job as an engineer.