Passing the ball to neighbourhood kids

By Antionette Okai-koi

okai0001@algonquincollege.com

Students from aviation studies discussed ‘Whistle-blowing on a company’s Unethical Practices’ with parliament’s Policy and Communication assistant commissioner, Catherine MacQuarrie on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The seriousness of corruption and the adherence of ethics prompted the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner to say, “The amount of money lost around the world to corruption is equal to the amount of money lost in the economy.”

Ethics professor Peter Pigott’s class of 20 second-year aviation studies students attended an open lecture on ethical practices and conduct in relation to aviation and government responsibility from the assistant commission as a final lesson.

Mark Manchae, a student of the aviation studies program believes that ethics can work best in the workplace if a company is open to suggestions and values honesty and safety.

“I want to work for a reputable company, one that is seen in the industry as reputable and will be reputable in the future,” said Manchae.

The practice of ethics is a universal concept that weighs between one’s personal values and the good of the common interest.

“In the airline industry, safety is huge. Safety comes from the good decisions of the pilot,” said Darien Zacharias, an aviation studies student.

The students agreed that ethics is daily applied in their field so they generally will have to make an ethical decision that is not based on safety but on getting the job done like whether to fly in bad weather, overgrows (when plane is overloaded) or take shortcuts at maintenance checks and aviation licenses.

MacQuarrie covered how ethics penetrates daily life and focused on the commitment of international bodies such as the United Nations and World Bank. The UN office on drug and crime has begun an anti-corruption campaign among 150 countries to fight government corruption.

 “The government’s prime objective of importance is working with public interests and working for the common good,” said MacQuarrie.

Ethics is not the same as a crime or corruption but it is an important skill to have because some people don’t always follow the same code.

“Using ethics should not be a dilemma because it is you’re ass on the line; if you make a mistake you pay,” said Bruce Dwyer, aviation studies administrator.

“A Winnipeg pilot who ran out of fuel during a flight because he didn’t go through the rules properly ended up being charged with criminal negligence,” he added.

The subject of minimally performing at your job can have repercussions if you don’t use ethics to properly execute the aviation code and maintenance prior to any flight.