Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth?

You are on a proposal-writing team. In the orientation briefing the head of the team gives the following guidance: "We really have to win this one. I want you to be really optimistic in what you write." How do you interpret her advice?

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Answers

Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth? - Answer A

"I heard what she said - win this one!"
Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth? - Answer B

"Guarded optimism is not illegal, so I have no problem."
Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth? - Answer C

"Was she telling me to misrepresent the facts under the guise of optimism?"
Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth? - Answer D

"I'm a super conservative person. I don't slant my numbers, no matter how much we need to win."

Cite this page: "Were You Instructed to Distort the Truth?" Online Ethics Center for Engineering 6/20/2006 National Academy of Engineering Accessed: Thursday, February 09, 2012 <www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/Case64.aspx>