The Hughes Whistle blowing Case. In the mid 1980s, Hughes Microelectronics was manufacturing hybrid microchips for use in guidance systems and other military programs. A series of environmental tests were specified by the government contract. But pressure to ship chips out on time to customers got in the way of complete testing. "Hot chips", those needed right away for shipment, were given special treatment by some in charge of the testing process and shipped without …
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…rationalizing clumsiness and failed innovation" to the "case actors' accountability for deficiencies in communications to governmental and industry culpability in allowing erroneous qualification testing procedures to continue." The case shows how engineers can be responsible for failed innovation, how easy it is for events to escalate when people fail to communicate and get their facts straight, and how innovative design often makes testing procedures obsolete, or worse yet, shows that they were in fact erroneous.