Personnel of the Sturdivant Electric company were ready to run fina l acceptance tests on a
special purpose computer they had subcontracted to supply to the armed services. One of the
stipulations in the contract was a demonstration by the supplier that the computer would function
correctly and reliably under test conditions. The special operating system of the computer was
prepared by Sturdivant Electric's chief programmer, AI Abrams. Several days before the tests began,
Abrams submi tted his work to his immediate superior, Bill Eden, who was computer project engineer
(see Exhibit 1). Eden was to review the design of the operating system and compare it to the
specifications. It was not intended that Eden check the correctness of the operating system itself, since
forthcoming operational tests would accomplish that check.
In the course of his check, Eden found that Abrams had taken some liberties in one of the
specification's terms and had told Abrams to reverse the changes. Abrams had become enraged. He
shouted that Eden was not capable of passing judgment on his work. Abrams had stormed out of the
computer room, bellowing and cursing, and had bumped into Harris Johnson, the Sturdivant test
facility supervisor, in the hallway. Johnson had tried to cool Abrams down, but Abrams had pushed
past, claiming he would leave his security pass at the gate as a sign of his permanent departure.
Johnson knew that Eden and Abrams had had difficulties before, and that the project, nearing
completion, was in a particularly sensitive stage of development. Realizing that he did not have
direct line authority over Abrams within Sturdivant, Johnson needed to decide quickly what his next
step should be.