"This is a very serious question. I would like to work for a company where I do not have to concern myself with a potentially egotistical response from my supervisor upon being presented with evidence that a fault has cropped up with his masterpiece. The truth is that the fault may not have been foreseeable, so if he is a mature individual, worthy of being a supervisor in a technical role, his reaction to the problem would be to immediately call his manager to tell him about the problem, and to convey in no uncertain terms that production and sales must be suspended while we investigate.
If I don't think I can trust my boss with this information, then I really have no idea who I CAN trust at the company, as the culture may be corrupt in ways I had never even thought of. First, I would make very, very sure of my facts. Then I would think about whether I knew of any other supervisors that I felt could be trusted to do the right thing. If not, I would approach someone in the company's legal department, explain the situation, and let them advise me. If they did not support me with useful advice and help to make sure we stopped production and tackled the problem, I would submit my resignation, take on a personal lawyer, and let him advise me on next steps. I hope to God I am never faced with a scenario like this, and that if I am, that I am surrounded by ethical people who want to make it right. That has certainly been my experience of my engineering colleagues up until now."
