Assignment 75

Professional Ethics EE & CE 200 Fall 2020

Outline

• Ethics

• Why study Ethics?

• Profession Vs Occupation?

• Principles of professional ethics

• Ethical problems examples and case studies

Ethics

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• Ethics are the principles accepted by the society, which also equate to the moral standards of human beings.

• Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

Professional Ethics

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Professional ethics, founded on personal ethics, encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected by professionals

There is a difference between professional ethics and personal ethics.

Differences

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Personal Ethics

Common Morality Professional Ethics

The set of ones own ethical commitments

The set of moral ideals shared by most members of a culture or society.

The set of standards adopted by professionals in so far as they see themselves acting as professionals. It can be different from personal ethics and common morality.

Engineering Ethics

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How to act and live as an engineer

What to consider when making

decisions.

How engineers morally act as an

engineer

Professional ethics NOT personal ethics

Shortly, Engineering ethics is how engineers morally act as an Engineer. This is professional ethics NOT personal ethics.

Why study ethics?

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Moral Imagination Recognizing (Moral)

Ethical Issues

Eliciting (Bring out) a Sense of

Responsibility

Addressing un- clarity, un-certainty, and disagreement

Analyzing Concepts

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Occupation

Refers to the work that a person does

Neutral, generic term

Profession

Paid occupation, especially one that requires advanced education, characteristics

and training

Refers to intellectual pursuit

Professionals vs. Non-professionals Education: Typically requires extensive period of training of an intellectual character based on theory obtained through formal education (universities).

Have knowledge and skills that are vital to the well being of the larger society. (Ex. doctor, lawyer, accountant).

Professions have monopoly on the demand of professional services. First, Only professional graduates should be allowed to hold the professional title. Secondly, there should be a licensing system for entering the profession.

Often have an unusual degree of autonomy in the workplace. Ex. doctors must determine the most appropriate type of medical treatment for their patients, and lawyers must decide the most successful type of defense for their clients.

Claim to be regulated by ethical standards, usually embodied in a code of ethics. Most professions regulate themselves for the public benefit.

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Principles of Professional Ethics

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• truthfulness, absence of cheating, lying or theft.1. Honesty

• Being a part of the whole organization2. Integrity

• Accessibility, information, understanding and audit of processes.3. Transparency

4. Accountability

5. Confidentiality

6. Objectivity

• Discretion associated with profession, security issues

• Being responsible for actions and consequences, not blaming others.

• Discretion Neutrality, credit your work.

Principles of Professional Ethics

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• Speak to everyone in the same way.7. Respectfulness

• Use licensed tools and softwares, ask for permission before diffusion.8. Copyright

• Cite your sources and give references 9. Misappropriation of other’s work

10. Respect of Law

11. Whistleblowing • Tell about any violations, frauds, corruptions, mismanagement, etc.

• respect rules and regulations of authorities

Examples

• An engineer refuses to design military hardware because she believes war is immoral.

This refusal is a personal moral.

• A civil engineer refuses to design a project that he believes will be contrary to the principles of sustainable (maintain) development.

This refusal is personal moral and is based on professional code of ethics.

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The following examples shows some of the possible relationships between professional, personal, and common morality.

Case Study 1

Mary discovers that her plant (factory) is discharging a substance into the river that is not regulated by the government. She decides to do some reading about the substance and finds that some of the studies suggest that it is hazardous. As an engineer, she believes she has an obligation to protect the public, but she also wants to be a loyal employee.

The substance will probably be very expensive to remove, and her boss advises, “Forget about it until the government makes us do something. Then all the other plants will have to spend money too, and we will not be at a competitive disadvantage.” What should Mary do?

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According to what standards are these actions right or wrong?

Case Study 2

Tom is designing a new chemical plant. One of his responsibilities is to identify the valves to be used in a certain portion of the plant. Before he makes his final decision, a salesperson for one of the firms that manufactures valves invites Tom to a golf game at the local country club. Should Tom accept the offer?

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According to what standards are these actions right or wrong?

Case Study 3

You have been asked to participate as an “Engineer in Training” in the design and construction of a nuclear power plant. You will be working in a team of 10 design engineers. Some of the engineers are experienced and capable nuclear plant designers. Is the use and development of nuclear power plant ethical? Can you participate in the design of such a plant without any previous experience?

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According to what standards are these actions right or wrong?

Case Study 4 You work for a Government department as a Procurement Engineer. Your wife works for one of the companies that supplies some of the pump spares that you use. One day you decide to stop buying spares from this company because they have become too expensive and the company has said they cannot drop their prices. You inform the supplier of your decision on Wednesday. On Friday your wife comes home with two tickets to the soccer final and you go to the game and enjoy it. Should you have gone to the Soccer final game?

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According to what standards are these actions right or wrong?

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Thank you!

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