Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Engineering Ethics
Engineering Ethics
Is Engineering a Profession?
Is Engineering a Profession?
Job Any work for hire, regardless of the skill level involved and the responsibility granted.
Engineers are paid for their services, but the skills and responsibilities involved in engineering are more than just a job.
Is Engineering a Profession?
Is Engineering a Profession?
Professional athlete Used to distinguished the practitioner from an amateur Professional Carpenter Used to indicate some degree of skills acquired through many years of experience with an implication that practitioner will deliver quality services.
Attributes of a Profession
Work that requires sophisticated skills, the use of judgment, and the exercise of discretion. Also the work is not routine and is not capable of being mechanized. Membership in the profession requires an extensive formal education, not simply practical training/apprenticeship.
Attributes of a Profession
The public allows special societies or organizations that are controlled by members of the profession to set standards for admission to the profession, to set standard of conduct for members and enforce these standards Significant public good results from the practice of the profession
Judgment
Refers to making significant decisions based on formal training and experience. The decision will have serious impacts on peoples lives Will often have important implications regarding spending a large amount of money
Discretion
Being discrete in the performance of ones duties by keeping information about customers, clients and patients confidential The ability to make decisions autonomously
Professionalism
Engineers are professionals. The word profession originally meant the act or fact of professing or committing to a way of life. It is a vocation in which professed knowledge of some branch of learning is used in its applications to the affair of others, or in the practice of an art based on it (Harris et al, 1995).
Professionalism
Meticulous adherence to undeviating courtesy, honesty, and responsibility in one's dealings with customers and associates, plus a level of excellence that goes over and above the commercial considerations and legal requirements. (Business Dictionary.com)
Engineering Ethics
The new field of engineering ethics came into being in the mid-1970s when scholars from engineering and philosophy joined to identify and address ethical problems confronting engineers. Engineering ethics is the offspring of these two other disciplines as well: law, behavioral and management sciences, history and religious studies, although concern for ethical issues and codes of conduct in particular had been expressed within the engineering profession from the early part of the century, a field for formal study took shape when specialist from other disciplines joined the discussion. Such a history has parallel in medical ethics and in legal ethics.
Engineering Ethics
1.
2.
the study of moral issues and decisions confronting individuals in engineering and the study of related questions about the moral ideas, character, policies and relationship of people and corporations involve in technological activity. Martin and Schinzinger (1996)
To train you to analyze complex problems and learn to resolve these problems in the most ethical manner.
Many things that are legal could be unethical. Our interest is in areas where ethical principles conflict and there is no legal guidance for how to resolve the conflict
Code of Ethics
The engineers make a promise to the public that they will practice their profession guided by set of rules of conduct or canons for ethical conduct called Code of Ethics. Luegen-biel (1991) defines the Code of Ethics as a set of ethical rules that are to govern engineers in their professionals lives.
The ethics code serve as a focal point for discussion. An ethics code is a guide or reminder with respect to behavior in specific situations. A good ethics code is to indicate to others a concern within the profession that its members practice in a responsible manner
Case 1
An inspector discovered faulty construction equipment and applied a violation tag, preventing its continued use. The inspectors supervisor, a construction manager, viewed the case as a minor infraction of safety regulations and ordered the tag removed so the project would not be delayed. The inspector objected and was threatened with disciplinary action. The continued use of the equipment led to the death of a worker on a tunnel project.
Case 2
An electric utility company applied for a permit to operate a nuclear power plant. The licensing agency was interested in knowing what emergency measures had been established for human safety in case of reactor malfunction. The utility engineers described the alarm system and arrangements with local hospitals for treatment. They did not emphasize that these measures applied to plant personnel only and that they had no plans for the surrounding population. That is someone elses responsibility, but we dont know whose, they answered upon being questioned about the omisssion.
Case 3
A chemical plant dumped wastes in a landfill. Hazardous substances found their way into the underground water table. The plants engineers were aware of the situation but did not change the cheap way, and no law explicitly forbade the practice. Plant supervisors told the engineers it was the responsibility of the local government to identify the problems.
Case 4
The ABC company began selling its latest high tech product before it had been fully checked out in beta tests, that is, used on real applications by a group of knowledgeable users. It was not ready for distribution, but clients were already lured to this product by glossy advertising designed to win in the market by being first to capture clients attention.
Using their knowledge and skills for the enhancement of human welfare; Being honest and impartial, and servicing with fidelity the public, their employers and clients; Striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and
2.
3.
4.
CODE OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE PRACTICE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 9(a) of Republic Act No. 8495,known as the Philippine Mechanical Engineering Act of 1998 and Section 50, Rule XIII of Board Resolution No. 16, Series of 1998, providing for the Rules and Regulations to carry out the purposes of the Act, the Board of Mechanical Engineering hereby adopts, promulgates and issues this Code of Ethical and Professional Standards for the Practice of the Mechanical Engineering profession.
CODE OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE PRACTICE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION
PREAMBLE
Engineering is a profession as old as civilization. It is not only an important profession. It is also a learned one. The Members of the Mechanical Engineering profession recognize that their work has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life of the people, hence, they should be honest, fair, impartial and just in dealing not only with their clients but also with their fellowmen. As a professional, the Mechanical Engineer must practice his profession by observing a standard of professional behavior that requires strict adherence to the principles of ethical and professional conduct provided by the Code of Ethics of their profession.
CODE OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE PRACTICE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSION
FUNDAMENTAL CANONS Mechanical Engineers in the fulfillment of their professional duties shall:
1.
Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties. Perform services only in areas of their competence. Make / issue public statements on issues only in an objective and truthful manner. Act in a professional manner for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Integrity, Honor and dignity Truth, Honesty and Trustworthiness Respect for Human Life and Welfare Competence Fair Play Humility and modesty
These values are interwoven. Truthfulness and trustworthiness are aspects of honesty. Martin specifies truthfulness as meeting responsibilities concerning trust
This value is essential for stable communities to exist, that is, if the members can reasonably assume that their neighbors and associates will, as a general rule, treat them fairly and not knowingly do them harm.
1. 2. 3. 4.
5.
6.
7.
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively Habit of documenting work thoroughly and clearly Openness to correction (admitting mistakes, oversight)
Characteristics of a Responsible Engineer (Pritchard, 1998) 8. Willingness to compromise (but not ones integrity) 9. Commitment to quality 10. Perseverance 11. Creative engineering imagination 12. Willingness to make self sacrifice or
move to management
14. Caring about engineering per se 15. Macro as well as microscopic vision 16. Civic mindedness
17. Competence
Technical incompetence or misrepresentation of competence Conflicts of interest Discrimination, favoritism, or harassment Misuse of company or client resources Failure to protect public health, safety or
welfare
Improper relations with clients and contractors Improper political or community involvement Mishandling sensitive information
ETHICS
Bioethics
Medical Ethics
Legal Ethics
Business Ethics
Engineering Ethics
APPLIED ETHICS
is the study of a range of social issues like abortion, war euthanasia, pollution and so on. it tries to work out special standards even when ordinary morality or moral theory leaves an issue unresolved. (Davis, 1998
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
are standards that apply to members of a profession because of that membership; standards that they must workout themselves. It typically consists of special standards embodied in a formal code (David, 1989).
CODE OF ETHICS
is a set of standards by which a particular group decides to regulate its behavior to distinguish what is legitimate or acceptable in the pursuit of their aims and not (Flew, 1984).
ENGINEERING ETHICS
involves the study of ethical issues and decisions in the work life of an engineer. It is concerned with the actions and decisions made by persons individually or collectively, who belong to the profession of engineering. (Baum, 1980)
The Principle of Goodness asserts that Good and evil are realities, described as follows: Goodness is to attempt to benefit everyone; evil is to attempt to harm even a single innocent one.
Whereas beneficence refers to an action done to benefit others, benevolence refers to the morally valuable character traitor virtueof being disposed to act for the benefit of others
The principles of justice and fairness can be thought of as rules of "fair play" for issues of social justice. Whether they turn out to be grounded in universal laws or ones that are more context-bound, these principles determine the way in which the various types of justice are carried out. For example, principles of distributive justice determine what counts as a "fair share" of the public assets, while principles of retributive or restorative justice shape our response to activity that violates a society's rules of "fair play." Social justice requires both that the rules be fair, and also that people play by the rules.
Engineering Ethics
I dont like the attitude that engineering is everything. Im a person before Im an engineer.
- RICHARD ALFONSO New Jersey Institute of Technology/ Seton Hall University, USA
Engineering Ethics
Engineering is about people, and the fact that for three-and-a-half or four years in engineering school, all you saw were numbers and things gives a misleading impression.
- MICHAEL DAVIS