Professional Ethics in Engineering

PROFESSIONA
L ETHICS IN
ENGINEERING
Dr. K. Priya Verthini

WHAT IS VALUE
 Values are the foundation of an individual person’s
ability to judge between right and wrong. Values include
a deep-rooted system of beliefs that guide a person’s
decisions. They form a personal, individual foundation
that influences a particular person’s behavior.
EXAMPLES OF VALUES
 There are examples of values everywhere in your daily life.
For example, if your value system is founded upon honesty,
you would probably choose to study for a difficult test rather
than cheating for a passing grade. However, if you
value achievement and success over honesty, you may decide
to cheat on the exam instead. This relates to which value is
“worth more” to the individual.
 Other examples of values include:
 a person who values integrity admits that they stole a piece of

candy
 someone who values friendship drops everything to help a
friend
 people who value a healthy lifestyle make sure they have time
to work out in the morning
EXAMPLES OF VALUES
 a person who values success works late nights to achieve a

promotion
 someone who values commitment may be more willing to go
to marriage therapy than to file for divorce
 These values form our personality types. They also help us

make decisions that affect the course of our lives. When these
values are shared by others in our community, they are known
as morals.
MORAL
 Morals, also known as moral values, are the system of beliefs

that emerge out of core values. Morals are specific and context-
driven rules that govern a person’s desire to be good. They can
be shared by a larger population, but a person's moral code
may differ from others' depending on their personal values.
EXAMPLES OF MORALS
 We make moral decisions based on personal values all the time. An

example of a moral in the example above is determined by a person's
value of honesty: cheating is bad. Someone who values success more
than honesty may behave by another moral: cheating is fine.
 Additional examples of morals include:
 It is bad to steal candy (based on a value of honesty).

 Helping a friend is a good thing to do (based on a value of
friendship).
 It is bad to skip a workout (based on a value of a healthy lifestyle).
 Working late at night is a good thing to do (based on a value of
success).
 Saving your marriage is a good way to move forward (based on a
value of commitment).
MORAL
 Moral dilemmas occur when morals conflict with each other.
For example, what if a daughter couldn’t afford the life-
saving medicine her dying mother needed, but she had access
to the medicine storeroom?
 Her core values might tell her stealing is wrong. However,
her morality would tell her she needs to protect her mother.
As such, the daughter might end up doing the wrong thing
(stealing, as judged by her values) for the right reasons
(saving her mother, as judged by her morals)
ETHICS
 Ethics and morals are very similar. In fact, many ethicists
consider the terms to be interchangeable. However, there are
slight differences in how they affect our lives.
 While morals are concerned with individuals feeling "good"

or "bad," ethics determine what behaviors are "right" or
"wrong." Ethics dictate what practical behaviors are allowed,
while morals reflect our intentions. Consider morals as the
rulebook and ethics as the motivator that leads to proper or
improper action.
ETHICS
 You're most likely to see a code of ethics in the business or

legal fields. These areas are much more black and white than
personal values or morals since they set rules for employees
and citizens in a society. For example:
 Doctors are held to a strict code of ethics when they swear
the Hippocratic Oath. They are bound to the rule "do no
harm," and can be held accountable if they do cause harm to
their patients.
 An organization like PETA, which stands for “People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals," pursues legal action against
those who do not treat animals in an ethical way.
 Employees often sign a code of ethics, which includes
keeping important matters confidential and not stealing from
the workplace — both of which would be fireable offenses.
ETHICS
 Defense lawyers are ethically bound to defend their clients to
the best of their ability, even if they are morally opposed to
their clients' crimes. Breaking this ethical code could result in a
mistrial or disbarment.
 A student who helps another student cheat on a test is breaking
their school's ethics. Even though they are doing it for a moral
reason (helping a friend), they are committing an ethical
violation and can be punished.
 Ethics are basically an institution's attempt to regulate behavior
with rules based on a shared moral code. Violating ethics has
the same consequence as breaking a rule, while violating one's
morals results in personal guilt and shame instead of a societal
consequence. Ethical dilemmas occur when an institutional set
of ethics conflicts with one's personal moral code.
MORALS VS. ETHICS
 Ethics and morals are very similar. In fact, many ethicists
consider the terms to be interchangeable. However, there are
slight differences in how they affect our lives.
 While morals are concerned with individuals feeling "good" or
"bad," ethics determine what behaviors are "right" or "wrong."
Ethics dictate what practical behaviors are allowed, while
morals reflect our intentions. Consider morals as the rulebook
and ethics as the motivator that leads to proper or improper
action.
BASIS FOR ETHICS VALUES
COMPARISION
MEANING Ethics refers to the Value is defined as the
guidelines for conduct that principles and ideals, that
address question about helps them in making
morality. judgement of what is more
important.
What are they? Systems of moral principles Stimuli for thinking.
Consistency Uniform Differ from person to

person.
Tells What is morally correct or What we want to do or
incorrect, in the given achieve.
situation.
Determines Extent of rightness or Level of importance.
wrongness of our options.
What it does Constrains Motivates.
 What is professional integrity?
Professional integrity is the practice of maintaining

appropriate ethical behavior. It is the practice of showing
strong adherence to moral and ethical principles and values
such as honesty, honor, dependability and trustworthiness.
A dictionary definition of professional integrity is: “Someone’s

high standards of doing their job and their determination not to
lower those standards.”
 https://www.betterup.com/blog/integrity-in-the-
workplace

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PROFESSIONA

Dr. K. Priya Verthini

 a person who values integrity admits that they stole a piece of

 a person who values success works late nights to achieve a

 These values form our personality types. They also help us

 Morals, also known as moral values, are the system of beliefs

 We make moral decisions based on personal values all the time. An

 It is bad to steal candy (based on a value of honesty).

 While morals are concerned with individuals feeling "good"

 You're most likely to see a code of ethics in the business or

Consistency Uniform Differ from person to

Professional integrity is the practice of maintaining

A dictionary definition of professional integrity is: “Someone’s

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