PRACTICE PROBLEMS - ETHICS

DESCRIPTIVE ETHICS
1. A person's behavior is always ethical when one:
a) Does what is best for oneself
b) Has good intentions, no matter how things turn out
c) Does what is best for everyone
d) Does what is most profitable
Solution: Answer is c). Since ethics is concerned with standards (other than purely legal ones) for socially
approved conduct and with promoting the general welfare, c) is the only acceptable answer. The other three answers
(Doing what is best for oneself, acting with good intentions, and doing what is most profitable) may or may not
involve socially approved conduct or promote the general welfare, depending on the individual case, and therefore
they cannot guarantee ethical behavior as can c).
2. Which of the following insures that behavior is ethical?
I. Following the law
II. Acting in the best interest of a society
III. Following non-legal standards for socially approved conduct
a) All of the above
b) II and III only
c) None of the above
d) I only
Solution: Answer is b). Given the ethics is concerned with standards (other than purely legal ones) for socially
approved conduct and with promoting the general welfare, the choices rate as follows. Following the law (I) cannot
insure ethical behavior, because a given law might itself be unethical (example: earlier laws legitimizing slavery.)
But both II and III do insure that behavior is ethical. Hence the correct option is b), "II and III only."
3. Engineers should follow their professional Code of Ethics because
a) It helps them avoid legal problems, such as getting sued
b) It provides a clear definition of what the public has a right to expect from responsible engineers
c) It raises the image of the profession and hence gets engineers more pay
d) The public will trust engineers more once they know engineers have a Code of Ethics
Solution: Answer is b). These choices are a little harder than those in previous questions, because even the wrong
choices do have some connection with ethics. But as long as you follow the initial instruction (choose the best and
most relevant answer.) you shouldn't have any difficulty answering it.
Choice a): Avoiding legal problems is generally a good thing, but it's not the most relevant reason why the Code
should be followed and in some cases, strictly following the Code might make it more likely that you'd get sued, e.g.
by a disgruntled contractor if you refuse to certify shoddy workmanship.
Choice c): Raising the image of the profession is a good thing, but not for the reason of getting more pay; that would
be to act from self-interested rather than ethical motivations.
Choice d): Increased public trust is generally a good thing, but the mere knowledge that there is such a code means
little unless engineers actually follow it, and for the right reasons.
Choice b): The best and most relevant answer. The Code of Ethics is designed to promote the public welfare, and
hence the public has a right to expect that responsible engineers will follow each of its provisions, as clearly defined
by the Code.

4. Engineers should act ethically because:

a) If they don't, they risk getting demoted or fired
b) The boss wants them to
c) It feels good
d) That's the way responsible engineers behave
Solution: Answer is d). As with problem 1, some of the wrong answers here do have some connection with ethics,
so as before the task is to pick the best and most relevant answer.
Choice a): Even though ethical behavior may usually improve one's job security, it's not the most relevant reason for
being ethical.
Choice b): Doing what the boss wants is a self=interested reason for acting, not an ethical reason.
Choice c): Even though being ethical will hopefully make engineers feel good, it's not the main reason why they
should be ethical.
Choice d): The right answer. There's a very close connection between acting in a responsible manner and acting
ethically.
5. The first and foremost obligation of registered professional engineers is to:
a) The public welfare
b) Their employer
c) The government
d) The engineering profession
Solution: Answer is a). As before, the best and most relevant answer should be chosen.
Choice b): Engineers do have ethical obligations to their employer, but it's not their foremost or primary obligation.
Choice c): As with the employer, engineers do have some obligations to the government, but again, not the first or
primary one.
Choice d): Obligations to the engineering profession are probably even more important than those to employers or
the government, but still they are not the foremost obligations.
Choice a): Correct. The foremost primary obligation of engineers is to the public welfare.
6. Registered professional engineers should undertake services for clients only when:
a) They really need the fees
b) Their own bid is the lowest one
c) They are fully technically competent to carry out the service
d) Carrying out the services wouldn't involve excessive time or effort
Solution: Answer is c).
Choice (a): Personal financial need is a matter of self-interest, not of ethics.
Choice (b): The competitive status of a bid is a matter of economics, not ethics.
Choice (d): The amount of time involved in carrying out services is also a matter of economics and self-interest,
rather than of ethics.
Choice e): Correct. Ethical engineers will not undertake to provide services for clients unless they are fully
technically competent to carry them out.

ENGINEERING ETHICS
Practice Problems

1. With respect to the Moral Rules of Professional Conduct for engineers:

a) The rules are a bad thing because they encourage engineers to spy on and betray their colleagues.
b) The rules are a useful legal defense in court, when engineers can demonstrate that they obeyed the rules.

c) The rules enhance the image of the profession and hence its economic benefits to its members.
d) The rules are important in providing a summary of what the public has a right to expect from responsible
engineers.
2. The Model Rules of Professional Conduct require registered engineers to conform to all but one of the following
rules. Which rule is not required?
a) Do not charge excessive fees.
b) Do not compete unfairly with others.
c) Perform services only in the areas of personal competence.
d) Avoid conflicts of interest.
3. Assume you are a quality control engineer supervising the completion of a product whose specification includes
using only USA-made parts. However, at a very late stage you notice one of your sub-contractors has supplied you
with a part having foreign-made bolts in it; but these aren't very noticeable and would function identically to USmade bolts. Your customer urgently needs delivery of the finished product; what should you do?
a) Say nothing and deliver the product with the foreign bolts included, hoping this fact won't be noticed by the
customer.
b) Find (or, if necessary, invent) some roughly equivalent violation of the contract or specifications for which
the customer (rather than your company) is responsible--then tell them you'll ignore their violation if they
ignore your company's violation.
c) Tell the customer about the problem, and let them decide what they wish you to do next.
d) Put all your efforts into finding legal loopholes in the original specification, or in the way they were
negotiated, to avoid your company appearing to have violated the specifications.
4. You are the engineer of record on a building project which is behind schedule and urgently needed by the clients.
Your boss wants you to certify some roofing construction as properly completed even though you know some
questionable installation techniques were used. Should you:
a) Certify it, and negotiate a raise from your boss as your price for doing so.
b) Refuse to certify it.
c) Tell the clients about the problem, saying that you'll certify it if they want you to.
d) Certify it, but keep a close watch on the project in the future in case any problems develop with it.
5. You are an engineer and a manager at an aerospace company with an important government contract supplying
parts for a space shuttle. As an engineer, you know that a projected launch would face unknown risks because the
equipment for which you are responsible would be operating outside its tested range of behaviors. However, since
you are also a manager you know how important it is to your company that the launch be carried out promptly.
Should you:
a) Allow your judgment as a manager to override your judgment as an engineer, and so permit the launching.
b) Toss a coin to decide; since one's engineering and managerial roles are equally important, so neither should
take precedence over the other and engineers.
c) Abstain from voting in any group decision in the matter, since as both a manager and an engineer one has a
conflict of interest in this case.
d) Allow your judgment as an engineer to override your judgment as a manager, and do not permit the
launching.
6. Your company buys large quantities of parts from various suppliers in a very competitive market sector. As a
professional engineer you often get to make critical decisions on which supplier should be used for which parts. A
new supplier is very eager to get your company's business. Not only that, but you find they are very eager to provide
you personally with many benefits--free meals at high-class restaurants and free vacation weekends for supposed
business meetings and demonstrations, and other more confidential things such as expensive gifts that arrive through
the mail, club memberships and so on. What should you do?
a) Do not accept any of the gifts that go beyond legitimate business entertaining, even if your company would
allow you to accept such gifts.
b) Report all gifts, etc., to your company, and let them decide whether or not you should accept them.
c) Accept the gifts without telling your company, because you know that your professional judgment about
the supplier will not be biased by the gifts.

d) Tell other potential suppliers about the gifts, and ask them to provide you personally with similar benefits
so you won't be biased in favor of any particular supplier.
Answer: D A C B D A

ETHICS-3
1. Assume that you are a professional engineer employed by a consulting firm. Your firm is competing with another
firm for a project funded by the government. You should
a)

by all means get the project because you have obligations to your employer who desperately needs the
project to boost its image.
b) state the fact that your firm is more technically competent and can run the project in a more cost effective
manner.
c) by all means get the project because you have obligations to other registrants working in the same firm who
all wanted the project.
d) recommend the firm to hire more fresh engineering graduates to work on the team so that they can earn
work experiences.

Questions 2-5 refer to the following hypothetical situation. You arc being consulted by a client on whether a
particular design of new structure is adequate for a public decking system in a park near a swimming pool. Your
specialty is in structural and strength analysis, but you are not sure about the data provided on the material of the
structure because the material is unconventional.
2. By comparing an early design of different geometric configurations but the same material, you immediately found
that the new design cannot be as adequate as tire early design that is claimed to be safe and meet all the municipal
and trade standards. You should immediately call the client and tell him or her that
a) the new design cannot be as adequate as the early design.
b) you are not an expert on the material used in the design.
c) the designer of the new structure is trying to make money out of your client on making the tools to cast the
new structure with unnecessarily complicated yet inadequate design.
d) you are forwarding the matter to your boss since you have a professional obligation to your employer.
3. The client called back a few days later and asked you to come up with a more adequate new design. You should
(a) base your design on similitude study of the early design of the same material that has undergone a thorough
analysis and proven to be adequate for years.
(b) bill you client for a complete testing of the mechanical, physical, and chemical properties of the material
and an independent, completed analysis for the new design.
(c) feeling that you have an obligation to your employer and your colleagues working in the firm, you build a
team to make sure that everyone has something to do with it and to maximize the income for everyone from
this new design.
(d) feeling that you might be involved in litigation in the future if the new design you come up with turns out to
be not adequate enough to safeguard the life, health, property or welfare of the public, you tell your client
that you don't want to have anything to do with it.
4. Assuming that you decided to do the new design and part of the work needs to be done by an expert in solid
mechanics who has two PhD's, three masters, being a famous professor for thirty years, but not having a
Professional Engineering license because he or she is too busy to take the exam, you may
a) let him or her sign the part of work he or she did and be responsible for it.
b) discuss the part of work with him or her in great detail, and then you sign it for him or her and be
responsible for it.
c) attach the diplomas and a resume of him or her to the new design, without any signature on that part of the
work.
d) co-author a paper with him or her and publish in a very prestigious professional journal so that future
engineers can learn about creative teamwork.

5. Assuming that you decided to do the new design for your client and it turns out to be a success, you may
a) use this new design as an example to show your professional competency in advertising materials of your
firm.
b) use this new design as an example to lecture a group of engineering students as a volunteering guest
speaker.
c) boast about the new design to your girl/boy friend in a private setting.
d) make a fictional situation out of it and write about it in a textbook.
6. The following situation is merely fictional. You are asked to evaluate, in a dollar amount, the loss of some injuries
caused by an implant or artificial body part manufactured by a defendant in a lawsuit. You should
a) not do it because you are not a medical expert.
b) do a thorough, well-documented research on the loss considering all economic factors in the modeling
coming to a dollar amount based on your professional judgment.
c) by all means help your client because you feel that you have an obligation to safeguard the safety, health,
property and welfare of the public, especially in this case the client is a racial minority.
d) help your client so that you can publish a paper in the Journal of Irrepealable Research.
7. Assume you decided to help your client in Question 6 above. In your model of analysis you may or may not
consider the effect of inflation on the time value of the loss and the factor of physical depreciation of body parts on
the original value of losses. You should
a) forget about these two factors because they are not worth the trouble.
b) consider the two factors based on solid research and judgment.
c) tell your client that considering the two factors may or may not yield more favorable results but will cost
more of your time and you will bill him or her for that.
d) consider the two factors because you are personally and professionally interested in the result.
Answer: B A A B D B B