ETHICAL & LEGAL DIMENSIONS FOR ENGINEERS

Course Code: GR-301

Spring 2018

Lecture 1
(Professional Ethics)
By: Dr. Engr. Saeed Badshah
saeed.Badshah@iiu.edu.pk

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIU Islamabad

 Course Contents

• Professional Ethics
• Responsibility in Engineering
• Framing the Problem
• Resolving Problems
• The social and Value Dimensions of Technology
• Honesty, Integrity, and Reliability
• Safety, Risk, and Liability in Engineering
• Engineers in organization
• Engineers and the Environment
• International Engineering Professionalism
• Engineering Professionalism and Ethics: Future Challenges

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 Text Book

“Engineering Ethics – Concepts and Cases”

Charles E. Harris Jr, Michael S.

Pritchard, Michael J. Rabins,
4th Edition, Thomson-
Wadsworth

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 Marks Distribution:

• Assignments + Project + Quiz (25%)

• Midterm exam (25%)

• Final Exam (50%)

• Total 100%

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 Course Goals

• Knowledge. Know key forms and issues of ethics

• Criticism. Be able to argue for or against a proposition
• Constructive. Be able to suggest simple ethical guidelines
• International. Transpose those guidelines to an
international perspective
• Application. Use guidelines in daily work

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 Class learning outcomes (CLOs)
CLO-1 Describe ethical and legal decision- C2 PLO 8 Ethics
making frame work for Engineers.

CLO-2 Analyze and explains the social and C3 PLO 6 The

value dimensions of Technology Engineers and
Society
CLO-3 Demonstrate the ability to learn C3 PLO 12 Life Long
ethical resources for solving Learning
problems in order to contribute to
lifelong learning.

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 What is Engineering?

Engineering is the profession in which knowledge of the mathematical and

natural sciences gained by study, experience, and practice is applied with
judgement to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces
of nature for the benefit of mankind.
 Engineers
• Engineering is considered to be a "profession" rather than an
"occupation" because of several important characteristics.

• These are shared with other recognized learned professions, law

and medicine.

• They all require special knowledge, special privileges, and special

responsibilities.

• Professions are based on a large knowledge base requiring

extensive training.

• Professional skills are important to the wellbeing of society.

 Engineers
• Professionals have autonomy in the workplace.
• They are expected to utilize their independent judgment in carrying out
their professional responsibilities.
• Finally, professions are regulated by ethical standards.
• The expertise possessed by engineers is vitally important to the public
welfare.
• In order to serve the public effectively, engineers must maintain a high
level of technical competence.
• However, a high level of technical expertise without adherence to ethical
guidelines is as much a threat to public welfare as is professional
incompetence.

• Therefore, engineers must also be guided by ethical principles.

 Engineers
• The ethical principles governing the engineering profession are embodied in
codes of ethics.
• Such codes have been adopted by state boards of registration, professional
engineering societies, and even by some private industries.
• As part of an engineers responsibility to the public, an engineer is responsible
for knowing and abiding by these codes.
• Application of these codes in many situations is not controversial.
• However, there may be situations in which applying the code may raise more
difficult issues.
• In particular, there may be cases in which terminology in the codes is not
clearly defined, or in conflict.
 Engineers
• Questions may arise concerning conceptual issues, in which definitions of
terms may be in dispute.
• In other situations, factual issues may also affect ethical dilemmas.
• Many decisions regarding engineering design may be based upon
interpretation of disputed or incomplete information.
• In addition, tradeoffs revolving around competing issues of
risk vs. benefit, or
safety vs. economics
may require judgments that are not fully addressed simply by application
of these codes.
 Engineers

No code or codes
can give immediate and
mechanical answers
to all ethical and
professional problems
that an engineer may face.

Creative problem solving

is often called for in ethics,
just as it is
in other areas of engineering.
 Ethics
• What are personal ethics ... and what do they have to do with
engineering?

• Personal ethics are the standards of human behavior that

individuals of different cultures have constructed to make moral
judgments about personal or group situations.
• Ethical principles have developed as people have reflected on the
intentions and consequences of their acts.
• Naturally, they vary over time and from culture to culture,
resulting in conflict when what is acceptable in one culture is not
in another.
 Ethics and Morality
What are they?

The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably -

indeed, they usually can mean the same thing, and in casual
conversation there isn't a problem with switching between one and the
other.

However, there is a distinction between them in philosophy!

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 Ethics and Morality
Etymology

Morality and ethics have same roots, mores which means manner and
customs from the Latin and
etos which means custom and habits from the Greek.

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 Ethics and Morality
What are they?

Strictly speaking, morality is used to refer to what we would call

moral conduct while ethics is used to refer to the formal study of
moral conduct.

Ethics is also often called moral philosophy.

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• Common Morality
– The set of moral ideals shared by most members of a
culture or society
• Personal Morality
– The set of moral ideals established on an individual
basis, which are usually acquired in early home or
religious training, and are often modified by later
reflection
• Professional Morality
– The set of moral ideals and standards established by a
group of professionals as related to the practice of their
profession
 Ethics
• A value is a belief about what is desirable, “Good” or ‘Bad”
• Values are like “Standards” in the field of science
• A value is a clear and uncompromising statement about what
is critically important
• Values represent ultimate reasons for our actions. However,
the gap between values and actions is filled by Ethics
• A set of values is adopted or selected and converted into
Ethics to be followed
• “Honesty” is a value; “Be honest” is Ethics
• ‘Unity” is a value; ‘Stay United” is Ethics
• “Message / Signal of Red Traffic light” is a value; “Stop at
red light” is Ethics
 Definition
• Discipline dealing with that which is good and bad with moral duty
and obligation
• A set of principles of right conduct
• A theory or system of moral values
• Study of general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to
be made by a person
• Rules or standards of governing the conduct of a person or the
members of a profession e.g. Medical ethics
 What are Ethics??
• Ethics form the structure that converts values into actions
• Ethics mean different things to different people
• Based on values, but ethics and values are not the same things
• Purpose of an ethic is to ensure that an action that is designed to achieve
a certain objective will do so without violating a value
• Main thing that ethics provide is a set of guidelines that outlines what
constitutes appropriate behavior
• Main problem in dealing with ethics is that there is no universal
definition, no clear objectives, and no agreement on appropriate
behaviors
 Characteristics of Ethics
• Ethics are Value Driven
• Ethics are Action Oriented
• Ethics are Situational
 Ethics are Value Driven
• Serve to bridge the gap between a value and an action
• Translating values into appropriate behaviors
• Purpose of an ethic is to ensure that an action that is designed to achieve
a certain objective will do so without violating a value
• For example, on the organizational level, ethics apply to policies that
determine how employees will deal with customers. On a personal level,
they help you to decide that you are going to receive a customer with a
smile and helping attitude
• When we speak of something being ethical or not, we frequently are
referring only to the single value, Honesty. But ethical behavior
involves more than just honesty
 Ethics are Action Oriented
• Judging ethical or unethical by an action
• Ethics are stated in behavioral terms
• Only thing that is ever judged to be ethical or unethical is an action
• The value is “honesty”; the ethic is “don’t copy” “don’t cheat”
• Value is “clean environment”; the ethic is “don’t litter” or “don’t spit”
• When it comes to actions, ethics do not define what is acceptable as
much as they define what is not acceptable
• Function of an ethic is to translate any value into behaviors that support
that value
 Ethics are Situational
• Situational ethics are realistic and worth supporting
• Ethics is to do the right thing all the time, but not to do the same thing
all the time
• Well defined value system cannot justify immoral behavior
• Killing is wrong; but right in self defence
• Stealing food is wrong; but right if starving to death
• Telling a lie is wrong but not to hurt feeing of fellow worker
• driving force behind ethics is to do the right thing all the time, not to
do the same thing all the time
 Definitions

• Engineering:
• The practical application of pure sciences (such as mathematics,
physics, chemistry etc.)
• To benefit society, one’s employer & oneself:
• Elegant solutions to real-world problems:
• Cost-effective, timely, user-friendly, environmentally
sound
 WHAT IS ENGINEERING ETHICS

• Engineering ethics is the study of:

• Moral issues & decisions confronting people & organisations
engaged in engineering
• Related questions about the moral, ideals, character, policies &
relationships of people & organisations engaged in engineering

• Morality involves concern for others, e.g:

• People, animals, the environment
• Fellow workers, managers, shareholders & the public
Why study ethics?
To understand how to behave ethically & to know what you should
expect of others
 The nature of ethical problems
• Micro-ethics:
• Problems with mainly local impact, e.g:
• Inadequate quality control in a computer factory

• Macro-ethics:
• Problems that affect society in a broad sense, e.g:
• Global warming

• Common features of ethical problems:

• Vagueness or poorly defined boundaries
• Moral dilemmas (conflicting moral obligations)
• Matters of judgement rather than objective fact
 WHY STUDY ENGINEERING ETHICS

What is the point in studying engineering ethics?

What can be gained from taking a course in ethics?

Engineering ethics course is not about preaching virtue rather, its objective
is to increase your ability as engineers to responsibly confront moral issues
raised by technological activity.
Objectives for studying engineering ethics
• Goal - moral autonomy:

• ‘the skill & habit of thinking rationally about ethical issues on the

basis of moral concern’

• childhood learning augmented by adult learning & experience

• Underlying skills & proficiencies:

• Recognise ethical problems in an engineering context

• Comprehend & critically assess ethical arguments

• Form consistent & comprehensive ethical viewpoints:

• While understanding ethical diversity & uncertainty

Forms of ethics
1. Metaethics (what is good? etc)
2. Normative ethics (what should we do?)
3. Applied ethics (how do we apply ethics to work and lives?)
4. Moral psychology (the biological and psychological bases)
5. Descriptive ethics (what morals people follow)
Codes of ethics

Applying ethics to a profession or discipline, examples:

ICT
Engineering
Medicine
Law
Journalism
Psychology
Symmetrical ethics – the golden rule

Do to others what you want them to do to you.

If you demand from others, demand the same from yourself

(perhaps more if you are a leader)

See yourself as the other (good even for design!)

Empathy
Assymetrical ethics

When one party has more resources, knowledge, power

Often in professions (engineering, nursing, law...)

Need to be careful (professional!)

Need to be considerate
THE SCOPE OF ENGINEERING
ETHICS
Thanks For Your Attention

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