Introduction to Professional Ethics in Engineering

Professional Ethics Introduction

• Ethics are moral principles guiding individual behavior and actions.
• Engineering ethics is defined by codes and standards endorsed by professional societies; it involves the beliefs, attitudes, and habits of individuals or groups.

Scope of Engineering Ethics

• Workplace ethics involves coworkers and employees within an organization.
• Product/workplace ethics involves transportation, warehousing, and use of the product, as well as environmental and safety considerations outside the factory.

Approaches to Ethics

• Micro-ethics focuses on individual, professional, and corporate decision-making and issues.
• Macro-ethics examines societal issues on a regional/national/global level, including collective responsibilities of professional groups.

Moral Issues in Engineering

• Resource crunch: pressure from time constraints, budget limitations, and outdated technology; government deadlines (e.g., election deadlines).
• Opportunity: double standards or biased behavior of employers toward employees and the public
• Attitude: low morale due to dissatisfaction and downsizing, lack of grievance redressal mechanisms, lack of promotion/career development policies, lack of transparency, inadequate recognition/reward systems, and poor working environments.

Moral Autonomy

• Defined as making decisions based on moral concern for others and recognizing good moral reasons.
• Alternatively, autonomy is "self-determinant" or "independent."
• Autonomous persons hold moral beliefs and attitudes based on critical reflection, rather than passively accepting societal conventions.

Skills Related to Moral Autonomy

• Recognizing moral problems in various fields (e.g., engineering, law, economics, religion).
• Clarifying, critically assessing arguments on moral issues.
• Forming consistent and comprehensive viewpoints based on facts.
• Awareness of alternative responses and creative solutions.
• Sensitivity to difficulties/subtleties, willingness to tolerate uncertainty in decision-making.
• Utilizing rational dialogue to resolve conflicts and develop tolerance among different perspectives.
• Maintaining moral integrity.

Self-Control

• Personal discipline, strong will, motivation; avoiding fear, hatred, lack of effort, temptation, self-deception, and emotional responses.
• Including courage and good judgment.
• Self-respect promotes self-control.

Self-Interest

• Understanding and pursuing what is good for oneself; ethical.

Self-Respect

• Valuing oneself in appropriate ways, including respecting others, their ideas/decisions/abilities/rights, properly valuing oneself, and confronting moral standards successfully.
• Self-respect involves a balanced and honorable sense of self-worth.

Characteristics of a Profession/Professionalism

• Extensive training, including intellectual and moral development (competence and integrity).
• Possessing knowledge and skills that benefit society (ex: medical knowledge protects and enhances health).

Monopoly in a Profession

• Method 1: Convincing society that only graduates of the professional school should hold the professional title.
• Method 2: Persuading society to implement a licensing system, making unlicensed practice illegal.

Autonomy in the Workplace

• Professionals have considerable freedom in selecting clients
• Even those in large organizations exercise significant discretion in carrying responsibilities.

Ethical Standards

• Professional societies establish conduct codes to regulate professionals, preventing unethical practices.

Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice: Globalization

• Countries are increasingly interconnected through trade, technology, and information exchange.
• Issues like waste disposal, e-waste, computer ethics, and environmental ethics are gaining importance.

Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice: Standards

• Common minimal rights, mutual support, loyalty, reciprocity, refraining from harmful actions (violence, fraud), basic fairness, and justice need to be followed in transactions between professionals and employers.

Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice: Environmental Ethics

• Moral considerations covering the environment, perspectives, beliefs, and attitudes relevant to environmental issues.
• Protecting the environment, preventing its degradation, and reducing exploitation of resources for future generations are essential .

Safety Responsibilities of Engineers

• Bootlegging: manufacturing/selling/transporting prohibited products/services
• Occupational Hazards: Industries failing to protect workers, impacting compensation rights and justice.
• Moonlighting: work for multiple organizations, potentially leading to conflicts of interest.