WHY STUDY

ENGINEERING ETHICS?
INTRODUCTION
• What is Ethics?
– Ethics is the study of the characteristics of morals.
– Ethics also deals with the moral choices that are made
by each person in his or her relationship with other
persons.
• Engineering ethics is the rules and standards
governing the conduct of engineers in their role as
professionals.
• It encompasses the more general definition of ethics,
but applies it more specifically to situations involving
engineers in their professional lives.
ETHICS
• Study of human morality
• Determining values in human conduct
• Deciding the “right thing to do” - based upon a
set of norms
• In Engineering:
– dealing with colleagues
– dealing with clients
– dealing with employees
– dealing with “users’
– dealing with public
WHY FOCUS ON ETHICS?

Make decisions – make the right choice

Take action – do the right thing

Personal integrity and self-respect

Element of professional reputation

HIGH ETHICS -> HIGH PROFITS

ENGINEERING ETHICS
• Engineering ethics is the study of moral values, issues
and decisions involved in engineering practice.
• The moral values take many forms, including
 responsibilities
 ideal character traits
 social policies
 relationships desirable for individuals
 corporation engaged in technological development.
ENGINEERING ETHICS
• Teaching engineering ethics can achieve at least four
desirable outcomes:

 increased ethical sensitivity

 increased knowledge of relevant standards of conduct
 improved ethical judgment
 improved ethical will-power (i.e., a greater ability to act
ethically when one wants to).
SCOPE OF ENGINEERING ETHICS
ENGINEERING AS AN ETHICAL
PROFESSION
• What is a Profession?
– special expertise
– shared moral values
– dependent public
– self-regulation
– promote and protect right actions
• The responsibility to be ethical
• The right to be ethical
• Values embedded in technology
Why Ethics?

• Integral part of the success of your career

• Integrity can be our most valuable asset,

– Leads to trust in work relationships
– Frees them from controls necessary
when trust doesn’t exist
SO WHY BOTHER WITH ETHICS??

• Special knowledge
• Involved in decision-making

“Practicing engineers are more apt to get into trouble as

a result of a failure to properly anticipate and handle
ethical problems rather than as a result of a traditional
engineering problems!”
RESULT OF ETHICAL EQUATIONS
ETHICAL BEHAVIOR UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR
Quality products Shoddy products
Conservation of resources Waste, fraud, greed
Pride in work Abuse of expertise
Public safety Guilt, fear
Timeliness Lack of safety
GOOD BUSINESS Cutting corners
-poor design
-rushed testing
DISASTERS!
ETHICAL ISSUED FACED BY ENGINEERS
 Public Safety
 Bribery and Fraud
 Environmental Protection
 Fairness
 Honesty in Research and Testing
 Conflicts of Interest
WHY STUDY ENGINEERING ETHICS?

Engineering ethics should be studied because it

is important , both in preventing grave
consequences of faulty ethical reasoning and in
giving meaning to engineers’ endeavors, but it is
complex. It cannot be understood through
casual observation.
WHY STUDY ENGINEERING ETHICS?

• Increased awareness of importance due to publicity

surrounding high profile engineering failures.

• Engineering decisions can impact public health, safety,

business practices and politics.

• Engineers should be aware of moral implications as they

make decisions in the workplace.
WHY STUDY ENGINEERING ETHICS?

• Study of ethics helps engineers develop a moral

autonomy.

• Ability to think critically and independently about moral

issues.

• Ability to apply this moral thinking to situations that arise in

the course of professional engineering practice.
 Specific examples which touch on a
few of the areas of engineering ethics
• Titanic
• Bhopal case
• Volvo Bus Accident
• A Chemical Plant
MORAL DILEMMAS
 Ethics & Morals
Ethics Morals
Principles or habits with respect to right
The rules of conduct recognized in
or wrong conduct. While morals also
respect to a particular class of human
What are they? prescribe dos and don'ts, morality is
actions or a particular group or
ultimately a personal compass of right
culture.
and wrong.
Where do they
Social system - External Individual - Internal
come from?
Because society says it is the right Because we believe in something being
Why we do it?
thing to do. right or wrong.
Ethics are dependent on others for
definition. They tend to be consistent Usually consistent, although can change
Flexibility
within a certain context, but can vary if an individual’s beliefs change.
between contexts.
Ethics are governed by professional
Acceptability and legal guidelines within a particular Morality transcends cultural norms
time and place
Variety of moral issues
• Where and how do moral problems arise in
engineering?
• An engineered product or project goes
through various stages of conception, design
and manufacture followed by testing, sales
and service.
 Variety of moral issues
• As engineers carryout their tasks some times their activities
may lead to a product that is unsafe or less than useful.
• This may happen intentionally, or under pressure, or in
ignorance
• A product may be intentionally designed for early
obsolescence.
• An low quality material may be substituted under pressure of
time or budget.
• Large number of products sold and many people may be
affected.
 Moral dilemmas

• A situation in which, whatever choice is

made, the agent commits a moral wrong.

1. Something morally Bad outcome

right

2. Something morally Good or better

wrong outcome
Kohlberg’s theory
3 Levels of Moral Reasoning
• Preconventional—moral reasoning is
based on external rewards and
punishments
• Conventional—laws and rules are upheld
simply because they are laws and rules
• Postconventional—reasoning based on
personal moral standards
Preconventional
Moral Reasoning

• Characterized by the desire to

avoid punishment or gain reward
• Typically children under the age of
10
 Gilligan’s theory
• Challenged kohlberg’s theory saying it is
male bias.
• Suggests that there is some tendency
for men to be more interested in trying to
solve moral problems by determining the
most important moral rule, which then
overrides other moral rules relevant to
the dilemma.
 Conventional Moral
Reasoning
• Primary concern is to fit in and play the
role of a good citizen
• People have a strong desire to follow the
rules and laws.
• Typical of most adults
 Postconventional
Moral Reasoning
• Characterized by references to universal
ethical principles that represent
protecting the rights or of all people
• Most adults do not reach this level.
• On the other hand women try harder to
preserve personal relationships with all
the people involved in the situation.
• In order to make Gilligan’s criticism of
Kohlberg clearer, consider the famous
example Kohlberg used in his
questionnaires and interviews.
 Kohlberg’s Theory –
Briefly

Pre-Conventional Post-Conventional
Conventional
(Individual (Reason-
(Social Centered)
Centered) Centered)
 Gilligan’s Theory –
Briefly

Pre-Conventional Conventional
Post-Conventional
• Caring for Self • Caring for Others
• Interconnection
b/w self & others
• Care Self
Chosen principle
• No one should
hurt
 Moral Dilemma
• Heinz, had a wife who was dying of cancer. A
drug that might save her had been discovered by
a local pharmacist, but he was charging ten times
the cost of making the drug. It was far more
money than Heinz had. Heinz went to everyone
he knew to borrow the money but he could only
get together about half of what the drug cost. He
told the druggist his wife was dying, and asked
him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later, the
druggist refuses.
 Moral Dilemma

• So Heinz got desperate and broke into the

man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.
• Was the theft morally right or wrong.

(Why or why not?)

• Kohlberg ranked men according to the kinds of
reasoning they used about the dilemma.
• Men who said that Heinz did wrong because he
broke the law are reasoning at the conventional
level in which right conduct is regarded as
simply obeying the law.
• Right to life is more important than the property
right of pharmacist are, according to Kohlberg
reasoning at the postconventional level.
• According to Gilligan women showed greater
hesitancy about stealing the drug and searched
for alternative solutions like more attempts with
the pharmacist and to find creative ways to
raise the necessary money.
• She contended that it reveals a greater
sensitivity to people and personal relationships,
including the relationship with the pharmacist
and the wife.
KOHLBERG’S STAGES
 Preconventional
Moral Reasoning

Stages 1 & 2
Stage 1: Punishment
& Obedience

• A focus on direct consequences

• Negative actions will result in punishments

• Ex: Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug

because he will go to jail if he got
caught.
 Stage 2: Mutual
Benefit
• Getting what one wants often requires
giving something up in return
• “Right” is a fair exchange.
• Morals guided by what is “fair”.

• Ex: Heinz should steal the drug

because the druggist is being greedy
by charging so much.
Conventional Moral
Reasoning

Stages 3 & 4
Stage 3: Interpersonal
Expectations
• An attempt to live up to the expectations of
important others
• Follow rules or do what others would want
so that you win their approval
• Negative actions will harm those
relationships

• Ex: Heinz should try to steal the drug

because that’s what a devoted husband
would do.
Stage 4: Law-and-Order
• To maintain social order, people must
resist personal pressures and follow the
laws of the larger society
• Respect the laws & authority

• Ex: Heinz should not steal the drug

because that would be against the law
and he has duty to uphold the law.
 Postconventional
Moral Reasoning

Stages 5 & 6
 Stage 5: Legal Principles
• Must protect the basic rights of all people by
upholding the legal principles of fairness,
justice, equality & democracy.
• Laws that fail to promote general welfare or
that violate ethical principles can be changed,
reinterpreted, or abandoned
• Ex: Heinz should steal the drug because
his obligation to save his wife’s life must
take precedence over his obligation to
respect the druggist’s property rights.
 Stage 6: Universal Moral
Principles

Self-chosen ethical principles

Profound respect for sanctity of human life, nonviolence,
equality & human dignity

Moral principles take precedence over laws that might
conflict with them

Conscientious objectors – refuses to be drafted because
they are morally opposed to war.

Ex: Heinz should steal the drug even if the person
was a stranger and not his wife. He must follow
his conscience and not let the druggist’s desire for
money outweigh the value of a human life.
PROCEDURES FOR FACING
MORAL DILEMMA
 MORAL DILEMMA
• Moral dilemmas often test our character and our
commitment to the greatest good for the greatest number of
people.
• Some moral dilemmas are simply complicated decisions
which must be thoroughly evaluated before choosing a
course of action.
• Other choices are genuine moral dilemmas which challenge
our ability to makes fair and just choices.
 MORAL DILEMMA
• Some people have hypothetical minds that like to debate
what is right and wrong.
• Sometimes, however, what is right and wrong is not so clear,
as is the case in a moral dilemma.
LONG,SHORT TERM
CONSEQUENCES
• Moral dilemmas can also be evaluated on the
basis of their short-term and long-term
consequences.
• If short-term consequences are
overshadowed by long-term benefits, then
moral dilemma can find its ethical solution by
pursuing an outcome which obtains the
greatest long-term benefit for the greatest
number of people.
 Should you always
tell the truth?
• A murderer at the door is looking for your
friend who is hiding in your house.

• Your co-worker is cheating on her time-sheet.

• You witness a parking-lot accident.

Should you take this
job?
• You are offered a job that will require you to
do things that you find morally questionable.

– If you don’t take it, someone else will.

– Maybe you can work for good from the inside.
– With the money you can take care of your family
and even give back to charities
MORAL DILEMMA
SCENARIOS
Debt to your Friend
• What would you do?

• There is a train that, is about to run over your own son, who
has been tied to its track.
• It just so happens that you have only enough time to pull a
lever which will send the train down an alternate track saving
your son.
• However, you see that, tied to the other track, is your best
friend, who recently saved your life and you have yet to
repay him for doing so.
SCENARIOS
• Friendship
• Right or wrong?

• You have the responsibility of filling a position in his firm.

Your friend Paul has applied and is qualified, but someone
else seems even more qualified. You wants to give the job to
Paul, but you feels guilty, believing that you ought to be
impartial.
• You gives the job to Paul. Was he right?
How to Respond to
an Ethical Dilemma
• Assess the situation.
– Responding to an ethical dilemma requires that you are
able to, in a sense, step back from the situation and
properly look at the situation as a whole.
– You need to understand who is affected by the dilemma
aside from yourself, what potential decisions could be
made and what the outcomes of those decisions might be
for all those involved.
– By gaining a wider perspective of the problem as a whole,
you will be more informed and able to make a decision
that is perhaps justifiable based on your assessment of
the circumstances.
 How to Handle
MORAL Dilemmas
• Discuss the issues with a trusted friend or colleague.
Understand that listening to an additional opinion can
provide more insight. It can also help you focus on issues
that you may have overlooked.
• Spend time thinking about the appropriate decision to make.
Avoid thinking about your decision in terms of “right” or
“wrong,” as this can make it easier to be trapped in your own
thoughts.
 RESOLVING AN
MORAL DILEMMA
• Step 1: Identify the Problem
• Step 2: Identify the Potential Issues Involved
• Step 3: Evaluate Potential Courses of Action
• Step 4: Obtain Consultation
• Step 5:Determine the Best Course of Action
Step 1: Identify the
Problem

• Gather as much relevant information as

possible.

• Talk to the parties involved.

• Clarify if the problem is legal, moral, ethical or

a combination.
Step 2: Identify the Potential
Issues Involved
• List and describe the critical issues.
• Evaluate the rights, responsibilities and welfare of those
affected by the decision.
• Consider basic moral principles of autonomy, beneficence,
non-maleficence and justice.
• Identify any competing principles.
• Ascertain the potential dangers to the individuals,
department or college.
Step 3: Evaluate Potential
Courses of Action
• Brainstorm ideas.

• Enumerate the outcomes of various decisions.

• Consider the consequences of inaction.

 Step 4: Obtain Consultation

• Colleagues or a supervisor can add an outside perspective.

• It’s a serious warning sign if you don’t want to talk to another

person about actions you are contemplating.

• You must be able to justify a course of action based on

sound reasoning which you can test out in the consultation.
Step 5:Determine the Best
Course of Action
• Map out the best way to resolve the problem (e.g., who
should be contacted first if multiple parties are involved? Do
you need outside support? Do you need to talk to a
supervisor?).

• Then consider who, if anyone, should know about the

problem (such as a work supervisor, friend, administrator or
colleague).
SOLVING THE DILEMMAS IN STUDENTS LIFE
• There is only one way to solve the moral dilemma and that is
opting for one of the situations.
• Parents and teachers play a major role in this task of solving
dilemmas for students.
• Though they cannot be there with children everywhere, they
must mentally prepare their children to face such situations.
• It is important to note that younger children base their moral
judgments on consequences and not on the motive behind
the act.
SOLVING THE DILEMMAS IN STUDENTS LIFE
• This happens because many of the parents just
explain what is wrong but not why a certain thing is
wrong.
• Explaining this helps children analyze the situation
better and solve the moral dilemma effectively.
Always appreciate the positive behavior of your
children without any conditions.
SOLVING THE DILEMMAS IN STUDENTS LIFE
• For example, If your child is studying hard,
appreciate it but do not say that you will reward his
hard work only if he gets good marks. An overall
good child development process prepares students
to face various moral dilemmas in their school life.

• It helps them cope with stressful events with ease

and stay content without losing mental peace.