What is an Ethical Dilemma?

An ethical dilemma (ethical paradox or moral dilemma) is a problem in the decision-making process
between two possible options, neither of which is acceptable from an ethical perspective. Although
we face many ethical and moral problems in our lives, most of them come with relatively
straightforward solutions.

Ethical Dilemma - Image of a businessman trying to make a decision

On the other hand, ethical dilemmas are extremely complicated challenges that cannot be easily
solved. Therefore, the ability to find the optimal solution in such situations is critical to everyone.

Every person may encounter an ethical dilemma in almost every aspect of their life, including
personal, social, and professional.

How to Solve an Ethical Dilemma?

The biggest challenge of an ethical dilemma is that it does not offer an obvious solution that would
comply with ethics al norms. Throughout the history of humanity, people have faced such dilemmas,
and philosophers aimed and worked to find solutions to them.

The following approaches to solving an ethical dilemma were deduced:

Refute the paradox (dilemma): The situation must be carefully analyzed. In some cases, the existence
of the dilemma can be logically refuted.

Value theory approach: Choose the alternative that offers the greater good or the lesser evil.

Find alternative solutions: In some cases, the problem can be reconsidered, and new alternative
solutions may arise.

Examples

Some examples of ethical dilemmas include:

Taking credit for others’ work

Offering a client a worse product for your profit

Utilizing inside knowledge for your profit

Ethical Dilemmas in Business

Ethical dilemmas are especially significant in professional life, as they frequently occur in the
workplace. Some companies and professional organizations (e.g., CFA) adhere to their codes of
conduct and ethical standards. Violation of the standards may lead to disciplinary sanctions.

Almost every aspect of business can become a possible ground for ethical dilemmas. It may include
relationships with co-workers, management, clients, and business partners.

People’s inability to determine the optimal solution to such dilemmas in a professional setting may
result in serious consequences for businesses and organizations. The situation may be common in
companies that value results the most.

In order to solve ethical problems, companies and organizations should develop strict ethical
standards for their employees. Every company must demonstrate its concerns regarding the ethical
norms within the organization. In addition, companies may provide ethical training for their
employees.

What Are the 5 Ethical Principles?

All companies will have a different code of ethics with different areas of interest, based on the
industry they are involved in, but the five areas that companies typically focus on include integrity,
objectivity, professional competence, confidentiality, and professional behavior.

What Is a Code of Ethics in Business?

A code of ethics in business is a set of guiding principles intended to ensure a business and its
employees act with honesty and integrity in all facets of its day-to-day operations and to only engage
in acts that promote a benefit to society.

What Is a Code of Ethics for Teachers?

A code of ethics for teachers defines the primary responsibilities of a teacher to their students and
the role of the teacher in the student's life. Teachers are required to show impartiality, integrity, and
ethical behavior in the classroom.

What Is an Example of a Code of Ethics?

An example of a code of ethics would be a business that drafts a code outlining all the ways the
business should act with honesty and integrity in its day-to-day operations, from how its employees
behave and interact with clients, to the types of individuals it does business with, including suppliers
and advertising agencies.

What Is the Difference Between a Code of Ethics and a Code of Conduct?

A code of ethics is broader in its nature, outlining what is acceptable for the company in terms of
integrity and how it operates.

A code of conduct is more focused in nature and instructs how a business' employees should act
daily and in specific situations.

What Is a Code of Ethics for Engineers?

A code of ethics for engineers is a set of guiding principles that establish standards of behavior and
moral guidelines for engineers in their line of duty. Every state engineering board requires
professional engineers to follow their code of ethics to protect the public and ensure engineers
perform their services ethically and honestly. All national engineering societies, such as NSPE, IEEE,
ASCE, ASME, AAES, ABET, and AICTE, have their code of ethics that members are obligated to follow.

One way we can think about an ethical code for engineers, which differs from other professions, is
that it serves as a commitment to society and the engineering profession. Engineers are obligated to
work ethically and uphold professional standards at all times.

The principles included in the code of ethics protect those who rely on the work engineers do. The
code is essentially a social contract that provides a guarantee that the design was prepared by a
professional who put the public’s interests first. This commitment is the foundation on which public
trust and confidence in the engineering profession are built.

Engineers are required to protect public safety by following national standards and only performing
work in areas where they are competent. This ensures all work is done properly and safely.
Historically, this focus on safety has produced a remarkable track record – given the thousands of
engineering projects completed over the years, there are very few engineering disasters and
accidents.

The primary purpose of codes of ethics in engineering professions is to protect the public and uphold
professional standards. The NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers) has created a
document called “Ethics” which outlines the conduct expected from any person taking up the
profession of engineering.

What is value education? Why there is a need for value education?

How does value education help in fulfilling one's aspirations?
Value education enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also helps
to remove our confusion and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove our
confusion and contradictions and enables us to utilize technological innovations correctly.

ANS. Character-oriented education that instills basic values and ethnic values in one’s psyche is called
‘Value Based

Education’. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is
called value education.

Value education is important to help everyone in improving the value system that he/she holds and
puts to use. Once,

one has understood his/ her values in life he/she can examine and control the various choices he/she
makes in his/ her life.

Value education enables us to understand our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also helps
to remove our

confusion and contradictions and bring harmony at all levels. It also helps remove our confusion and
contradictions and

enables us to rightly utilize technological innovations.

Values form the basis for all our thoughts, behaviors and actions. Once we know what is valuable to
us, these values

become the basis, the anchor for our actions. We also need to understand the universality of various
human values,

because only then we can have a definite and common program for value education. Then only we
can be assured of a

happy and harmonious human society.

Q 2. Explain the process of value education.

ANS. The process for value education has to be that of self-exploration, which includes two things:
verification at the

level of natural acceptance and experiential validation in living. Self-exploration is the process to find
out what is valuable

to me by investigating within myself, what is right for me, true for me, has to be judged within myself.
Through self
exploration we get the value of ourselves. Various aspects of reality facilitating the understanding of
human values will be

presented as proposals. We need to verify these proposals for our self and examine our living in this
light.

Q 3. What are the basic guidelines for value education? (UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The subject that enables us to understand ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness is called
value education. In order

to qualify for any course on value education, the following guidelines for the content of the course
are important:

Universal: It needs to be applicable to all the human beings irrespective of cast, creed, nationalities,
religion, etc., for all

times and regions.

Rational: It has to appeal to human reasoning. It has to be amenable to reasoning and not based on
dogmas or blind

beliefs.

Natural and verifiable: It has to be naturally acceptable to the human being who goes through the
course and when we

live on the basis of such values it leads to our happiness. It needs to be experientially verifiable, and
not based on dogmas,

beliefs or assumptions.

All encompassing: Value education is aimed at transforming our consciousness and living. Hence, it
needs to cover all

the dimensions (thought, behaviour, work and realization) and levels (individual, family, society,
nature and existence) of

human life and profession.

Difference in approach of Ethics and Law:

Laws are rules developed by governments in order to provide balance in society and protection to its
citizens. Ethics are standards developed by society or organisations to judge what is right and what is
wrong. Like sitting on metro seats reserved for women is both unethical as well as illegal. As for
example

Ethics are enforced through people’s awareness of what is right and wrong. Laws are enforced by
governments to its people.

Ethics does not carry any direct and codified punishment to anyone who violates it. However, the law
will punish anyone who happens to violate it.
Ethics are subjective, whereas laws are relatively objective.

Laws indicate what people must do while ethics indicate what they should do. Thus ethics brings
permanent or long lasting change in us. It targets the attitude and emotional intelligence of people.
Laws on the other hand try to ensure external behaviour without necessarily conditioning the
internal values.

We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the
quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its
members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and
professional conduct and agree:

I. To uphold the highest standards of integrity, responsible behavior, and ethical conduct in
professional activities.

1. to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, to strive to comply with ethical
design and sustainable development practices, to protect the privacy of others, and to disclose
promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

2. to improve the understanding by individuals and society of the capabilities and societal
implications of conventional and emerging technologies, including intelligent systems;

3. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected
parties when they do exist;

4. to avoid unlawful conduct in professional activities, and to reject bribery in all its forms;

5. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, to
be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data, and to credit properly
the contributions of others;

6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for
others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

II. To treat all persons fairly and with respect, to not engage in harassment or discrimination, and to
avoid injuring others.

7. to treat all persons fairly and with respect, and to not engage in discrimination based on
characteristics such as race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation,
gender identity, or gender expression;

8. to not engage in harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment or bullying behavior;
9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious actions,
rumors or any other verbal or physical abuses;

III. To strive to ensure this code is upheld by colleagues and co-workers.

10. to support colleagues and co-workers in following this code of ethics, to strive to ensure the code
is upheld, and to not retaliate against individuals reporting a violation.

Adopted by the IEEE Board of Directors and incorporating revisions through June 2020.

Changes to the IEEE Code of Ethics will be made only after the following conditions are met:

Proposed changes shall have been published in THE INSTITUTE at least three (3) months in advance
of final consideration by the Board of Directors, with a request for comment, and

All IEEE Major Boards shall have the opportunity to discuss proposed changes prior to final action by
the Board of Directors, and

An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes of the members of the Board of Directors present at
the time of the vote, provided a quorum is present, shall be required for changes to be made.

The Importance of Business Ethics

The system of moral and ethical beliefs that guides the values, behaviors, and decisions of a business
organization and the individuals within that organization is known as business ethics.

Some ethical requirements for businesses are codified into law. Environmental regulations, the
minimum wage, and restrictions against insider trading and collusion are all examples of the
government setting forth minimum standards for business ethics.

What qualifies as business ethics in history has changed over time and the different areas of ethics
are important to every business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Business ethics involve a guiding standard for values, behaviors, and decision-making.
Ethics for business have changed over time but they're important for every company.

Running a business with ethics at its core from the top down is essential for company-wide integrity.

Behaving in a consistently ethical manner can lock in a solid reputation and long-term financial
rewards for companies.

Employees tend to remain loyal to, and perform more effectively for, a company with a high standard
of ethics.

In our previous chapters, we discussed many things about the ethics to be possessed by an engineer.
The responsibilities of an engineer, if not taken proper care of, results in the adverse effects just like
the above discussed incidents. In this chapter, we will discuss the responsibilities of an engineer.

Loyalty to corporations, respect for authority, collegiality and other teamwork are a few important
virtues in the field of Engineering. Professionalism in engineering would be threatened at every turn
in a corporation driven with powerful egos. Robert Jackall, a Sociologist criticizes professionalism
saying, “what is right in the corporation is what the guy above you wants from you. That’s what
morality is in the corporation.”

In order to understand how good the ethical factors in a corporate world should be, let us consider
the following points −

Ethical values in their full complexity are widely acknowledged and appreciated by managers and
employees alike.

In an ethical corporate climate, the use of ethical language is honestly applied and recognized as a
legitimate part of corporate dialogue.

Top management sets a moral tone in words, in policies and by personal example.

The procedures should be followed for conflict resolution.

Loyalty

Loyalty is the faithful adherence to an organization and the employer. Loyalty to an employer can be
either of the two types −
Agency-loyalty − Agency-loyalty is acting to fulfil one’s contractual duties to an employer. This is
entirely a matter of actions, such as doing one’s job and not stealing from one’s employer,
irrespective of the motive behind it.

Attitude-loyalty − Attitude-loyalty has a lot to do with attitudes, emotions and a sense of personal
identity as it does with actions. It can be understood that people who work grudgingly and spitefully
are not loyal; in spite of the fact they may adequately perform all their work responsibilities and
hence manifest agencyloyalty.

Collegiality

Collegiality is the term that describes a work environment where responsibility and authority are
shared among the colleagues. When Engineering codes of ethics mention collegiality, they generally
cite acts that constitute disloyalty. The disloyalty of professionals towards an organization, reflects
the attitude they have towards the work environment for the salaries they are paid and the trust the
company has for them.

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code, for example, states that “Engineers shall
not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation,
prospects, practice or employment of other engineers. Engineers who believe others are guilty of
unethical or illegal practice shall present such information to the proper authority for action”.

Collegiality

The main factors that help in maintain harmony among members at a workplace are −

Respect

Commitment

Connectedness

In detail, the colleagues are to be respected for their work and contribution towards the
organizational goals and should be valued for their professional expertise and their dedication
towards the social goods promoted by the profession. Commitment observed in the sense of sharing
a devotion to the moral ideals inherent in one’s profession. The coordination among all the members
at a workplace or the awareness of participating in cooperative projects based on shared
commitments and mutual support also encourages the quality of the work.

Respect for Authority

To meet the organizational goals, professionals should possess respect for authority. The levels of
authority maintained by the organization provides a means for identifying areas of personal
responsibility and accountability.

The following are the major types of authority −

Executive Authority − The corporate or institutional right given to a person to exercise power based
on the resources of an organization.

Expert Authority − This is the possession of special knowledge, skill, or competence to perform a
particular task or to give sound advice.

According to the goals of the company, the hierarchical authority is distributed. A service-oriented or
engineer-oriented company concentrates on the quality of the products which are decided by the
engineers as they are the subject matter experts. Whereas a company when it is a customer-oriented
company, focuses primarily on the satisfaction of the customers. Hence the goal of the company
decides the power between a General Manager and a Technical Manager or an Engineer.

Collective Bargaining

It is the responsibility of an organization to look into the welfare of the section of people working in
it. Their issues need to be discussed. When we discuss issues, there can be issues which need to be
discussed among the employees themselves and resolutions can be found for the same. However,
there can be issues that might require the intervention of the management. To deal with such
complex situations, an Employee Union is formed wherein, each employee becomes a member and a
leader is elected to represent the group whenever needed.

At the time of conflicts or arguments, there will arise the need for negotiation between the parties.
Conflicting situations which call for negotiation might occur in areas related to pay scales, working
hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, rights in workplaces or company
affairs, etc. The process of voluntary negotiations between employers and a group of employees to
resolve conflicts is called Collective Bargaining.

The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or
as a Collective Employment Agreement (CEA).

Collective Bargaining

The underlying idea of collective bargaining is that employer and employee relations should not be
decided unilaterally or with the intervention of any third party. Both parties must reconcile their
differences voluntarily through negotiations, yielding some concessions and making sacrifices in the
process. Both should bargain from a position of strength. There should be no attempt to exploit the
weaknesses or vulnerabilities of one party.

With such an awareness, the necessity of formation of Unions was observed in all the organizations
and the idea was strengthened to form larger labor unions. Both parties have, more or less, realized
the importance of peaceful co-existence for mutual benefit and continued progress.