Engineering

Ethics b
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Includes Human Values
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M. Govindarajan S. Natarajan
V.S. Senthilkumar
Engineering Ethics
includes
Human Values

M. Govindarajan
Formerly Assistant Professor

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Department of Mechanical Engineering
Anna University, Chennai
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Formerly Professor and Head
Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Anna University, Chennai

V.S. Senthilkumar
Associate Professor
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Department of Mechanical Engineering

Anna University, Chennai
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New Delhi-110001
2011
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ENGINEERING ETHICS (includes Human Values)

M. Govindarajan, S. Natarajan and V.S. Senthilkumar

© 2004 by PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi. All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other
means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN-978-81-203-2578-4

The export rights of this book are vested solely with the publisher.

Twelfth Printing L L October, 2011

Published by Asoke K. Ghosh, PHI Learning Private Limited, M-97, Connaught

Circus, New Delhi-110001 and Printed by Rajkamal Electric Press, Plot No. 2,
Phase IV, HSIDC, Kundli-131028, Sonepat, Haryana.
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To

The Lotus Feet of the Holy Mother

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 A Prayer

“I stretch it out to Thee with both arms

in a gesture of offering and I ask of Thee:

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If my understanding is limited, widen it;
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if my knowledge is obscure, enlighten it;
if my heart is empty of ardour, set it aflame;
if my love is insignificant, make it intense;
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if my feelings are ignorant and egoistic,
give them the full consciousness in the Truth”!
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On the Mother
by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar
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 Contents

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Preface xiii
Chapter 0—Human Values
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0.1 Degeneration in Values xviii
0.2 Holistic Code of Living xix
0.3 Universal Values xix
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0.3.1 Right Conduct xix
0.3.2 Peace xx
0.3.3 Truth xx
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0.3.4 Love xx
0.3.5 Non-violence xx
0.4 Fundamental Values xxi
0.5 Holistic Vision xxi
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0.6 Quality of Life xxii

Sources xxii

Chapter 1—Understanding Ethics 1–28

1.1 Ethics—Action Oriented 1
1.2 Ethical Vision 2
1.3 Indian Ethos 3
1.4 Ethics Defined 3
1.4.1 Engineering Ethics 4
1.4.2 Ethical Decisions 4
1.4.3 Science of Ethics 4
1.4.4 Nature of Ethical Problems 4
1.4.5 Ethical Thinking 5
1.5 Approaches to Ethical Behaviour 5
1.5.1 Deontological Theories 5
1.5.2 Consequentialist Theories 5
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viii Contents

1.5.3 Virtue 6
1.5.4 Fundamental Virtues 6
1.6 Various Connotations of Engineering Ethics 7
1.7 Why Study Engineering Ethics? 8
1.8 Personal and Business Ethics 8
1.9 Ethics and the Law 9
1.10 Ethics and Design Problems 9
1.11 Duties and Rights 10
1.11.1 Morality and Law 10
1.12 What is a Profession? 11
1.12.1 Who is a Professional—An Analysis 11
1.12.2 Medicine and Law 12
1.13 Engineering as a Profession 12
1.14 Professional Societies 13
1.15 Core Qualities of Professional Practitioners 14

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1.16 Professional Institutions 16
1.17 Operating in a Pluralistic Society 16
1.18
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Environments and Their Impact 17
1.18.1 Economic Environment—Capital 17
1.18.2 Labor 17
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1.18.3 Price Levels 17
1.18.4 Government Fiscal and Tax Policies 18
1.18.5 Customers 18
1.18.6 Technology 18
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1.18.7 Impact of Technology: Benefits and Problems 19

1.18.8 Categories and Technological Change 19
1.18.9 Social Environment 20
1.19 Complexity of Environmental Forces 20
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1.19.1 Political Environment 20

1.19.2 Legal Environment 20
1.20 Social Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values 21
1.20.1 Social Responsibility and Social Responsiveness 21
1.20.2 Arguments for Social Involvement of Business 21
1.20.3 Arguments against Social Involvement of Business 22
1.20.4 Social Audit 22
1.20.5 Institutionalizing Ethics 23
1.21 Code of Ethics 23
1.21.1 Purpose of Code of Ethics 24
1.21.2 Objections to Codes 24
1.21.3 Codes of Engineering Societies 24
1.21.4 Resolving Internal Conflicts in Codes 25
1.21.5 Other Types of Codes of Ethics 25
1.22 Solving Ethical Conflicts 26
1.22.1 Guidelines 26
1.22.2 Procedure for Solving Ethical Conflicts 26
 Contents ix

1.23 Ethical Judgement 27

1.23.1 Law 28
1.23.2 Contract 28
1.23.3 Liability 28
1.23.4 Product Liability 28

Chapter 2 —Moral Reasoning and Ethical Theories 29–59

2.1 Theories of Right Action 29
2.1.1 Utilitarianism 30
2.1.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis 30
2.1.3 Duty Ethics and Right Ethics 31
2.1.4 Which Theory to Use? 32
2.1.5 Uses of Ethical Theories 32
2.2 Variety of Moral Issues 34

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2.3 Major Ethical Issues 34
2.4 Analysis of Issue in Ethical Problems 35
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Three Types of Inquiry 36
2.5.1 Normative Inquiries 36
2.5.2 Conceptual Inquiries 36
2.5.3 Factual Inquiries 37
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2.6 Engineering and Management Decision 38
2.7 Sustainability 40
2.8 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development 41
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2.8.1 Piaget’s Theory 43

2.9 Carol Gilligan Theory 43
2.10 Moral Dilemmas 45
2.10.1 Examples 45
2.10.2 Concept of Moral Dilemma 45
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2.10.3 Problems 46
2.10.4 Dilemmas and Consistency 47
2.10.5 Moral Residue 47
2.11 Types of Moral Dilemmas 48
2.12 Moral Autonomy 49
2.13 Moral Disagreement 51
2.14 Moral Absolutism 51
2.15 Moral Relativism 52
2.16 Moral Pluralism 52
2.17 Morality as Consequence 52
2.18 Ethical Egoism 53
2.19 Feminist Consequentialism 53
2.20 Conformity to God’s Commands 53
2.21 Proper Intention 54
2.22 Universalizability 54
2.23 Respect for Other Persons 54
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2.24 Caring 55
2.25 Respect for Rights 55
2.26 Contrast between Act-Oriented and Character-Oriented Ethics 56
2.27 Virtue of Courage 56
2.28 Compassion 57
2.29 Value Based Ethics 58

Chapter 3—Engineering as Social Experimentation 60–68

3.1 Comparison with Standard Experiments 60
3.2 Knowledge Gained 63
3.3 Conscientiousness 63
3.4 Relevant Information 64
3.5 Learning from the Past 64
3.6 Engineers as Managers, Consultants, and Leaders 65

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3.7 Accountability 66
3.8 Role of Codes 67
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Codes and Experimental Nature of Engineering 68

Chapter 4—Engineers’ Responsibility for Safety and Risk 69–75

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4.1 Safety and Risk 69
4.1.1 Concept of Safety 69
4.2 Types of Risks 70
4.2.1 Voluntary vs. Involuntary Risk 70
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4.2.2 Short-term vs. Long-term Consequences 70

4.2.3 Expected Probability 70
4.2.4 Reversible Effects 71
4.2.5 Threshold Levels for Risk 71
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4.2.6 Delayed vs. Immediate Risk 71

4.3 Safety and the Engineer 71
4.4 Designing for Safety 72
4.5 Risk-Benefit Analysis 73
4.6 Accidents 73

Chapter 5 —Responsibilities and Rights 76–96

5.1 Collegiality 76
5.1.1 Techniques for Achieving Collegiality 76
5.2 Two Senses of Loyalty 82
5.2.1 Obligations of Loyalty 82
5.2.2 Misguided Loyalty 82
5.2.3 Professionalism and Loyalty 83
5.3 Professional Rights 83
5.4 Professional Responsiblities 84
5.4.1 Confidential and Proprietary Information 84
 Contents xi

5.5 Conflict of Interest 85

5.5.1 Solving Conflict Problems 85
5.6 Self-interest, Customs and Religion 86
5.6.1 Ethical Egoism 86
5.7 Collective Bargaining 87
5.8 Confidentiality 88
5.9 Acceptance of Bribes/Gifts 88
5.9.1 When is a Gift a Bribe? 89
5.9.2 Examples of Gifts vs. Bribes 89
5.9.3 Problem Solving 90
5.9.4 Interests in Other Companies 91
5.10 Occupational Crimes 91
5.10.1 Industrial Espionage 93
5.10.2 Price Fixing 93
5.10.3 Endangering Lives 93

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5.11 Whistle Blowing 94
5.11.1 Type of Whistle Blowing 94
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5.11.2 When should Whistle Blowing be Attempted?
5.11.3 Preventing Whistle Blowing 96
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Chapter 6—Global Issues 97–112
6.1 Globalization 97
6.2 Cross-cultural Issues 98
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6.3 Environmental Ethics 100

6.4 Computer Ethics 102
6.4.1 Computers as the Instrument of Unethical Behaviour 102
6.4.2 Computers as the Object of Unethical Acts 104
6.4.3 Autonomous Computers 104
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6.4.4 Computer Codes of Ethics 105

6.5 Weapons Development 106
6.6 Ethics and Research 106
6.7 Analysing Ethical Problems in Research 107
6.8 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) 108

Chapter 7—Ethical Audit 113–120

7.1 Aspects of Project Realization 113
7.2 Ethical Audit Procedure 114
7.3 The Decision Makers 115
7.4 Variety of Interests 116
7.5 Formulation of the Brief 117
7.5.1 The Environment 118
7.6 The Audit Statement 119
7.7 The Audit Reviews 119
xii Contents

Review Questions 121–125

Case Studies 127–164
Case Study 1 Space Shuttle Challenger 129
Case Study 2 Bhopal Gas Tragedy 140
Case Study 3 The Three Mile Island Disaster 151
Case Study 4 The Chernobyl Disaster 162
Appendix 1 Institution of Engineers (India):
Sample Codes of Ethics 165 –166
Appendix 2 ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 167–173
References 175
Web Resources 177
Index 179–181

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 Preface

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Engineering Ethics, as a subject of study, owes its origin not only to the lack
of ethics that led to the engineering disasters that have been recorded over
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a period of time but also to the day-to-day ethical behaviour that ought to
be followed by engineering professionals. In the case of disasters, several
factors were responsible—overconfidence (Titanic disaster), impatience (space
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shuttle Challenger explosion), negligence and poor maintenance (Bhopal Gas
Tragedy) . Most of the disasters could have been prevented if the necessary
code of ethics was observed. In order to cut down on the number of errors,
both human and mechanical, many codes of ethics were established. The
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main purpose of these ethical codes is to ensure public safety.

Ethics presupposes understanding of human nature and values. Values
provide each one of us with a unique, personal, and moral template that we
use to assess the intentions and actions of others and ourselves and the
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importance of the likely outcome of these various actions and reactions. By

values, we mean an in-built mechanism which distinguishes the right from
the wrong. Right or wrong should be interpreted only in the context of the
social environment in which a person lives. There is a growing concern
about deteriorating values because deviation from accepted values threatens
the stability of society. Excessive technological growth has created an environment
in which life has become physically and mentally unhealthy. The quality of
work-life in any organization is greatly influenced by the ethical and moral
values prevalent in that organization. The ethical quality of managerial
decision-making can be improved through a full understanding and internalization
of the doctrine of karma. All decisions depend critically on the purity of
mind of the decision-maker.
There are five system values and many sub-values, or virtues that come
from these. They contain all that makes a human being noble, caring, and
kind. The Five Universal Values from which the other values and virtues
stem are Right Conduct (using the tool of the body), Peace (using the tool
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xiv Preface

of the mind), Truth (using the power of discrimination and intellect), Love
(using the power of energy), and Non-Violence (awakening to the Spirit
within). Indian ethos asserts that the spirit must lead matter and not
vice versa. Since all minds and all lives are interconnected, a respectful
attitude of honesty, help, care and encouragement are not only the best
policy but the only policy in management. These ideas are explained in
detail in Chapter 0.
The material for the book is taken from different sources like scriptural
writings, the contemporary writings on professional ethics, and the Internet.
Whatever presented is only ‘received knowledge’. The objectives of the
book are to introduce the readers to the ethical concepts that are relevant to
resolving moral issues in engineering, to impart reasoning and analytical
skills needed to apply ethical concepts to engineering decisions, to identify
the moral issues involved in both management and engineering areas, and to
provide an understanding of the interface between social, technological and

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natural environments.
Chapter 1 presents the fundamentals of ethics, starting from the Indian
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ethos and goes on to explain the various concepts of engineering ethics.
Deontological, consequentialist, and virtue approaches to the study of ethical
behaviour are explained. Engineering as a profession is discussed by comparison
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with Medicine and Law. The pros and cons of social involvement of business
are explained. The code of ethics and how to solve ethical conflicts have also
been covered. Chapter 2 deals with moral reasoning and ethical theories.
Theories of right action using the concept of utilitarianism, cost-benefit
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analysis, and duty and right ethics are also discussed. Three kinds of inquiries—
normative, conceptual, and factual—are explained. Types of moral dilemmas,
various models of moral development and value-based ethics are dealt with.
Engineering as social experimentation is discussed in Chapter 3. The engineers’
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responsibility for safety and risk is explained in Chapter 4. Collegiality and

loyalty are discussed in Chapter 5. Also discussed are the rights and
responsibilities of engineers in an organizational setting. Global issues
like environmental ethics, weapons development, and Intellectual Property
Rights (IPRs) are detailed in Chapter 6. The final chapter deals with ethical
audit.
Review questions and four case studies are provided to sharpen the
analytical skills of the students.
Teaching a course on Professional Ethics is difficult for two reasons.
First, understanding the subject matter is difficult as it is somewhat amorphous.
The teacher should have a good grasp of the principles of general ethics
before branching out into engineering ethics. Secondly, the teacher should
have good vocabulary and presentation skills. Hence, fluency in oral presentation
and the ability to impart reasoning and analytical skills needed to apply
ethical concepts to engineering decisions are emphasized.
 Preface xv

Writing a book is often a tedious job. It requires lot of reading, writing,

typing and editing. We acknowledge with thanks the excellent support given
by Mrs. Prabha in typing the manuscript and Mr. S. Muthukrishnan for his
help in page layout and in improving the general getup.
I thank Prentice-Hall of India for bringing out a sleek edition of the
book.
Any constructive comments for improving the contents will be greatly
appreciated.

M. Govindarajan
S. Natarajan
V.S. Senthilkumar

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 Chapter 0

Human Values

“udyamam sahasam dhairyam buddhih saktih parakramah sadete yatra

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vartante tatra devah sahayakrt”
—a Sanskrit verse
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(Where the six qualities of right effort, enterprise, courage, know-how,
resources, and the ability to reshuffle priorities reside, there God lends
a hand.)
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Values mean an in-built mechanism which distinguishes the right from the
wrong. Right or wrong should not be interpreted in any absolute metaphysical
sense and should be interpreted only in the context of the social environment
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in which a person lives, moves and acts. There is a growing concern for
deteriorating values because deviation from accepted values threatens the
stability of society. Irrespective of religious diversity, there exists a remarkable
degree of agreement about values such as honesty, integrity, compassion,
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tolerance and selflessness.

Values serve the process of ‘becoming’, in the sense of transformation
of the level of consciousness to purer, higher levels. Skills are concerned
with the method of ‘doing’, in the sense of speed, dexterity, efficiency, etc.
Values are, therefore, essentially subjective while skills are objective. While
education is more germane to values, training relates more closely to skills.
Values provide us with a unique, personal, and moral template that we
use subconsciously to assess and judge the intentions and actions of others
and ourselves, and the importance of the likely outcome of various actions
and reactions. Many of our values are derived from the myths about ourselves,
our culture and our place in the universe (our personal cosmology), which
make up the largely unconscious framework within which we live and have
our being. They are the pragmatic outcome of what we have acepted as true
answers (without much critical consideration) to the fundamental questions
posed by philosophy, ethics and religion. And for most of us, the personal
cosmology is derived far more from intuition and faith than from logic.
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 Engineering Ethics (Includes Human Values)

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