ENGR131 - Transforming Ideas into Innovations I

Chapter 3 – Ethics in Engineering (Part 1)

 Attention Please

No Cell Phones

No Photos

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 Outline

• Importance of Ethics in Engineering

• Responsibilities of Engineers
• Engineering Code of Ethics
• Integrity and Plagiarism

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 World without Engineers !!

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 World with Engineers

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 BUT
Accidents Happen

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 Who to be blamed?

Resulting in the death of 1517 people A Total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release
7 Titanic Ship sink 1986: Tchernobyl-Nuclear Power Plant Disaster
 Who to be blamed?

The toll of 101 people dead and 88 (estimated) injured 113 people died
Concorde Crash (Paris)-2000
8 ICE Train Accident in Germany-1998
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaUK2u4dvKc
 That’s why organizations
had set the Rules of
Engineering

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 Engineering Ethics Definition

• Engineering ethics is:

• the study of moral issues and decisions
confronting individuals and organizations
involved in engineering,
• the study of related questions about moral
conduct, character, ideals, and relationships of
people and organizations involved in
technological development.

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 Definitions
 Laws
• A system of rules and punishment clearly
defined
• E.g. Legal driving age.
 Legal [x Illegal]
• lawful may apply to conformity with law of any
sort (as natural, divine, common, or canon).
 Moral [x Immoral]
• Personal rules of right and wrong behavior.
• E.g. derived from person’s conscious and
religious beliefs.
 Ethics [x unethical]
• A code or system of rules defining moral
11 behavior for a particular society.
 Law vs. Morality:
Don’t get Confused

Legal & Moral Designing a system to be safe.

Legal & Immoral Owning a slave pre-civil war in the US.

Parking in a no parking zone, to come to

Illegal & Moral
the aid of an injured person

Illegal & Immoral Killing an innocent person.

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 Case Study: Murder

• Questions, is it:
• Legal?
• Moral?
• Ethical?
Answers:
• Illegal
• Immoral
• Unethical

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 Case Study: Driving over the
speed limit when you are late for
class

• Questions, is it:
• Legal?
• Moral?
• Ethical?
Answers:
• Illegal
• Moral to some Immoral to others
• Unethical

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 Case Study: Driving over the speed
limit when you are having a baby

• Questions, is it:
• Legal?
• Moral?
• Ethical?
Answers:
• legal
• Moral
• Ethical

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 What is Meant by Ethics?

Ethics refers to standards of conduct

that indicate how one should behave
based on principles of right and
wrong.

As a practical matter, ethics is about

how we meet the challenge of doing
the right thing

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 The Essence of Your
Engineering Career

Engineering is one of the most important professions in society.

As engineers we don’t just build things and develop processes.

We build things and make processes in order to better society.

In order to make society better we have to reflect constantly on the

products and processes that we make.

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 Responsibilities
Role Responsibilities

Role Responsibilities
Role responsibilities are Friend Look out for the interests of your
responsibilities that friend.
attach to us in virtue of a Athlete Play your sport in a professional
role that we have. Each of
us has different roles that manner.
we play in our life. Employee Perform the duties of your job.
 Engineering Student Parent Look after your children and their
 Friend interests
 Citizen
Citizen Follow the laws of the country in
 Employee
which you live.
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 Social Responsibilities

• One main connection between ethics and engineering comes from

the impact that engineered products and processes have on society.

• Engineers have to think about designing, building, and marketing

products that benefit society.

• Social Responsibility requires taking into consideration the needs of

society.
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 Professional Responsibility

• Ethics has a second connection with engineering.

• Engineers need to be socially responsible when building products

and processes for society.

• Social responsibility requires professional responsibility.

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 Engineers should follow their
professional code of ethics because:

1. The public will trust engineers more if they know engineers

have a code of ethics.
2. It helps them avoid legal problems, such as getting sued.
3. It provides a clear definition of what the public has a right to
expect from responsible engineers.
4. It raises the image of the profession and hence gets engineers
more pay.

http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
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 The Engineering Code of Ethics

The Engineering Code of Ethics has

three components:
The Fundamental Canons: which
articulate the basic components of
ethical engineering.
The Rules of Practice: which clarify
and specify in detail the fundamental
canons of ethics in engineering.
Professional Obligations: which
elaborate the obligations that
engineers have.
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 NSPE Fundamental Canons of
Ethics
Engineers in the fulfillment of their professional duties shall:
Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
Perform services only in areas of their competence.
Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
Avoid deceptive acts.
Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully,
so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the
profession.
National Society of Professional Engineers: NSPE
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Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public

• If engineers' judgment is overruled under circumstances that endanger life or property, they
shall notify their employers or clients and such other authority as may be appropriate.
• Engineers shall approve those engineering documents that are in conformity with applicable
standards.
• Engineers shall not reveal facts, data or information without the prior consent of the client or
employer except as authorized or required by law or this Code.
• Engineers shall not permit the use of their names or associates in business ventures with any
person or firm that they believe is engaged in fraudulent or dishonest enterprise.
• Engineers shall not aid or abet the unlawful practice of engineering by a person or firm.
• Engineers having knowledge of any alleged violation of this Code shall report thereon to
appropriate professional bodies and, when relevant, also to public authorities, and cooperate
with the proper authorities in furnishing such information or assistance as may be required.
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Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

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 Perform services only in areas of their competence

• Engineers shall undertake assignments only when qualified by education

or experience in the specific technical fields involved.
• Engineers shall not affix their signatures to plans or documents dealing
with subject matter in which they lack competence.
• Engineers may accept assignments and assume responsibility for
coordination of an entire project and shall sign and seal the engineering
documents for the entire project, including each technical segment of the
plans and documents.

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 Perform services only in areas of their competence

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 Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
• Engineers shall be objective and truthful in professional reports, statements or
testimony. They shall include all relevant and pertinent information in such
reports, statements, or testimony, which shall bear the date indicating when it
was current.
• Engineers may express publicly technical opinions that are founded upon
knowledge of the facts and competence in the subject matter.
• Engineers shall issue no statements, criticisms, or arguments on technical
matters that are inspired or paid for by interested parties, unless they have
prefaced their comments by explicitly identifying the interested parties on
whose behalf they are speaking and revealing the existence of any interest the
engineers may have in the matters.
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 Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.

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 Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
• Engineers shall disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest that
could influence or appear to influence their judgment or the quality of
their services.
• Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from
more than one party for services on the same project, or for services
pertaining to the same project, unless the circumstances are fully
disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties.
• Engineers shall not solicit or accept financial or other valuable
consideration, directly or indirectly, from outside agents in connection
with the work for which they are responsible.
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Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.

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 Avoid deceptive acts
• Engineers shall not falsify their qualifications or permit misrepresentation of
their or their associate's qualifications. Thy shall not misrepresent or
exaggerate their responsibility in or for the subject matter of prior
assignments. Brochures or other presentations incident to the solicitation of
employment shall not misrepresent pertinent facts concerning employers,
employees, associates, joint ventures, or past accomplishments.
• Engineers shall not offer, give, solicit, nor receive, either directly or indirectly,
any contribution to influence the award of a contract by a public authority, or
which may be reasonably construed by the public as having the effect or intent
of influencing the award of a contract unless such contribution is made in
accordance with applicable federal or state election campaign finance laws and
regulations.
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 Avoid deceptive acts

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 Try it yourself?

You are supervising a product with specifications that only U.S.-

made parts may be used.
Late in the project you discover a sub-contractor has supplied a
part with foreign-made bolts.
They aren’t very noticeable and would function identically to U.S.-
made bolts.
Your customer urgently needs the finished product.

What should you do?

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 Clicker Question
Should you:
A. Say nothing and deliver the product with the foreign bolts because the
customer won’t notice.
B. Find some roughly equivalent violation of the contract/specs for which the
customer is responsible and tell them you will ignore their violation if they
ignore yours.
C. Tell the customer about the problem, and let them decide what you should do
next.
D. Find loopholes in the original specifications so that your company hasn’t
legally violated the specs.

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 C (tell the customer) is the correct answer because it lets the
customer decide what is in their best interest given new
information.
This may be tough, because your job may be on the line and your
company’s reputation may be at stake.
Avoid deceptive acts
Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees

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 More Ethics Case Studies

• Today’s Impromptu Project:

• Ethics Case Studies taken from: CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ETHICS IN
SOCIETY, WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
• Cases can be found at this link: https://ethics.tamu.edu/case-studies/

• Excellent ethics case studies also at:

• Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research
• https://onlineethics.org/cases/cases

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 Important Notes about the
Code of Ethics

• It is not a legally binding document.

• It is not something that we want (or need) engineers to
memorize.
• It is something we want engineers to understand and be able to
live by as engineers.
• However, in the beginning knowing the code is a guide to
understanding how to apply it.

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 Descriptive Ethics

Patricia Logan 2001, USA, Reported reasons for misbehavior,

hygienists:
• Economic pressure
• Transition from employee to consultant results in compromises
• Working in foreign countries
• Lack of legal standard
• Working on contingency basis
• Decrease in job security
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Code of Ethics of Engineers: Professional Obligations

• Engineers shall be guided in all their professional relations by the highest standards of
integrity,
• Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest,
• Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice which is likely to discredit the profession or
deceive the public,
• Engineers shall not disclose confidential information concerning the business affairs or
technical processes of any present or former client or employer without his/her consent,
• Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting interests,
• Engineers shall uphold the principle of appropriate and adequate compensation for those
engaged in engineering work,
• Engineers shall not attempt to obtain employment or advancement or professional
engagements by untruthfully criticizing other engineers, or by other improper or
questionable methods.

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Code of Ethics of Engineers: Professional Obligations

• Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the
professional reputation, prospects, practice or employment of other engineers, nor
untruthfully criticize other engineers’ work.
• Engineers shall accept responsibility for their professional activities; provided, however,
that Engineers may seek indemnification for professional services arising out of their
practice for other than gross negligence, where the Engineer’s interests cannot
otherwise be protected.
• Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will
recognize the proprietary interests of others.
• Engineers shall cooperate in extending the effectiveness of the profession by
interchanging information and experience with other engineers and students, and will
endeavor to provide the opportunity for the professional development and advancement
of engineers under their supervision.

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 Ethics Takes Practice
Knowledge vs. Behavior

• Unlike robots, no one can just program you to be an ethical engineer that
follows the codes.

• It is possible to know the codes of ethics for engineering (or being a

student), yet fail to follow them.

• Ethical behavior is about practice and virtue. It is about going beyond the
codes, and practicing behavior that leads to an ethical life.
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 Integrity

A person has integrity

when she/he can follow
the codes he/she is
supposed to follow under
the stresses and loads of
his/her role.
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 “Academic Integrity”

Plagiarism

The practice of taking

someone else's work or

ideas and passing them

off as one's own

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 Types of Plagiarism

Quoting
From a book or article or web site without using quotation marks and a
note to tell the reader who wrote the quoted material.
Presenting
An idea as if you were the one who thought of it, when you actually got
that idea from a book or article or web site (the exception is when that
idea is part of common knowledge found in many pieces of writing).

The main reason why academic institutions punish plagiarism so strictly is: Because

45 plagiarism = dishonesty (the telling of a lie)

 How would a professor find out that I
plagiarized material?

• Professors usually first see that some of the writing in a paper is in a

different style from the student’s other writing, which is usually a sign
that the student is using words from another author.

• With the number of electronic searching tools we have today, professors

can quite easily identify work taken from web sites, articles and even
some books.

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 Consequences of Plagiarism

• Hurting oneself--and others

• “At AUM, If the student fails to prove the authenticity of the work, then
the Instructor has the right to award the work a zero grade and/or
apply academic misconduct rules as mentioned in AUM Student
Handbook.
Anti-Plagiarism Websites

Turnitin [AUM]
http://turnitin.com/
Viber [Free]
http://www.scanmyessay.com/
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 Summary

• In this chapter, we:

• Emphasized the importance of ethics in
engineering profession
• Introduced the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE) code of ethics

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