Submission deadline moved to 18th May Edgar John (English Premiership case)-names of group members Mwinje Ferdinand and

Friends New case

SAFETY OBLIGATIONS
Ethical Dilemmas

ETHICAL CODES
Conflict of Interest Confidentiality

RIGHTS OF ENGINEERS
Whistle-blowing

Slides - 06

They help us to deal with practical moral problems, especially moral dilemmas. They can be used to justify the general obligations of engineers and others involved in technological development.

In 1974 the first crash of a fully loaded DC-10 jumbo jet occurred over the suburbs of Paris; 346 people were killed, a record for a singleplane crash. It was known in advance that the crash was bound to occur because of the jet's defective design

The fuselage of the plane was developed by Convair, a subcontractor for McDonnellDouglas. Two years earlier Convair's senior engineer directing the project, Dan Applegate, had written a memo to the vice president of the company itemizing the dangers that could result from the design. He accurately detailed several ways the cargo doors could burst open during flight, depressurize the cargo space, and thereby collapse the floor of the passenger cabin above.
6

Since control lines ran along the cabin floor, this would mean a loss of control of the plane. Applegate recommended redesigning the doors and strengthening the cabin floor. Without such changes, he stated, it was inevitable that some DC-10 cargo doors would open in midair, resulting in crashes.

Convair top management disputed neither the technical facts cited by Applegate nor his predictions. They maintained, however, that the possible financial liabilities Convair might incur prohibited them from passing on this information to McDonnell-Douglas. These liabilities could be severe since the cost of grounding the planes to make safety improvements would be very high and came at a time when McDonnell-Douglas would be placed at a competitive disadvantage
8

As a loyal employee Applegate had an obligation to follow company directives, at least reasonable ones. Perhaps he also had family obligations which made it important for him not to jeopardize his job. As an engineer he was obligated to protect the safety of those who would use or be affected by the products he designed.
9

A clash between at least two general professional obligations, one to his employer and one to the public A clash between professional and personal obligations as well. => Given that the vast majority of engineers are salaried employees, it is very likely that duties to employers will on occasion conflict with duties to the public.
10

1.

Identify the relevant moral factors and reasons. What are the clashing duties, competing rights, alternative goods and bads, and virtues and vices involved? Gather all available facts that are pertinent to the moral factors involved. If possible, rank the moral considerations in order of importance as they apply to the situation.

2. 3.

11

4.

Consider alternative courses of action as ways of resolving the dilemma, tracing the full implications of each. Talk with colleagues (or friends or other students), seeking their suggestions and alternative perspectives on the dilemma. Arrive at a carefully reasoned judgment by weighing all the relevant moral factors and reasons in light of the facts.

5.

6.

12

Ethical theories cannot be expected to provide simple resolutions of complex dilemmas. But they can help by providing frameworks for understanding and reflecting upon dilemmas.

13

In justifying the general obligations of engineers and others involved in technological development, two questions need to be considered: (1) Why do engineers have obligations to protect the safety of the public affected by their products and projects?" (2) What reasons or justification can be given for our earlier claims that engineers have these obligations?
14

Possible Explanations Safety is involved in most of the thorny issues in engineering ethics. Certainly it is the most pressing consideration in most situations involving whistle-blowing, confidentiality, and the exercise of professional autonomy. Engineering ethics takes as its primary focus the promotion of safety while bringing useful technological products to the public.

15

Further Explanations A rights theory begins with the assumption that every person has an inherent right as a human being to pursue his or her legitimate interests, i.e., interests not harming others Does this imply an unqualified right not to be harmed by technological products?

16

No! If people purchase hang-gliders and then kill themselves by flying them carelessly or under unfortunate weather conditions, their rights have not been violated - so long as advertisements about the joys of, hanggliding did not contain misleading information.

17

The basic right does imply a right not to be poisoned, maimed, or killed by technological products whose dangers are not obvious or are deliberately hidden. This in turn implies a right to informed consent when purchasing or using products or services that might be dangerous (e.g., buying an airplane ticket). =>This may be described as a right to make an informed purchase.
18

=> Thus there is a direct link between basic human rights and the safety obligations of engineers, both in regard to what those obligations are and how they are acquired.

19

1.

2.

The first view is that engineers acquire moral obligations concerning safety by being subject to laws or enforced codes that require them to be so obligated. The second view is that engineers acquire special obligations by joining a professional society and thereby agreeing to live by that society's code of ethics.
20

3.

4.

The third view is that engineers acquire safety obligations through the contractual agreements by which they are hired by their companies or employers. Engineers, upon entering their careers, made a broad, tacit promise to the public to protect and safeguard it in the course of performing their tasks.

21

Slides - 07

Inspiration and Guidance Support for Ethical Behaviour Deterrence and Discipline Education and Mutual Understanding Contribution to the Professions Public Image Protecting the Status Quo Promoting Business Interests

23

Mankind cannot survive without technology. But unless technology becomes a true servant of man, the survival of mankind is in jeopardy. And if technology is to be the servant, then the engineer's paramount loyalty must be to society. (Victor Paschkis)

24

Acting on professional commitments to the public can be a more effective way to serve a company than a mere willingness to do anything one sees as good for the company. Loyalty to companies or their current owners should not be equated with merely obeying one's immediate supervisor. An engineer might have professional obligations to both an employer and to the public that reinforce rather than contradict each other. Thus there need be no general contrast between the moral status of employees and professionals.
25

1.

2.

It involves exercising sophisticated skills, judgment, and discretion which is not entirely routine or susceptible to mechanization. Preparation to engage in the profession requires extensive formal education, including technical studies in one or more areas of systematic knowledge as well as broader humanistic studies. Continuing education and updating of knowledge are also required.
26

3. Special societies and organizations controlled by members of the profession are allowed by the public to play a major role in setting standards for admission to the profession, drafting codes of ethics, enforcing standards of conduct, and representing the profession before the public and the government. 4. It serves some important aspect of the public good, as indicated in the codes of ethics (e.g. medicine promotes health, law protects public's legal rights, and engineering promotes the public's health, safety and welfare as they relate to technology.)
27

Earning a bachelor's degree or the equivalent in engineering at a recognised training institution. Performing work commonly recognized as what engineers do. Being officially registered and licensed as a "Professional Engineer" ("PEng"). Acting in morally responsible ways while practicing engineering.
28

(1) Attaining standards of achievement in education, job performance and creativity in engineering which distinguish engineers from engineering technicians and technologists. (2) Accepting as part of their professional obligations at least the most basic moral responsibilities to the public as well as to their employers, clients, colleagues, and subordinates.
29

Engineers work within two general types of organisations; service organizations, and business or profit-making organizations

30

1.

2.

Service organisations provide services to the public or to other organizations - they operate under the economic restraints of a budget allocated by supervising government agencies or based on their income from the services they provide. Business or profit-making organisations are established primarily to produce income, the performance criterion for which is maximum profits or a reasonable return on investment, through provision of a product or service which the public finds useful.

31

In order to meet their institutional goals, organizational rules are created which attach specific duties to positions within the organization. An institutional duty is any assigned task within an organization, whether the assignment is directly or indirectly rule-specified. In order to enable people holding managerial positions to meet their institutional duties, the rules assign them institutional authority.
32

Engineers are expected to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect confidential information

33

Conflicts of interest arise whenever people or groups have interests which if pursued could keep them from meeting at least one of their obligations. Conflicts of interest arise in situations in which employees have side interests substantial enough potentially to affect their independent judgment in serving their company's interests. => Moral dilemmas, in contrast, occur when two or more moral obligations, rights or ideals come into conflict and not all of them can be met.
34

Having an interest in a competitor's business, viz. actually working for the competitor as an employee or consultant, or partial ownership or substantial stockholdings in the competitor's business. Using "inside" information to gain an advantage or set up a business opportunity for oneself, one's family, or one's friends. Benefiting from personal involvements with suppliers, sub-contractors or customers e.g. accepting bribes directly intended to influence judgment or working for a subcontractor or supplier who deals with one's corporation.
35

The necessity of protecting confidential information is a distinct obligation of engineers and important in its own right actually keeping confidences is one of the most central and widely acknowledged duties of any professional.

36

Confidential information is information which prima facie ought to be kept secret. Confidential information is any information which the employer would like to have kept secret in order to compete effectively against business rivals, e.g. any data concerning the company's business or technical processes which are not already public knowledge.
37

The obligation to protect confidential information does not cease when employees change jobs, otherwise it would be impossible to protect such information. Unless the employer gives consent, former employees are barred indefinitely from revealing trade secrets a clear illustration that professional integrity of engineers involves much more than mere loyalty to one's present employer.
38

Donald Wohlgemuth, a chemical engineer, at one time was manager of B.F. Goodrich's space suit division. Technology for space suits was undergoing rapid development, with several companies competing for government contracts. Dissatisfied with his salary and research facilities at B.F. Goodrich, Wohlgemuth negotiated a new job with International Latex Corporation as manager of engineering for industrial products. International Latex had just received a large government subcontract for developing the Apollo astronauts' space suits, and that was one of the programs Wohlgemuth would manage.
39

In exercising the engineers general skills and knowledge, it is virtually inevitable that some unintended "leaks" occur. An engineers knowledge base generates an intuitive sense of what designs will or will not work, and trade secrets form part of this knowledge base. To fully protect the secrets of an old employer on a new job would thus virtually require that part of the engineer's brain be destroyed - a solution no one would recommend on moral grounds!
40

White-collar crime is the secretive violation of laws regulating work activities, usually but not always, committed by white-collar workers

41

Slides -08

Engineers have different types of moral rights, which fall into the sometimes overlapping categories of human, employee, contractual, and professional rights. As human beings, engineers have fundamental rights to live and freely pursue their legitimate interests. Examples of such fundamental rights include: => the right not to be unfairly discriminated against in employment on the basis of sex, race, or age. => the human right to pursue one's career.
43

As employees, engineers have special rights, which include institutional rights that arise from specific agreements in the employment contract, e.g. the right to receive one's salary and other company benefits in return for performing one's duties. Other employee rights, however, are not reducible to purely institutional rights, e.g. the right to engage in the non-work political activities of one's choosing, without reprisal or coercion from employers a right which employers ought to respect, whether or not it is explicitly recognized in a contract or employment agreement.

44

Engineers have a general obligation to protect the safety and well-being of the public, and correspondingly, they have a to protect the safety and well-being of the public. => This obligation to the public might in special situations require whistleblowing, and hence a (limited) right to whistle-blow.
45

This is the right to refuse to engage in what one believes and has reason to believe is unethical behavior, and to refuse to do so solely because one views it as unethical. Two situations to consider: (i) When there is widely shared agreement in the profession as to whether or not an act is unethical, and (ii) When there is room for disagreement among reasonable people over whether an act is unethical.
46

Is it right to exercise personal conscience in situation (ii) above?? =>Yes, Engineers should be recognized as having a limited right to turn down assignments which violate their personal consciences in matters of great importance, such as threats to human life, even where there is room for moral disagreement among reasonable people about the situation in question.

47

Engineers have a right to professional recognition for their work and accomplishments, both with fair monetary remuneration, and nonmonetary forms of recognition. => This serves as a moral basis for (i) arguments against corporations which make excessive profits while engineers are paid lowly, and (ii) criticizing the unfairness of patent arrangements which give only nominal rewards to creative engineers who make the discoveries leading to the patents.
48

Without a fair remuneration, we know, engineers cannot concentrate their energies where they properly belong - their time will be taken up by money worries, or even by moonlighting in order to maintain a decent standard of living. Non-monetary forms of recognition are also important for it is unhealthy to work hard at one's job without proper recognition, and unrecognized work is also demeaning.

49

Professional rights and duties are not identical to the rights and duties of nonprofessionals, but neither are they unrelated to them. Professional rights and duties are justified in terms of more basic moral principles which also apply outside the professional job context.

50

In seeking to meet the obligation to inform those members of the public affected by "social experimentation" through engineering, engineers and others have sometimes engaged in what is known as "whistleblowing.

51

Is it ever morally permissible to do so? When is whistle-blowing ever morally obligatory? Is it always an act of disloyalty to an organization, or could it sometimes be consistent with company loyalty? Should it sometimes be viewed as an act of moral heroism which goes beyond the call of duty? What procedures ought to be followed in blowing the whistle? And to what extent do engineers have a right to "whistle-blow?"
52

The main features that characterize most cases of whistle-blowing by employees of organizations (i) Information is conveyed outside approved organizational channels or in situations where the person conveying it is usually under pressure from supervisors or others not to do so.
53

(ii) The information being revealed is new or not

fully known to the person or group it is being sent to. (iii) The information concerns what the whistleblower believes is a significant moral problem concerning the organization, e.g. criminal behavior, unethical policies, injustices to workers within the organization, and threats to public safety. (iv) The information is conveyed intentionally with the aim of drawing attention to the problem.
54

A decision to whistle-blow, whether within or outside an organization, is a serious matter that deserves careful reflection. There are several rules of practical advice and common sense which should be heeded before taking this action: 1. Except for extremely rare emergencies, always try working first through normal organizational channels - get to know both the formal and informal rules for making appeals within the organization. 2. Be prompt in expressing objections, for waiting too long may create the appearance of plotting for your advantage and seeking to embarrass a supervisor.
55

3. Proceed (i) in a tactful, low-key manner, (ii) be

considerate of the feelings of others involved, (iii) always keep focused on the issues themselves, (iv) avoiding any personal criticisms that might create antagonism and (v) deflect attention from solving those issues. 4. As much as possible, keep supervisors informed of your actions, both through informal discussion and formal memorandums. 5. Be accurate in your observations and claims, and keep formal records documenting relevant events. 6. Consult colleagues for advice - avoid isolation. 7. Before going outside the organization, consult your professional society (if possible). 8. Consult a lawyer concerning potential legal liabilities.
56

Whistle-blowers who proceed responsibly and take special care to document their views, are fulfilling their obligations to protect and serve the public. To this extent they have a professional moral right to whistle-blow. This important right is a restricted one, however, and its appropriate extent can vary depending on a number of factors. That right is limited by, for instance, legitimate needs to keep some information confidential.
57

Sometimes whistle-blowing is a practical moral necessity. But, generally it holds little promise as the best possible method for remedying problems and should be viewed as a last resort. The obvious way to remove the need for internal whistle-blowing is to allow greater freedom and openness of communication within an organization. Another way is the creation of an ombudsperson or an ethics review committee with genuine freedom to investigate complaints and make independent recommendations to top management.
58