Professional Ethics

Mentor : Mr. Hamza Nasir

Occupational Health and Safety (CH161)

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences & Technology 1
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Products and processes have consequences
for society:
If the bridge has an inadequate support, it will fail.
If the gas tank is positioned too close to the
bumper, it might explode from a small accident.

If a medical instrument isn’t accurate, improper

doses of medication can be given.

If the process for refining gas produces too much

toxins, it harms the local community.

Decisions made by professionals usually have

serious consequences on people -- often to
What Is Meant By 3

Ethics?
• A set of moral values and principles which form the standards of the code of conduct of
individuals, organizations and professions.
• It is the principles of good and bad behavior governing what is right and wrong conduct.
Ethics is
System of moral Doing what society expects
knowing the
principles • Standards of right and wrong difference
that prescribe what people
between what
• Principles of right and wrong you have a
ought to do in terms of rights, right to do and
• Principles of conduct benefits to society, fairness, what is right to
do.
governing behavior of an etc. Potter Stewart
individual or a group.
Doing what the law
requires
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How are Ethics and Law Related?

Coming to
Parking in A Class
space with C
sticker while Illegal & Legal &
taking Ethical Ethical
roommate
to emergency
room
Illegal & Legal &
Unethical Unethical
Cheating
Selling an outdated
on an
textbook to an
Exam.
unaware student
 5
Preventive Ethics

“Preventive Think effectively

Ethics” which is Think ahead and about

based on two anticipate consequences

possible and decide what

dimensions:
consequences of is the ‘ethically’

professional correct manner to

actions handle the

situation
Seven Principles of Professional Ethics

Responsib
Honesty
le Account
and Fidelity
citizenshi ability
Integrity
p

Fairness, Pursuit
Promise respect of
keeping for excellen
others ce
 In tech sector, you do the
following:
• Handle sensitive data
• Build systems impacting real lives
Why Safety • Face high-pressure work environments
and Ethics
Matter
Ethical or unsafe actions =
Serious Consequences
 Ergonomics
Occupational Mental Health
Safety in Tech
Workplaces
Digital Safety
Remote work
safety
 Confidentiality: Safeguard user
information.

Professional Integrity: Be honest about risks and skills.

Ethics in
Technology Accountability: Own your decisions and
mistakes.
Fields
Respect: Fair treatment for all.

Continuous Learning: Stay updated to

avoid negligence.
 Safety Focus Ethics Focus
Physical and Mental Honesty and
Linking Safety Well-being Responsibility
and Ethics
Cybersecurity Practices Privacy and Transparency
Together
Threat Detection and Fair Treatment and
Reporting Disclosure
 Consequences of Ignoring Safety and Ethics

1 2 3
Personal: Legal Users: Harm, Society: Spread
trouble, job loss. loss of trust. of unsafe
technology,
discrimination.
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The Example of
Integrity
A building has structural integrity when it is

designed in a way such that it appropriately

responds to the stresses and loads that it is

designed to act under.

Just as a building can have poor integrity or good

integrity, a person can also.

A person has integrity when he/she can follow

the codes, he/she is supposed to follow under the

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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
professionals 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.
 14
Personal Ethics (everyday examples)

• Software piracy
• Copying of homework or tests
• Borrowing office supplies from employer
• Copying of Videos or CD’s
 15
Ethical Issues are Seldom Black and White

Loyalty to
Conflictin company
g and
Demands colleague
s
Ethical
standards
are usually
Persona Concern
relative and l gain, for
personal, ambitio public
there is n welfare
seldom an
absolute
standard
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Whistle-Blowing

• The term whistle-blower comes from the whistle a

referee uses to indicate an illegal or foul play.
• Whistleblower is a person who
exposes misconduct or illegal activity occurring
in an organization such as fraud, health and safety
violations, and corruption.
• Whistleblowers may make their allegations
internally (within the accused organization) or
externally (to regulators, law enforcement
agencies, to the media or to groups concerned with
 17
Whistle-Blowing (cont’d)

• It is morally permissible to engage in external whistle-blowing if:

The harm that will be done to the public is serious and

considerable.
Getting no satisfaction from their immediate superiors, even after
going to the board of directors.

• Need a documented evidence that would convince a reasonable,

impartial observer.

• There must be strong evidence that making the information public

will in fact prevent the threatened harm.
Consider the history of industrial accidents, like !! 18

Boeing 777

British Air Ways Flight 38

 Facebook Data Breach
(2019)

Real – World
Tech Uber Self-Driving
Accident (2018)
Examples

AI Bias in Hiring
 • Double-check code and AI models for
fairness.
• Encrypt and secure user data.
• Clearly inform users about data usage.
Your Role as • Recognize and mitigate AI biases.
Future • Speak up against unsafe or unethical
Professionals practices.
• Build safe, responsible systems.
• Respect global data privacy laws.
• Report vulnerabilities immediately.
• Promote good work habits.
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Ask yourself (when Making Decisions)
Is it
safe?
Is it
legal?
Is it the right thing
to do?
Is it just, balanced,
and fair?
How will it make me feel about
myself?
If something terrible happened, could I defend
my actions?
Does this choice lead to the greatest good for the
greatest number?
 GitHub Security Incident
An intern mistakenly made private keys public on
GitHub. How should the company respond
ethically and safely?

Case AI Recruitment Tool Bias

Studies for A company used AI for hiring and later discovered
it was biased against women. What ethical steps
Discussion must the company take now?

Developer Burnout
A start-up pushed its developers to 16-hour days
leading to several quitting due to mental health
concerns. How could better occupational health
policies have prevented this?
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Clicker Question

A person’s behavior is always ethical when one:

A. Does what is best for oneself

B. Has good intentions, no matter how things turn

out

C. Does what is best for everyone

D. Does what is most economical

 Ethics – Courage & 24

Integrity

As we will be seeing, more and more being ethical requires:

Courage to do the right thing the situation calls for.

&

The integrity to withstand the pressures that push you

in the wrong direction.
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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?

 Clicker Question
26

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.
 Answer 27

C (tell the customer): 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
THANKS