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Scope and Aims of Engineering Ethics
What is Engineering Ethics?
 Engineering ethics concerns one’s conduct of behaviour and practice when
carrying out engineering work
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 The institutionalization of codes of conduct and codes of practice is common
with many professional bodies for their members to observe
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Example : Doctors Profession, Law Profession
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Aims of Engineering code of ethics:

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A code of ethics enables us to:
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Set out the ideals and responsibilities of the profession

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Exert a de facto regulatory effect, protecting both clients and professionals

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Improve the profile of the profession

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Motivate and inspire practitioners, by attempting to define their raison
d’etre (reason that accounts for)

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Provide guidance on acceptable conduct

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Raise awareness and consciousness of issues

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Improve quality and consistency

On the other hand, we must also consider:
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Whether the so-called standards are obligatory, or are merely an
aspiration

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Whether such a code is desirable or feasible

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Whether ethical values are universal or culturally relativistic



The difficulty of providing universal guidance given the heterogeneous
nature of the profession

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What the point is of specifying responsibilities, given the limited regulatory
function of a code

Some code of Ethics of Professional
Engineering Societies:
As Engineers we are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and
integrity
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Hence Engineers must perform their duties that requires adherence to
the highest principles of ethical conduct
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 Issue public statement only in an objective and truthful manner
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 Avoid deceptive acts - To receive bribes to show favour
 Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically and lawfully so as to
enhance the honour, reputation and usefulness of the profession
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 Environmental ethics
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 Using phone for personal use on company time
 Putting personal expenses as business expenses
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Ethics are the principles accepted by the society,
which also equate to the moral standards of human beings
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Hence the study of engineering ethics, where such ethics are implemented in engineering by the
engineers, is necessary for the good of the society
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Morals
The word “Morality” originates from the Latin word “mos” meaning “custom”
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They are not imposed by
anyone
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Though morals are not imposed, they can be understood as the preaching of our inner self
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These are the ideas that help frame our
personality so that we can distinguish between what is right and what is wrong
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Morals are always defined by one’s own personality
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Ethics
The word “Ethics” originates from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “character”
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Ethics can be understood as the rules of conduct proposed by a society or recognized with respect to
a particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture
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They may or may not vary from context to context
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The ethical theories
include duty ethics, right ethics, and virtue ethics and so on
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Utilitarianism is the philosophy which explains that the happiness or pleasure of a greatest number of
people in the society is considered as the greatest good
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This theory moves beyond the scope of one’s own interests and takes into account
the interests of others
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To be more precise, let us consider the definition in general
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”
Macro-ethics
This approach deals with social problems which are unknown
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Examples
Let us now understand a few examples related to moral issues
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He informed his superior who asked him to stay calm and not to
discuss with anyone, while waiting for the next year budget sessions to get some financial help for the
repair required
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Is it morally correct to outsource the prototype of the project and reduce the risks of
job insecurity? What should he do?
These are the few examples just to understand the kind of moral dilemmas
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There can be some other way around to deal with the issue, which
one can’t easily notice
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2-Responsibility of an engineer

If we say that Mahesh was responsible, as a person and as an engineer, we might mean several things:
He met his responsibilities (obligations); he was responsible (accountable) for doing so; he acted
responsibly (conscientiously); and he is admirable (praiseworthy)
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Responsibilities are obligations—types of actions that are morally mandatory
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Other obligations are
role responsibilities, acquired when we take on special roles such as parents, employees, or
professionals
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Being responsible means being morally accountable
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It also entails being answerable for meeting particular obligations, that is, liable to be held to
account by other people in general or by specific individuals in positions of authority
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We also hold ourselves accountable for meeting our obligations, sometimes responding with
emotions of self-respect and pride, other times responding with guilt for harming others and shame
for falling short of our ideals
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Voluntary wrongdoing occurs when we knew we were doing wrong and
were not coerced
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Other times it is a result of weakness of will, whereby we give in to temptation or
fail to try hard enough
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We might not have known what we were doing, but we
should have known
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Morally admirable engineers such as Mahesh accept their obligations
and are conscientious in meeting them
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In this sense, being responsible is a virtue—
an excellence of character
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In contexts where it is clear that accountability for wrongdoing is at
issue, “responsible” becomes a synonym for blameworthy
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Thus, the question “Who is
responsible for designing the antenna tower?” might be used to ask who is blameworthy for its
collapse or who deserves credit for its success in withstanding a severe storm
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Clear refers to moral
clarity—clarity about which moral values are at stake and how they pertain to the situation
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Informed means knowing and appreciating the implications of morally-relevant facts
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Well-reasoned means that
good judgment is exercised in integrating the relevant moral values and facts to arrive at a morally
desirable solution
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By “steps” we do not mean single-file movements, but instead activities that are carried
out jointly and in repeating patterns
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In discussing the example, we will illustrate the importance of professional codes of
ethics in identifying and highlighting applicable moral reasons
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The city processes the sludge into a
fertilizer used by local farmers
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Preliminary investigations convince the
engineer
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Moral clarity: Identify the relevant moral values
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These values and reasons might be obligations, rights, goods, ideals
(which might be desirable but not mandatory), or other moral considerations
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Another resource is talking with colleagues,
who can help sharpen our thinking about what is at stake in the situation
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Like most codes of ethics, the code of ethics of the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) indicates the engineer has at least three responsibilities in the
situation
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” A second responsibility is to the employer: “Act in professional
matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, avoiding conflicts of interest and
never breaching confidentiality
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” In the case at hand, the members of the
public most directly affected are the local farmers, but the dangerous chemicals could affect more
persons as lead and arsenic are drawn into the food chain
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Professionalism requires being a faithful agent of one’s employer, but
does that mean doing what one’s supervisor directs or doing what is good for the corporation in the
long run? These might be different things, in particular when one’s supervisor is adopting a short-term
view that could harm the long-term interests of the corporation
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3- Other ways
1) Gather the relevant facts and identify the problems
Do I have all the facts relevant to the situation?
Am I making assumptions? If so, could facts be identified to replace these assumptions?
Is it really your problem? Can anybody else help?

2) Identify the affected parties
Who are the individuals, organisations and key stakeholders affected?
In what way are they affected?
Are there conflicts between different stakeholders?
Who are your allies?
3) Consider the ethical issues involved
Have you referred to ICAEW's Code of Ethics?
What are the professional, organisational and personal ethics issues?
Would these ethical issues affect the reputation of the accountancy profession?
Would these ethical issues affect the public interest?
4) Identify which fundamental principles are affected
What are the threats to compliance with the fundamental principles of:
Integrity
Objectivity
Professional competence and due care
Confidentiality
Professional behaviour
Have you considered the following threats?
Self interest
Self-review
Advocacy
Familiarity
Intimidation
If so, are the treats to compliance with the fundamental principles clearly insignificant?
Are there safeguards which can eliminate or reduce the threats to an acceptable level? Safeguards
can be created by:
Profession, legislation and regulation
Work environment
Individual
5) Refer to the employing organisation's internal procedures
Does your organisation's policies and procedure provide guidance on the situation?

How can you escalate concerns within the organisation? Who should be involved, in what role and at
what stage?
Does the organisation have a whistleblowing procedure?
At what point should you seek guidance from external sources such as ICAEW
6) Consider and evaluate alternative courses of action
You should consider:
Your organisation's policies, procedures and guidelines
Applicable laws and regulation
Universal values and principles generally accepted by society
Consequences
Test your proposed course of action
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Written records will be useful if you need to justify your course
of action

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