Ethics Full Notes

ENGINEERING ETHICS (BENU 4853)

SEMESTER 1 - 2013/2014 Page 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background Ideas

Ethical cases can go far beyond issues of public safety. It may involve bribery, fraud,

environmental protection, fairness, honesty in research and testing and conflict of

interest.

Ethical problems will be faced by engineers throughout their professional practice.

Hence, ethical choices must be made.

Definition of ethics and engineering ethics;

Ethics = study of characteristics of morals deals with moral choices made by each person

in his or her relationship with other persons.

Engineering ethics = rules and standards of governing the conduct of engineers in their

role as professionals.

In other words, engineering ethics is a body of philosophy indicating ways that engineers

should conduct themselves in their professional capacity.

1.2 Why Study Engineering Ethics?

The work of engineers can affect the public health and safety and can influence business

practices and even politics. eg. FORD Pinto.

Fostering moral autonomy

moral autonomy = the ability to think critically (forming own opinion) and independently

about moral issues AND applying this moral thinking to situations that arise in the

professional engineering practice.

Not to train to do the right thing when ethical choices is obvious but to train how to

analyze complex problems and to learn to resolve these problems in the most ethical

manner.

1.3 Engineering is Managing the Unknown.

Lack of knowledge is not an unusual situation in engineering. Often many situations not

all information is known/available; as engineering design is about creating new devices

and products.



Many questions need to be answered;

"How well does it work?"

"How will it affect people?"

"What changes will this lead to society?"

"How well does it work under all conditions that it will be exposed to?"

"Is it safe?"

"If there are some safety concerns, how bad are they?"

"What are the effects of doing nothing?"

As an engineer, you can never be absolutely certain that your design will never harm of

cause detrimental changes to society.

Test your design as thoroughly as time and resources permits.

Use creativity to attempt to foresee the possible consequences of your work.

1.4 Personal vs. Business Ethics.

Personal ethics = deals how we treat others in our day-to-day lives. Many of the

principles are applicable in business and engineering situations.

Business ethics = often involves choices on an organizational level rather than a personal

level. Involves relationships between two corporations, between corporation and the

government, or between corporations and groups of individuals. These problems very

seldom encountered in personal ethics.

In engineering ethics, we seek to go beyond the dictates of the law.

Our interest is in areas where ethical principles conflict and there is no legal guidance for

how to resolve the conflict.

1.5 Ethics Problems are Similar to Design Problems.

Ethics problems are open-ended, not as susceptible to formulaic answers.

types of problem solving techniques and the nature of the answers resembles engineering

design activity:

1. design of products, structure and processes

2. design problems is stated in terms of specifications i.e; performance, aesthetic,

costs.

Within the limits of the specifications, there are many correct solutions.



In engineering design there is no unique correct answer.

Ethical problem solving shares these same attributes with engineering design.

1.6 Origins of Ethical Thought

Western ethical thought is developed through Judeo-Christian tradition thinkers from

ancient Greeks.

non-Western culture

religion

1.7 Ethics and the Law

Many laws are based on ethical principles

However, many things that are legal could be considered unethical

Example: designing a process that releases a known toxic, but unregulated, substance into

the environment is probably unethical although it is legal.

Conversely, just because something is illegal doesn't mean that it is unethical

Example: substances that were thought to be harmful, but have shown to be safe, that you

would like to incorporate into a product. If the law has not caught up with the latest

findings, it might be illegal to release these substances.



Chapter 2: Professionalism and codes of ethics

2.1 What is code of ethics

Code of ethics is the hallmark of modern professions.

But what is "profession"?

What is the difference between "job", "occupation" and "profession"?

Job/occupation = employment through which someone makes a living

"Professional athletes" depicts an athlete who is paid and distinguishes from the unpaid amateur

"Professional carpenters" indicates some degree of skill acquired through many years of

experience, with an implication that these practitioners will provide quality services.

Professional engineers?

Referring to the 1st case:

no amateur engineers who perform engineering work without being paid while they train

to become professional engineers.

Referring to the 2nd case:

If/When an engineering aide/technician has acquired even a high degree of skill, it does

not confer professional status.

Attributes of a profession:

1. Work that requires sophisticated skills, the use of judgment* and the exercise of

discretion**. The work is not routine and not capable of being mechanized.

2. Membership in the profession requires extensive formal education, not simply practical

training or apprenticeship

3. The public allows special societies or organizations that are controlled by members of the

profession to set standards for admission to the profession, to set standards of conduct for

members and to enforce these standards.

Significant public good results from the practice of the profession

* making significant (eg. involving huge sums of money) decisions based on formal training and

experience.

**confidentiality; trusting relationships and the ability to make decisions autonomously.



2.2 Engineering as a Profession

Essence of engineering design is judgment: how to use the available

materials/components/devices etc, how to reach a certain specific objective.

Discretion: employers and clients intellectual property and business information

confidential.

Safety of the public that uses the products/devices he designs.

No mechanization of work

AUTOCAD, MULTISIM, MATLAB etc are tools to assists in engineering work.

Society consisting of the same profession IEEE, IEM, BEM.

Differences Between Engineering and Other Profession (Physicians and Lawyers)

Engineers Physicians/Lawyers

employed by larger companies involving

many different occupations (excluding civil

engineers)

self-employed (private practice) or larger

group practices with the same profession

four years of undergraduate education training starts after undergraduate

education

do not require license to practice must have license to practice

powerful professional society

higher social stature

If engineering were practiced more like medicine:

Four years of "pre-engineering" degree in math, physics, chemistry, computer science etc.

3-4 years engineering professional program culminating in a "doctor of engineering"

degree which includes extensive study of engineering fundamentals, specialization in a

field of study and "clinical training".

Pattern of employment:

In engineering firms (similar to how civil engineers work) as consultants for

government agencies or large corporations.



Fewer engineers on payroll, the corporate rather employs a few professional

engineers to supervise several less highly trained engineering technicians.

Higher earnings.

Models of Professions

2.3 Codes of ethics

Express the rights, duties and obligations of the members of the professions.

Can also be found not only in professional organizations but also in corporations and

universities.

Provides a framework for ethical judgment for a professional.

Code of ethics is not a legal document

one can’t be arrested for violating it,

one may be expelled from the professional society/organization but still may practice

engineering.

A code helps the engineer to apply moral principles to the unique situations encountered

in professional practice.

SOCIAL CONTRACT

MODEL

society grants the profession

perks such as:

high pay

high status

ability to self-regulate

in return, society gets the

services provided by the

profession

BUSINESS MODEL

furthering the economic advantages of

the members (professional organization

are labour unions for the elite)

strictly limiting the numbers of

practitioners

controlling the working conditions

artificially inflating the salaries of its

members



HOW?

1) Helps create an environment within a profession where ethical behavior is the

norm.

2) A backup for an individual who is being pressured by a supervisor to behave

unethically.

3) Indicate the profession is seriously concerned about responsible professional

conduct.



Chapter 3: Understanding ethical problems

Ethical theories help us to understand and solve ethical problems. Ethical theory is a

comprehensive perspective on morality that clarifies, organizes and guide moral reflection. It

also provides a framework for making moral choices and resolving moral dilemmas.

There are a large number of ethical theories. This doesn't indicate a weakness in theoretical

understanding of ethics or a fuzziness of ethical thinking. Rather, it reflects the complexity of

ethical problems and the diversity of approaches to ethical problem solving.

The Five main ethical theories are UTILITARIANISM, RIGHT ETHICS, DUTY ETHICS,

VIRTUE ETHICS and SELF-REALIZATION ETHICS.

3.1 Utilitarianism

Maximize the overall good, taking into equal account all those affected by our actions for

example building of dams which can provide drinking water, electricity, flood controls,

recreational opportunities and many more.

But benefits come at the expenses of people (and animals) living in the areas where it will be

flooded. Animals which are probably endangered species. This theory tries to balance the needs

of society with the needs of the individual, with an emphasis on the most beneficial to the most

people.

Case studies : Bhopal Disaster, WIPP New Mexico

Utilitarianism has two versions:

3.1.1 Act-utilitarianism

Individual actions should be judged based on the most good produced even if the moral

rules should be broken.

3.1.2 Rule-utilitarianism

Says that moral rules must be adhered at all times.

Was developed primarily as a way of correcting several problems with act-utilitarianism.

Example 1:

Act-utilitarianism apparently permits some actions that we know are patently immoral.

Suppose that stealing a computer form my employer, an old one scheduled for replacement

anyway, benefits me significantly and causes only miniscule harm to the employer and

others. We know that theft is unethical, and hence act-utilitarianism seems to justify

wrongdoing. Rule-utilitarianism express this moral knowledge by demonstrating the overall

goods is promoted when engineers heed the principle, Act as faithful agents or trustees of

employers.



Example 2:

Suppose company morale would greatly improved if several disliked engineers are being

fired after being blamed for mistakes they did not make. Doing so is unfair, but the overall

good is promoted.

Cost benefit analysis

A tool in engineering analysis to help determined whether a project has the highest ratio

of benefits to costs. eg. Ford Pinto.

In this analysis, it is important to determine who reap the benefits and who will pay the

costs. It’s unfair for a group to reap all the benefits while another group is the ones who

have to pay the costs.

In 1977, Mark Dowie published an article in Mother Jones magazine that divulged the

cost-benefit analysis developed by the Ford Motor Company in 1971 to decide whether to

add an $11 part per car that would greatly reduce injuries by protecting the vulnerable

fuel tank that explodes in rear-end collisions under 5 miles per hour. The $11 seems an

insignificant expense, even judging to current dollars, but in fact it would make it far

more difficult to market a car that was to be sold for no more than $2000. Moreover, the

costs of installing the part on 11 million cars and another 1.5 million light trucks added

up. The cost of not installing the part and instead paying out the costs for death and

injuries accidents was projected using a cost-benefit analysis. The analysis estimated the

worth of a human life at about $200,000, a figure borrowed form the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration. The cost per non-death injury was $67,000. These figures

arrived at by adding together such costs as a typical worker’s future earnings, hospital

and mortuary costs and legal fees. In addition, it was estimated that about 180 burn

deaths and another 180 serious burn injuries would occur each year. Multiplying these

numbers together, the annual costs for death and injury was $49.5 million, far less than

the estimated $137 million for adding the part, let alone the lost revenue from trying to

advertise a car for uninviting figure of $2,011, or else reducing profit margins.

Ford’s cost-benefit analysis is usually understood to be utilitarian calculation. However

the calculations were seriously flawed. The death and injuries turned out to be more than

were estimated-Dowie estimated 3000 per year. Also juries awarded larger damage

verdicts once Dowie’s article appeared. The negative publicity Ford received greatly

damaged its reputation and adversely affected all of its sales for a decade.

Even if the cost-benefit analysis was accurate, it was not totally utilitarianism. It

implicitly focused on the costs and benefits to Ford Motor Company. In particular, it

omitted the bad consequences of not informing consumers of known dangers. It

calculated the costs in the short run, for each year, rather than the long run. Cost-benefit

analysis should have also taken into account additional good consequences such as

human happiness, instead of justifying the benefits in dollars.

(Martin, M.W & Schinzinge, R., Ethics in Engineering. 4th

edition.

New York: McGraw-Hill. 56;2005.)



3.2 Right Ethics

Is the respect towards human rights. Some of the example of human rights is privacy, not to

be injured, receiving benefits through fair and honest exchange, be informed about the risks and

safety of one's surrounding environment or products etc, liberty, livable environment, pursuit of

happiness, decent human life and many more.

There are also special moral rights, rights held by particular individuals rather than by every

human being.

For example, engineers and their employers have special moral rights that arise from their

respective roles and the contracts they make with each other. Thus, contracts and other types

of promises create special rights.

Another example is, when the public purchases products, there is an implicit

(understood/unspoken) contract that the products will be safe and useful.

Some rights are absolute, in the sense of being unlimited and having no justifiable

exceptions. For instance, if people purchase hang gliders and then injure themselves by flying

them carelessly or under bad weather conditions, their rights have not been violated—assuming

that advertisements about the joys of hang gliding did not contain misleading information.

But human rights does imply when people are injured or killed by products whose dangers

are not obvious or are deliberately hidden.

3.3 Duty Ethics

Is to respect individual's autonomy. Some of the examples of duty ethics is people deserve

respect because they are capable of recognizing and voluntarily responding to moral duty.

Autonomy = moral self-determination or self-governance, means having the capacity to

govern one’s life in accordance to moral duties.

Immorality occurs when we “merely use” others, reducing them to mere means to our ends,

treating them as mere objects to gratify our needs.

Violent acts such as murder, rape and torture are obvious ways of treating people are mere

object serving our purposes.

We also fail to respect persons if we fail to provide support when they are in desperate need

and we can help at little inconvenience to ourselves.

Of course we need to “use” others: business partners, managers and engineer, faculty and

students, to obtain personal and professional ends. Immorality involves treating persons as

mere means to our goals, rather than as autonomous agents who have their own goals.

It is a moral duty to do what is right because it is right, unconditionally and without special

incentives attached. For example, we should be honest because honesty is required by duty; it

is required by our basic duty to respect the autonomy of others, rather than to deceive and

exploit them.



Golden Rule : Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; or, Do not do unto others

what you would not want them do to you.

Right and duty ethics are mirror images of each other

"You have the right to live, I have a duty not to kill you; and if I have a duty not to deceive

you, you have the right not to be deceived".

Rights Corresponding duties

Kelly has a right to life Others have a duty not to kill Kelly

Kelly has a right to free action Others have a duty not to coerce Kelly

Kelly has a right to free speech Others have a duty not to prevent Kelley

from speaking freely

Kelly has a right not to be deceived Others have a duty not to deceive Kelly

Kelly has a right not to be stolen from Others have a duty not to steal from Kelly

Kelly has a right to kept promises Others have a duty not to break their

promises to Kelly

Kelly has a right to nondiscrimination

Others have a duty not to deny Kelly

opportunities based on race, gender, creed

or sexual preferences

Kelly has a right o property

Others have a duty not to bar Kelly

opportunities for free and fair competition

for property and its use

3.4 Virtue ethics

Is about good character and always based to morality. Virtue ethics emphasizes character

more than rights and rules. Example of virtue; competence, honesty, courage fairness, loyalty,

humility. In engineering, the most comprehensive virtue is responsible professionalism. This

implies four categories of virtue:

3.4.1 Public-spirited virtues

Engineering codes of professional conduct call for beneficence, which is preventing

or removing harm to others and promoting public safety, health and welfare.

Sacrificing time, talent and money to their professional societies or local

communities.



3.4.2 Proficiency virtues

Mastery of one’s profession, being well-prepared

Diligence: alertness to dangers and careful attention to details

Creativity

3.4.3 Teamwork virtues

Important in enabling professionals to work successfully with other people.

Teamwork virtues include collegiality, cooperativeness, loyalty and respect for

legitimate authority.

A leadership quality is an important key role within authority-structured corporations,

such as responsible exercise of authority and ability to motivate others.

3.4.4 Self-governance virtues

Necessary in exercising moral responsibility, for example self-understanding and

good moral judgment-what Aristotle called practical wisdom.

Also commitment and on putting understanding into action for example, courage,

self-discipline, perseverance, fidelity to commitments, self-respect and integrity.

3.5 Self-realization ethics

Is about moral significance of self-fulfillment

Self identity and meaning are linked to the communities in which we participate. Self-

realization ethics points to the particular commitments that individuals make in their

work, as well as in their professional lives. It is a central theme of how personal

commitments motivate, guide and give meaning to the work of engineers and other

professionals. Personal commitments are relevant in many ways to professional life, they

create meaning; thereby they motivate professionalism throughout long careers.

Example :

During the 1950’s the miniaturization of transistors was being pursued a t a relentless

pace, but it was clear there would soon be a limit to the vast number of minute

components that could be wired together. Jack Kilby, was well aware of the problem and

sensed the need for fundamentally new approach. In July 1958, only a few weeks after

starting a new job in Texas Instruments, he discovered the solution: make all parts of the

circuit out of one material integrated on a piece of silicon, thereby removing the need to

wire together miniature components. Thus the microchip was born. The invention has had

a momentous importance in making possible the development of today’s powerful

computers. In 2000, Kilby was awarded a Nobel Prize. Was Kilby, merely seeking

money, power, fame or other rewards? As Jeffrey Zygmont (a biographer “Microhip”

pg.3) puts it “we see nothing extraordinary in Jack Kilby’s private ambition or in his aim

to find personal fulfillment through professional achievement. In that regard he was the

same as the rest of us : We all pick professions with a mind to fulfilling ourselves.”




edition.


Example :

Gene Moriarty reports that his first job after college was a large aerospace company.

“The engineers in prospective company were excited telling me about a system they were

developing. It sensed the terrain with an ingenious radar mechanism, employed an

elaborate feedback control structure, and made determinations on the basis of statistical

decision rules. The job offered fascinating prospects for sophisticated engineering

designs. But then I took a wider look at the project and realized that the system I’d be

working on was to form part of the signal processing unit of what came to be the Cruise

Missile.” Moriarty decided not to pursue the job because, while it offered a “technically

sweet project”, since childhood he had believed that “war was good for nothing,

generally speaking, except making the rich people richer.”


edition.


Another example is more dramatic, chronicled by Loren R. Graham in The Ghost

of the Executed Engineer (1993) is the courageous and creative life of Peter

Palchinsky who literally sacrificed his life for his ideals.

Personal religious beliefs (religious commitments) also have relevance to the

professional lives of many engineers.

Although the fear of punishment in the afterlife or bad karma and such, are

usually associate with religious commitments, but it also allure inspiration rooted

in religious faith. In addition, religions sometimes set a higher moral standards

than the conventional.

For example, the ethics in Christianity centers on the virtue of hope, faith and

love; Judaism emphasizes the virtue of tsedekah(righteousness); Buddhism

emphasizes compassion; Islam emphasizes ihsan(piety or the pursuit of

excellence); Navajo ethics centers on hozho(harmony, peace of mind, health,

beauty or well-being).

Mark Pesce is the principal engineer for Shive Corporation, which invented dial-

up networking. In 1994, Pesce and a colleague developed the Virtual Reality

Modelling Languange (VRML), which allowed three-dimensional models top be

placed on the World Wide Web (Reid, R.H Architects of the Web. John Wiley &

Sons.167-209:1997).Emphasizing the importance of spiritual attitude in his

work, he makes it clear that his beliefs are neither orthodox nor associated solely

with any one world religion. He characterizes his belief as “a mélange of a lot of

different religious traditions including Christian, pre-Christian, Buddhist, Taoism

ad so on,” integrated into a type of “paganism” which is a practice of harmony, a

religion of harmony with yourself and the environment.


edition.




Chapter 4: Ethical problem-solving techniques

Issues involved in any ethical problems must first be determined. The issues can be split into

3 categories which is factual, conceptual and moral.

4.1 Factual issues

Involve what is actually known about a case; what are the facts. Facts are usually clear-cut,

but sometimes facts can be blurry and may be controversial.

eg.

a) abortion-at what point life starts (Roe vs. Wade)

b) global warming-what is the process and how does greenhouse gasses affect the

atmosphere

Factual issues can often be resolved through research to help establish the "true" facts, hence

clarifying the situation.

4.2 Conceptual issues

have to do with the meaning or applicability of an idea

eg. defining what constitutes a bribe as opposed to an acceptable gift.

The value of the gift is a probably a well-known fact.

BUT, conceptually is the gift meant to influence your decision or it is merely a nice gesture

between friends. Conceptual issues are resolved by agreeing on the meaning of terms and

concepts.

4.3 Moral issues

Are resolved by agreement as to which moral principles are pertinent (relevant) and how they

should be applied.



Chapter 5: Risk, Safety and Accidents

No duty of the engineer is more important than her duty to protect the safety and the well-

being of the public. Where by Risk = the possibility of suffering harm or loss and Safety =

freedom from damage, injury or risk. “We engage in risky behavior when we do something that

is unsafe, and something is unsafe if it involves substantial risk". Safety and risk are essentially

subjective and depends on many factors;

1) Voluntary vs. involuntary risk -many consider something safer if they knowingly take on the

risk, but would find it unsafe if forced to do so.

2) Short-term vs. long-term consequences -fractured leg vs. spinal fracture leading to permanent

disability.

3) Expected probability -swimming at a beach with large concentration of jellyfish

(unacceptable) vs. beach with a low enough risk of shark attack (acceptable).

4) Reversible effects.

5) Threshold levels for risk -automobile accident vs. nuclear radiation.

6) Delayed vs. immediate risk -high-fat diet vs. skydiving.

The question of how safe is something depends on who is asked. Some may consider

something is safe but someone else may consider it unsafe. Ultimately, it is up to the engineer

and the company management to use their professional judgment to determine whether a project

can be safely implemented. Four criteria that must be met to ensure a safe design.

1) Comply with the applicable law - legal standards for product safety are published and easily

accessible.

2) Meet the standard of "accepted engineering practice".

3) Alternative designs are potentially safer must be explored.

4) Attempt to foresee potential misuses of the product by the consumer and must design to

avoid these problems.

Both prototypes and finished devices must be rigorously(carefully and detailed) tested. These

tests should not only determine whether the product meets the specifications, BUT also to test

the safety of the product. eg. Russian navy submarine, The Kursk. Safety in engineering design

process;

1) Define the problem -determine the needs and requirements and constraints.

2) Generate several solutions (multiple alternative design).

3) Analyze each solution to determine the pros and cons of each. Determining the

consequences of each design solution and determining whether it solves the problem.

4) Test the solutions.

5) Select the best solution.

6) Implement the chosen solution.

Many of the risks are can only be expressed as probabilities and often are no more than

educated guesses. The prudent (careful and sensible) approach to minimizing risk in a design is a



"go slow" approach. However this approach isn't always in the real world. Often it’s because of

time and money constraints.

Risk-Benefit Analysis

Similar to cost-benefit analysis. Risks and benefits are assigned to money values. However,

risks are harder to quantify and more difficult to put a price tag on. In this analysis, one must

consider who takes the risks and who reaps the benefits. It is important to be sure that those who

are taking the risks are also those who are benefiting.

Accidents

Accidents can be grouped into three types ;

1) Procedural

The result of someone making a bad choice or not following established procedures.

these problems can include failure to adequately examining drawings before signing off

on them, failure to follow design rules or failure to design according to accepted

engineering practice.

can be reduced through increased training, more supervision, new laws or regulations or

closer scrutiny(careful and thorough examination) by regulators.

2) Engineered

Caused by flaws in the design.

failures of materials used, devices that don't perform as expected or devices that perform

well under all circumstances encountered.

these problems can be understood and alleviated (reduce) as more knowledge is gained

through testing and actual experience in the field.

3) Systemic

One of the characteristics of very complex technologies and the complex organization that are

required to operate them.

eg. airline industry

At many stages in the operation of an airline, there are many chances for mistakes to

occur. Often, a single minor mistake isn't significant, a series of small errors are not

significant alone. But when these small errors come together, a major accident can be

inevitable (impossible to avoid).

this type of accident is harder to understand and harder to control thus it is difficult to

take systemic accidents into account during design.

as engineers, it is important to understand the complexity of the systems involved, and to

attempt to be creative in determining how things can be designed to avert as many

mistakes by people using the technology as possible.

as designers, engineers are responsible for being thorough and careful in generating

owner's manuals and procedures.



Chapter 6: The rights and responsibilities of engineers

The code of ethics of the professional engineering societies mainly spells out the

responsibilities of an engineer. In this chapter, responsibilities of an engineer will be discussed

further. Also, the professional rights engineers can exercise, especially when faced with issues of

conscience and conflicts with the rights of employees or clients.

6.1 Professional responsibilities

6.1.1 Confidentiality and Proprietary Information

A hallmark of the profession is discretion. It is required that the professional keep certain

information of the company/employee and clients secret or confidential. This is practiced in

patient-doctor, client-attorney relationships also company/employee-engineer relationships.

The reason:

Most information about how a business is run, its products, suppliers directly affects the

company’s ability to compete in the marketplace. Competitors may use by such information

to gain advantage and to catch up. Hence, it is in the company’s/employee’s best interest to

keep such information confidential. Otherwise, it is very difficult to compete and stay ahead

of the herd. Engineers working for a client are frequently required to sign a nondisclosure

agreement. Engineers working for the government especially in the defense industry have

even more stringent requirements about secrecy placed on them and may even require a

security clearance granted after investigation by a governmental security agency before being

able to work.

Types of confidential information:

Obvious information such as;

Test results and data, information about upcoming unreleased products, and designs or

formulas for products.

Not so obvious information such as;

Number of personnel working on a certain project, identity of suppliers, marketing strategies,

production costs and production yields.

A common problem that often arises is, how long confidentiality extends after an

engineer leaves employment with a company. When an engineer moves to another company

in the same technical area, she brings a long with her experiences and a great deal of

knowledge. She knows what works, what materials/components to use etc. Legally, this is

considered as company’s confidential information. But, it is extremely difficult for an

engineer to forget everything she has learnt. However, it is the right of an individual to seek

career advancement wherever they choose and it is also the company’s right to keep



information away from competitors. The burden of ensuring that both of these competing

interests are recognized and maintained lies with the individual engineer.

6.1.2 Conflict of Interests

A conflict of interest arises when an interest, if pursued, could keep the engineer from

fulfilling her obligations.

Three types of conflict of interests:

1) Actual conflict of interests

e.g.

A civil engineer working for a state department of highways might have a financial

interest in a company that has a bid on a construction project. If that engineer has some

responsibility for determining which company’s bid to accept, then there is a clear

conflict of interest.

Pursuing his financial interest in the company might lead him not to objectively and

faithfully discharge his professional duties to his employer, the highway department.

2) Potential conflict of interests

e.g.

an engineer befriended the supplier of her company. Although this situation doesn’t

necessarily constitute a conflict, but there is the potential that the engineer’s judgment

might become conflicted by the needs to maintain the friendship.

3) Appearance conflict of interests

e.g.

An engineer paid based on a percentage of the cost of the design. There is clearly no

incentive to cut costs in this situation and it may appear that the engineer is making the

design more expensive simply to generate a larger fee.

To avoid conflicts of interests is to follow the guidance of company policy or asking a

coworker or manager. You may also look to the statement of the professional codes of ethics,

with explicit statements that can help determine whether or not your situation is a conflict of

interest.

6.1.3 Environmental Ethics

Engineers are responsible in part for the creation of the technology that has led to damage

of the environment. Engineers are responsible to use their knowledge and skills to help

protect the environment and also find solutions to the problems caused by modern

technology. Humans are just one component of the environment and that all components

have equal rights. It is an utmost duty of everyone to do what is required to maintain healthy

biosphere for its own sake.



Several approaches to resolve environmental problems:

6.1.4 Cost-oblivious approach

Cost is not taken into account in keeping the environment as clean as possible. No level

of environmental degradation is seen as acceptable. This approach is difficult to uphold

especially in a modern urbanized society. The definition “as clean as possible” is hard to

agree upon. Being oblivious to cost isn’t practical in any realistic situation, in which there are

not infinite resources to apply to a problem.

6.1.5 Cost-benefit analysis

Here the problem is analyzed in terms of the benefits derived by reducing the pollution-

improving human health, for example. Costs, is the costs required to solve the problem. The

costs and benefits are weighed to determine the optimum combination, a balance of pollution

with health or environmental considerations.

Problems arise in determining the cost of a human life, the loss of a species or a scenic

view. This approach doesn’t necessarily take into account who shoulders the costs and who

reaps the benefits.

For an engineer, the minimal requirement is that the engineer must follow the applicable

federal, state and municipal laws and regulations.

Engineers do have the right o express their opinions on environmental issues. An

engineer should not be compelled by his employer to work on a project that he finds ethically

troubling, including projects with severe environmental impacts.

For many environmental issues, engineers aren’t competent to make decision but should

seek the counsel of biologists, public health experts and physicians or anyone with the

knowledge and authority in helping to analyze and understand the possible environmental

consequences of a project.

6.1.6 Computer Ethics

Computers have become a ubiquitous tool in engineering and business. Unfortunately,

there are numerous ways computers are misused, leading to serious ethical issues. It is the

engineer’s duty as a designer, manager and user of computers, to help foster the ethical use of

computers.



6.2 Computers as the Instrument of Unethical Behavior

a) Theft

Computers as a tool to assist theft. Stealing whether by way of the traditional way or

simply by sitting in front of a computer, the ethical issues and law is not altered.

b) Invasion of privacy

Privacy = basic right of an individual to control access to and use of information about

himself. Information (individuals or corporate) gained without consent is an invasion of

privacy. With computers, protecting privacy has become much more difficult. Records

have been computerized, making retrieval of files much easier, it also makes the

unauthorized retrieval of this information by others easier. Invasions of privacy can lead

to an individual being harassed or blackmailed. Harassed in the simplest form, repeated

phone calls from telemarketers who have obtained information about an individual’s

spending habits. Subtle teasing or bothering from a coworker who has gained personal

knowledge of the individual. Personal information is considered as personal property.

This same principle applies to proprietary information of a corporation.

c) Hacking

Gaining unauthorized access to a database, implanting false information in a database or

altering existing information and disseminating viruses over the internet. In most cases of

hacking, hackers simply testing and pushing their skills and knowledge limits. In extreme

cases, secret military information is illegally accessed which may jeopardize national

security. Altering information may lead to fraud. Issuance of computer viruses may lead

to deaths when hospital records or equipment are compromised, financial ruins for

individuals whose records are wiped out, or the loss of millions of dollars for

corporations, individuals, taxpayers, as completed work must be redone.

6.3 Autonomous Computers

Refers to the ability of a computer to make decisions without the intervention of

humans. These computers benefit greatly in e.g. manufacturing process that require

monitoring at frequent intervals. However, some of the negative implications of this

autonomy are chillingly spelled out in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

which an autonomous computer responsible for running a spaceship headed for Jupiter

begins to turn against the humans it was designed to work for. This is also depicted in

the 20th

Century Fox movie, I-Robot, where the mainframe overrides the human

programming of servant cyborgs making them turn against their owners. In a real, a less

malicious example occurred on the October 19, 1987. Computers at the time were

widely used to automate trading on the major U.S stock exchanges. These computers

were programmed to automatically sell stocks under certain conditions, among them

when prices drop sharply. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average (a widely used

market-price indicator) dropped by 508 points, a 22.6% drop in overall value of the

market. This led to the 1987 stock market crash, as these computers start selling stocks,

further depressing the prices, causing other computers to sell and so on until the major



market crash. Implications of autonomous computers are also heavily discussed with

regard to military weapons.

6.4 Computers Codes of Ethics

The codes acts as guidelines for the ethical use of computing resources but should never

be used as a substitute for sound moral reasoning and judgment.

6.5 Professional rights

The most fundamental right of an engineer is the right of professional conscience. This

also includes the right to refuse to engage in unethical behavior. In a clear case, where

engineers are asked to falsify a test result or fudge on the safety of a product.

It is less clear case for which the engineer refuses an assignment based on an ethical

principle that is not shared by everyone. For example, an engineer may refuse to work on

defense, military projects or environmental hazardous work if his conscience says such work

is immoral due to its implication on human life. Others may feel that this type of work is

ethically acceptable as the defense of our nation or other nations from aggression is a

legitimate function. Employers should be reasonably accommodating of that person’s

request.

6.6 Whistle blowing

Whistle blowing is the act by an employee of informing higher management or the public

of unethical or illegal behavior within the organization.

According to the codes of ethics, engineers have the duty to protect the health and safety

of the public, so in many cases, an engineer is compelled to blow the whistle on acts or

projects that harm these values.

Engineers have the professional right to disclose wrong-doing within their organizations

and expect to see appropriate action taken.

Two types of whistle blowing:

1) Internal whistle blowing

When an employee goes over the head of an immediate supervisor to report a problem to

a higher level of management. Or all the levels of management are bypassed, and the

employee goes directly to the president of the company or the board of directors. The

whistle blowing is kept within the company or organization.

2) External whistle blowing

When the employee goes outside the company and reports the wrongdoing to

newspapers or law-enforcement authorities.



Either type of whistle blowing is perceived as disloyalty. However, keeping it within the

company is often seen as less serious than going outside of the company. Whistle blowing should

only be attempted if the following four conditions are met:

1) Need

There is no need to whistle blow on every unethical behavior. The employee must have a

sense of proportion. For example; if an accident occurs resulting in a small quantity of

toxic compound and clean up was immediate, there is obviously no need to notify higher

management or outside authorities. But if this type of incident happens repeatedly and no

action is taken to rectify the problem despite repeated attempts by employee to get the

problem fixed, then perhaps this situation is serious enough to warrant the extreme

measures of whistle blowing.

2) Proximity

The employee must have a firsthand knowledge of the unethical act. Hearsay is not

adequate. This also implies that the employee must have enough expertise to assess the

situation.

3) Capability

The employee must have a reasonable chance of success in stopping the harmful activity.

You are not obligated to risk your career and the financial security of your family if you

can’t see the case through completion and you don’t have the access to the proper

channels to ensure that the situation I resolved.

4) Last resort

Should only be attempted only if the there is no one else more capable or more proximate

to blow the whistle and if you feel that all the other lines of action within the context of

the organization have been explored and shut off.

You are obligated to blow the whistle when there is great imminent danger of harm to

someone if the activity continues and the four conditions are met. It is acceptable to blow

the whistle to protect the public interest, but not to exact revenge upon fellow employees,

supervisors, or your company.

There are four ways to prevent whistle blowing:

i. Strong corporate ethics culture (including ethics training for all levels of employees).

ii. Clear lines of communication within the corporation (openness of communication).

iii. All employees must have meaningful access to high-level managers in order to bring

their concerns forward (guarantee that there will be no retaliation).

iv. Willingness on the part of management to admit mistakes.



Chapter 7: Ethics in research and experimentation

Many engineers will become involved in research and experimentation in the course of their

academic and professional careers. Even engineers who are not employed in research

laboratories or academic settings can be involved in research and development of the unique

ethical issues that are encountered in research. This chapter will examine some of the unique

ethical issues that are encountered in research.

7.1 Ethics and research

Two major ethical issues related to research:

1) honesty in approaching the research problem

Avoiding preconceived notions about what the results will be, being open to changing the

hypothesis when such actions is warranted by the evidence, generally maintaining an

objective frame of minds.

2) honesty in reporting the results

Results must not be overstated, an accurate assessment and interpretation of the data must be

reported, avoiding the temptation to “massage” the data to gain rewards, tenure, fame, or the

desire to be the first with new results/products.

Important note :

There is a distinction between intentional deception and results of interpretations that are

simply incorrect.

Sometimes, results are published that, upon further research turn out to be incorrect.

This is not an ethical issue unless clarification of the results is never presented. Rather,

this issues indicates that great care must be taken before results are initially reported.

Ensure that proper credit is given to everyone who participated in the research project.

Fraud and deception in research are not only perpetrated by lower level scientist, there are

many examples of well-known and even Nobel-prize winning scientist who have lapses of

ethical judgment with respect to their research e.g. Robert Milikan, Nobel Prize winner in

physics. Analyzing ethical problems in research is similar to analyzing ethical problems that we

have mentioned in the previous chapters.

a) To determine the best ethical course in performing research and experiment is to consult

the codes of ethics of the professional societies.

b) Ethical theories can also be used in analyzing issues involving research.



7.2 Pathological science

Self-deception in research is a frequent occurrence in many areas of science. It doesn’t imply

any intentional dishonesty, but only that the researcher comes to false conclusion based on lack

of understanding about how easy it is to trick yourself through wishful thinking and subjectivity.

This shows that a great deal of objectivity and care is required in the pursuit of research and

testing. Ultimately, the goal of research is not publicity and fame but rather the discovery of new

knowledge.

The following are the six characteristics of pathological science outlined by Irving Langmuir,

a well-known physicist at General Electric’s Research Laboratories:

1) The maximum effect that is observed is produced by a causative agent of barely

detectable intensity, and the magnitude of the effect is substantially independent of the

intensity of the cause.

This characteristic implies that it doesn’t matter how close the causative agent is or how

intense it is; the effect is the same. This practice goes against all known forces and

effects.

2) The effect is of a magnitude that remains close to the limit of detestability; or, many

measurements are necessary because of the low statistical significance of the results.

The problem here is that when things are at the edge of statistical significance or of

detestability, the tendency is to discard values that don’t “seem” right. To measure

anything at the edge of detestability requires a lot of data. With a lot of data to work

with, the measurements can be massaged to fit the conclusion that is being sought. In

fact, what often happens is that data are rejected on the basis of their incompatibility with

the preconceived theory, rather then on their true significance.

3) Claims of great accuracy.

4) Fantastic theories contrary to experience.

5) Criticisms are met by ad hoc excuses thought up on the spur of the moment.

6) Ratio of supporters to critics rises up somewhere to near 50% and then falls gradually to

oblivion.

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Ethics Full Notes