Ethics II

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Ethics II

• Engineering 100
• Lecture 17
• Silvia Mah
• Values are like fingerprints. Nobodys are the
  same, but you leave em all over everything you
  do. Elvis Presley

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Agenda

• Codes of ethics
• Ethical Tests
• Why be ethical?
• Case studies

Professional Engineering Ethics Practicing
engineering ethics benefits you, your company
and your customers
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Codes of Ethics of Professional Societies

• ACM
• http//www.acm.org/constitution/code.html
• AlChE
• http//www.aiche.org/about/Code.aspx
• ASCE
• http//www.asce.org/professional/ethics/
• Professional ethics is the cornerstone of
  engineering practice.
• ASME
• http//www.asme.org/ethics/
• IEEE
• http//www.ieee.org/
• NSPE
• http//www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-test.asp T/F
  test on code of ethics
• Order of the Engineer
• to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in
  the engineering profession, to bridge the gap
  between training and experience, and to present
  to the public a visible symbol identifying the
  engineer.

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ABET Code of Ethics

• Engineers uphold and advance the integrity,
  honor, and dignity of the engineering profession
  by
• Using their knowledge and skill for the
  advancement of human welfare
• Being honest and impartial, and serving with
  fidelity the public, their employers, and clients
• Striving to increase the competence and prestige
  of the engineering profession

http//ethics.iit.edu/codes/coe/abet-a.html
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ABET Code of Ethics (Cont.)

• Engineers shall
• hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of
  the public
• perform services only in their areas of
  competence
• issue public statements only in an objective and
  truthful manner
• avoid conflicts of interest
• not compete unfairly with others
• continue their professional development
  throughout their careers and shall
• provide opportunities for the professional
  development of those engineers under their
  supervision

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Ethical Tests evaluating alternatives

• Harm test Do the benefits outweigh the harms,
  short term and long term?
• Reversibility test Would I think this choice
  were good if I traded places?
• Colleague test What would professional
  colleagues say?
• Legality test Would this choice violate a law or
  a policy of my employer?
• Publicity test How would this choice look on the
  front page of a newspaper?
• Common practice test What if everyone behaved
  in this way?
• Wise relative test What would my wise old aunt
  or uncle do?
• Mother test What if my mom knew about this
  choice?

Michael Davis, 1997
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The Challenger Disaster
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Why Be Ethical?

• Moral or religious conviction
• Moral societies survive
• Freedom from worry, conscience
• Money ? happiness
• You cant win by cheating
• No honor among thieves
• Small lapses invite greater dilemmas

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SEEING SHADES OF GRAY

• Consider the moral rule "People should not
  steal," and the following actions
• Breaking into a store and taking 3,000 in
  merchandise
• "Borrowing" a friend's car indefinitely
• Taking an unlocked bicycle
• Developing a computer program on company time for
  your company, and then patenting a considerably
  improved version of the program under your own
  name
• Borrowing a book from a friend, keeping it by
  mistake for a long time and then failing to
  return it because the friend has moved away
• Using some ideas you developed at Firm A for a
  different process at Firm B
• Using Firm A's management methods at Firm B
• Picking up a quarter that you saw someone drop on
  the street
• Failing to return a sheet of paper (or paper
  clip) you borrowed
• Picking up a quarter that someone (you don't know
  who) has dropped on the street

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Ethical Dilemma I

• Your are a quality control engineer, supervising
  the completion of a product whose spec includes
  using only US-made parts. However, at a very
  late stage you notice that one of your
  sub-contractors has supplied you with a part
  having foreign-made bolts. Your customer
  urgently needs delivery of the finished product
  what should you do?
• Say nothing and deliver the product with the
  foreign bolts included, hoping this fact wont be
  noticed by the customer
• Find some roughly equivalent violation of the
  contract or specs for which the customer is
  responsiblethen tell them youll ignore their
  violation if they ignore your companys
• Tell the customer about the problem, and let them
  decide what they wish you to do next
• Put all your efforts into finding legal loopholes
  in the original specs, or in the way they were
  negotiated, to avoid your companys appearing to
  have violated the specs

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Ethical Dilemma II

• SERVICES - SAME SERVICES FOR DIFFERENT CLIENTS
  (Case No. 00-3)
• Facts
• Engineer A, a professional engineer, performs a
  traffic study for Client X as part of the
  clients permit application for traffic flow for
  the development of a store. Engineer A invoices
  Client X for a complete traffic study.
• Later, Client X learns that part of the traffic
  study provided was earlier developed by Engineer
  A for a developer, Client Y, at a nearby location
  and that Engineer A invoiced Client Y for the
  complete traffic study. The second study on a
  new project for Client X utilized some of the
  same raw data as was in the report prepared for
  Client Y. The final conclusion of the
  engineering study was essentially the same in
  both studies.
• Was it ethical for Engineer A to charge Client X
  for the complete traffic study?

• Discussion
• The obligations of the professional engineer are
  (1) to be guided by the highest standards of
  honesty and integrity to their clients in the
  performance of their services and (2) to avoid
  all conduct or practice that deceives the public.
• Engineer A was performing the same basic service
  for two separate clients and billing Client X for
  some data that Engineer A had already developed
  and billed Client Y.
• At some point, Client X, Client Y, or the local
  code officials would become aware of Engineer As
  action and could ultimately reflect upon Engineer
  A and possibly the engineering profession in
  general.
• An appropriate approach would have been for
  Engineer A to inform Client X that a similar
  study had been done for another client, and that
  Engineer A would contract to review the study to
  determine whether any modifications, updates, or
  other changes would be necessary and that Client
  X would be charged for full value of the modified
  report.
• Conclusion
• It was ethical for Engineer A to charge Client X
  for a complete traffic study. It was unethical
  for Engineer A not to disclose the use of
  propriety data developed for another client.

http//www.murdough.ttu.edu/cases
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Ethics Summary

• Right and wrong
• Age-old philosophical questions
• Offenders do get caught
• Acclaim vs notoriety
• Short-term gain vs long-term cost
• Ethical behavior has a positive expected utility
  value

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The Fundamental Canons
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety,
health and welfare of the public in the
performance of their professional duties. 2.
Engineers shall perform services only in the
areas of their competence. 3. Engineers shall
issue public statements only in an objective and
truthful manner. 4. Engineers shall act in
professional matters for each employer or client
as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid
conflicts of interest. 5. Engineers shall build
their professional reputation on the merit of
their services and shall not compete unfairly
with others. 6. Engineers shall act in such a
manner as to uphold and enhance the honor,
integrity and dignity of the profession. 7.
Engineers shall continue their professional
development throughout their careers and shall
provide opportunities for the professional
development of those engineers under their
supervision.
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The Fundamental Ethical Principles of Engineers
Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor
and dignity of the engineering profession by 1.
using their knowledge and skill for the
enhancement of human welfare 2. being honest
and impartial, and serving with fidelity the
public, their employers and clients 3. striving
to increase the competence and prestige of the
engineering profession and 3. supporting the
professional and technical societies of their
disciplines.