Ethics and Professionalism

1
Ethics and Professionalism

• T. Barber

2
Important Attributes for a New EngineerSource
Arizona State students, faculty, industry
representatives
3
(No Transcript)
4
Important Attributes for a New EngineerPW
Manager of Advanced Technology

• Passion
• Optimism
• Business View
• Historic perspective
• Product knowledge

• Action vs. Watching
• Teamwork / Collaborbator
• Technical Competence
• Communication

5
Attributes that Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Looks
for

1. Evidence of professional and ethical behavior
2. Ability to flip-flop the brain
3. Solid understanding of engineering fundamentals
4. Ability to work and comfortable with Open Ended
   problems
5. Solid understanding of design
6. Understand the competing pressures driving the
   design
7. Exhibit Nympholepsy
8. Good communication and team working skills

Nypholepsy The frenzied yearning for the
unachievable. Passion
6
Important Attributes for a New EngineerWhats
important to students does not agree with
industry wants.

• Problem solving
• ability to identify and define a problem,
• Break down large problem into series of smaller
  problems
• develop and evaluate alternative solutions, and
• effect one or more designs to solve a problem.
• Effectiveness in communicating ideas.
• Ethics and professionalism personal maturity,
  initiative, poise, enthusiasm, appearance, and
  the ability to work with people.

7
Professionalism

• On time or before
• Attentive
• Positive attitude
• Proactive
• Prepared notes, paper, pen
• Properly dressed for the appropriate context
• Business casual
• Suit and tie
• Jeans
• Be aware of cultural, political, technical issues

8
Engineering Professionalism
9
Ethics
10
Outline

• Background issues
• ASME Code of Ethics
• Dilbert cartoon
• Scruples cards
• Examples of your ethical situations
• Photocopying
• File sharing
• Copying software
• Cheating, seeing someone else cheating
• Taxes
• Not reporting an accident
• Noted examples of ethical issues
• Davis-Besse Ohio nuclear plant
• Space Shuttle Challenger Thiokol O-ring failure
• Internet company dealings with China
• Guidant Medtronics heart devices
• Ethics exam
• Faculty answers
• Student answers

11
Background Issues
One expression I use is Its not that engineers
are immoral, but sometimes in their approach
theyre amoral. When they enter the workplace,
they think those decisions are left to other
people, that theyre just there to do their
job. Prof. J. Herbert, Arizona State. ASEE
Prism, Oct. 2007
12
Background Issues

• Immoral not moral, conflicting with general
  moral principles.
• Amoral being neither moral or immoral, lacking
  moral sensibility

ABET standards require universities to
demonstrate students have a solid understanding
of ethics in the workplace.
13
Background Issues

• Given the following heat transfer problem
• You own a residential building in an urban area.
  
• Can you calculate how many BTUs per hour are
  necessary to heat a building in Chicago FROM 0 to
  20 degrees F?

14
Background Issues
Thinking Like an Engineer, Prof. M. Davis
Illinois Inst. Tech. Students asked to calculate
how many BTUs per hour are necessary to heat a
building in Chicago FROM 0 to 20 degrees F.
Obviously, the numbers are off such
temperatures would keep the building well below
freezing. Students often work the numbers
without thinking what the numbers mean. also
ethics.iit.edu. Similar issue in Kannons
The Good German, where the Nordhausen rocket
works are discussed.
15
CODE OF ETHICS OF ENGINEERS

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

16

• The
  Fundamental Canons
• 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 continue their professional
  development throughout
• their careers and shall provide
  opportunities for the professional and
• ethical development of those engineers
  under their supervision.
• 4. Engineers shall act in professional matters
  for each employer or client
• as faithful agents or trustees, and shall
  avoid conflicts of interest or the
• appearance of 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 associate only with
  reputable persons or organizations.
• 7. Engineers shall issue public statements only
  in an objective and truthful
• manner.
• 8. Engineers shall consider environmental
  impact in the performance of their
• professional duties.

17
Engineering Ethics
18
Outline

• Scruples cards
• Day-to-day ethical experiences
• Examples of your ethical situations
• Photocopying
• File sharing
• Copying software
• Cheating, seeing someone else cheating
• Taxes
• Not reporting an accident

19
Outline

• Noted examples of ethical issues
• Davis-Besse Ohio nuclear plant
• Space Shuttle Challenger Thiokol O-ring failure
• Internet company dealings with China
• Guidant Medtronics heart devices
• Ethics exam
• Faculty answers
• Student answers

20
Challenger and Whistleblowing

• Space Shuttle Challenger Thiokol O-ring failure
• 6 mos. before Challenger exploded, Roger Boisjoly
  wrote a portentous memo. He warned if weather was
  too cold, seals connecting sections of shuttles
  huge rocket boosters could fail.
• Mr. Boisjoly gave presidential commission
  internal corporate documents
• Thiokol cut him off from space work, was shunned
  by colleagues and managers.
• A former friend warned him, If you wreck this
  company, Im going to put my kids on your
  doorstep,
• Roger Boisjoly, 73, died in Jan. 2012

21
Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant

• Separate power point file presentation