[Link].
ng
Raising a new Generation of Leaders
GEC 217--Engineer-In- Society
Module 4
Engineering Ethics
Ethics
❖ Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the distinction
between good and bad. It is the systematic reflection on
morality.
❖ The major objectives of ethics are to make rules and
regulations and judge human behavior.
❖ Ethics is a hallmark of any profession. Ethical Behaviour is
necessary for a society to function in an orderly manner.W hy do
we need Ethics?
2
Why Ethics
• Integral part ofthe success of a career.
• Integrity can be our most valuable asset
• Leads to trust in work relationships
• Personal Injury/Property Damage
• Disciplinary Action
• Impact on Reputation, Employer, Clients, Profession
• Possible Loss of Job, Business, etc
3
Engineering Ethics
• Engineering Ethics are set of rules and guidelines that engineers adhere
to as a moral obligation to their profession and to the world. They are moral
principles that applies to the practice of engineering by engineers to
society, their clients,and the profession.
• When ethics are not followed, disasters often occur; these disasters not only
include huge monetary costs and environmental impacts, but also often result
in the loss of human lives.
4
Components of EngineeringEthics
5
[Link]
Raising a new Generation of Leaders
Codes of Conduct
Codes of conduct or Code of Ethics (CoEs)
• Codes of conduct is a document that outline rules/policies that organizations lay
down for the responsible behavior of their members.
• Such guidelines may be detailed and prescriptive but can also be formulated
more broadly and express - the values and norms that should guide behaviour
and decision-making.
• Codes of conduct are often intended as an addition to the requirements of the law.
When codes of conduct are enforced by the organization that formulated the
code
7
Why professional codes and standards?
Engineers are expected to adhere to their professional codes and standards strictly. They
should encourage others to report those who do not. They should do so because:
• An important way to improve technology is by taking ethics into account
• It will assure each engineer of a better working environment and reduce pressure
from other people to do otherwise.
• They will be proud of their profession if they adhere to the codes of ethics, especially in
Nigeria, where the public image of engineers needs improvement.
8
Why professional codes and standards?
• It will help protect people from being injured by what
the engineers do.
• the codes will benefit all engineers and increase
public confidence in the profession.
• Video- The Challenger Shuttle
9
Fundamental Code of Ethics
• The CoE which has to be exercised carefully to avoid being a source of
danger to the public. The basic rules that govern the conduct of engineers
(Engineering Ethics) are summarized into:
• Hold paramount the safety,health, and welfare of the public and shall
strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in
performing their professional duties.
• Perform services only in areas of their competence.
• Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
10
Fundamental Code of Ethics cont’d
• Engineers shall act professionally to each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees and
shall avoid conflicts of interest.
• Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not
compete unfairly with others.
• Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of
the engineering profession and shall act with zero tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption.
• Avoid deceptive acts.
• Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and provide
opportunities for those engineers' professional development under their supervision.
11
• Collapsed bridge
12
13
Codes of conductcont’d
• Based on the objectives of a code of conduct,a distinction can be made between three types of
codes of conduct:
[Link] aspirational code: The objective expresses the moral values of a profession or company. It
expresses to the outside world the values the profession is committed to. E.g. NSE, APWEN (Association
of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria)
2. An advisory code has the objective to help individual professionals or employees to exercise
moral judgments in concrete situations on the basis of the more general values and norms of the
profession orcompany.
3. A disciplinary code has the objective to achieve that the behaviour of all professionals or
employees meets specific values and norms.
14
Codes of conduct or code of Ethics (COEs)
• For engineers, two major types of codes of conduct are
especially important:
1. Professional codes of conduct- -that are
formulated by professional associations of
engineers, for engineers to provide content to the
responsibility of engineers.
15
Codes of conductcont’d
• Professional codes of conduct.
Most modern professional codes relate to three domains:
1) conducting a profession with integrity (i.e.,living by one's own moral
values, norms, and commitments) and honesty and in a competent way;
2) obligations towards employers and clients;
3) responsibility towards the public and society.
16
Codes of conductcont’d
• Corporate codes of conduct areformulated by companies in
which engineers are employed. They are voluntarily
commitments made by individual companies or
associations of companies setting certain values, standards
and principles. This is based on the assumption that
companies have a corporate social responsibility (i.e., the
responsibility of companies towards stakeholders and to
society at large)
17
Codes of conductcont’d
• This assumption has been contested by several authors who maintain that
the responsibility of a company is limited to making profits within the limits
of law ( it is the so-called classical view on corporate responsibility).
Corporate codes are usually more recent than professional codes.
• They have been formulated since the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in
reaction to corporate scandals. The main elements of corporate codes are:
the mission, the core values, the responsibilities towards stakeholders and
detailed rules and norms.
18
Codes of conductcont’d
A number of objections have been raised against codes of conduct:
1 . C o d e of conduct sometimes amount to window-dressing (i.e., presenting a
favorable impression that is not based on the actual facts);
2 . Codes of conduct are often vague and are potentially contradictory
(e.g.,how would you interpret "loyalty"? Is this uncritical loyalty (placing the
interests of the employer above any other considerations) or critical loyalty
(giving due regard to the interest of the employer, insofar as this is
possible within the constraints of the employee's personal and professional
ethics)?
19
Codes of conductcont’d
3. Ethics cannot be codified (e.g., an argument for this is that ethics requires
individual moral judgment instead of blindly following a code);
4. Codes of conduct cannot be lived (e.g., professional codes often require
that engineers inform the public in a timely and complete manner if the safety,
health, or welfare of the public is put at risk in a technological project.
5. Codes of conduct can not be enforced ([Link] professional codes have
no legal status).
20
Engineer’s Professional Obligations
Engineering is a profession serving society.
As such, society imposes special
obligations on engineers.
21
Engineer’s Professional Obligations
Every professional
engineer owes certain
duties to the public,to
their clients, to their
employers, to other
members of the
profession, to themselves
and shall act at all times
based on the COE
22
Engineer’s Professional Obligations
Every professional engineer must act at all times.:
❖ With fairness and loyalty to their associates, employers, clients, subordinates, and
employees.
❖ Act consistently in the best interests of their client, employer, and public
interest.
❖ Their product must meet the highest professional standards possible.
❖ Maintain the integrity of their professional judgment.
❖ Committed to lifelong learning and professional development.
❖ Shall promote an ethical approach to professional practice
23
Obligation to the client/employer
• Engineers, as appropriate, they should;
• Provide service only in their area of competence and should
be honest in their experience and education limitations.
• Should not knowingly use designs that are obtained
illegally or unethically.
• Should use the property of his client or employer only in
authorized manner or with their consent.
24
Obligation to the client/employer
• Maintain confidentiality of any information gained in the professional work
where such is in the public interest and consistent with the law.
• Report to client or employer promptly, if a project is likely to fail,prove too
expensive, violate intellectual property law or otherwise be problematic.
• Accept no outside work detrimental to the work of your employer.
• Inform client or employer or appropriate authority when a higher ethical
concern is being compromised
25
Obligation tothe society/public
The paramount value recognized by engineers is the safety and welfare
of the public
Engineers shall act consistently in the public interest by;
• Accepting full responsibility for their work.
• Act as moderators of the interests of the employer, the client, and the users
in the best interest of the public good.
• Accept designs and proposals only if they are safe, meet specifications, and
do not diminish the quality of life or harm the environment.
26
Obligation tothe society/public Cont’d
• Disclose to appropriate bodies, any potential danger to the
user, public or the environment that may be associated with a
proposal or design.
• Cooperate in any efforts to address such matters of grave
public concern that may arise from his engineeringproposal
or design.
• An engineer should avoid deception in all public statements
concerning his proposal, methods and tools.
27
Obligation to colleagues
Engineers should be fair and supportive of their professional [Link]
should as appropriate:
• Encourage colleagues to strictly adhere to the code.
• Should be committed to assisting colleagues in their professional development.
• Always credit fully the work of others and refrain from taking undue credit.
• Should always give a fair hearing to the opinions, concerns or complains of other
colleagues.
• Engineers in situations outside their area of competence shoul call on the opinions of other
professionals who have competence in that area
28
Some selectedexcerpts’obligation
This is the case for professional engineering organizations in nearly every
jurisdiction and engineering discipline:
[Link] of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): "We, the members of
the IEEE, … do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and
professional conduct and agree to accept responsibility in making decisions
consistent with the safety,health, and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly
factors that might endanger the public or theenvironment;"
29
IEEE Code of ETHICSs
To:
• accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public,
and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;
• avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible and to disclose them to affected parties
when they do exist;
• be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
• reject bribery in all its forms;
• improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;
30
IEEE CODE OF ETHICS cont’d
• to maintain and improve our technical competence and undertake technological tasks
for others only if qualified by training or experience or after full disclosure of pertinent
limitations;
• to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, acknowledge and correct
errors, and credit properly the contributions of others;
• to treat all persons fairly regardless of factors such as race, religion, gender, disability, age,
or national origin.
• to avoid injuring to others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious
action;
• to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them
in following this code of ethics.
31
2. Institution of Civil Engineers
• "Members of the I C E should always be aware of their overriding
responsibility to the public good. A member’s obligations to the client
can never override this, and members of the I C E should not enter
undertakings which compromise this responsibility.
• The ‘public good’ encompasses care and respect for the environment,
and for humanity’s cultural, historical, and archaeological heritage, as
well as the primary responsibility of members to protect the health and
well-being of present and future generations."
32
3. National Society of Professional Engineers
"Engineers, in the fulfillment of their
professional duties, shall Hold paramount the
safety, health, and welfare of thepublic.
33
4. Society of Fire Protection Engineers
• “In the practice of their profession,fire protection engineers
must maintain and constantly improve their competence and
perform under a standard of professional behavior which
requires
• Adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct with
balanced regard for the interests of the public, clients,
employers, colleagues, and the profession”
34
Commitment to Excellence
• Engineers shall ensure that their final output meet the highest professional standards
possible and should not depart from such standards unless when ethically or technically
justified.
‒ Aim to achieve high quality and acceptable cost, irrespective of [Link] trade-offs
should be clear and accepted by the client and employer.
‒Identify and address ethical,economic, legal and environmental issuesrelated to the
projects.
‒ Engineers should ensure that they have the requisite qualifications,by appropriate
combination of education, training and experience, for the project they accept to execute.
35
Commitment to Excellence cont’d
▪ Understand clearly the specifications for projects they
undertake.
▪ Ensure realistic estimates of cost, scheduling, quality and
outcomes on any project and provide uncertainty
assessment of their estimates
▪ Engineers should ensure adequate documentation, including
problems encountered and solutions adopted for any project
executed.
36
See u next class
37