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Solid State Devices (APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University)

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HUT – 200
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
(Notes as per syllabus of APJ Abdul
Kalam Technological University –
2019 scheme)

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Professional Ethics
Engineering is a profession which gives a lot of opportunities to serve people. An engineer has to
interact with other engineers, clients and the public in a large manner. The work of an engineer directly
affects the society and environment. They play one of the key roles in the technical, economical and
environmental development. In the course of action, they may face different situations where values
become a variable in decision making process. They need to develop a greater awareness and
understanding of the ethical and social implications that arises in their profession. Professional ethics will
help the student to understand the moral values that ought to guide the engineering profession, resolve the
moral issues in the profession and also to justify the moral judgment concerning the profession.

Course Outcomes: After the completion of the course the student will be able
to
CO1 Understand the core values that shape the ethical behaviour of a professional.
CO2 Adopt a good character and follow an ethical life.
Explain the role and responsibility in technological development by keeping personal
CO3
ethics and legal ethics.
Solve moral and ethical problems through exploration and assessment by established
CO4
experiments.
Apply the knowledge of human values and social values to contemporary ethical values
CO5
and global issues.

Mark distribution

Total Marks CIE ESE ESE Duration

150 50 100 3 hours

End Semester Examination Pattern: There will be two parts; Part A and Part B.

Part A contains 10 questions with 2 questions from each module, having 3 marks for each
question. Students should answer all questions.
Part B contains 2 questions from each module of which student should answer any one. Each
question can have maximum 2 sub-divisions and carry 14 marks.

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Syllabus
Module 1 – Human Values.

Morals, values and Ethics – Integrity- Academic integrity-Work Ethics- Service Learning- Civic
Virtue-Respect for others- Living peacefully- Caring and Sharing- Honestly- courage-
Cooperation commitment-Empathy-Self Confidence -Social Expectations.

Module 2 - Engineering Ethics & Professionalism.

Senses of Engineering Ethics - Variety of moral issues- Types of inquiry- Moral dilemmas –
Moral Autonomy –Kohlberg’s theory- Gilligan’s theory- Consensus and Controversy-Profession
and Professionalism- Models of professional roles-Theories about right action –Self interest-
Customs and Religion- Uses of Ethical Theories.

Module 3- Engineering as social Experimentation.

Engineering as Experimentation – Engineers as responsible Experimenters- Codes of Ethics-

Plagiarism-A balanced outlook on law - Challenges case study- Bhopal gas tragedy.

Module 4- Responsibilities and Rights.

Collegiality and loyalty – Managing conflict- Respect for authority- Collective bargaining-
Confidentiality-Role of confidentiality in moral integrity-Conflicts of interest- Occupational
crime- Professional rights-Employee right- IPR Discrimination.

Module 5- Global Ethical Issues.

Multinational Corporations- Environmental Ethics- Business Ethics- Computer Ethics -Role in

Technological Development-Engineers as Managers- Consulting Engineers- Engineers as Expert
witnesses and advisors-Moral leadership.

Text Book
1. M Govindarajan, S Natarajan and V S Senthil Kumar, Engineering Ethics, PHI Learning
Private Ltd, New Delhi,2012.
2. R S Naagarazan, A text book on professional ethics and human values, New age international
(P) limited ,New Delhi,2006.
Reference Books
1. Mike W Martin and Roland Schinzinger, Ethics in Engineering,4th edition, Tata McGraw Hill
Publishing Company Pvt Ltd, New Delhi,2014.
2. Charles D Fleddermann, Engineering Ethics, Pearson Education/ Prentice Hall of India, New
Jersey,2004.
3. Charles E Harris, Michael S Protchard and Michael J Rabins, Engineering Ethics- Concepts
andcases, Wadsworth Thompson Learning, United states,2005.
4. [Link]

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MODULE 1
Module 1 – Human Values.

Morals, values and Ethics – Integrity- Academic integrity-Work Ethics- Service Learning-
Civic Virtue-Respect for others- Living peacefully- Caring and Sharing- Honestly-
Courage-Cooperation commitment-Empathy-Self Confidence -Social Expectations.

Human values
Human values are nothing but basic moral values one ought to posses to live as a citizen
or as a person. The foundations of human values upon which societies have been established are
as follows.
 The innate dignity of human life
 Respect and consideration for the other
 The interconnection between humankind and the environment
 The importance of integrity and service
 An attitude of non – violence
 The individual and collective quest for peace and happiness.

Morals
Morals are the welfare principles enunciated by the wise people, based on their
experience and wisdom. They were edited, changed or modified or evolved to suit the geography
of the region, rulers (dynasty), and in accordance with development of knowledge in science and
technology and with time.
Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals such as: (a) What ought or
ought not to be done in a given situation? (b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a
situation? (c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals involved?

Difference between morality and ethics

Morality is different from ethics in the following ways:

Morality Ethics
More general and prescriptive based on customs Specific and descriptive. It is a critical
and traditions. reflection on morals.
More concerned with the results of wrong More concerned with the results of a right
action, when done. action, when not done.
Thrust is on judgment and punishment, in the Thrust is on influence, education, training
name of God or by laws. through codes, guidelines, and correction.
In case of conflict between the two, morality is Less serious, hence second priority only. Less
given top priority, because the damage is more. common. But relevant today, because of
It is more common and basic. complex interactions in the modern society.
Example: Character flaw, corruption, extortion, Example: Notions or beliefs about manners,
and crime. tastes, customs, and towards laws.

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As against morals and ethics, laws are norms, formally approved by state, power or national or
international political bodies. Breaking the norms is called crime, and invites specific
punishment.

VALUES
Definition
Humans have the unique ability to define their identity, choose their values and establish
their beliefs. All three of these directly influence a person’s behavior.
A value is defined as a principle that promotes well-being or prevents harm.” Another
definition is: Values are our guidelines for our success—our paradigm about what is
acceptable.”
Personal values are defined as: “Emotional beliefs in principles regarded as particularly
favorable or important for the individual.”
Our values associate emotions to our experiences and guide our choices, decisions and
actions. A person’s observations on its environment are filtered through his values to determine
whether or not he should expend energy to do something about his experiences. A person, who
values gold and sees a large bag of gold (a positive value) in his path as he walks, will be
motivated to reach down and pick it up. A person who values his life and knows about venomous
snakes will retreat from the sound of a rattlesnake (a negative value) from nearby, when he is
walking in the desert.
“Values are the scales we use to weigh our choices for our actions, whether to move towards or
away from something.”
Not all values have the same weight or priority. Some are more important than others and
must be satisfied before others can be addressed. Dr. Abraham Maslow illustrated this with his
hierarchy of human needs. Survival has a higher priority than security, which has a higher
priority than social acceptance. Self-esteem can only be addressed to the degree that social
acceptance is fulfilled. Similarly, self-actualization can only be pursued to the degree that self-
esteem has been satisfied.
A person’s beliefs, values and identity are usually acquired unconsciously based on his
personal experience or observations of others’ experiences as to what produces desirable or
undesirable results in the environment. A baby’s learning to walk and talk is a clear example of
identifying with human adults, valuing the act of being able to have the mobility and
communication ability of an adult and the belief, based on unconscious observation, that humans
can do walk and do talk with each other.
Physiologists have identified the parts of the human brain that are involved in producing
behavior in accordance with beliefs and values. All information collected by human senses is
passed through a net-like group of cells, known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS),
located near the top of the brain stem. The RAS compares the data received with accepted
values, positive and negative (threats), and beliefs stored in memory and determines whether or
not immediate action is required. The results of the RAS’s comparison are communicated to the
‘amygdala’ near the mid-brain.
The ‘amygdala’ produces neuro-chemicals that cause emotions consistent with the nature
of and proportional to the match between environment and values and beliefs. The neuro-
chemicals initiate the chemical processes needed for the action to be taken. If the emotions
produced are strong enough, the perceived information is blocked from reaching the logical,
rational and conscious executive center of the brain, the pre-frontal lobes. In which case, the

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resulting behavior will be automatic, not necessarily logical or rational, and completely in
accordance with the person’s strongest held beliefs, values and/or identity.
By positive affirmations, one can modify or create new beliefs about a person’s identity
and/or what is important to him (values). Verbal repetition of statements intended to become new
beliefs, and values will result in these being stored for use by the RAS for comparison with the
environment being experienced. This is the mechanism how the beliefs or values are modified.

Types of Values
The five core human values are: (1) Truth, (2) Right conduct, (3) Peace, (4) Love, and (5)
Nonviolence.
1. Values related to TRUTH are: Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness,
honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and deed), intuition, justice, optimism, purity,
quest for knowledge, reason, self-analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, synthesis, trust,
truthfulness, and determination.
2. Values related to RIGHT CONDUCT are:
(a) SELF-HELP SKILLS: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene, modesty, posture, self
reliance, and tidy appearance
(b) SOCIAL SKILLS: Good behavior, good manners, good relationships, helpfulness, No
wastage, and good environment
(c) ETHICAL SKILLS: Code of conduct, courage, dependability, duty, efficiency,
ingenuity, initiative, perseverance, punctuality, resourcefulness, respect for all, and
responsibility
3. Values related to PEACE are: Attention, calmness, concentration, contentment, dignity,
discipline, equality, equanimity, faithfulness, focus, gratitude, happiness, harmony,
humility, inner silence, optimism, patience, reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-
confidence, self-control, self discipline, self-esteem, self-respect, sense control, tolerance,
and understanding
4. Values related to LOVE are: Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration,
dedication, devotion, empathy, forbearance, forgiveness, friendship, generosity,
gentleness, humanness, interdependence, kindness, patience, patriotism, reverence,
sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing, sympathy, thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust
5. Values related to NON-VIOLENCE are:
(a) PSYCHOLOGICAL: Benevolence, compassion, concern for others, consideration,
forbearance, forgiveness, manners, happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love
(b) SOCIAL: Appreciation of other cultures and religions, brotherhood, care of
environment, citizenship, equality, harmlessness, national awareness, perseverance,
respect for property, and social justice.

 PERSEVERANCE is defined as persistence, determination, resolution, tenacity, dedication,

commitment, constancy, steadfastness, stamina, endurance and indefatigability. Perseverance builds
character.
 ACCURACY means freedom from mistake or error; conformity to truth or to a standard or model and
exactness. Engineers are encouraged to demonstrate accuracy in their behavior through the medium of
praise and other incentives. Accuracy includes telling the truth, not exaggerating, and taking care over
one’s work.
 DISCERNMENT means discrimination, perception, penetration, and insight. Discrimination stresses
the power to distinguish or select what is true or genuinely excellent.

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Evolution of Human Values

The human values evolve because of the following factors:
1. The impact of norms of the society on the fulfillment of the individual’s needs or
desire.
2. Developed or modified by one’s own awareness, choice, and judgment in fulfilling
the needs.
3. By the teachings and practice of Preceptors (Gurus) or Saviors or religious leaders.
4. Fostered or modified by social leaders, rulers of kingdom, and by law (government).

ETHICS
The word derives from the Greek word ‘ethos’, which means the characteristic spirit or
attitudes of a community, people or system. The word has several meanings. Basically it is an
activity and process of inquiry or it’s an art of human living. Secondly, it is different from non-
moral problems, when dealing with issues and controversies. Thirdly, ethics refers to a particular
set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits of individuals or family or groups concerned with morals.
Fourth, it is used to mean ‘morally correct’.
The study on ethics helps to know the people’s beliefs, values, and morals, learn the good
and bad of them, and practice them to maximize their well-being and happiness. It involves the
inquiry on the existing situations, form judgments and resolve the issues. In addition, ethics tells
us how to live, to respond to issues, through the duties, rights, responsibilities, and obligations.
In religion, similar principles are included, but the reasoning on procedures is limited. The
principles and practices of religions have varied from to time to time (history), region
(geography, climatic conditions), religion, society, language, caste and creed. But ethics has
grown to a large extent beyond the barriers listed above. In ethics, the focus is to study and apply
the principles and practices, universally. Therefore it can be defined as the discipline that deals
with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation.

INTEGRITY
Integrity is defined as the unity of thought, word and deed (honesty) and open
mindedness. It includes the capacity to communicate the factual information so that others can
make well-informed decisions. It yields the person’s ‘peace of mind’, and hence adds strength
and consistency in character, decisions, and actions. This paves way to one’s success. It is one of
the self-direction virtues. It enthuse people not only to execute a job well but to achieve
excellence in performance. It helps them to own the responsibility and earn self-respect and
recognition by doing the job. Integrity promotes the attitude in an individual that he/she is
responsible for all wrongdoings in his/her acts.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
This is the moral code or ethical policy of academia. The term was popularized by the
late Don McCabe, who is considered to be the "grandfather of academic integrity". This includes
values such as avoidance of cheating or plagiarism; maintenance of academic standards; honesty
and rigor in research and academic publishing.

WORK ETHICS
The work ethics is a cultural norm that advocates being personally accountable and
responsible for the work that one does and is based on a belief that work has intrinsic value. The

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term is often applied to characteristics of people, both at work and at play. For eg. Work ethics is
frequently mentioned as a characteristic of good players (Sachin Tendulkar in Cricket).
Industry and Society are the two systems which interact with each other and are
interdependent. Society requires industry/business system which provides manufacturing,
distribution and consumption activities. It needs investment (capital input), labour (input), supply
(raw materials), production (industries, business organizations), marketing and distribution
(transport), and consumption (public, customer). A lot of transactions (and interactions) between
these sub-systems involving people are needed for the welfare of the society. It is here, the work
ethics plays an essential role. Therefore work ethics can also be defined as a set of attitudes
concerned with the value of work, which forms the motivational orientation.
The ‘work ethics’ is aimed at ensuring the economy (get job, create wealth, earn salary),
productivity (wealth, profit), safety (in workplace), health and hygiene (working conditions),
privacy (raise family), security (permanence against contractual, pension, and retirement
benefits), cultural and social development (leisure, hobby, and happiness), welfare (social work),
environment (anti-pollution activities), and offer opportunities for all, according to their abilities,
but without discrimination.
Many complex social problems exist in the industrial/business scenario, because:
1. The people desire to be recognized as individuals and treated with dignity, as living human
beings. Meaningful work is worth doing for the sense of personal identity and the self-esteem it
holds.
2. Economic independence: Work is the major instrumental good in life. It is the main source of
providing the income needed to avoid economic dependence on others, for obtaining desired
materials and services, and for achieving status and recognition from others.
3. Exploitation and bargained pay should be discouraged.
4. Privacy (personal freedom) of the employee, including women, is to be protected. At the same
time, confidentiality of the employer is also to be protected.
5. Mutual trust and loyalty both ways play major roles in this aspect.
6. Security during job and upon retirement: This concept is being accepted only in government
jobs, public limited companies, and corporate organizations
7. Recognition to non-work activities, such as leisure, paid holiday on the day of visit of a
dignitary, social service, and other developmental activities.
8. Hard work and productivity are very essential for the success of an industry. The quality of
work life deserves to be improved. Hard labor, undignified jobs ([Link]-drawn rikshaw, and
hazardous jobs are to be made less straining, dignified, and safer
9. Employee alienation: Absence of or inadequate ‘recognition and reward system’ and
‘grievance redressal system’, lack of transparency in policy implementation, factions in trade
unions etc. lead to ethical problems, affecting the work ethics.
10. A different view of work ethics: Work is considered as a necessary evil. It is a thing one must
do in order to avoid worse evils, such as dependency and poverty. That is a major source of
anxiety and unhappiness.
To work (job), is not for monetary considerations only. Human beings believe that it is
good to work. Work is good for the body and mind. It promotes self-respect, self-esteem,
wellness for the family, and obligation to the society and allows the world to prosper. Work lays
a moral and meaningful foundation for life. It improves the quality of life and makes life
purposeful, successful, and happy.

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By work ethics, duties to the self, family, society, and nation are fulfilled. Rights of the
individuals are respected and nourished. Values and virtues are cultivated and enjoyed by all
human beings. Further, the quality of life is improved and the environment protected. On the
other hand, unemployment and under-employment lead to frustration, social tensions, and
occasional militancy. For a developing economy and society, like ours, we need to promote work
ethics, at all levels, to flourish as developed nation.

SERVICE LEARNING
Service learning refers to learning the service policies, procedures, norms, and
conditions, other than ‘the technical trade practices’. Otherwise it is a teaching learning strategy
that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the
learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. It helps the
individuals to interact ethically with colleagues, to effectively coordinate with other departments,
to interact cordially with suppliers as well as the customers, and to maintain all these friendly
interactions.
The service learning may be defined as the non-paid activity, in which service is provided
on voluntary basis to the public (have-nots in the community), non-profitable institutions, and
charitable organizations. It is the service during learning. This includes training or study on real
life problems and their possible solutions, during the formal learning, i.e., courses of study. It is a
tool used widely by sociologists to encourage students to make connections between classroom
learning and the larger communities. Eg. If college students collect trash out of an urban
streambed, they are providing a service to the community as volunteers; a service that is highly
valued and important. The engineering students analyzing and executing a socially-relevant
project is another example of service learning.
The service learning is a methodology falling under the category of experiential
education. It is one of the forms of experiential learning and community service opportunities.
It is distinguished in the following ways:
1. Connection to curriculum: Integrating the learning into a service project is a key to successful
service learning. Academic ties should be clear and built upon existing disciplinary skills.
2. Learner’s voice: Beyond being actively engaged in the project, trainees have the opportunity
to select, design, implement, and evaluate their service activity.
3. Reflection: Structured opportunities are created to think, talk, and write about the service
experience. The balance of reflection and action allows the trainee to be constantly aware of the
impact of their work.
4. Partners in the community: Partnership with community agencies are used to identify genuine
needs, provide mentorship, and contribute input such as labor and expertise towards completing
the project.

VIRTUES
Virtues are positive and preferred values. Virtues are desirable attitudes or character
traits, motives and emotions that enable us to be successful and to act in ways that develop our
highest potential. They energize and enable us to pursue the ideals that we have adopted.
Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, transparency, self-control,
and prudence are all examples of virtues. They are like habits, once acquired; they become
characteristics of a person. Moreover, a person who has developed virtues will naturally act in
ways consistent with moral principles. The virtuous person is the ethical person.

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Civic Virtues
Civic virtues are the moral duties and rights, as a citizen of the village or the country or
an integral part of the society and environment. An individual may exhibit civic virtues by
voting, volunteering, and organizing welfare groups and meetings. An educated person who
possesses civic virtue is a public good
The duties are:

1. To pay taxes to the local government and state, in time.

2. To keep the surroundings clean and green.
3. Not to pollute the water, land, and air
4. To follow the road safety rules.
On the other hand, the rights are:
1. To vote the local, state and union government.
2. To contest in the elections to the local or state government.
3. To seek a public welfare facility such as a school, hospital or a community hall or transport or
communication facility, for the residents.
4. To establish a green and safe environment, pollution free, corruption free, and to follow
ethical principles. People are said to have the right to breathe in fresh air, by not allowing
smoking in public.
5. People have inalienable right to accept or reject a project in their area.

George Washington embodied the civic virtues as indispensable for a self-governing

administration.
These virtues are divided into four categories:
1. Civic Knowledge
Citizens must understand what the Constitution says about how the government is
working, and what the government is supposed to do and what not to do. We must understand
the basis of our responsibilities as citizens, besides duties and rights. We must be able to
recognize when the government or another citizen infringes upon our rights. It implies that the
government requires the participation of the enlightened citizens, to serve and survive.
2. Self-Restraint
For citizens to live in a free society with limited government each citizen must be able to
control or restrain himself; otherwise, we would need a police state—that is, a dictatorial
government to maintain safety and order.
3. Self-Assertion
Self-assertion means that citizens must be proud of their rights, and have the courage to
stand up in public and defend their rights
4. Self-Reliance
Citizens who cannot provide for themselves will need a large government to take care of
them. Once citizens become dependent on government for their basic needs, the people are no
longer in a position to demand that government act within the confines of the Constitution. Self-
reliant citizens are free citizens in the sense that they are not dependent on others for their basic
needs. Only a strong self-reliant citizenry will be able to enjoy fully the blessings of liberty.
These civic virtues, applicable to local, state, and central governments, nourish freedom and civil
liberty at the root of democracy.

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RESPECT FOR OTHERS

Respect is of great importance in everyday life. As children we were taught to respect our
parents, teachers, and elders, school or college rules, traffic rules, family and cultural traditions,
other people’s feelings and rights, our country flag, the truth and people’s differing opinions.
This is a basic requirement for nurturing friendship, team work, and for the synergy it promotes
and sustains. So it is important to Give Respect to Take Respect.
The principles enunciated in this regard are:
1. Recognize and accept the existence of other persons as human beings, because they have a
right to live, just as you have.
2. Respect others’ ideas (decisions), words, and labour (actions). One need not accept or approve
or award them, but shall listen to them first. One can correct or warn, if they commit mistakes.
Some people may wait and watch as fun, if one falls, claiming that they know others’ mistakes
before and know that they will fall! Appreciate colleagues and subordinates on their positive
actions. Criticize constructively and encourage them. They are bound to improve their
performance, by learning properly and by putting more efforts.
3. Show ‘goodwill’ on others. Love others. Allow others to grow. Basically, the goodwill reflects
on the originator and multiplies itself on everybody. This will facilitate co linearity, focus,
coherence, and strength to achieve the goals.

LIVING PEACEFULLY
To live peacefully, one should start install peace within (self). Charity begins at home.
Then one can spread peace to family, organisation where one works, and then to the world,
including the environment. Only who are at peace can spread peace. You cannot gift an article
which you do not possess. The essence of oriental philosophy is that War or Peace can be won
only by peace, and not by wars!
One should adopt the following means to live peacefully, in the world:
Nurture
1. Order in one’s life (self-regulation, discipline, and duty).
2. Pure thoughts in one’s soul (loving others, blessing others, friendly, and not criticizing or
hurting others by thought, word or deed).
3. Creativity in one’s head (useful and constructive).
4. Beauty in one’s heart (love, service, happiness, and peace).
Get
5. Good health/body (physical strength for service).
Act
6. Help the needy with head, heart, and hands (charity). Service to the poor is considered holier
than the service to God.
7. Not hurting and torturing others physically, verbally, or mentally.

The following are the factors that promote living, with internal and external peace:
1. Conducive environment (safe, ventilated, illuminated and comfortable).
2. Secured job and motivated with ‘recognition and reward’.
3. Absence of threat or tension by pressure due to limitations of money or time.
4. Absence of unnecessary interference or disturbance, except as guidelines.
5. Healthy labour relations and family situations.
6. Service to the needy (physically and mentally-challenged) with love and sympathy.

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CARING
“Caring is knowing, feeling and acting in the interests of others” – Forcey.
Caring is feeling for others. It is a process which exhibits the interest in, and support for, the
welfare of others with fairness, impartiality and justice in all activities, among the employees, in
the context of professional ethics. It includes showing respect to the feelings of others, and also
respecting and preserving the interests of all others concerned. Caring is reflected in activities
such as friendship, membership in social clubs and professional societies, and through various
transactions in the family, fraternity, community, country and in international councils.
In the present day context, caring for the environment (including the fauna and flora) has
become a necessity for our very survival. If we do not care for the environment, the environment
will scare us.
SHARING
Primarily, caring influences ‘sharing’. Sharing is a process that describes the transfer of
knowledge (teaching, learning, and information), experience (training), commodities (material
possession) and facilities with others. The transfer should be genuine, legal, positive, voluntary,
and without any expectation in return. However, the proprietary information it should not be
shared with outsiders. Through this process of sharing, experience, expertise, wisdom and other
benefits reach more people faster. Sharing is voluntary and it cannot be driven by force, but
motivated successfully through ethical principles.
For the humanity, ‘sharing’ is a culture. The ‘happiness and wealth’ are multiplied and
the ‘crimes and sufferings’ are reduced, by sharing. It paves the way for peace and obviates
militancy. Philosophically, the sharing maximizes the happiness for all the human beings. In
terms of psychology, the fear, divide, and distrust between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ disappear.
Sharing not only paves the way to prosperity, early and easily, and sustains it. Economically
speaking, benefits are maximized as there is no wastage or loss, and everybody gets one’s needs
fulfilled and satisfied. Commercially speaking, the profit is maximized. Technologically, the
productivity and utilization are maximized by sharing.
In the industrial arena, code-sharing in airlines for bookings on air travels and the
common Effluent Treatment Plant constructed for small-scale industries in the industrial estates,
are some of the examples of sharing. The co-operative societies for producers as well as
consumers are typical examples of sharing of the goods, profit and other social benefits.

HONESTY
Honesty means expressing your true feelings. To be able to be emotionally honest we
must first be emotionally aware. This emotional awareness is related to our emotional
intelligence, which gives us the ability to accurately identify our feelings.
Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two aspects namely,
(a) Truthfulness and
(b) Trustworthiness.
Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities upon telling truth. One should keep one’s word
or promise. By admitting one’s mistake committed (one needs courage to do that!), it is easy to
fix them. Reliable engineering judgment, maintenance of truth, defending the truth, and
communicating the truth, only when it does ‘good’ to others, are some of the reflections of
truthfulness. But trustworthiness is maintaining integrity and taking responsibility for personal
performance. People abide by law and live by mutual trust. They play the right way to win,

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according to the laws or rules (legally and morally). They build trust through reliability and
authenticity. They admit their own mistakes and confront unethical actions in others and take
tough and principled stand, even if unpopular.
Honesty is mirrored in many ways. The common reflections are:
(a) Beliefs (intellectual honesty).
(b) Communication (writing and speech).
(c) Decisions (ideas, discretion).
(d) Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals)
(e) Intended and unintended results achieved.

As against this, some of the actions of an engineer that leads to dishonesty are:
1. Lying: Honesty implies avoidance of lying. An engineer may communicate wrong or distorted
test results intentionally or otherwise. It is giving wrong information to the right people.
2. Deliberate deception: An engineer may judge or decide on matters one is not familiar or with
insufficient data or proof, to impress upon the customers or employers. This is a self deceit.
3. Withholding the information: It means hiding the facts during communication to one’s
superior or subordinate, intentionally or otherwise.
4. Not seeking the truth: Some engineers accept the information or data, without applying their
mind and seeking the truth.
5. Not maintaining confidentiality: It is giving right information to wrong people. The engineers
should keep information of their customers/clients or of their employers confidential and should
not discuss them with others.
6. Giving professional judgment under the influence of extraneous factors such as personal
benefits and prejudice

COURAGE
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
The word courage derives from the Latin word “cor”, which means “heart”. But true courage is
more a matter of intellect than of feeling. Courage is the tendency to accept and face risks and
difficult tasks in rational ways. Self-confidence is the basic requirement to nurture courage.

Courage is classified into three types, based on the types of risks, namely
(a) Physical courage,
(b) Social courage, and
(c) Intellectual courage.

In physical courage, the thrust is on the adequacy of the physical strength, including the
muscle power and armaments. People with high adrenalin, may be prepared to face challenges
for the mere ‘thrill’ or driven by a decision to ‘excel’.
The social courage involves the decisions and actions to change the order, based on the
conviction for or against certain social behaviors. This requires leadership abilities, including
empathy and sacrifice, to mobilize and motivate the followers, for the social cause.
The intellectual courage is inculcated in people through acquired knowledge, experience,
games, tactics, education, and training.
In professional ethics, courage is applicable to the employers, employees, public, and the press.

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Facing the criticism, owning responsibility, and accepting the mistakes or errors when committed
and exposed are the expressions of courage. In fact, this sets their mind to be vigilant against the
past mistakes, and creative in finding the alternate means to achieve the desired objectives. Prof.
Sathish Dhawan, Chief of ISRO, was reported to have exhibited his courage and owned
responsibility, when the previous space mission failed, but credited Prof. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
(now our revered President), when the subsequent mission succeeded.

The courageous people own and have shown the following characteristics, in their
professions:
(a) Perseverance (sustained hard work),
(b) Experimentation (preparedness to face the challenges, that is, unexpected or unintended
results),
(c) Involvement (attitude, clear and firm resolve to act), and
(d) Commitment (willing to get into action and to reach the desired goals by any alternative but
ethical means).

COOPERATION
Co-operation is activity between two persons or sectors that aims at integration of
operations (synergy), while not sacrificing the autonomy of either party. Further, working
together ensures, coherence, i.e., blending of different skills required, towards common goals.
Willingness to understand others, think and act together and putting this into practice, is
cooperation. Cooperation promotes co linearity, coherence (blend), co-ordination (activities
linked in sequence or priority) and the synergy (maximizing the output, by reinforcement). The
whole is more than the sum of the individuals. It helps in minimizing the input resources
(including time) and maximizes the outputs, which include quantity, quality, effectiveness, and
efficiency.
According to professional ethics, cooperation should exist or be developed, and
maintained, at several levels; between the employers and employees, between the superiors and
subordinates, among the colleagues, between the producers and the suppliers (spare parts), and
between the organisation and its customers.
The codes of ethics of various professional societies insist on appropriate cooperation to
nourish the industry. The absence of cooperation leads to lack of communication,
misinformation, void in communication, and undue delay between supply, production,
marketing, and consumption. This is likely to demoralize and frustrate the employees, leading to
collapse of the industry over time and an economic loss to the society.
The impediments to successful cooperation are:
1. Clash of ego of individuals.
2. Lack of leadership and motivation.
3. Conflicts of interests, based on region, religion, language, and caste.
4. Ignorance and lack of interest

COMMITMENT
Commitment means alignment to goals and adherence to ethical principles during the
activities. First of all, one must believe in one’s action performed and the expected end results
(confidence). It means one should have the conviction without an iota of doubt that one will
succeed. Holding sustained interest and firmness, in whatever ethical means one follows, with

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the fervent attitude and hope that one will achieve the goals, is commitment. It is the driving
force to realize success.
This is a basic requirement for any profession. For example, only when the teacher
(Guru) is committed to his job, the students will succeed in life and contribute ‘good’ to the
society.

EMPATHY
Empathy is social radar. Sensing what others feel about, without their open talk, is the
essence of empathy. Empathy begins with showing concern, and then obtaining and
understanding the feelings of others, from others’ point of view. It is also defined as the ability to
put one’s self into the psychological frame or reference or point of view of another, to know
what the other person feels. It includes the imaginative projection into other’s feelings and
understanding of other’s background such as parentage, physical and mental state, economic
situation, and association. This is an essential ingredient for good human relations and
transactions.
To practice ‘Empathy’, a leader must have or develop in him, the following
characteristics
1. Understanding others: It means sensing others feelings and perspectives, and taking active
interest in their welfare.
2. Service orientation: It is anticipation, recognition and meeting the needs of the clients or
customers.
3. Developing others: This means identification of their needs and bolstering their abilities. In
developing others, the one should inculcate in him the ‘listening skill’ first.
4. Leveraging diversity (opportunities through diverse people): This leads to enhanced
organizational learning, flexibility, and profitability.
5. Political awareness: It is the ability to read political and social currents in an organization.

The benefits of empathy include:

1. Good customer relations (in sales and service, in partnering).
2. Harmonious labour relations (in manufacturing).
3. Good vendor-producer relationship (in partnering.)
Through the above three, we can maximize the output and profit, as well as minimizing
the loss. While dealing with customer complaints, empathy is very effective in realising the
unbiased views of others and in admitting one’s own limitations and failures.

SELF-CONFIDENCE
Certainty in one’s own capabilities, values, and goals, is self-confidence. These people
are usually positive thinking, flexible and willing to change. They respect others so much as they
respect themselves. Self-confidence is positive attitude, wherein the individual has some positive
and realistic view of himself, with respect to the situations in which one gets involved. The
people with self-confidence exhibit courage to get into action and unshakable faith in their
abilities, whatever may be their positions. They are not influenced by threats or challenges and
are prepared to face them and the natural or unexpected consequences.
The self-confidence in a person develops a sense of partnership, respect, and
accountability, and this helps the organization to obtain maximum ideas, efforts, and guidelines
from its employees.

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The people with self-confidence have the following characteristics:

1. A self-assured standing,
2. Willing to listen to learn from others and adopt (flexibility),
3. Frank to speak the truth, and
4. Respect others’ efforts and give due credit.

The factors that shape self-confidence in a person are:

1. Heredity (attitudes of parents) and family environment (elders),
2. Friendship (influence of friends/colleagues),
3. Influence of superiors/role models, and
4. Training in the organization

SOCIAL EXPECTATION
Social expectation is an internalized social norm for individuals and organizations, thus
for society as a whole, about what people should do. It is a general societal climate where
individual’s imagined reference groups or communities affect their behaviours.

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Module 2
Engineering Ethics & Professionalism.

Senses of Engineering Ethics - Variety of moral issues- Types of inquiry- Moral dilemmas –
Moral Autonomy –Kohlberg’s theory- Gilligan’s theory- Consensus and Controversy-Profession
and Professionalism- Models of professional roles-Theories about right action –Self interest-
Customs and Religion- Uses of Ethical Theories

Engineering Ethics
Engineering Ethics is the activity and discipline aimed at
(a) Understanding the moral values that ought to guide engineering profession or
practice,
(b) Resolving moral issues in engineering, and
(c) Justifying the moral judgments in engineering.
It deals with set of moral problems and issues connected with engineering. Engineering
ethics is defined by the codes and standards of conduct endorsed by engineering (professional)
societies with respect to the particular set of beliefs, attitudes and habits displayed by the
individual or group.
Another important goal of engineering ethics is the discovery of the set of justified moral
principles of obligation, rights and ideals that ought to be endorsed by the engineers and apply
them to concrete situations. Engineering is the largest profession and the decisions and actions of
engineers affect all of us in almost all areas of our lives, namely public safety, health, and
welfare.
Examples:
 Overconfidence and lack of sufficient safe exits (Titanic disaster)
 Impatience (explosion of Challenger Space Shuttle)
 Poor maintenance (Bhopal gas tragedy)
 Inadequate safety factor in valve design (Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station)
 Ignoring obvious safety hazards (Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion)
 Disregard to basic safety equipment and safe exit (Delhi Theatre fire accident)
 Ignoring potential landslides (Mathsyagandha Express accident on Konkan Railway in
June 2004)
 Encroachment on free fire exit (Kumbakonam School fire accident)
 Letting unskilled and untrained labour handle highly explosive material under poor
supervision (Sivakasi fire accidents)

Scope
The scopes of engineering ethics are twofold:
1. Ethics of the workplace which involves the co-workers and employees in an
organization.
2. Ethics related to the product or work which involves the transportation, warehousing,
and use, besides the safety of the end product and the environment outside the factory.

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Approach
There are conventionally two approaches in the study of ethics:
1. Micro-ethics which deals with decisions and problems of individuals, professionals,
and companies.
2. Macro-ethics which deals with the societal problems on a regional/national level. For
example, global issues, collective responsibilities of groups such as professional societies and
consumer groups.

SENSES OF ENGINEERING ETHICS

As we have seen from the definitions, the term ethics embraces several moral tenets of
what we should do and what not to do under specific situations. Obviously, these explanations
are distinct though related and it all depends on which sense we express the concept of ethics or,
more specifically, professional ethics. We can broadly classify these senses of expression or
usage of the term into four:

1. Senses of the Field of the Activity and Understanding through Enquiry

This means that ethics is an activity where we seek to learn and understand the moral
values by inquiring and analyzing into certain practices. These moral values, when understood,
would guide us in resolving moral issues in and justifying the moral judgments we make.
Engineering Ethics, in this sense, refers to the activity aimed at understanding moral
values that guide us in performing our engineering practices and justifying the moral judgments
we make as engineers

2. Distinction of Moral Issues from Non moral Issues

Here, the term ethics makes a contrast between moral issues and non moral issues of say
political, legal or artistic in nature, which is at a different level and concept than from those of
engineering profession. A clear distinction is sought to differentiate between illegal activities,
immoral activities, unethical activities, and wrongful activities.
Engineering ethics, in this sense, refers to a set of moral issues faced by the engineer
during the day-to-day practice of his/her profession

3. Codes of Conduct
In some cases, ethics may refer to certain established codes of practices, beliefs, etc.,
displayed to maintain morality. When we say ethics of Bhagavad Gita, ethics of Quran, ethics of
Bible,ethics of Panchatantra, or ethics of Ramana Maharshi, we mean the ethics or moral values
illustrated or preached by them. Similarly, we can say Greek ethics, Martin Luther ethics,
Gandhian ethics, and so on.

4. A Synonym for ‘Morally Correct’

This is like saying someone is acting ethically or unethically. In this usage, engineering
ethics refers to how a professional adheres to the codes with reference to his/her responsibilities,
obligations, rights, and ideals, which may vary significantly from person to person. Such
variances too are sometimes specified in the codes of practices.

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VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES

It would be relevant to know why and how do moral issues (problems) arise in a
profession or why do people behave unethically?
The reasons for people including the employer and employees, behaving unethically may
be classified into three categories:
1. Resource Crunch
Due to pressure, through time limits, availability of money or budgetary constraints, and
technology decay or obsolescence. Pressure from the government to complete the project in time
(e.g., before the elections), reduction in the budget because of sudden war or natural calamity
(e.g., Tsunami) and obsolescence due technology innovation by the competitor lead to
manipulation and unsafe and unethical execution of projects.
Involving individuals in the development of goals and values and developing policies that
allow for individual diversity, dissent, and input to decision-making will prevent unethical
results.
2. Opportunity
(a) Double standards or behavior of the employers towards the employees and the public. The
unethical behaviors of World Com (in USA), Enron (in USA as well as India) executives in
2002 resulted in bankruptcy for those companies,
(b) Management projecting their own interests more than that of their employees.
(c) Emphasis on results and gains at the expense of the employees
(d) Management by objectives, without focus on empowerment and improvement of the
infrastructure.
This is best encountered by developing policies that allow ‘conscience keepers’ and
whistle blowers and appointing ombudsman, who can work confidentially with people to solve
the unethical problems internally.
3. Attitude
Poor attitude of the employees set in due to
(a) Low morale of the employees because of dissatisfaction and downsizing,
(b) Absence of grievance redressal mechanism,
(c) Lack of promotion or career development policies or denied promotions,
(d) Lack of transparency,
(e) Absence of recognition and reward system
(f) Poor working environments.
Giving ethics training for all, recognizing ethical conduct in work place, including ethics
in performance appraisal, and encouraging open discussion on ethical issues, are some of the
directions to promote positive attitudes among the employees
To get firm and positive effect, ethical standards must be set and adopted by the senior
management, with input from all personnel.

TYPES OF INQUIRIES
The three types of inquiries, in solving ethical problems are: normative inquiry,
conceptual inquiry, and factual or descriptive inquiry.
The three types of inquiries are discussed below to illustrate the differences and preference.
1. Normative Inquiry
It seeks to identify and justify the morally-desirable norms or standards that should guide
individuals and groups. It also has the theoretical goal of justifying particular moral judgments.

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Normative questions are about what ought to be and what is good, based on moral values. For
example,
1. How far does the obligation of engineers to protect public safety extend in any given
situation?
2. When should engineers be expected to blow whistle on dangerous practices of their
employers?
3. Whose values ought to be primary in making judgment about acceptable risks in design for a
public transport system or a nuclear plant? Is it of management, senior engineers, government,
voters or all of them?
4. When and why is the government justified in interfering with the organisations?
5. What are the reasons on which the engineers show their obligations to their employees or
clients or the public?
2. Conceptual Inquiry
It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or ideas or principles that are expressed
by words or by questions and statements. For example,
(a) What is meant by safety?
(b) How is it related to risk?
(c) What is a bribe? When a gift becomes a bribe?
(d) What is a profession?
When moral concepts are discussed, normative and conceptual issues are closely interconnected.
3. Factual or Descriptive Inquiry or exploratory inquiries
It is aimed to obtain facts needed for understanding and resolving value issues.
Researchers conduct factual inquiries using mathematical or statistical techniques. The inquiry
provide important information on business realities, engineering practice, and the effectiveness
of professional societies in fostering moral conduct, the procedures used in risk assessment, and
psychological profiles of engineers. The facts provide not only the reasons for moral problems
but also enable us to develop alternative ways of resolving moral problems. For example,
1. How were the benefits assessed?
2. What are procedures followed in risk assessment?
3. What are short-term and long-term effects of drinking water being polluted?
4. Who conducted the tests on materials?

MORAL DILEMMA
Definition
Dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons come into conflict, or in which the
application of moral values are problems, and one is not clear of the immediate choice or
solution of the problems.
Moral reasons could be rights, duties, goods or obligations. These situations do not mean
that things had gone wrong, but they only indicate the presence of moral complexity. This makes
the decision making complex.
For example, a person promised to meet a friend and dine, but he has to help his uncle
who is involved in an accident — one has to fix the priority.
The three complex situations leading to moral dilemmas are:
1. The problem of vagueness: One is unable to distinguish between good and bad (right or
wrong) principle. Good means an action that is obligatory. For example, code of ethics specifies

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that one should obey the laws and follow standards. Refuse bribe or accept the gift, and maintain
confidentiality
2. The problem of conflicting reasons: One is unable to choose between two good moral
solutions. One has to fix priority, through knowledge or value system.
3. The problem of disagreement: There may be two or more solutions and none of them
mandatory. These solutions may be better or worse in some respects but not in all aspects. Eg.
There are disagreements among managers regarding whether customers can be allowed to
inspect their plants and procedures, as a confidence building measure.

Steps to Solve Dilemma

The logical steps in confronting moral dilemma are:
1. Identification of the moral factors and reasons.
2. Collection of all information, data, and facts (factual inquiry) relevant to the situation
3. Rank the moral options
4. Generate alternate courses of action to resolve the dilemma.
5. Discuss with colleagues and obtain their perspectives, priorities, and suggestions on
various alternatives.
6. Decide upon a final course of action, based on priority fixed

MORAL AUTONOMY

Moral autonomy is defined as, decisions and actions exercised on the basis of moral
concern for other people and recognition of good moral reasons. Moral autonomy is the ability to
think critically and independently about moral issues and apply this normal thinking to situations
that arise during the professional engineering practice. Moral autonomy means ‘self determinant
or independent’.
If management views profitability is more important than consistent quality and retention
of the customers that discourage the moral autonomy, engineers are compelled to seek the
support from their professional societies and outside organizations for moral support. It appears
that the blue-collar workers with the support of the union can adopt better autonomy than the
employed professionals.

The engineering skills related to moral autonomy are listed as follows:

1. Proficiency in recognizing moral problems in engineering and ability to distinguish as well as
relate them to problems in law, economics, and religion
2. Skill in comprehending, clarifying, and critically-assessing arguments on different aspects of
moral issues
3. Ability to form consistent and comprehensive view points based on facts
4. Awareness of alternate responses to the issues and creative solutions for practical difficulties
5. Sensitivity to genuine difficulties and subtleties, including willingness to undergo and tolerate
some uncertainty while making decisions
6. Using rational dialogue in resolving moral conflicts and developing tolerance of different
perspectives among morally reasonable people
7. Maintaining moral integrity.

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Theories of Moral Development

The concept of moral autonomy is very much related to the study of psychology of moral
development. In this regard, the famous psychologists Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan
have developed theories of moral development. These theories are based on the sorts of
reasoning and motivation adopted by individuals with regard to moral questions.

Kohlberg’s Theory
Moral development in human being occurs over age and experience. Kohlberg suggested
there are three levels of moral development, namely pre-conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional, based on the type of reasoning and motivation of the individuals in response to
moral questions.
In the pre-conventional level, right conduct for an individual is regarded as whatever
directly benefits oneself. At this level, individuals are motivated by obedience or the desire to
avoid punishment or to satisfy their own needs or by the influence by power on them. All young
children exhibit this tendency.
At the conventional level, people respect the law and authority. Rules and norms of
one’s family or group or society are accepted, as the standard of morality. Individuals in this
level want to please or satisfy, and get approval by others and to meet the expectations of the
society, rather than their self interest (e.g., good boy, good girl). Loyalty is regarded as most
important. Many adults do not go beyond this level.
At the post-conventional level, people are called autonomous. They think originally and
want to live by universally good principles and welfare of others. They have no self-interest.
They live by principled conscience. They follow the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you’. They maintain moral integrity, self-respect and respect for others. Only
about 25% of persons ever grow to the post – conventional level of accepting universal ethical
principles and the majority remains at the conventional level.
Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages, one stage at
a time. He believed that most of the moral development occurs through social interactions.

Kohlberg’s levels of moral development

Level Appropriate age range Moral development
 Self centered attitude
Pre-conventional Birth to 9 years  Willingness to avoid punishment
 Desire to gain reward
 Respect for conventional rules and
authority
Conventional Ages 9 to 20 years  Willingness to please or satisfy others
 Importance to loyalty and close
identification with others
 Thinking for and by themselves
Over 20 years or may  Agreed upon universal general
Post- conventional
be never principles
 Personal moral stands

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Gilligan’s Theory
Carol Gilligan found that Kohlberg’s theory had a strong male bias. According to
Gilligan’s studies, men had a tendency to solve problems by applying abstract moral principles.
Men were found to resolve moral dilemma by choosing the most important moral rule,
overriding other rules. In contrast, women gave importance to preserve personal relationships
with all the people involved. The context oriented emphasis on maintaining personal
relationships was called the ethics of care, in contrast with the ethics of rules and rights adopted
by men.
Gilligan revised the three levels of moral development of Kohlberg, as stages of growth
towards ethics of caring.
The pre-conventional level, which is same as that of Kohlberg’s first one, right conduct,
is viewed in a selfish manner solely as what is good for oneself.
The second level called conventional level, the importance is on not hurting others, and
willing to sacrifice one’s own interest and help others. This is the characteristic feature of
women.
At the post-conventional level, a reasoned balance is found between caring about others
and pursuing the self-interest. The balance one’s own need and the needs of others, is aimed
while maintaining relationship based on mutual caring. This is achieved by context-oriented
reasoning, rather than by hierarchy of rules.

The difference in these two theories is explained through the well-known example,
Heinz’s dilemma. Heinz being poor and a debtor could not buy the costly medicine for his sick
wife, at ten times the normal cost. Initially he begged the Pharmacist to sell at half the price or
allow him to pay for it later. Pharmacist refused to oblige him either way. Finally he forcibly
entered the Pharmacy and stole the drug.
According to Kohlberg study, men observed that the theft was morally ‘wrong’ at the
conventional level, because the property right was violated. But men at the post-conventional
level, concluded that the theft was ‘right’, as the life of the human being was in danger. But
women observed that Heinz was wrong. They observed that instead of stealing he could have
tried other solutions (threatening or payment in installments?) to convince the Pharmacist.
Gilligan however attributed the decision by women as context-oriented and not on the basis of
rules ranked in the order of priority.

CONSENSUS AND CONTROVERSY

In the course of his duty, an engineer has to exercise his normal autonomy. Similarly,
every engineer related to this duty also exercises his autonomy. The concept of moral autonomy
is more subjective than objective and even Aristotle says that the subject of morality is not a
precise and clear-cut subject like arithmetic. Every engineer has his own interpretation and
concept of morality on the performance of the same duty. Hence, there is always a possibility of
two ethical persons disagreeing with the ethical conclusions of the other, which is due to the
differential development of moral autonomy of each.
This agreement or disagreement, though each is right on his own, is called consensus and
controversy respectively. Since these types of disagreements are inevitable, there should be some
extent of tolerance among individuals. As per the principle of tolerance, the goal of practicing
ethics is not only to produce an agreed conformity, but also to highlight and adapt ways of
promoting tolerances to achieve moral autonomy.

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In short, the principle of tolerance says that ethics education shall aim not only at
providing uniform conformity of outlook but also to uncover ways of promoting tolerances in the
exercise of moral autonomy. This also implies that in a workplace, be it a classroom or a
workshop, there is a need for certain specified authority and there should be some consensus
concerning the role of the authority.

Profession and Professionalism

A profession is a type of job that requires specialized training and qualifications in

performing the required activities basically to earn a living. An occupation or employment may
be undertaken just to earn a living, whether the person is skilled in the job or not. But a
profession, as defined above, needs formal training and qualification. In general, a profession
brings a fairly high status to a person, for example, engineering, medicine, law, education,
servicing, administration, or corporate governance, etc. As said by Mahatma Gandhi, a customer
gives the professional an opportunity to serve him.
The characteristics of a profession are
1. Advanced expertise – Many professions require sophisticated skills and theoretical
knowledge. Formal education, training, continuing education, updating are needed.
2. Self regulation – Professional societies play important role in setting standards for
admission to profession, drafting codes of ethics, enforcing standards of conduct and
representing the profession before the public and the government.
3. Public good – The occupation provides some important public good, by concerted efforts
to maintain ethical standards. For eg. Physician, An engineer, Teacher etc.

Professionalism as independence vs. professionalism as employee

Professionalism is the status of a professional which implies certain attitudes or typical
qualities that are expected of a professional. Professionalism as Independence and
Professionalism as Employee are the two components. Professionalism as independence means
the skill and capability of thinking independently and takes ethical decisions as required for
public good, with full freedom from the use of force. Thus, by definition, only consultants may
be said to have professionalism as independence.
On the other hand, professionalism as employees (or serving employers) means being
loyal to the employer or the client and take decisions based on the employer’s directive. Most
engineers come under this classification. Though the first definition appears logical, the second
one is more practical and is being accepted by most.

MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL ROLES

Promotion of public good is the primary concern of the professional engineers. There are several
role models to whom the engineers are attracted. These models provoke their thinking, attitudes
and actions.
1. Savior
The engineer as a savior, save the society from poverty, illiteracy, wastage, inefficiency,
ill health, human (labor) dignity and lead it to prosperity, through technological development and
social planning. For example, R.L. Stevenson.

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2. Guardian
He guards the interests of the poor and general public. As one who is conversant with
technology development, is given the authority befitting his expertise to determine what is best
suited to the society. For example, Lawrence of Arabia (an engineer).
3. Bureaucratic Servant
He serves the organization and the employers. The management of an enterprise fixes its
goals and assigns the job of problem solving to the engineer, who accepts the challenge and
shapes them into concrete achievements. For example, Jamshedji Tata.
4. Social Servant
It is one who exhibits social responsibility. The engineer translates the interest and
aspirations of the society into a reality, remembering that his true master is the society at large.
For example, Sir [Link].
5. Social Enabler and Catalyst
One who changes the society through technology. The engineer must assist the
management and the society to understand their needs and make informed decisions on the
desirable technological development and minimize the negative effects of technology on people
and their living environment. Thus, he shines as a social enabler and a catalyst for further
growth. For example, Sri Sundarlal Bahuguna.
6. Game Player
He is neither a servant nor master. An engineer is an assertive player, not a passive player
who may carry out his master’s voice. He plays a unique role successfully within the
organization, enjoying the excitement of the profession and having the satisfaction of surging
ahead in a competitive world. For example, Narayanamurthy, Infosys and Dr. Kasthurirangan,
ISRO.

THEORIES ABOUT RIGHT ACTION (ETHICAL THEORIES)

Ethical Theories/Approaches
Several ethical theories have been developed over different times, each of them stressing
certain ethical principles or features. Each stresses a view and many a times, we find that these
theories converge and reinforce the ethics, in deciding upon the actions and justifying the results.

1. Utilitarian Theory
The term Utilitarianism was conceived in the 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill to help legislators determine which laws were morally best. They suggested
that the standard of right conduct is maximization of good consequences. Good consequences
mean either ‘utilities’ or the ‘balance of good over evil’. This approach weighs the costs and
benefits. Right actions are the ones that produce the greatest satisfaction of the preferences of the
affected persons.
In analyzing an issue in this approach, we have to:
(a) Identify the various courses of action available to us.
(b) Ask who will be affected by each action and what benefits or harms will be derived from
each.
(c) Choose the action that will produce the greatest benefits and the least harm. The ethical
action is the one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number.

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The ACT UTILITARIAN theory proposed by J.S. Mill (1806-73) focuses on actions,
rather than on general rules. An action is right, if it generates the most overall good for the most
people involved.
The RULE UTILITARIAN theory, developed by Richard Brandt (1910-97), stressed on
the rules, such as ‘do not steal’, ‘do no harm others’, ‘do not bribe’, as of primary importance.
He suggested that individual actions are right when they are required by set of rules which
maximizes the public good.
The act utilitarian theory permitted a few immoral actions. Hence, there was need to
develop rule utilitarian theory to establish morality and justice, in the transactions. For example,
stealing an old computer from the employer will benefit the employee more than the loss to the
employer. As per Act, utilitarian this action is right. But rule utilitarian observes this as wrong,
because the employee should act as ‘faithful agent or trustee of the employees’. In another
example, some undisciplined engineers are terminated with the blame for the mistakes they have
not committed. The process is unfair although this results in promotion of overall good.

2. Duty Ethics Theory

The duty ethics theory, proposed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) states, that actions are
consequences of performance of one’s duties such as, ‘being honest’, ‘not cause suffering of
others’, ‘being fair to others including the meek and week’, ‘being grateful’, ‘keeping promises’
etc. The stress is on the universal principle of respect for autonomy i.e., respect and rationality of
persons.
As per Kant we have duties to ourselves, as we are rational and autonomous beings. We
have a duty not to commit suicide; a duty to develop our talents and a duty to avoid harmful
drugs. Kant insisted that moral duties are categorical imperatives. They are commands that we
impose on ourselves as well as other rational beings. For example, we should be honest because
honesty is required by duty. A businessman is to be honest because honesty pays — in terms of
profits from customers and from avoiding jail for dishonesty. The major problem with Kant’s
view is that principles of duty were absolute and they are never having justifiable exceptions.
These principles of duty that have exceptions are called prima facie duties

The DUTY ethics theory, as enunciated by John Rawl, gave importance to the actions
that would be voluntarily agreed upon by all persons concerned, assuming impartiality. His view
emphasized the autonomy each person exercises in forming agreements with other rational
people. Rawl proposed two basic moral principles;
(1) Each person is entitled to the most extensive amount of liberty compatible with an
equal amount for others
(2) Differences in social power and economic benefits are justified only when they are
likely to benefit everyone, including members of the most disadvantaged groups

C.W.D. Ross, the British philosopher introduced the term prima facie duties, which
means duties might have justified exceptions. Ross assumed that the prima facie duties are
intuitively obvious (self-evident), while fixing priorities among duties. He noted that the
principles such as ‘Do not kill’ and ‘protect innocent life’ involve high respect for persons than
other principles such as, ‘Do not lie’ (less harmful).

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This theory is criticized on the fact, that the intuitions do not provide sufficient guideline
for moral duty. He has listed various aspects of Duty Ethics that reflect our moral convictions,
namely:
1. Fidelity: duty to keep promises.
2. Reparation: duty to compensate others when we harm them.
3. Gratitude: duty to thank those who help us.
4. Justice: duty to recognize merit.
5. Beneficence: duty to recognize inequality and improve the condition of others.
6. Self-improvement: duty to improve virtue and intelligence.
7. Non-malfeasance: duty not to injure others.

3. Rights Theory
Rights are entitlement to act or to have another individual act in a certain way. The right
ethicists emphasize that any action that violates any moral right is considered as ethically
unacceptable. In other words, rights ethics holds that people have fundamental rights that other
people have a duty to respect.

Two versions of rights ethics are:

1. Locke’s version of rights ethics
2. Meldon’s version of right ethics

Locke’s version of rights ethics

John Locke argued that humans have human rights of life, liberty and the property
generated by one’s labour. His views are considered as highly individualistic. In his view, rights
are claims that prevent other people from interfering in one’s life. These rights are referred as
liberty rights or negative rights that place duties on other people not to interfere with one’s life.

Meldon’s version of right ethics

A. I. Melden considered human rights as intimately related to communities of people.
According to him, moral rights require the capacity to show concern for others and to
be accountable within a moral community. He also defined welfare rights as rights to
community benefits needed for living a minimum decent human life.

4. The Virtue Theory

This emphasizes on the character rather than the rights or duties. The character is the
pattern of virtues (morally-desirable features). The theory advocated by Aristotle, stressed on the
tendency to act at proper balance between extremes of conduct, emotion, desire, attitudes to find
the golden mean between the extremes of ‘excess’ or ‘deficiency’. The examples shown below
illustrates the theory

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Virtue Excess Golden mean Deficient

Truthfulness (governs Revealing all in Necessary and sufficient Secretive
communication) violation of tact and to proper person
confidentiality
Courage (face danger, risk) Roguishness, bold Firm and humble Cowardice
Generosity (giving) Wasting resources Give, in appropriate Miserly
measure
Friendliness Without anger, Within decent limits Bad-tempered
effusive
Green environment Exploitation Protection Neglect
Work and earn Tiresome work Balance of work and Lazy (no work) and
(strained) leisure more pay

On the other hand, the Virtue Theory proposed by Mac Intyre, highlighted on the actions
aimed at achieving common good and social (internal) good such as social justice, promotion of
health, creation of useful and safe technological products and services. Five types of virtues that
constitute responsible professionalism, namely public-spirited virtues, proficiency virtues, team-
work virtues, self-governance virtues, and cardinal virtues.

SELF-INTEREST
Self-interest is being good and acceptable to oneself. It is pursuing what is good for
oneself. It is very ethical to possess self-interest. As per utilitarian theory, this interest should
provide for the respect of others also. Duty ethics recognizes this aspect as duties to ourselves.
Then only one can help others. Right ethicist stresses our rights to pursue our own good. Virtue
ethics also accepts the importance of self-respect as link to social practices.
In Ethical Egoism, the self is conceived in a highly individualistic manner. It says that
every one of us should always and only promote one’s own interest. The ethical egoists do not
accept the well being of the community or caring for others. However this self interest should not
degenerate into egoism or selfishness, i.e., maximizing only own good in the pursuit of self-
interest.
The ethical egoists hold that the society benefits to maximum when
(a) The individuals pursue their personal good
(b) The individual organizations pursue maximum profit in a competitive enterprise.
This is claimed to improve the economy of the country as a whole, besides the
individuals. In such pursuits, both individuals and organizations should realize that independence
is not the only important value. We are also interdependent, as much as independent. Each of us
is vulnerable in the society. Self-respect includes recognition of our vulnerabilities and
interdependencies. Hence, it is compatible with caring for ourselves as well as others. Self-
interest is necessary initially to begin with. But it should be one of the prime motives for action;
the other motive is to show concern for others, in the family as well as society. One’s self-
interest should not harm others. The principles of ‘Live and let (others) live’, and ‘reasonably
fair competition’ are recommended to professionals by the ethicists.

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CUSTOMS

Ethical Pluralism: Various cultures in our pluralistic society lead to tolerance for various
customs, beliefs, and outlooks. Accordingly ethical pluralism also exists. Although many moral
attitudes appear to be reasonable, the rational and morally concerned people cannot fully accept
any one of the moral perspectives. There are many varied moral values, which allow variation in
the understanding and application of values by the individuals or groups in their everyday
transactions. It means that even reasonable people will not agree on all moral issues and
professional ethics.

Ethical Relativism: According to this principle, actions are considered morally right when
approved by law or custom, and wrong when they violate the laws or customs. The deciding
factor is the law or the customs of the society.
A few reasons to accept this are explained as follows:
1. Laws appear to be objective ways for judging values.
The laws and customs tend to be definite, clear and real, but not always. Further moral
reasons allow objective criticism of laws, as being morally lacking. For example, the Apartheid
laws of South Africa violated the human rights of the native Africans. No legal protection was
available for native citizens for a long time. Now, of course, these laws have been repealed.
2. Ethical relativism assumes that the values are subjective at the cultural level.
Moral standards also vary from culture to culture. The objectivity is supported by the
existing laws of that society. The relative morality accepted, supports the virtue of tolerance of
differences among societies. This argument is also not fully acceptable. As per ethical relativism,
the actions and laws of the Nazis and Hitler who vowed on Anti-Semitism and killed several
million Jews would be accepted as right.
3. Moral relationalism or moral contextualism.
According to this, the moral judgments must be made in relation to certain factors, which
may vary from case to case. The morally important factors for making judgments include the
customs and laws. The virtue ethicists hold that the practical wisdom should prevail upon
assessing the facts and in the judgment.

RELIGION
Religions have played major roles in shaping moral views and moral values, over
geographical regions. Christianity has influenced the Western countries, Islam in the Middle-
East countries, Buddhism and Hinduism in Asia, and Confucianism in China. Further, there is a
strong psychological link between the moral and religious beliefs of people following various
religions and faiths. Religions support moral responsibility. They have set high moral standards.
Faith in the religions provides trust and this trust inspires people to be moral. The religions insist
on tolerance and moral concern for others. Many professionals who possess religious beliefs are
motivated to be morally responsible.
Each religion lays stress on certain high moral standards. For example, Hinduism holds
polytheistic (many gods) view, and virtues of devotion and surrender to high order. Christianity
believes in one deity and emphasizes on virtues of Love, Faith, and Hope. Buddhism is non
theistic and focuses on compassion and Islam on one deity and adherence of ishan (piety or
pursuit of excellence) and prayer. Judaism stresses the virtue of ‘tsedakah’ (righteousness). But
many religious sects have adopted poor moral standards, e.g., many religious sects do not

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recognize equal rights for women. The right to worship is denied for some people. People are
killed in the name of or to promote religion. Thus, conflicts exist between the ‘secular’ and
religious people and between one religion and another. Hence, religious views have to be
morally scrutinized.

Uses of Ethical Theories

CASE STUDY: CHOICE OF THE THEORY

The choice of the ethical theory to study a problem is illustrated herein with an example.
In tackling ethical problems, we can apply all the theories and analyze the actions and results
from different angles and see what result each theory gives rise to. This enables us to examine
the problem in different perspectives. Many a time, the result will be the same though we have
applied various theories.
Case: A chemical plant near a small town is discharging hazardous wastes into the fields
nearby. The ground water gets contaminated and significant health problems surface in the
community. Since harm is caused to the residents, the action is unethical as per rights ethics. The
agriculturists who have the agrarian right of water supply have been over looked. The pollutants
may endanger their profession and welfare. Hence, rights ethics also concludes that the action is
unethical.
The effects of polluted water and the cost to purify the water by the municipality may
outweigh the economic benefits of the plant. Hence, the utilitarian analysis leads to the same
conclusion. The groundwater harms the people and caused health problems. Hence, discharging
the pollutants is unethical as per duty ethics.
Generally, because the rights of the individuals should weigh strongly than the needs of
the society as a whole, rights and duty ethics take precedence over utilitarian considerations.
Caution is necessary in applying theory of virtue ethics. When we use the word ‘honor’, we
mean it to be a measure of dignity and integrity. It is a positive virtue. When it points to ‘pride’ it
is not a virtue and has a negative connotation. History abounds with examples of war, which
have been fought and atrocities were committed on innocent people in order to preserve the
honor (pride) of an individual or a nation. In using virtue ethics, we have to ensure that the traits
of virtue are actually virtuous and will not lead to negative consequences.

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Module 3
Module 3- Engineering as social Experimentation.

Engineering as Experimentation – Engineers as responsible Experimenters- Codes

of Ethics- Plagiarism-A balanced outlook on law - Challenger case study- Bhopal
gas tragedy.

Engineering as social experimentation

Medicine is accepted readily as social experimentation because of its explicit
preoccupation with human beings. In the case of engineering the argument goes thus: engineers
experiment with things and processes and not with human beings; then how can it be regarded as
social experimentation? The answer lies in the fact that there is always a strong human interface
in the use of the process and results of these experiments and the beneficiaries are invariably
humans.

Social experimentation is a research process. Engineering involves applied research and

development. Experimentation ethics is the discipline that is concerned with the analysis of
moral principles applicable in the conduct of research especially in relation to human subjects.
Research can do good; but also may cause harm. Research that causes harm is morally wrong. If
avoiding harm is of primary importance, then many a research project with potential for doing
good would be considered unethical since in the initial stages, some cause harm, but once proved
successful will do good for the society. Therefore the ratio of benefit to harm is the more
reasonable criterion for justifying any experimentation. This principle of harm and benefit is
called beneficence.

As per Murphy’s Law, if anything is to go wrong, it will go wrong, sooner or later. It

means that all products of technology present potential hazards to some extent due to failure,
making engineering a risky activity. Thus, each engineering project, whether development of
processes or setting up a new plant or building a new railway track or even preparing for
launching a luxury cruiser like Titanic with a full load of passengers should be viewed as an
experimental process. Before introducing to the public, every engineering product must undergo
various experiments not only in the laboratory but also from the point of safety to the public,
especially wherever the lives of several people are involved. That is the reason why the engineer
is called not only an experimenter, but a responsible experimenter in view of his concern for
public safety as he is experimenting with his design with the society at stake.
The engineer, being a responsible experimenter, should bear in mind and appreciate fully
the fact that the experiments are to be done from the society and safety point of view.

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Engineering as Experimentation
The engineer’s chief responsibility is to develop new products and processes whose
impact on the society and the public is unknown. It is like conducting experiments on the society
and the public. Before manufacturing a product or providing a project, we make several
assumptions and trials, design and redesign and test several times till the product is observed to
be functioning satisfactorily. We try different materials and experiments. From the test data
obtained we make detailed design and retests. Thus, design as well as engineering is iterative
process as illustrated in Figure

Design

Fabrication, Assembly,
Physical Tests, Simulation

Prototype, Pilot Plant,

Model Study

Final Design

Manufacture

Field Study

Design as an interactive process

Several redesigns are made upon the feedback information on the performance or failure in the
field or in the factory. Besides the tests, each engineering project is modified during execution,
based on the periodical feedback on the progress and the lessons from other sources. Hence, the
development of a product or a project as a whole may be considered as an experiment.

ENGINEERS AS RESPONSIBLE EXPERIMENTERS

Although the engineers facilitate experiments, they are not alone in the field. Their
responsibility is shared with the organizations, people, government, and others. No doubt the
engineers share a greater responsibility while monitoring the projects, identifying the risks, and
informing the clients and the public with facts. Based on this, they can take decisions to
participate or protest or promote.
The engineer, as an experimenter, owe several responsibilities to the society, namely,
1. A conscientious commitment to live by moral values.
2. A comprehensive perspective on relevant information. It includes constant awareness of the
progress of the experiment and readiness to monitor the side effects, if any.

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3. Unrestricted free-personal involvement in all steps of the project/product development

(autonomy).
4. Be accountable for the results of the project (accountability).
1. Conscientiousness
Conscientious moral commitment means:
(a) Being sensitive to full range of moral values and responsibilities relevant to the prevailing
situation
(b) The willingness to develop the skill and put efforts needed to reach the best balance possible
among those considerations. In short, engineers must possess open eyes, open ears, and an open
mind (i.e., moral vision, moral listening, and moral reasoning).
This makes the engineers as social experimenters, respect foremost the safety and health
of the affected, while they seek to enrich their knowledge, rush for the profit, follow the rules, or
care for only the beneficiary. The human rights of the participant should be protected through
voluntary and informed consent.
2. Comprehensive Perspective
The engineer should grasp the context of his work and ensure that the work involved
results in only moral ends. One should not ignore his conscience, if the product or project that he
is involved will result in damaging the nervous system of the people (or even the enemy, in case
of weapon development)
A product has a built-in obsolete or redundant component to boost sales with a false
claim. In possessing of the perspective of factual information, the engineer should exhibit a
moral concern and not agree for this design. Sometimes, the guilt is transferred to the
government or the competitors. Some organizations think that they will let the government find
the fault or let the fraudulent competitor be caught first. Finally, a full-scale environmental or
social impact study of the product or project by individual engineers is useful but not possible, in
practice.
3. Moral Autonomy
Viewing engineering as social experimentation, and anticipating unknown consequences
should promote an attitude of questioning about the adequacy of the existing economic and
safety standards. This proves a greater sense of personal involvement in one’s work.
4. Accountability
The term Accountability means:
1. The capacity to understand and act on moral reasons
2. Willingness to submit one’s actions to moral scrutiny and be responsive to the assessment of
others. It includes being answerable for meeting specific obligations, i.e., liable to justify
(or give reasonable excuses) the decisions, actions or means, and outcomes (sometimes
unexpected), when required by the stakeholders or by law.
The tug-of-war between of causal influence by the employer and moral responsibility of
the employee is quite common in professions.
In the engineering practice, the problems are:
(a) The fragmentation of work in a project inevitably makes the final products lie away from the
immediate work place, and lessens the personal responsibility of the employee.
(b) Further the responsibilities diffuse into various hierarchies and to various people. Nobody
gets the real feel of personal responsibility.
(c) Often projects are executed one after another. An employee is more interested in adherence of
tight schedules rather than giving personal care for the current project.

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(d) More litigation is to be faced by the engineers (as in the case of medical practitioners). This
makes them wary of showing moral concerns beyond what is prescribed by the institutions. In
spite of all these shortcomings, engineers are expected to face the risk and show up personal
responsibility as the profession demands.

CODES OF ETHICS
The ‘codes of ethics’ exhibit, rights, duties, and obligations of the members of a profession and a
professional society. The codes exhibit the following essential roles:
1. Inspiration and guidance.
The codes express the collective commitment of the profession to ethical conduct and
public good and thus inspire the individuals. They identify primary responsibilities and provide
statements and guidelines on interpretations for the professionals and the professional societies.
2. Support to engineers.
The codes give positive support to professionals for taking stands on moral issues.
Further they serve as potential legal support to discharge professional obligations.
3. Deterrence (discourage to act immorally) and discipline (regulate to act morally).
The codes serve as the basis for investigating unethical actions. The professional societies
sometimes revoke membership or suspend/expel the members, when proved to have acted
unethical. This sanction along with loss of respect from the colleagues and the society are bound
to act as deterrent.
4. Education and mutual understanding.
Codes are used to prompt discussion and reflection on moral issues. They develop a
shared understanding by the professionals, public, and the government on the moral
responsibilities of the engineers. The Board of Review of the professional societies encourages
moral discussion for educational purposes.
5. Create good public image.
The codes present positive image of the committed profession to the public, help the
engineers to serve the public effectively. They promote more of self regulation and lessen the
government regulations. This is bound to raise the reputation of the profession and the
organization, in establishing the trust of the public.
6. Protect the status quo.
They create minimum level of ethical conduct and promote agreement within the
profession. Primary obligation namely the safety, health, and welfare of the public, declared by
the codes serves and protects the public.

7. Promotes business interests.

The codes offer inspiration to the entrepreneurs, establish shared standards, healthy
competition, and maximize profit to investors, employees, and consumers.

Limitations: The codes are not remedy for all evils. They have many limitations, namely:
1. General and vague wordings. Many statements are general in nature and hence unable to solve
all problems.
2. Not applicable to all situations. Codes are not sacred, and need not be accepted without
criticism. Tolerance for criticisms of the codes themselves should be allowed.

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3. Often have internal conflicts. Many times, the priorities are clearly spelt out, e.g., codes forbid
public remarks critical of colleagues (engineers), but they actually discovered a major bribery,
which might have caused a huge loss to the exchequer.
4. They cannot be treated as final moral authority for professional conduct. Codes have flaws by
commission and omission. There are still some grey areas undefined by codes. They cannot be
equated to laws. After all, even laws have loopholes and they invoke creativity in the legal
practitioners.
5. Only a few enroll as members in professional society and non-members cannot be compelled.
6. Even as members of the professional society, many are unaware of the codes
7. Different societies have different codes. The codes cannot be uniform or same! Unifying the
codes may not necessarily solve the problems prevailing various professions, but attempts are
still made towards these unified codes.
8. Codes are said to be coercive. They are sometimes claimed to be threatening and forceful.

PLAGIARISM
“The unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author
and the representation of them as one’s own original work”
According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to “plagiarize” means
1) To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
2) To use (another's production) without crediting the source
3) To commit literary theft
4) To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.
In the United States and many other countries, the expression of original ideas is
considered intellectual property, and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions.
Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you
have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, and then no matter
how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply
acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the
information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.

INDUSTRIAL STANDARDS
Industrial standards are important for any industry. Specification helps in achieving
interchangeability. Standardization reduces the production costs and at the same time, the quality
is achieved easily. It helps the manufacturer, customers and the public, in keeping
competitiveness and ensuring quality simultaneously. Industrial standards are established by the
Bureau of Indian Standards, in our country in consultation with leading industries and services.
International standards have become relevant with the development of the world trade.
The International Standards Organization has now detailed specifications for generic
products/services with procedures that the manufacturers or service providers should follow to
assure the quality of their products or service. ISO 9000-2000 series are typical examples in this
direction.

A BALANCED OUTLOOK ON LAW

The ‘balanced outlook on law’ in engineering practice stresses the necessity of laws and
regulations and also their limitations in directing and controlling the engineering practice. Laws

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are necessary because, people are not fully responsible by themselves and because of the
competitive nature of the free enterprise, which does not encourage moral initiatives. Laws are
needed to provide a minimum level of compliance.

The following codes are typical examples of how they were enforced in the past:
1. Code for Builders by Hammurabi
Hammurabi the king of Babylon in 1758 framed the following code for the builders:
“If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound and the house which
he has built has fallen down and caused the death of the householder, that builder shall be put to
death. If it causes the death of the householder’s son, they shall put that builder’s son to death. If
it causes the death of the householder’s slave, he shall give slave for slave to the householder. If
it destroys property, he shall replace anything it has destroyed; and because he has not made the
house sound which he has built and it has fallen down, he shall rebuild the house which has
fallen down from his own property. If a builder has built a house for a man and does not make
his work perfect and the wall bulges, that builder shall put that wall in sound condition at his
own cost”
This code was expected to put in self-regulation seriously in those years.
2. Steam Boat Code in USA
Whenever there is crisis we claim that there ought to be law to control this. Whenever
there is a fire accident in a factory or fire cracker’s store house or boat capsize we make this
claim, and soon forget. Laws are meant to be interpreted for minimal compliance. On the other
hand, laws when amended or updated continuously would be counterproductive. Laws will
always lag behind the technological development. The regulatory or inspection agencies such as
Environmental authority of India can play a major role by framing rules and enforcing
compliance.
In the early 19th century, a law was passed in USA to provide for inspection of the safety
of boilers and engines in ships. It was amended many times and now the standards formulated by
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers are followed.
3. Proper Role of Laws
Good laws when enforced effectively produce benefits. They establish minimal standards of
professional conduct and provide a motivation to people. Further they serve as moral support and
defense for the people who are willing to act ethically.
Thus, it is concluded that:
1. The rules which govern engineering practice should be construed as of responsible
experimentation rather than rules of a game. This makes the engineer responsible for the safe
conduct of the experiment.
2. Precise rules and sanctions are suitable in case of ethical misconduct that involves the
violation of established engineering procedures, which are aimed at the safety and the welfare of
the public.
3. In situations where the experimentation is large and time consuming, the rules must not try to
cover all possible outcomes, and they should not compel the engineers to follow rigid courses of
action.
4. The regulation should be broad, but make engineers accountable for their decisions
5. Through their professional societies, the engineers can facilitate framing the rules, amend
wherever necessary, and enforce them, but without giving-in for conflicts of interest.

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CASE STUDY: THE CHALLENGER

What happened?
The orbiter of the Challenger had three main engines fuelled by liquid hydrogen. The fuel
was carried in an external fuel tank which was jettisoned when empty. During lift-off, the main
engines fire for about nine minutes, although initially the thrust was provided by the two booster
rockets. These booster rockets are of the solid fuel type, each burning a million pound load of
aluminum, potassium chloride, and iron oxide.
The casing of each booster rocket is about 150 feet long and 12 feet in diameter. This
consists of cylindrical segments that are assembled at the launch site. There are four-field joints
and they use seals consisting of pairs of O-rings made of vulcanized rubber. The O-rings work
with a putty barrier made of zinc chromate.
The engineers were employed with Rockwell International (manufacturers for the orbiter
and main rocket), Morton-Thiokol (maker of booster rockets), and they worked for NASA.
After many postponements, the launch of Challenger was set for morning of Jan 28, 1986. Allan
J. McDonald was an engineer from Morton-Thiokol and the director of the Solid Rocket
Booster Project. He was skeptic about the freezing temperature conditions forecast for that
morning, which was lower than the previous launch conditions. A teleconference between NASA
engineers and MT engineers was arranged by Allan.
Arnold Thompson and Roger Boisjoly, the seal experts at MT explained to the other
engineers how the booster rocket walls would bulge upon launch and combustion gases can blow
past the O-rings of the field joints. On many of the previous flights the rings have been found to
have charred and eroded. In freezing temperature, the rings and the putty packing are less pliable.
From the past data gathered, at temperature less than 65 °F the O-rings failure was certain. But
these data were not deliberated at that conference as the launch time was fast approaching.
The engineering managers Bob Lund and Joe Kilminster agreed that there was a safety
problem. Boisjoly testified and recommended that no launch should be attempted with
temperature less than 53 °F. These managers were annoyed to postpone the launch yet again. The
top management of MT was planning for the renewal of contract with NASA, for making booster
rocket. The managers told Bob Lund “to take-off the engineering hat and put on your
management hat”. The judgment of the engineers was not given weightage. The inability of these
engineers to substantiate that the launch would be unsafe was taken by NASA as an approval by
Rockwell to launch.
At 11.38 a.m. the rockets along with Challenger rose up the sky. The cameras recorded
smoke coming out of one of the filed joints on the right booster rocket. Soon there was a flame
that hit the external fuel tank. At 76 seconds into the flight, the Challenger at a height of 10 miles
was totally engulfed in a fireball. The crew cabin fell into the ocean killing all the seven aboard.
Some of the factual issues, conceptual issues and moral/normative issues in the space
shuttle challenger incident are highlighted hereunder for further study.

Moral/Normative Issues
1. The crew had no escape mechanism. Douglas, the engineer, designed an abort module to allow
the separation of the orbiter, triggered by a field-joint leak. But such a ‘safe exit’ was rejected as
too expensive, and because of an accompanying reduction in payload.
2. The crew was not informed of the problems existing in the field joints. The principle of
informed consent was not followed.

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3. Engineers gave warning signals on safety. But the management group prevailed over and
ignored the warning.
Conceptual Issues
1. NASA counted that the probability of failure of the craft was one in one lakh launches. But it
was expected that only the 100000th launch will fail.
2. There were 700 criticality-1 items, which included the field joints. A failure in any one of
them would have caused the tragedy. No back-up or stand-bye had been provided for these
criticality-1 components.
Factual/Descriptive Issues
1. Field joints gave way in earlier flights. But the authorities felt the risk is not high.
2. NASA has disregarded warnings about the bad weather, at the time of launch, because they
wanted to complete the project, prove their supremacy, get the funding from Government
continued and get an applaud from the President of USA.
3. The inability of the Rockwell Engineers (manufacturer) to prove that the lift-off was unsafe.
This was interpreted by the NASA, as an approval by Rockwell to launch.

CASE STUDY: BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident
on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered among the world's worst industrial disasters.
Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. The highly toxic substance
made its way into and around the small towns located near the plant.
Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. In 2008, the
Government of Madhya Pradesh had paid compensation to the family members of 3,787 victims
killed in the gas release, and to 574,366 injured victims. A government affidavit in 2006 stated
that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and
approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Others estimate that 8,000
died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.
The Indian government and local activists argue that slack management and deferred
maintenance created a situation where routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of water into
a MIC tank, triggering the disaster. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) argues water entered the
tank through an act of sabotage.

Causes

There are two main lines of argument involving the disaster. The "Corporate
Negligence" point of view argues that the disaster was caused by a potent combination of under-
maintained and decaying facilities, a weak attitude towards safety, and an undertrained
workforce, culminating in worker actions that inadvertently enabled water to penetrate the MIC
tanks in the absence of properly working safeguards.

The "Worker Sabotage" point of view argues that it was not physically possible for the
water to enter the tank without concerted human effort, and that extensive testimony and
engineering analysis leads to a conclusion that water entered the tank when a rogue individual
employee hooked a water hose directly to an empty valve on the side of the tank.

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Module 4
Module 4- Responsibilities and Rights.

Collegiality and loyalty – Managing conflict- Respect for authority- Collective

bargaining- Confidentiality-Role of confidentiality in moral integrity-Conflicts of
interest- Occupational crime- Professional rights-Employee right- IPR
Discrimination.

Collegiality and loyalty

The term collegiality comes from the word colleague. It implies the respect shown to the
attitudes, emotions, rights, and expertise of colleagues with whom you work in cooperation. It
can also be called camaraderie.
According to National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) code, the collegiality
should include the following three characteristics:
1. Engineers should not attempt to injure, unkindly or falsely, directly or indirectly, the
professional reputation, prospects, practice or employment of other engineers.
2. Engineer should not untruthfully criticize other engineer’s work
3. Engineers should bring unethical or illegal practice of other engineers to the proper
authority of action.
Craig Ihara defines collegiality as a kind of connectedness based on respect for
professional expertise and in a commitment to the goals and values of the profession, and
collegiality includes a disposition to support and cooperate with one’s colleagues.

Elements of Collegiality
The central elements of collegiality are:
1. Respect;
2. Commitment; and
3. Connectedness

1. Respect
Respect means valuing one’s colleagues for their professional expertise and their
devotion to the social goods promoted by the profession. In other words, it is the
affirming of the true value of the contribution to the society by other engineers in
producing socially useful and safe products.

2. Commitment
It implies sharing of loyalty and devotion to the moral principles of engineering practice.
The engineers must share their ideas freely and frankly with one another, despite the fact
that there may be a competition among engineers in their profession. This is possible by

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their commitment to their profession getting the better of their need for individual
recognition

3. Connectedness
This is where team spirit lies. To be working closely with other engineers, one requires a
spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding. Each should know the emotional attitudes of
the other and be ready to share his/her personal feelings with them. This teamwork is the
success of many endeavors. Teamwork is also called synergy, a term indicating synchronized
application of individual energies.
TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More

LOYALTY
While collegiality implies upon team spirit and an engineer’s commitment to the cause of
his peers, loyalty implies his commitment to the cause of his employers. This character can be
expressed in two senses.
1. Agency Loyalty
It is one’s commitment to the contractual obligations to his employer. These duties are
specified in the appointment order or the contract document, and the employer who is paying
expects the engineer to follow these terms and regulations to the word. Agency loyalty is entirely
a matter of actions irrespective of the motives.
For example, if an action is committed contrary to the rules, it is viewed seriously,
irrespective of the motive behind that act. In his day-to-day activities or in making decisions or
in dealing with the public, the engineer considers himself as an agent or spokesman of his
employer only. That is, he communicates the instructions of his employer rather than applying
his own opinion or judgment or decision.
2. Identification Loyalty
By contrast, identification loyalty is more a matter of attitudes, emotions, and a sense of
personal identity than the actions. This is motivated by the commitment and identification of one
with the group to which he is loyal. Here, the engineer identifies himself and his knowledge in
making decisions which may, to some extent, be differ from his employer’s instructions.

Respect for Authority

Decisions can be taken by a few people, but putting into action requires larger
participation from different groups of people, such as operation, purchase, sales, accounts,
maintenance, finance etc. In effectively-and efficiently-transferring decisions to actions, the
authority comes into play a great role. Otherwise the individual discretions may ruin the
activities. Further the authority fixes the personal responsibility and accountability uniquely on
each person. This is necessary to ensure progress in action.
Institutional Authority
It is the authority exercised within the organization. It is the right given to the employees to
exercise power, to complete the task and force them to achieve their goals. Duties such as
resource allocation, policy dissemination, recommendation, supervision, issue orders (empower)
or directions on subordinates are vested to institutional authority, e.g., Line Managers and
Project Managers have the institutional duty to make sure that the products/projects are
completed successfully. The characteristics features of institutional authority are that they
allocate money and other resources and have liberty in execution.

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Expert Authority
On the other hand, the Expert Authority is (a) the possession of special knowledge, skills and
competence to perform a job thoroughly (expertise), (b) the advice on jobs, and (c) is a staff
functions. It is also known as ‘authority of leadership’. These experts direct others in effective
manner, e.g. If the engineer is an expert in tower design, even his boss has to respect his
authority, unless he himself is an expert in the same field.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
It is the bargain by the trade union for improving the economic interests of the worker
members. The process includes negotiation, threatening verbally, and declaration of ‘strike’. It is
impossible to endorse fully the collective bargaining of unions or to condemn. There exist
always conflicting views between the professionalism and unionism.
Pro- and anti-views on unionism
For unionism Against unionism
1. Unions have lead to disturb the economy of state
1. Unions have been useful in improving the
by salaries, and increase salaries and expenses,
standard of living and economic benefits of the
leading to inflationary conditions.
workers. Even non-union members leading to
inflationary condition are able to get those benefits.
2. Instead of being cooperative, they act in negative
and destructive ways, causing loss of man-days.
2. Unions have obtained greater participation in
Opinions of the individual worker is suppressed
organization, by participative management. Union
and used as pawns.
members are appointed as Directors the Board and
credited to act as bridge between the employers and
employees.

3. Unions encourage mediocrity, and act in favor of

3. Unions have contributed to the job security, and
seniority-based promotion. Merit-based promotion
protection against arbitrary treatment to the
and awards for personal achievement are
employees.
disregarded

4. They are able to put resistance to unethical 4. Unions thrive on prolonged unrest, dis- satisfied,
orders and support to ethical actions and tense relations between workers and
management.
5. They cause pigeon-holing of employee in narrow
job classifications to which the salary scales are
5. They have provided for effective grievance
attached
redressal mechanism for employees

6. They act to safeguard against the possible

political interference, exploitation, and alienation in
the company affairs..

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CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality means keeping the information on the employer and clients, as secrets. It
is one of the important aspects of team work.
Justification for Confidentiality
Confidentiality can be justified by various ethical theories. According to Rights-based
theory, rights of the stakeholders, right to the intellectual property of the company are protected
by this practice. Based on Duty theory, employees and employers have duty to keep up mutual
trust. The Utilitarian theory holds good, only when confidentiality produce most good to most
people. Act utilitarian theory focuses on each situation, when the employer decides on some
matters as confidential.
Further, the following moral principles also justify the concept of ‘confidentiality’:
1. Respect for Autonomy
It means respecting the freedom and self-determination of individuals and organizations to
identify their legitimate control over the personal information of themselves. In the absence of
this, they cannot keep their privacy and protect their self-interest
2. Respect for promises
This means giving respect for the promises made between the employers and employees. But
promises do not establish complete obligation.
3. Trustworthiness
Maintaining confidentiality by lawyers, accountants, and attorneys are necessary to develop
confidence and welfare of the individuals and the organizations.
4. Respect for public welfare
This moral consideration is important in identifying relationships in professional transactions, for
the benefit of public [Link]. Medical practitioner

Types of confidential information

On the basis of acquisition (possession), the confidential information are divided into two types
1. Privileged information
It is the information that is available and accessed, by virtue of a privilege, i.e., privilege
of being employed on that assignment. The security check is also insisted during exit
from the work place against the leakage of this type of information. Eg. An engineer
working on a defense project.
2. Proprietary information
It is the information that owned by the organization. It is the knowledge and procedures
established by and in the organization. It is protected legally by the organization from use
by others, including the employees. The trade secret is proprietary information that has
not been made public.

Role of confidentiality in moral integrity

Ethical theories vs. Confidentiality

Ethical theories add some dimensions to confidentiality. The engineer has a moral and
institutional right to take decisions on deciding what type of information shall be kept secret and
which type of information shall be made public. He can apply different ethical theories in
making his decisions.

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Rights-based ethical theories - justify the engineer’s obligations for confidentiality in terms of
his basic human rights. He can either refuse to divulge information regarding the intellectual
property of the corporations. However, if he feels withholding some information may cause
public hazards then he can openly warn people against the spirit of confidentiality, and this is
called whistle blowing
Duty-based ethical theories - stress the basic obligation of the engineer to keep the trust placed
on him by the employer and to keep all confidential matters within him, in deference to any
agreement that exists. This theory also makes the engineer obliged not to trespass or abuse the
proprietary rights of others.
Utilitarian theories- justify the rules of confidentiality when such rules produce most well for
most people or in general to the public.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
A conflict of interest occurs when the employee pursues an interest other than his regular
employment. Sometimes such an interest involves in serving some other professional role, like
an engineer working in a company and also acting as a consultant to a competitor’s company.
In this case, he may not be able to meet fully the obligations of his regular employer or
sometimes not even to the client. This is termed as professional conflict of interest.

Types of conflicts of interest

1. Actual Conflicts of Interests
These are those explained above and are based on weak judgment and service. It is the
loss of objectivity in decision-making and inability to faithfully discharge one’s professional
duties to the employer.
Consider the following illustration: Ramanadh is participating in a design project for M/s
ABC Co. that requires a large quantity of bolts. He has a choice between two or three types of
bolts, of which only M/s PQR Co., owned by Ramanadh’s father-in-law, manufactures one type.
He presents his design in such a way that the order can be placed only to the latter company.

2. Potential Conflicts of Interest

They arise when there are no presets outside interests for the engineer as illustrated
above, but still he is generally motivated by gifts or bribes to influence his professional
judgment. This is called potential since the judgment is based on the receipt of the bribe.
Potential conflicts of interest can also be caused by the following situation.
When an engineer, especially as a consultant, is paid on the length or the cost of the
project, say design project or turnkey construction project, and if he is given no incentive to cut
down the costs, an unethical engineer would try to inflate the cost to get more commission or
remuneration, which may generally be a percentage of the cost.
3. Apparent Conflicts of Interest
These may happen when the engineer’s professional judgment is fully ethical but the
public has already formed a negative opinion about him in view of certain developments.
Eg. In the above illustration, Ramanadh gets divorced from his wife. But still as he believes that
the bolts manufactured by his ex-father-in-law are the best in the market, he specifies them even
though he does not like the order to go to them. The boss of Ramanadh accuses him of conflict of
interest, without knowing that he was divorced.

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Moonlighting
Moonlighting is another situation that may cause the first type that is the actual conflict
of interest. Moonlighting refers to a person working in another company apart from his parent
company. The second one may be on part-time during the evenings. The fact that the person
returns home from his second employment during late-night hours, it is called moonlighting.
This is very common in teachers or professional engineers teaching in institutions
conducting evening courses, and sometimes in other companies as part time accountants,
auditors, etc. This type of moonlighting is not immoral as long as the part-time function does not
involve in working with competitors or in tasks that are detrimental to the full-time employer. It
is also said that moonlighting makes a person exhausted, in general, and he may not perform his
full-time job efficiently.

OCCUPATIONAL CRIMES
Occupational crimes are the illegal actions committed by employees of an organization
taking advantage of their lawful employment. It is a violation of the rules of the company. They
are motivated by personal greed, corporate ambitions, egoism, misguided company loyalty, and
more prominently by corruption. They are also called white-collared crimes since they are
generally carried out by office workers and professionals.

There can be several forms of occupational crimes.

1. Petty Thievery
The management of a large manufacturing organization in Bombay wanted to have a
photograph of all their 1000 plus employees in a single glimpse for releasing a publicity
advertisement. As there was no time to inform the employees, the exit gates were closed just as
the closing siren rang, to collect a large group near the exit. When the workers gathered at the
gate, they did not know the reason for the gate closure, and there was a rumor that there would
be an intensive individual security check.
When the group dispersed after half an hour, the management and the security were
shocked to find a treasure of small items and tools like screw drivers, pliers and spanners around
the crevices and corners near the exit gate.
Obviously, the employees thought the gates were closed for individual check and
dropped whatever they had in their pockets. This is an indication of how many large
organizations are losing everyday by petty thievery. Such thievery is done not only by blue-
collared workers but also by white-collared workers like office staff, who carry away small
stationery items.

2. Industrial Espionage
Industrial espionage means industrial spying. This is also called workplace crime. An
individual or a group illegally uses their professional capacity for getting something of value.
This crime is mostly done at the instant of some outsider, trying to get some secret information
from the company by bribing and using illegal services of few employees who have access to
those confidential files. Nowadays, such espionage has become easier due to the easy availability
of floppies, CDs and even computer chips, etc., because of their small size compared to the
information stored in them.

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3. Price Fixing
Any standard-sized company makes several lakhs of purchases at any time. Each of the
items purchased may have more than one supplier, and each may quote their own prices which
may differ from each other by over 20%. Some persons responsible for purchases may take
advantage of this and enter into an immoral agreement with any one of the suppliers letting him
quote a price much higher than his actual price but lower than the highest price and recommend
this supplier for the purchase. After the supplier collects the payment from the company, he may
pay a commission to the person as per the secret deal.

4. Embezzlement or Manipulation of Accounts

Officers in charge of the finances of the company have the opportunity to commit such a
crime. Unless the employer takes sufficient interest and effort to check the accounts regularly
and question each suspicious looking expenditure, this type of manipulation would continue. A
perfect auditing system would expose such embezzlements.

5. Bootlegging
Bootlegging is making, transporting, or selling something which is illegal or not
authorized. It also means working on unauthorized projects, may be for profit, or selling to a
client or some other group.

6. Reverse Engineering
The development of computer chips is extremely competitive and fast moving. The
products are often outdated within two years because of the introduction of new chips. Profits
can be made in months depending upon the development of new products. However, the
manufacture of computer chips is very expensive and hence the reverse engineering is adapted.
The competitor’s product is identified and purchased from the open market. Then it is broken
down physically or mentally or by tests to identify the circuit diagrams and other components.
The details of the manufacturing process and technical specifications are developed and designed
accordingly. This process may be immoral but not illegal unless the duplicated product is given
the original brand name and the patent rights are violated.
However, some industries, in order to avoid even the cost and labor of this reverse
engineering, simply try to procure the designs of leading industries by illegal and criminal means
as detailed above.

7. Cyber Crimes
Cyber crimes are computer-related crimes.

8. Organizational Crimes
When the above-mentioned crimes are committed by not one single person or a group,
but by the owner himself through his organization, it is called organizational crime. A majority
of these crimes are for evading taxes or for wrong claim of insurance. Many a times some
organizations deliberately take immoral decisions in matters relating to safety of public whether
to gain profits or to satisfy their ego. The Challenger crash is a typical illustration.

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9. International Crimes Committed by Nations

During the eighties, the United States Army made several attempts to dump their nuclear
waste in the Pacific Ocean. The Green Peace Movement opposed these attempts but for which a
majority of the population in the neighborhood of Pacific Ocean would have perished or would
have had permanent disabilities. Even the case of the United States trying to destroy Iraq in the
guise of exterminating Saddam Hussein and his followers is another example of international
crime.

PROFESSIONAL RIGHTS
Professional rights are those possessed by the engineer by virtue of his being a
professional having special moral responsibilities. Professional rights and duties may not be
identical with those of non-professionals but are similar and related.
These rights include
◆ The right to form and express professional judgment,
◆ Right to refuse to participate in unethical activities,
◆ Right to warn public about dangers,
◆ Right to fair recognition for fair professional services,
◆ Right to talk publicly about the job within the confidentiality ethics, and
◆ Right to engage in the activities of professional societies.

These rights can basically be classified into four:

 Those related to recognition,
 Those related to professional conscience,
 Those acquired as a part of the contractual terms entered upon, and
 The basic rights as a human being.

 RIGHTS FOR RECOGNITION

1. All employees have a right to professional recognition for their work and accomplishments.
2. The right for reasonable remuneration serves as a moral basis for the arguments against
corporations that make excessive profits.
3. Nevertheless, the right for professional recognition is not sufficiently precise enough to
pinpoint the amount of the reasonable salary or fair remuneration, which is left for mutual
discussions and negotiations.
4. Without fair remuneration, engineers cannot concentrate on their jobs and cannot put forward
their best efforts and energy. This results in an unhealthy situation.
5. Many times the right for professional recognition prevails over the remuneration, especially at
higher levels. A senior engineer or a manager may have a better morale if his bosses are
appreciative of his expertise, than when his bosses criticize his efficiency and grudgingly give
him the due increments.
6. Rights are either stated formally in the contract or recognized conventionally.

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 RIGHTS FOR PROFESSIONAL CONSCIENCE

The right of professional consciousness is one of the most significant rights an engineer
possesses in his capacity as a conscientious engineer
1. Engineers have a general obligation to protect the well being of the public. This is possible
only if they are vested with the right to take decisions and implement actions that would protect
the safety and well being of the public.
2. Even though such rights are not be stated specifically in the employment contract, they go by
convention and awareness of the above-mentioned moral obligation of the engineer to protect the
safety and well being of the related public.
3. Thus follows the right of the engineer for conscientious refusal that is to refuse the command
of his bosses, if he believes that such commands are unethical and against the well being of the
public.
4. They also have the right to refuse to participate in activities that are directly and evidently
unethical like forging documents, altering test results or giving false witness to protect the boss
in a court case.

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
Employee rights are the moral and legal rights that are obtained by the status of being an
employee
The provisions made to the employees under this category are
1. Professional rights
2. Basic human rights
3. Contractual rights that arise solely out of the contract terms like the right to receive
the salary or the right to take certain privileged leave on full pay.
4. Non-contractual rights that exist even though not specified in the contract like right
to privacy, the right to choose outside activities, non - discrimination, right to equal
opportunity

IPR Discrimination

Intellectual Property
A patent is a legal instrument for exclusive grant of property rights to the owner or
initiator of an invention, to make, use, manufacture, and market the product, provided the
invention satisfies certain specified conditions of the law enacted for this purpose as well as
other relevant laws of the land related to food, health, safety, security, etc. The patent can also be
gifted, assigned, inherited, leased, or sold to interested buyers. The innovation can either be
physical, like a device, or intellectual, like software. Formerly, the patents were generally issued
for physical inventions and discoveries only. But subsequently, even innovation in the form of
ideas, software, etc., have been included and the word patent is legally replaced by the word
intellectual property rights or IPRs.
The term patent or intellectual property rights include
◆ Innovative ideas,
◆ Trademarks,
◆ Copyrights,
◆ Industrial designs,

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◆ Layout designs of integrated circuits,

◆ Trade secrets,
◆ Geographical indications like Darjeeling Tea, Assam Tea and Aligarh locks,
◆ Books, etc.
But for all practical purposes, the word patent is still popular and even the government offices
dealing with IPRs are called the patent offices the world over and the lawyers dealing with these
issues are called patent attorneys.

TRADEMARK
A trademark is a word, symbol, phrase, or device which uniquely identifies a particular
company, product, or an individual. An example is the word Coca Cola. Here, not only the logo,
but also the shape of the bottle, the red imprint too can be considered a trademark, which no
other soft-drink manufacturer can copy.

COPYRIGHT
A copyright is a specific and exclusive right for the reproduction of an original work, like
films, music, aesthetic material, paintings, multimedia, sound recording, and literacy material
like poetry and books. This does not need any registration but provides automatic right for
protecting any original creation against
◆ copying the work,
◆ publishing or selling the copies commercially without approval,
◆ renting or lending the work in open market, and/or
◆ performing (especially drama scripts) or demonstrating the work in public.

TRADE SECRET
Trade secrets are that confidential information which is given limited legal protection
against misuse or abuse by employees or contractors. These secrets may be about designs,
technical processes, plant facilities, quality control methods, specialized equipment, list of
customers, etc.

TYPES OF PATENTS
There are basically three categories of patents.
 Utility patents which are granted for those inventions or discoveries that are new and
useful for the manufacturing process or new chemical compositions including new
materials useful to the general public. Here, chemical compositions include mixtures of
ingredients and new chemical compounds. This patent is valid for 20 years.
 Design patents which are granted for new and original ornamental designs or patterns
(that is the appearance) for an article of manufacture. This patent is valid for 14 years.
 Plant patents which are granted for those who discover and asexually reproduce a new
variety of plant. This patent is valid for 20 years.

PURPOSES OF IPRs
1. Encouraging development of new processes and products, thereby the technical advancement
of a country.
2. Dissipating the unique knowledge possessed by individuals to public domain with useful
industrial applications

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3. Identifying the trends of the market

4. Evaluating the strength of competitors
5. Identifying unexplored areas for R&D work
6. Identifying unprotected areas to avoid infringement
7. Prevent misuse and plagiarism of someone else’s hard work and intelligence
8. Prevent others using a novelty for commercial gains
9. Support income-generating capacity for the inventor as well as the society.

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Module 5
Module 5- Global Ethical Issues.

Multinational Corporations- Environmental Ethics- Business Ethics- Computer

Ethics -Role in Technological Development-Engineers as Managers- Consulting
Engineers- Engineers as Expert witnesses and advisors-Moral leadership.

GLOBALIZATION
Globalization means integration of countries through commerce, transfer of technology,
and exchange of information and culture. In a way, it includes acting together and interacting
economies through trade, investment, loan, development schemes and capital across countries. In
a different sense, these flows include knowledge, science, technology, skills, culture,
information, and entertainment, besides direct human resource, tele-work, and outsourcing. This
interdependence has increased the complex tensions and ruptures among the nations. For the
engineers, the issues such as multinational organizations, computer, internet functions, military
development and environmental ethics have assumed greater importance for their very
sustenance and progress.

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

Organisations who have established business in more than one country, are called
multinational corporation. The headquarters are in the home country and the business is extended
in many host countries. The Western organizations doing business in the less-economically
developed (developing, and overpopulated) countries gain the advantage of inexpensive labor,
availability of natural resources, conducive-tax atmosphere, and virgin market for the products.
At the same time, the developing countries are also benefited by fresh job opportunities, jobs
with higher remuneration and challenges, transfer of technology, and several social benefits by
the wealth developed. But this happens invariably with some social and cultural disturbance.
Loss of jobs for the home country, and loss or exploitation of natural resources, political
instability for the host countries are some of the threats of globalization.
International Human Rights
To know what are the moral responsibilities and obligations of the multinational corporations
operating in the host countries, let us discuss with the framework of rights ethics. Common
minimal rights are to be followed to smoothen the transactions when the engineers and
employers of MNCs have to interact at official, social, economic and sometimes political levels.
At international level, the organizations are expected to adopt the minimum levels of (a) values,
such as mutual support, loyalty, and reciprocity, (b) the negative duty of refraining from harmful
actions such as violence and fraud, and (c) basic fairness and practical justice in case of conflicts.
The ten international rights to be taken care of, in this context are:
1. Right of freedom of physical movement of people
2. Right of ownership of properties

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3. Freedom from torture

4. Right to fair trial on the products
5. Freedom from discrimination on the basis of race or sex. If such discrimination against women
or minorities is prevalent in the host country, the MNC will be compelled to accept.
MNCs may opt to quit that country if the human rights violations are severe.
6. Physical security. Use of safety gadgets have to be supplied to the workers even if the laws of
the host country do not suggest such measures.
7. Freedom of speech and forming association
8. Right to have a minimum education
9. Right to political participation
10. Right to live and exist (i.e., coexistence). The individual liberty and sanctity of the human
life are to be respected by all societies.

Technology Transfer
It is a process of moving technology to a new setting and implementing it there.
Technology includes hardware (machines and installations) and the techniques (technical,
organizational, and managerial skills and procedures). It may mean moving the technology
applications from laboratory to the field/factory or from one country to another. This transfer is
affected by governments, organizations, universities, and MNCs.
Appropriate Technology
Identification, transfer, and implementation of most suitable technology for a set of new
situations, is called appropriate technology. Technology includes both hardware (machines and
installations) and software (technical, organizational and managerial skills and procedures).
Factors such as economic, social, and engineering constraints are the causes for the modification
of technology. Depending on the availability of resources, physical conditions (such as
temperature, humidity, salinity, geographical location, isolated land area, and availability of
water), capital opportunity costs, and the human value system (social acceptability) which
includes their traditions, beliefs, and religion, the appropriateness is to be determined.
For example, small farmers in our country prefer to own and use the power tillers, rather than the
high-powered tractors or sophisticated harvesting machines. On the other hand, the latest
technological device, the cell phones and wireless local loop phones have found their way into
remote villages and hamlets, than the landline telephone connections. Large aqua-culture farms
should not make the existing fishermen jobless in their own village.
The term appropriate is value based and it should ensure fulfillment of the human needs and
protection of the environment.

MNCs and Morality

The economic and environmental conditions of the home and host countries may vary.
But the multinational institutions have to adopt appropriate measures not to disturb or dislocate
the social and living conditions and cultures of the home countries. A few principles are enlisted
here:
1. MNC should respect the basic human rights of the people of the host countries.
2. The activities of the MNC should give economic and transfer technical benefits, and
implement welfare measures of the workers of the host countries.
3. The business practices of the multinational organisations should improve and promote morally
justified institutions in the host countries.

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4. The multinationals must respect the laws and political set up, besides cultures and promote the
cultures of the host countries.
5. The multinational organisations should provide a fair remuneration to the employees of the
host countries. If the remuneration is high as that of home country, this may create tensions and
if it is too low it will lead to exploitation.
6. Multinational institutions should provide necessary safety for the workers when they are
engaged in hazardous activities and ‘informed consent’ should be obtained from them. Adequate
compensation should be paid to them for the additional risks undertaken.

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Environmental ethics is the study of (a) moral issues concerning the environment, and (b)
moral perspectives, beliefs, or attitudes concerning those issues.
Engineers in the past are known for their negligence of environment, in their activities. It has
become important now that engineers design eco-friendly tools, machines, sustainable products,
processes, and projects. These are essential now to (a) ensure protection (safety) of environment
(b) prevent the degradation of environment, and (c) slow down the exploitation of the natural
resources, so that the future generation can survive.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) code of ethics, has specifically
requires that “engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public and
shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of
professional duties” The term sustainable development emphasizes on the investment,
orientation of technology, development and functioning of organizations to meet the present
needs of people and at the same time ensuring the future generations to meet their needs.

Engineers as experimenters have certain duties towards environmental ethics, namely:

1. Environmental impact assessment: One major but sure and unintended effect of technology is
wastage and the resulting pollution of land, water, air and even space. Study how the industry
and technology affects the environment.
2. Establish standards: Study and to fix the tolerable and actual pollution levels.
3. Counter measures: Study what the protective or eliminating measures are available for
immediate implementation
4. Environmental awareness: Study on how to educate the people on environmental practices,
issues, and possible remedies.

Disasters
1. Plastic Waste Disposal
In our country, several crores of plastic bottles are used as containers for water and oil,
and plastic bags are used to pack different materials ranging from vegetables to gold ornaments.
Hardly any of these are recycled. They end up in gutters, roadsides, and agricultural fields. In all
these destinations, they created havoc. The worse still is the burning of plastic materials in streets
and camphor along with plastic cover in temples, since they release toxic fumes and threaten
seriously the air quality. Cities and local administration have to act on this, collect and arrange
for recycling through industries.

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2. e-Waste Disposal
The parts of computers and electronic devices which have served its useful life present a
major environmental issue for all the developing countries including India. This scrap contains
highly toxic elements such as lead, cadmium, and mercury.
Even the radioactive waste will lose 89% of its toxicity after 200 years, by which time it will be
no more toxic than some natural minerals in the ground. It will lose 99% of its remaining toxicity
over the next 30,000 years. The toxic chemical agents such as mercury, arsenic, and cadmium
retain toxicity undiminished forever.
3. Industrial Waste Disposal
There have been a lot of complaints through the media, on (a) against the Sterlite Copper
Smelting Plant in Thuthukkudi (1997) against its pollution, and (b) when Indian companies
imported the discarded French Warship Clemenceau for disposal, the poisonous asbestos
compounds were expected to pollute the atmosphere besides exposing the labor to a great risk,
during the disposal. The government did not act immediately. Fortunately for Indians, the French
Government intervened and withdrew the ship, and the serious threat was averted!
4. Depletion of Ozone Layer
The ozone layer protects the entire planet from the ill-effects of ultraviolet radiation and is vital
for all living organisms in this world. But it is eaten away by the Chloro-fluro-carbons (CFC)
such as Freon emanating from the refrigerators, air conditioners, and aerosol can spray. This has
caused also skin cancer to sun-bathers in the Western countries.
5. Global Warming
Over the past 30 years, the Earth has warmed by 0.6 °C. Over the last 100 years, it has warmed
by 0.8 °C. It is likely to push up temperature by 3 oC by 2100, according to NASA’s studies. The
U.S. administration has accepted the reality of global climate change, which has been associated
with stronger hurricanes, severe droughts, intense heat waves and the melting of polar ice.
Greenhouse gases, notably carbon dioxide emitted by motor vehicles and coal-fired power
plants, trap heat like the glass walls of a greenhouse, cause the Earth to warm up. Delegates from
the six countries — Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and US met in California in
April 2006 for the first working session of the Asia- Pacific Partnership on Clean Development
and Climate. These six countries account for about half of the world’s emissions of climate-
heating greenhouse gases. Only one of the six, Japan, is committed to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012 under the Kyoto Agreement.
6. Acid Rain
Large emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrous oxides are being released in to the air from the
thermal power stations using the fossil fuels, and several processing industries. These gases form
compounds with water in the air and precipitates as rain or snow on to the earth. The acid rain in
some parts of the world has caused sufficient damage to the fertility of the land and to the human
beings.

Human-centered Environmental Ethics

This approach assumes that only human beings have inherent moral worth duly to be taken care
of. Other living being and ecosystems are only instrumental in nature. Utilitarianism aims to
maximize good consequences for human beings. Most of the goods are engineered products
made out of natural resources. Human beings have also (a) recreational interests (enjoy leisure
through mountaineering, sports, and pastimes), (b) aesthetic interests (enjoy nature as from
seeing waterfalls and snow-clad mountains), (c) scientific interests to explore into nature or

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processes, and (d) a basic interest to survive, by preservation as well as conservation of nature
and natural resources.
Rights ethicists favor the basic rights to live and right to liberty, to realise the right to a live in a
supportive environment. Further, virtue ethics stresses importance of prudence, humility,
appreciation of natural beauty, and gratitude to the Mother Nature that provides everything.
However, the nature-centered ethics, which ensures the worth of all living beings and organisms,
seems to be more appropriate in the present-day context. Many Asian religions stress the unity
with nature, rather than domination and exploitation. The Zen Buddhism calls for a simple life
with compassion towards humans and other animals. Hinduism enshrines the ideal of oneness
(advaitha) in and principle of ahimsa to all living beings. It identifies all the human beings,
animals, and plants as divine. The eco-balance is the need of the hour and the engineers are the
right experimenters to achieve this.

ETHICS AND CODES OF BUSINESS CONDUCT IN MNC

Sarbans-Oxley Act, 2002 (U.S.A.) and New York Stock Exchange listing standards have
made many corporate organizations ethics conscious. The organizations are to disclose codes of
business conduct and ethics for the organizations. For example, Texas Instruments a major
MNC, has declared that “Ethical reputation is our vital asset. Upon applying values each of the
employee can say, TI is a good company, and one reason is that I am part of it”.
Three major values such as Integrity, Innovation and Commitment, have been elaborated in the
form of 28 ethics statements (as pledges to keep) and 17 codes of business conduct have been
presented in their documents.
A quick ethics test suggested by TI for all of its employees, without exception, will sufficiently
explain their commitment:
1. Is the action LEGAL?
2. Does it comply with our VALUES?
3. If you do it, will you feel BAD?
4. How will it look in the NEWSPAPER?
5. If you know it is WRONG, don’t do it.
6. If you are not sure, ASK
7. Keep asking until you get an answer.

COMPUTER ETHICS
Computer ethics is defined as (a) study and analysis of nature and social impact of
computer technology, (b) formulation and justification of policies, for ethical use of computers.
This subject has become relevant to the professionals such as designers of computers,
programmers, system analysts, system managers, and operators. The use of computers has raised
a host of moral concerns such as free speech, privacy, intellectual property right, and physical as
well as mental harm. There appears to be no conceptual framework available on ethics, to study
and understand and resolve the problems in computer technology.

The broad categories of computer crimes:

Where the computer is the instrument in carrying out the unethical act, like using
computer to defraud a [Link]. e-Commerce, despite its ease of operation by the user, also
provides ease of hacking and misuse by unauthorized persons.

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HACKING
Hacking has been a major form of computer crime by which information can be accessed from
other computers.
1. By hacking, the data in other computers could be altered or defaced, or false information
given.
2. Where unwanted communication is being sent to unaware computer users by prying into their
privacy.
3. Loss of privacy can lead to embarrassing situations to the unsuspecting user even if the
eavesdropper enters into the private chatting by chance and has no immoral intentions.
4. Unethical acts by the hacker who repeatedly enters into private chats of the user and harasses
the person with unwanted discussion especially if the user happens to be a female.
5. Blackmailing by immoral hackers.
6. Hackers coming to know of the passwords and IDs of unsuspecting users and misusing them
for stealing from their bank accounts, etc.

Recent forms of computer crimes

1. Virus
A virus is a piece of computer program or code that attaches itself to a host program or
file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting the files as it travels. Viruses give
wrong and damaging instructions to the computer and can damage the software, hardware, files,
and other data.
2. Worm
A worm, like the virus, is designed to copy itself from one file to another, but it is worse.
It needs no human action but spreads automatically over networks by taking control over the
features of the computer. A great danger of the worm is that it can replicate in great volumes. For
example, it can send out its copies to everyone listed in your e-mail address box, and these new
worms would do the same, causing a domino effect. This has been very common in the Internet.
3. Trojan
A Trojan is a computer program that appears as useful software but on the other hand, it
compromises on the security and causes damage to the files.
4. Phishing
Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your identity. It is like catching a large
fish by offering a small fish as bait. The criminal sends you a message under a pretense such as
your banker asking you to update your password, etc. They seem to come from popular websites
that you trust or have financial or other confidential dealings with, and appear official enough
asking you to update the ID number, passwords, account information, and other personal data

DOMAIN SQUATTING
Domain squatting is the act of registering domain names and trademarks that are identical
or confusingly similar to popular brand names and use it in Internet search engine, by
bombarding with a host of websites having IP addresses identical or similar to the original brand
names, thereby misleading public who go more by brand name or logo in choosing products and
services.

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF COMPUTER ETHICS

1. Don’t use a computer to harm other people.
2. Don’t interfere with other people’s computer work.
3. Don’t snoop around into other people’s computer files.
4. Don’t use a computer to steal.
5. Don’t use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Don’t copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
7. Don’t use other people’s computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
8. Don’t appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
9. Think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are
designing.
10. Use a computer in ways that insure consideration and respect for your fellow humans.

THE EIGHT ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR SOFTWARE PROFESSIONALS

IEEE has developed the following code of ethics for the software professionals in the
form of eight principles.
1. Public: Software engineers shall act consistently with public interest.
2. Client and Employer: Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of
their clients and employer, consistent with public interest.
3. Product: Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet
the highest professional standards possible.
4. Judgment: Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional
judgments.
5. Management: Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an
ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance.
6. Profession: Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession
consistent with the public interest.
7. Colleagues: Software engineers shall be fair to and be supportive of their colleagues.
8. Self: Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding practice of their
profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.

ENGINEERS AS MANAGERS
Is the engineer different from the manager?
An engineer is basically a technologist. Soon after his graduation, he starts working directly in
his field of appointment as a trainee or a junior engineer. His job is mostly hands-on. Once he
gains sufficient experience in the technical aspects of this job, he is given more and more
responsibilities of decision taking and also training other juniors. He then moves up in the
hierarchy to a managerial position.

Motivating factors for the engineer to become a manager

1. Financial Advancement - Besides higher pay levels, a managerial position enables an
engineer become a technocrat or a successful entrepreneur.
2. Self-esteem -Like any other human being, an engineer too wants to satisfy his self
actualization needs to win acclamation from others as an efficient manager. This is in line with
the theory of hierarchy of needs propounded by Abraham Maslow, which states that as and when

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the lower levels of needs are satisfied, a person wants to climb to a higher level of needs, the
ultimate level being the satisfaction of his self-actualization needs.
3. Power, Influence, and Status - Engineers are motivated by the need for power and influence
over others in the same or other organizations. They want authority, responsibility, and
leadership. Holding a manager position would help an engineer achieve the same.
4. Fear of Technological Obsolescence - The engineer’s major work related to technology and
the day-to-day advancement in technology would render his qualifications and experience
obsolete unless he learns more of the latest technologies.
5. White-collared Jobs - The general impression among the youth is that the job of a manager
is a white-collared one while that of an engineer is a blue-collared one, that is working with
grease and tools.

Characteristics
The characteristics of engineers as managers are:
1. Promote an ethical climate, through framing organization policies, responsibilities and by
personal attitudes and obligations.
2. Resolving conflicts, by evolving priority, developing mutual understanding, generating
various alternative solutions to problems.
3. Social responsibility to stakeholders, customers and employers. They act to develop wealth as
well as the welfare of the society. Ethicists project the view that the manager’s responsibility is
only to increase the profit of the organization, and only the engineers have the responsibility to
protect the safety, health, and welfare of the public. But managers have the ethical responsibility
to produce safe and good products (or useful service), while showing respect for the human
beings who include the employees, customers and the public. Hence, the objective for the
managers and engineers is to produce valuable products that are also profitable.

Managing Conflicts
In solving conflicts, force should not be resorted. In fact, the conflict situations should be
tolerated, understood, and resolved by participation by all the concerned. The conflicts in case of
project managers arise in the following manners:
(a) Conflicts based on schedules: This happens because of various levels of execution, priority
and limitations of each level.
(b) Conflicts arising out of fixing the priority to different projects or departments. This is to be
arrived at from the end requirements and it may change from time to time.
(c) Conflict based on the availability of personnel.
(d) Conflict over technical, economic, and time factors such as cost, time, and performance level.
(e) Conflict arising in administration such as authority, responsibility, accountability, and
logistics required.
(f) Conflicts of personality, human psychology and ego problems.
(g) Conflict over expenditure and its deviations.

Most of the conflicts can be resolved by following the principles listed here:
1. People
Separate people from the problem. It implies that the views of all concerned should be obtained.
The questions such as what, why, and when the error was committed is more important than to

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know who committed it. This impersonal approach will lead to not only early solution but also
others will be prevented from committing errors.
2. Interests
Focus must be only on interest i.e., the ethical attitudes or motives and not on the positions (i.e.,
stated views). A supplier may require commission larger than usual prevailing rate for an
agricultural product. But the past analysis may tell us that the material is not cultivated regularly
and the monsoon poses some additional risk towards the supply. Mutual interests must be
respected to a maximum level. What is right is more important than who is right!
3. Options
Generate various options as solutions to the problem. This helps a manager to try the next best
solution should the first one fails. Decision on alternate solutions can be taken more easily and
without loss of time.
4. Evaluation
The evaluation of the results should be based on some specified objectives such as efficiency,
quality, and customer satisfaction. More important is that the means, not only the goals, should
be ethical.

CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Who is a consultant?
A consultant is an independent and qualified person providing services in identifying and
investigating into management problems concerned with an organization, procedures, methods,
policy, etc., recommending appropriate actions and helping in the implementation of these
recommendations.
Key features of a consultancy
◆ Consulting is an independent service.
◆ It is in an advisory role.
◆ It provides specialized knowledge and skills.
◆ It provides practical solutions for problems.

The consulting engineers work in private. There is no salary from the employers. But
they charge fees from the sponsor and they have more freedom to decide on their projects. Still
they have no absolute freedom, because they need to earn for their living.
Requirements of consultants
◆ Technical know-how
◆ Professional experience
◆ Creativity and analytical ability
◆ Diplomacy and tact
◆ Effective communication and ability to put across ideas effectively

Attributes of a consultant
◆ He shall possess systematic knowledge and skill to perform functions with authority.

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◆ He shall have autonomy in his decisions. He cannot be controlled, supervised, or directed by

the client.
◆ He is not subject to political ideologies or controls, but sees himself affected by public
interest.
◆ He is bound by ethics in the performance of his duties.
◆ He will use his knowledge, skill, and authority ethically.
◆ He shall not knowingly do harm to his clients.
◆ He shall not have bias in his judgments.

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CONSULTANTS

An external consultant is administratively and legally independent of the organization for which
he works except his contractual obligations.
Internal consultants are generally employees on full time contract with a monthly salary for a
fixed period. They include internal auditors, legal consultants, and industrial engineers.
Every engineer himself is an internal consultant in his company, whether conducting a method
study program or maintenance planning, and hence needs to have independent thinking and
effective communication.

Consultants’ responsibility to the clients

1. Confidentiality
The engineer as a consultant would be given access to certain confidential documents or
processes or information as a part of his task. At the same time, he is not in full-term
employment and he normally works for some other client also. If the second company happens to
be the competitors of the first, there are always pressures on him to leak the confidential
information. As an ethical consultant, it is his primary responsibility to ensure that he does not
pass off any information nor make use of that information without the consent of the first
company.
2. Codes of Ethics
The consultant shall understand and know all the relevant canons and codes developed by the
respective association and follow them where possible.
3. Safety of the Project
Consulting engineers have the responsibility in decision-making concerning safety. As an
outsider, the consultant should use his own judgment and ethical thinking in incorporating safety
in every aspect of the project, even though the client feels it is too expensive.
4. Refusal to be Part of the Unethical Process and Practices of the Client
The consultant can always and must refuse to tow the line of the client if he feels that the client is
deliberately asking for inferior designs, just for reducing the cost of the project. If their
professional judgment is overruled where the safety, health, property, or the welfare of the public
is endangered, they shall notify the client or the employer or such authority as may be
appropriate.
5. When the Project is Weak
Consultants shall advise frankly when they believe the project would not be successful.
6. Implementation of the Project

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The consultant’s duty does not end in developing and executing a project. He has the
responsibility to ensure that the project is successfully implemented and maintained.
7. Design-only Projects
Even after completing the design only projects like building design project of an architect, he
should continue to hold responsibility of the strength of the building even after the completion
and occupancy, as long as the construction is as per his specifications. It is his moral duty to
check at random the quality of the construction.
8. Legal Responsibilities
As an independent on contract with the client, the consultant is subjected to many legal issues
during the performance of his work. If anything goes wrong in the project, it is the consultant
who would be questioned first. The consultant must realize this aspect before he accepts a
contract.

ENGINEERS AS EXPERT WITNESS

Frequently engineers are required to act as consultants and provide expert opinion and views in
many legal cases of the past events. They are required to explain the causes of accidents,
malfunctions and other technological behavior of structures, machines, and instruments, e.g.,
personal injury while using an instrument, defective product, traffic accident, structure or
building collapses, and damage to the property, are some of the cases where testimonies are
needed. The focus is on the past.

Eye-witness and expert-witness

Eye-witness Expert-witness
1. Eye-witness gives evidence on only what 1. Gives expert view on the facts in their area
has been seen of their expertise
2. Interprets the facts, in term of the cause
and effect relationship
3. Comments on the view of the opposite
side
4. Reports on the professional standards,
especially on the precautions when the
product is made or the service is provided

Duties
1. The expert-witness is required to exhibit the responsibility of confidentiality just as they do in
the consulting roles. They can not divulge the findings of the investigation to the opposite side,
unless it is required by the court of law.
2. More important is that as witness they are not required to volunteer evidence favorable to the
opponent. They must answer questions truthfully, need not elaborate, and remain neutral until the
details are asked for further. They should be objective to discover the truth and communicate
them honestly.
4. The stand of the experts depends on the shared understanding created within the society. The
legal system should be respected and at the same time, they should act in conformance with the
professional standards as obtained from the code of ethics.

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5. The experts should earnestly be impartial in identifying and interpreting the observed data,
recorded data, and the industrial standards. They should not distort the truth, even under
pressure. Although they are hired by the lawyers, they do not serve the lawyers or their clients.
They serve the justice. Many a time, their objective judgments will help the lawyer to put up the
best defense for their clients.

ENGINEERS AS ADVISORS IN PLANNING AND POLICY MAKING

Advisors
The engineers are required to give their view on the future such as in planning, policy-
making, which involves the technology. For example, should India expand nuclear power
options or support traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels or alternative forms like solar
and wind energy? In the recent past, this topic has created lot of fireworks, in the national media.
Various issues and requirements for engineers who act as advisors are:
1. Objectivity
The engineers should study the cost and benefits of all possible alternative means in objective
manner, within the specified conditions and assumptions.
2. Study All Aspects
They have to study the economic viability (effectiveness), technical feasibility (efficiency),
operational feasibility (skills) and social acceptability, which include environmental and ethical
aspects, before formulating the policy.
3. Values
Engineers have to posses the qualities, such as (a) honesty, (b) competence (skills and expertise),
(c) diligence (careful and alert) (d) loyalty in serving the interests of the clients and maintaining
confidentiality, and (e) public trust, and respect for the common good, rather than serving only
the interests of the clients or the political interests.
4. Technical Complexity
The arbitrary, unrealistic, and controversial assumptions made during the future planning that are
overlooked or not verified, will lead to moral complexity. The study on future is full of
uncertainties than the investigations on the past events. On the study of energy options, for
example, assumptions on population increase, life style, urbanization, availability of local fossil
resources, projected costs of generating alternative forms of energy, world political scenario,
world military tensions and pressures from world organizations such as World Trade
Organisation (W.T.O.) and European Union (EU) may increase the complexity in judgment on
future.
5. National Security
The proposed options should be aimed to strengthen the economy and security of the nation,
besides safeguarding the natural resources and the environment from exploitation and
degradation.

MORAL LEADERSHIP
Leadership categories
 Autocratic: where the leader forces his group to achieve the targets as he perceives them
without giving any scope for thinking and judgment by the subordinates.

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 Persuasive: where the leader does discuss with his subordinates and persuades them to
achieve the targets either by incentives or by snooper vision.
 Democratic: where the leader gives good value to the feelings of the employees and
gives prime importance to the employee morale.
 Laissez faire: where the leader is too passive and gives full freedom to the subordinates
without having any control over them.

Engineers provide many types of leadership in the development and implementation of

technology, as managers, entrepreneurs, consultants, academics and officials of the government.
Moral leadership is not merely the dominance by a group. It means adopting reasonable means to
motivate the groups to achieve morally desirable goals. This leadership presents the engineers
with many challenges to their moral principles.

Moral leadership is essentially required for the engineers, for the reasons listed as follows:
1. It is leading a group of people towards the achievement of global and objectives. The goals as
well as the means are to be moral. For example, Hitler and Stalin were leaders, but only in an
instrumental sense and certainly not on moral sense.
2. The leadership shall direct and motivate the group to move through morally desirable ways.
3. They lead by thinking ahead in time, and morally creative towards new applications, extension
and putting values into practice. ‘Morally creative’ means the identification of the most
important values as applicable to the situation, bringing clarity within the groups through proper
communication, and putting those values into practice.
4. They sustain professional interest, among social diversity and cross-disciplinary complexity.
They contribute to the professional societies, their professions, and to their communities. The
moral leadership in engineering is manifested in leadership within the professional societies. The
professional societies provide a forum for communication, and canvassing for change within and
by groups.
5. Voluntarism: Another important avenue for providing moral leadership within communities,
by the engineers is to promote services without fee or at reduced fees to the needy groups. The
professional societies can also promote such activities among the engineers.
This type of voluntarism has been in practice in the fields of medicine, law and education. But
many of the engineers are not self-employed as in the case of physicians and lawyers. The
business institutions are encouraged to contribute a percentage of their services as free or at
concessional rates for charitable purposes.
6. Community service: This is another platform for the engineers to exhibit their moral
leadership. The engineers can help in guiding, organising, and stimulating the community
towards morally- and environmentally-desirable goals. The corporate organizations have come
forward to adopt villages and execute many social welfare schemes, towards this objective.

Attributes of moral leadership

Moral leadership requires the qualities of
◆ Influencing,
◆ Motivating,
◆ Directing,

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◆ Organizing,
◆ Communicating, and
◆ Creatively managing and moving people towards morally valuable goals.

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