GLOBALIZATION
Globalization means integration of countries through commerce, transfer of technology, and exchange
of information and culture. It includes interacting economies through trade, investment, loan,
development schemes and capital across countries.
5.1 MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS
Organisations who have established business in more than one country, are called multinational
Corporation and The headquarters are in the home country. In this way, countries gain the advantage of
cheap labour, availability of natural resources, less-tax atmosphere, and a new market for the
products. At the same time, developing countries are also benefited by fresh job opportunities.
5.1.1 International Human Rightse moral responsibilities and obligations of the MNCs in the host
countries is to follow the ethical rights for the engineers and employers i.e., (a) values, such as mutual
support, loyalty, and reciprocity (b) protection from negative or 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
2. Right of ownership of properties
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.
6. Physical security. Use of safety gadgets
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
5.1.2 Technology Transfer
It is a process of moving technology to a new setting and implementing it there.
5.1.3 Appropriate (suitable) Technology
Identification, transfer, and implementation of most suitable technology for a set of new situations, is
called appropriate technology. Technology includes both hardware and software (skils)
5.1.5 MNCs and Morality
1. MNC should respect the basic human rights
2. The activities of the MNC should give economic and transfer technical benefits, and
implement Welfare
3. multinational organisations should improve and promote morally justified institutions in the
host countries
4. The multinationals must respect the laws and political set up, and promote the cultures of the
host countries
5. multinational organisations should provide a fair remuneration to the employees of the
host countries.
6. Multinational institutions should provide necessary safety for the workers
5.1.5 Case Study: Bhopal Gas Tragedy
5.1.6 Ethical Balance
Should an organization adopt the rules and practices of the host country fully and face dangers and
other serious consequences or adopt strictly their own country’s standards and practices in the host
country? Should follow both cultures.
5.5 ENGINEERS AS MANAGERS
5.5.1 Characteristics: characteristics of engineers as managers are:
1. Promote an ethical climate, through framing organization policy, and by personal attitudes.
2. Resolving conflicts by evolving priority, developing mutual understanding,
3. Social responsibility to stakeholders, customers and employers. to develop wealth as well
as the welfare of the society
5.5.2 Managing Conflicts
Force is not the proper way to resolve conflicts it should be resolved by tolerance, understanding and
participation of concerned people. The conflicts in case of project managers arise in the following
manners:
(a) Conflicts based on schedules: (b) Conflicts arising out of fixing the priority to different projects (c)
Conflict over technical, economic, and time factors such as cost, time, and performance level.
(d) Conflicts of personality, human psychology and ego problems.
Most of the conflicts can be resolved by following the principles listed here:
1. People: Separate people from the problem. The questions such as what, why, and when the
error was committed is more important than to know who committed it.
2. Interests: Focus must be only on interest i.e., the ethical attitudes or motives, and not on the
positions. What is right is more important than who is right
3. Options: Generate various options as solutions to the problem.
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.
5.7 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 collapse,
Eye-witness vs Expert-witness
Interprets the facts, Reports on the professional standards
The engineers, who act as expert-witnesses, are likely to abuse their positions in the following
manners:
1. Hired Guns
Mostly lawyers hire engineers to serve the interest of their clients. (1 & 1 = 11 or 2 or 0 etc but for
lawyers is what you want)
2. Money Bias: affect your responsibilities.
3. Ego Bias The assumption that the own side is innocent and the other side is guilty
4. Sympathy Bias: Sympathy for the victim on the opposite side may upset the testimony. Should follow
justice.
5.7.1 Duties of Expert witness
1. responsibility of confidentiality, unless it is required by the court of law.
2. not required to volunteer evidence favorable to the opponent. must answer questions
truthfully, need not elaborate.
3. They should be objective to discover the truth and communicate them honestly.
4. should respect the social system and legal system created within the society.
5. The experts should be impartial in identifying and interpreting the observed data, recorded
data, and the industrial standards. They should not distort the truth, even under pressure.
5.8 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. Cost, benefit, risk, safety, long run, etc.
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
(should not follow favouritism or self-interest)
2. Study All Aspects
3. Values
Engineers have to posses the qualities, such as (a) honesty, (b) competence (skills and expertise),
(c) diligence (careful and alert) (d) loyalty (e) public trust ther 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.
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.
5.9 MORAL LEADERSHIP
It means moral responsibilities
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.
2. to motivate the group to move through morally desirable ways.
3. putting values into practice. ‘Morally creative’ means the identification of the most
important values as applicable to the situation
4. They contribute to the professional societies, their professions, and to their communities.
5. Voluntarism: to promote services without fee or at reduced fees (pro bono) to needy groups.
6. Community service:
The engineers can help in guiding, organising, and stimulating the community towards
morally- and environmentally-desirable goals.
The Codes of Ethics promote the environment and assist in achieving the ethical goals in the
following manner:
1. it creates an ethical environment in a profession.
2. It guides and reminds the person as to how to act, in any given situation.
3. It provides support to the individual, to behave unethically, who is being pressurized or tortured
by a superior or employer.
4. Apart from professional societies, companies and universities have framed their own codes of
ethics, based on the individual circumstances and specific mission of the organisations.