ethics module 0

8/11/2019 Ethics Module 0

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Engineering Ethics

An Introduction to Ethics and its

Relevance to the Profession of

Engineering

Module 0 in the “Teaching Engineering Ethics” Series



Herbert Hoover (on engineering)

*The great liability of the engineer compared to men of

other professions is that his works are out in the open

where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in

hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the

grave like the doctors. He cannot argue them into thin

air or blame the judge like the lawyers….He cannot, like

the politician, screen his shortcomings by blaming hisopponents and hope that the people will forget. The

engineer simply cannot deny that he did it. If his

works do not work, he is damned forever +,



Ethics 0ocabular-

Morals

Virtue

Integrity

Responsibility

Obligation

Honesty

Courage

Self-Respect

Accountability

ProfessionalCharacter

Ideals



Unethical

Ethics% Morals% and the #aw

Morals Principles of right

and wrong

Ethics

A set of moralprinciples guidingbehavior and action

#aws

Binding codes ofconduct1 formall-recogni/ed andenforced

2ompan- Policies

EthicalEthical

IllegalLegal

Unethicalbut Legal

Ethical butIllegal

Classification of Actions:



Ethical heories$ 3ohlberg

#awrence 3ohlberg4s theor- of moral reasoningdevelopment 5uilt on 6ean Piaget4s theor- of developmental stages

A transitional development process occurring through

maturation from childhood to adulthood+ !i& (7) stages across three (8) levels

Moral reasoning is not learned but constructed

through interaction with societ- and environment

Environmental factors ma- affect the speed of

development% but not the direction+

!tages cannot be s9ipped



#evel :$ Pre"conventional

;riving mechanisms$ Egocentrism Personal Interests (see9 reward and avoid

punishment)

Interpersonal and societal roles are notconceptuali/ed

Also labeled *Pre"Moral, #evel+ 3ohlberg

considered those in this level as not -ete&hibiting a philosophical *moral,foundation+



#evel =$ 2onventional

Also labeled *Role"2onformit-, #evel+3ohlberg considered those in this level as

starting to recogni/e themselves as a part

of the larger societ- ;riving mechanisms$

rust and #o-alt-

2iti/enship Recognition of others4 feelings

*>olden Rule, thin9ing begins



#evel =$ 2onventional

!tage 8$ !ociabilit- *>ood 5o- @ ice >irl,

orientation

Approval see9ing

behavior drives moralreasoning

!tage B$ #aw C Order Obe- the letter of the

law

!ocial s-stem is stable

and predictable 2onformation to laws

is construed as

*moral, and correct

Avoidance of guilt andor censure is primar-

motivator



#evel 8$ Post"2onventional

Also labeled *Principled, #evel+ 3ohlbergconsidered those in this level as

consciousl- validating societ-4s laws while

developing their own universal ethicalprinciples

;riving mechanisms$

Resolving conflicts between what is *legal,and what is *moral,

Personal 2onscience



#evel 8$ Principled

!tage D$ !ocietal2onsensus 2onsensus of the maorit-

(the democratic process)

results in *good laws,

*>ood laws, are followed to

the e&tent the- do not

interfere with life% libert-

and the pursuit of

happiness (individual

rights)+

Fse of *due process, to

change laws

!tage 7$ Principled Fniversal principles

are recogni/ed and

accepted+

When principles are inconflict with the law%

however% the principle

is the guide in

determining moralreasoning+

2onscience"based



Ethical heories$ 3ohlberg

2riticisms Moral reasoning does not necessaril-

correlate with moral behavior (action) 2ulturall-"biased toward democratic societies

espousing strong *individual rights, A *communit-"centered, viewpoint was a

significant omission in #evels = and 8 Research% however% tends to support the

*universalit-, of the theor- for !tages : through D !ome researchers have posited that the

theor- has a gender"bias (against females)



Ethical heories

2ognitive";issonance and Ethical Reasoning 2"; heor- proposed b- #eon .estinger (:GDG)

A clash between one4s reasoning% actions or behavior and

one4s attitudes or beliefs+

hese inconsistencies can cause unpleasant tension%an&iet-% and feelings of stress (dissonance not in harmon-)

Methods to reduce discomfort$ 2hange Attitude to better align with 5ehaviorReasoning

2hange Reasoning to better align with 5eliefs

5ring Attitude and Reasoning closer together (*meet

halfwa-,)

Ethical Reasoning ma- involve 2ognitive";issonance

Reasoning

Behavior

Attitudes

Beliefs



Professional Moral Reasoning

Mc2uen (:GJG) Adaptation of

3ohlberg4s heor- ofMoral Reasoning

;raws parallelsbetween personal andprofessional ethics

;efines categories or*dimensions, rather

than developmentalstages *Regression, is realistic A lens through which to

view reasoning and

behavior



Mc2uen4s Ethical ;imensions

McCuen’s Six Categories of Professional Engineering Morality (McCuen !" H" (#$%$&" ')e Et)ical *imensions ofProfessionalism"' Issues in Engineering 105(E#+&, -$.#/0"&

LEVEL 1Pre-professional LEVEL 2Professional LEVEL 3 PrincipledProfessional

Stage 1, Concern is fort)e gain of theindividual (not t)ecom1any client or

1rofession&

Stage 3: 3oyalty tocom1any is 1rimaryfocus" ea!-pla"er#ehavior 1recludes

concern for society anden4ironment"

Stage 5, Service tohu!an $elfare ispara!ount" Societalrules morays and

4alues may trum11rofessional standardsand cor1orate loyalty"

Stage 2, Corporatelo"alt"% clientcon&dence 1ro1erconduct are 1ursued

but again onl" forpersonal gain andad4ancement"

Stage ': 3oyalty tocom1any is connectedto lo"alt" to theprofession" 5ood

engineering is good fort)e 1rofession but t)esocietal concerns arenot em1)asi6ed"

Stage (, Professionalconduct is guided solely bya sense of fairness andgenuine concern forsociety indi4iduals and

t)e en4ironment")ecisions are #asedonl" on $ell-esta#lishedpersonal principles and!a" contradictprofessional codes andeven social rules*



he Engineering Profession

How we view ourselves$ Problem"solvers

Engineering is eno-able1 esprit de corps

Engineering benefits people% provides apublic service

Engineering provides the most freedom of all

professions (.lorman% :GJ7)

Engineering is an honorable profession




How the public views engineering$ he Engineer4s Role

Engineers as Ftilitarians Engineers as Positivists Applied Ph-sical !cientists

his role does not mesh well with an overarching *socialscience, bias of the public+

Rational% pragmatic% logical and s-stematic approaches toproblem solving tend to alienate the engineer from thepublic

Onl- a DKL *0er- High, or *High, rating on honest- 2onsistentl- behind medical field and teachers A public relations problem% not an ethics issue per se+ *5est Practices, to include applied social science




>allup Poll *Honest- and Ethics in Professions,Engineering: Honesty and Ethics in the Profession

K

:K

=K

8K

BK

DK

7K

JK

:GJD :GMK :GMD :GGK :GGD =KKK =KKD

Year of Gallup Poll

% o

f

V e r y H i g h o r H i g h

R e s p o n s e s

:

=

8

B

D

7

J

M

G

:K

R a n k ( a m o n g 1 ! " " o t h e r p r o f e s s i o

n s

Rating ;ata (L)

Ran9 ;ata




L 0er- HighHigh Rating RA3I>

Profession "$$% "$$1 "$$$ 1&&& "$$% "$$1 "$$$ 1&&&urses 8 B JG J8 : : : :

Medical ;octors 7 77 78 D = B B B

0eterinarians 7 77 78 8 8 8

Pharmacists 7J 7 7J 7G B = = =

;entists 7: D7 D D= D J J

2ollege eachers DG D DG D= 7 J 7 7

Engineers & '$ ' $ ( ' ) &

Policemen DG 7 DD D= 8 G

2lerg- D7 7B DG D7 G D D D

Ps-chiatrists 8 :K

5an9ers 8D 8B 8J 8K :: G :K :K

2hiropractors 8: =7 := ::

!tate >overnors =7 8: =B :8 :: :=

6ournalists =D =G =: =B :B :K :B :8

!enators =K =B :J :D := :D5usiness E&ecs : =D == =8 :7 :: :8 :B

2ongressmen :J =D =: :: :J := :D :

#aw-ers :7 : :J :8 : :B :J :J

!toc9bro9ers :D :G :G :7 :G :8 :7 :7

Advertising practitioner := :: :K G =K :7 :G =:

Insurance salesmen := :8 :: :K =: :D : :G

HMO managers :: :K == =K

2ar salesmen J J =8 :J =K ==



What is Engineering EthicsN

he stud- of the moral issues anddecisions confronting individuals and

organi/ations engaged in engineering

he stud- of related <uestions about themoral ideals% character% policies% and

relationships of people and corporations

involved in technological activit-+

7 from Martin" M" 8 Sc)in6inger !" Et)ics in Engineering (9rd Ed"& (:e; <or=,Mc5ra;.Hill #$$> 11" +.9"



Ethics and Engineering

Where the ethical issues can arise$ 2onceptuali/ation% ;esign% esting%

Manufacturing% !ales% !ervice

!upervision and Proect eams Proect timelines and budgets

E&pectations% opinions% or udgments

Products$ Fnsafe or #ess than Fseful ;esigned for obsolescence Inferior materials or components

Fnforeseen harmful effects to societ-




Other fields where ethics are critical Medical Ethics #egal Ethics 5usiness Ethics (closest to Engineering Ethics) !cientific Ethics

An *applied ethics, domain (rather than a theoreticalanal-sis of philosoph-)

Engineering occurs at the confluence of technology %social science% and business Engineering is done b- people and for people Engineers4 decisions have a impact on all three areas in the

confluence he public nature of an engineer4s wor9 ensures that ethics will

alwa-s pla- a role




+!pacts of an engineer,s ethical decisions: )e Products 8 Ser4ices (safety and utility& )e Com1any and its Stoc=)olders )e Public and Society (bene?ts to t)e 1eo1le& En4ironment (Eart) and beyond& )e Profession ()o; t)e 1ublic 4ie;s it& )e 3a; ()o; legislation a@ects t)e 1rofession and

industry& Personal Position (ob internal moral conBict&

-picall-% good ethical decisions' 'ma- be ust that$ *good%, but rarel- *great, or *ideal, 'will not alwa-s be in the best interest (irrespective of the timeline)

of all sta9eholders 'are not automatic but re<uire thought% consideration% evaluation%

and communication (much li9e the *design process,)

ethics module 0

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