ETHICS DEFINED

“The discipline dealing with what

is good and bad and with moral
duty and obligation”

Personal Ethics

The rules by which an individual

lives his / her personal life
Accounting Ethics

Code that guides the professional

conduct of accounts
Business Ethics

Concerned with Truth & Justice

( Expectations of Society, Fair
Competition, Social Responsibilities,
Consumer Autonomy etc )
 ENGINEERING
ETHICS
• Governs the conduct of Engineers
in their role as Professionals
• It is a body of philosophy
indicating the ways the engineers
should conduct themselves in
their professional capacity
 ETHICAL
DECISIONS
• They are not JUST DECISIONS
about best way to meet a given
objective
• Concerned with Justice, Equity,
Consequences & Personal
Responsibility
NATURE OF ETHICAL PROBLEMS
• Rarely have a single readily
deducted solution
• deal in shades of Meaning,
Uncertainty, Doubt & Complex
Relationships
• Mostly not possible to deal in precise
rules and regulations, only to suggest
guidelines
ETHICAL THINKING
• Looks into ways in which moral value
can be applied to particular areas of
concern ( business, environment etc )
• Ethical Dimension is the fundamental
part of all judgments and decisions
• There are situations where two or more
values, rights or obligations conflict
with each other and a choice has to be
made
 DEONTOLOGICAL
THEORIES
• Deontological is the study of the
nature of duty & obligations
• This theory concerned with quality
of action (Ex: killing is always wrong)
• Has more religious undertone
• Assumes the reasonableness of
Human Beings
CONSEQUENTIALIST THEORIES
• This theory sees good as defined not by
Action but by Consequences
• In this theory, killing another human
being may be morally good provided it
gives rise to some greater good
( Deaths caused by 1st Atom Bomb were
morally acceptable because it can bring a
faster end to war saving more lives )
• Postulates that “Good” is known only
when the context is understood fully
 VIRTUE
• Good is neither found in the
act nor in the consequences
• Stresses that No Rule can give
guidance
• Situation shall be weighed
and dealt accordingly
 4 FUNDAMENTAL
VIRTUES
• Wisdom
( openness to the truth in all
aspects of existence. Avoids
Premature Judgement )
• Temperance
Even Tempered ( Quality of
Moderation balance & self
control )
• Fortitude
Quality of Courage & Resilience
( Enables a person to
make better decisions & stand
against pressures & challenges )
• J u s tice
Requires Awareness of Right &
Wrong
Moral : When we want to describe
Sexually Virtuous
Conduct
Ethical : Refers to professionally
Virtuous Conduct
Ethical Misdeeds call for prosecution
in Civil Court.
Moral Misdeeds land one in Criminal
WHY STUDY ENGINEERING ETHICS?
• Engineering Ethics has far-reaching
impact on Society
• Work of Engineers can affect public
health & safety
• Can influence business practices &
even politics
• Many – a – times, ethical problems
encountered in Engineering Practice are
quite complex & involve conflicting
ethical principles
PERSONAL vs PROFESSIONAL
• Personal Ethics deals with how
we treat others in our day-to-
day lives
• Professional Ethics involves
choices on an organizational
level rather than a personal
level
ETHICS & LAW
• Many things that are legal
could be considered as unethical

• Similarly, illegal things need

not mean that they are unethical
 ETHICS & DESIGN
PROBLEMS
• In Engineering Design, there is
no unique correct answer
( Ex. Variety of cars )
• Ethical problems also share this
attribute
ie. There is no unique correct
solution to most of the problems
• There will be range of solution
that are clearly right, some
of which may be better than
others
• That is in many cases,
approaches to the problem
and the ultimate solution will be
very similar
 DUTIES & RIGHTS
• Duties are offered unconditionally
( duty owing to humanity )
• Obligations are based upon
contractual relationships and specific
• Non fulfillment can lead to end of
relationship
• Rights are freedom that enable
individual to fulfill human needs such as
Family Support or Education
 MORALITY AND LAW
• Moral Rights argued for, on the basis of
need
• Legal rights are recognised and
protected by law
• Both share key concepts such as Justice,
Rights, Rules & Responsibility
• Morality can argue for ways in which the
law might be interpreted
• But law cannot determine morality
 DECISIONS
• Ethical Decisions concerned
with “Goodness” of things or
“Rightness” of Actions
• Engineers decisions have
both Moral and Practical
Significance
ATTRIBUTES OF A PROFESSION
• Requires Sophisticated Skills, use of
Judgment and Exercise of Discretion
• Work shall not be routine and not
mechanized
• Profession requires extensive formal
education & not only practical training
• Significant public good results from the
practice of profession
• Has a society to set standards
J O B vs P R O F E S S I O N
• Decision making marks the
difference between a Job &
Profession
• Decision Making involves

“ D i s c r e t i o n”
“It is the ability to make
decisions autonomously”
 PROFESSIONAL?!!
• Professional is one who has
sophisticated skills that are not capable
of mechanization
• Atheletes are termed as “Professionals”
Carpentry - Not a Professional Job
( Reason out why ? )
Medical - a profession
Law - a profession
Has a society / involve public good
Hence, it is a profession
 ENGINEERING–
A PROFESSION?!
• Requires extensive & sophisticated
skills
• Involves judgment
• Utilizes available resources to
attain the objective
• Needs to keep the information
confidential
• Concern for public safety /
welfare
• Calls for extensive formal training
• Design vary from product to
product
• Each discipline has a professional
society
Meets all Definition of a
Profession. Hence Y E S
 CORE QUALITIES OF PROFESSIONAL
PRACTITIONERS
1) I n t e g r i t y
- Openness & Honesty both with
themselves & others
2) I n d e p e n d e n c e
- to be free of Secondary Interests
with others parties
3) I m p a r t i a l i t y
- to be free of bias & unbalanced
interests
4) Responsibility
- Recognition & Acceptance of
Personal Commitment
5) Competence
- a thorough knowledge of work
6) Discretion
- Care with communications,
- Trustworthiness
ROLE OF ENGINEER IN A SOCIETY
• Saviour- Key player in the creation of
society
• Guardian – ensuring best interests of
society
• Bureaucratic Servant : Servant to managers
Makes Directives to Achievements
• Social Servant
Obedient Social Servant to Others
• Game Player : Plays political & economic
games with Institutions / Organizations
successfully
PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS – R O L E
• Enable Professional Development of Skills
Moral Awareness, Responsibility etc
• Provide support & opportunity to work
through decision making & any conflict
of interest
• Regulate the practice of Individual
Professional
• Play a major role in communicating with
public
• Act as a learned society contributing to
the advancement of Science & Technology
SOCIAL ATTITUDES, BELIEFS & VALUES
• Managers of various Enterprises have been
criticised for not being responsive to
social attitudes, beliefs etc.

• Attitudes and values differ among workers

/ Employers / Rich / Poor / Students /
Accountants

• This makes it difficult for Managers to

design an environment conducive to
Performance & Satisfaction to one and all
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
• “Ability of a Corporation to relate
its operations & policies to the
social environment in ways that
are mutually beneficial to the
company & to the society”
Social Responsiveness
• It focusses on the actions taken &
“how” the enterprise responses
SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT IN BUSINESS
FOR
• It is expected that enterprise responds
to the need of society
• Creation of better social environment
• Better employment opportunities
• Social environment discourages
additional Govt. regulations which is
welcome
• Activities of an enterprise have an
impact on external environment
 Contd…
• Creates a favourable image
• Prevention of social problem
• Business uses its talented managers and
specialist to solve some of society’s
problems

AGAINST
• Primary task to maximize profit
( Social involvement might reduce
economic efficiency )
• Social involvement can create Excessive
cost to the enterprise
• Business has power. Additional Social
involvement shall further increase it
• Business skills may not be pertinent
to social problems
• Lack of accountability of business to
society
• No complete support for involvements
in social actions
• Disagreements among groups can
cause friction
INSTITUTIONALIZING ETHICS
• Establishing an appropriate
company policy or a code of
ethics

• Using formally appointed Ethics

committee

• Teaching ethics in management

development programmes
CODE OF ETHICS
Personal Ethics
• Respect the Rights of others
• Show fairness in our dealings with
others
• Be honest in all actions
• Keep promises and contracts
• Consider the welfare of others
• Show compassion to others
 PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS
• Honesty and Truth

• Honour – sharing respect,

integrity and reputation for
achievement

• Knowledge : gained through

Education & Experience
• Efficiency : in Production /
Deliverables
• Diligence : Persistent Effort
• Loyalty : allegiance to
Employer’s Goal
• Confidentiality : Dependable
• Protecting Public Safety &
Health
PURPOSE OF CODE OF ETHICS
• Provides a framework for ethical
judgment
• Serves as a starting point for ethical
decision making
• Commitment shared by ethically
conscious professionals
• Defines the Role & Responsibility
• It is not a legal document but still
binding
ETHICS → GOAL ACHIEVEMENT
• Creates an environment that
morally binds
• Serves as a Guide / Reminder
• Protects an individual who is
pressured by a superior to behave
unethically
• Indicates to the society about the
seriousness on Ethics
SOLVING ETHICAL CONFLICTS
I Internal Appeal Option

b) Individual Preparation

c) Communicate with your

immediate supervisor

c) Initiate appeal through the

Internal chain of command
II External Appeal Option

a) Individual Actions

b) Contact your Client

c) Contact the Media

ETHICAL JUDGMENT
Engineering is a profession that is critical
to the advancement of society
• How Engineers perform their job
determines the kind of world, future
generation expected to enjoy
Ethics is important therefore in
• Statutory Law
• Contract
• Product Liability etc
 Legal - illegal

: Well Defined

Ethical - Unethical

: Not Defined