QUESTIONABLE ENGINEERING PRACTICES
Trimming – “smoothing of irregularities to make data look extremely accurate and precise” Cooking – “retaining only those results that fit the theory and discarding others”. Forging – “inventing some or all of the research data…” Plagiarism – misappropriating intellectual property. Conflicts of interest (such as accepting gifts.) – actual – potential – apparent
IMPEDIMENTS TO RESPONSIBILITY
Self-interest. Fear. Self-deception. Ignorance. Egocentric tendencies. Microscopic vision. Groupthink.
TRAINING IN PREVENTIVE ETHICS
Stimulating the moral imagination Recognizing ethical issues Developing analytical skills Eliciting a sense of responsibility Tolerating disagreement and ambiguity
ENGINEERING ETHICS
“Technology can have no legitimacy unless it inflicts no harm”-Adm.H.G. Rickover, father of the US nuclear navy. – What does Adm. Rickover mean by this? – Should engineers avoid technology that has the potential for inflicting harm on a society or its members? Engineers have an ethical and social responsibility to themselves, their clients and society. Practically (although there is much debate about this), engineering ethics is about balancing cost, schedule, and risk. ENGINEERING ETHICS is: The study of moral issues and decisions confronting individuals and organizations involved in engineering and the study of related questions about moral ideals, character, policies and relationships of people and organizations involved in technological activity.
ASPECTS OF ETHICS
There are two aspects to ethics: The first involves the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil and propriety from impropriety. The second involves the commitment to do what is right, good and proper. Ethics entails action. An ALGEBRA course will teach you ALGEBRA. A HISTORY course will teach you HISTORY. A MANAGEMENT course will teach you principles of MANAGEMENT. But, Will an ETHICS course teach you to be ETHICAL? Think
MORALITY AND ETHICS
Concerns the goodness of voluntary human conduct that affects the self or other living things Morality (Latin mores) usually refers to any aspect of human action Ethics (Greek ethos) commonly refers only to professional behavior Ethics consist of the application of fundamental moral principles and reflect our dedication to fair treatment of each other, and of society as a whole. An individual’s own values can result in acceptance or rejection of society’s ethical standards because even thoughtfully developed ethical rules can conflict with individual values.
RELIGION AND ETHICS
The “Golden Rule” is a basic tenet in almost all religions: Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Confucian, Buddhist, Muslim. “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” “Treat others as you would like them to treat you” (Christian). “Hurt not others with that which pains you” (Buddhist) “What is hateful to yourself do not do to your fellow men” (Judaism) “No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself” (Islam)
PERSONAL ETHICS – everyday examples
Software piracy Expense account padding Copying of homework or tests Income taxes “Borrowing” nuts and bolts, office supplies from employer Copying of Videos or CD’s Plagiarism Using the copy machine at work
PERSONAL ETHICS
Simply put, all individuals are morally autonomous beings with the power and right to choose their values, but it does not follow that all choices and all value systems have an equal claim to be called ethical. Actions and beliefs inconsistent with the Six Pillars of Character - trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship - are simply not ethical.
MORALS
Morals are guiding principles that every citizen should hold. Morals are foundational concepts defined on both an individual and societal level. At the most basic level, morals are the knowledge of the difference between right and wrong.
