Technology & Society
Engineering Ethics
Chapter 12
General Ethics
• Ethics is concerned with
standards, rules, or
guidelines for morally or
socially approved
conduct
• Being honest,
trustworthy
• Acting in the best interest
of society
Ethical Standards
• Only apply to conduct
which has some
significant effect on
people’s lives
Ethical vs. Legal Standards
• Ethical Standards
• Legal Standards
▫ Exist independently of
any particular group of
experts
▫ Defined in legal
documents by some
appointed legal body
▫ Written form summarizes
what those standards are
rather than defining the
nature of them
▫ Documents and legal
experts decide what the
law is and who should
obey
Give Way to Ethical Standards
• Personal conflicts with
ethical standards
▫ Must suppress personal
standards to resolve in
favor of ethical standards
• Legal standards must
give way to ethical
standards in case of
conflicts
Justice
• It is ethically wrong to treat people in unjust or
unfair ways
• All people should be treated equally
Ethics Discussion Quiz 1
• A person’s behavior is
always ethical when he or
she:
▫ A. Does what is best for
oneself
▫ B. Has good intentions
no matter how things
turn out
▫ C. Does what is best for
everyone
▫ D. Does what is most
profitable
• Which of the following ensures
that behavior is ethical?
▫ A. Following the law
▫ B. Acting in the best
interest of society
▫ C. Following non-legal
standards for socially
approved conduct
More than one answer may be
correct
Engineering Ethics
• Engineers Council for Professional Development
states:
▫ “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety,
health, and welfare of the public in the
performance of their professional duties.”
Other Engineering Ethics
• Personal choices or values are
irrelevant to engineering
ethics
• Conflicts between personal
standards and engineering
ethical standards must be
resolved in favor of supporting
the relevant engineering
ethical standards
More Engineering Ethics
• Engineer’s duty is to uphold engineering ethics
standards even if his/her job is at risk
• Good engineering ethics will be in close harmony with
existing legal codes governing engineering
• Engineers have an ethical obligation to use good
scientific methods at all times
• Engineering ethics codes include prohibitions on
unethical behavior while off the job
Ethics Discussion Quiz 2 #1
• Engineers should follow their professional ethic code
because:
▫ A. Helps them avoid legal problems (getting sued)
▫ B. Provides a clear definition of what the public has a right
to expect from responsible engineers
▫ C. It raises the image of the profession, hence, gets more
engineers pay
▫ D. The public will trust engineers more once they know
engineers have an ethics code
Ethics Discussion Quiz 2 #2
• Engineers should act ethically because:
▫ A. If they do not, they risk getting demoted or
fired
▫ B. The boss wants them too
▫ C. It feels good
▫ D. That is the way responsible engineers behave
Ethics Discussion Quiz 2 #3
• The first and foremost obligation of registered
professional engineers is to:
▫
▫
▫
▫
A.
B.
C.
D.
The public welfare
Their employer
The government
The engineering profession
Ethics Discussion Quiz 2 #4
• Registered professional engineers should
undertake services for clients only when:
▫ A. They really need the fees
▫ B. Their own bid is the lowest one
▫ C. They are fully technically competent to carry
out the services
▫ D. Carrying out the services would not involve
excessive time or effort
Risk Benefit Analysis
• Risk
▫ The perceived extent of
possible loss
• Helps assess the risks
• Risk = probability of
event • cost of the event
NCEES Model Rules of
Professional Conduct
The Preamble
“Safeguard life, health, and property, to promote
public welfare and to maintain a high standard
of integrity and practice among engineers.”
Safeguard life, health, &
property…
• Causing harm to people is
ethically wrong
• One should take
measures that will
safeguard or preserve
people from future harm
…promote the public welfare
• Duty or obligation to take active, professional
steps that result in definite benefits and
improved conditions for the general public
…maintain a high standard of
integrity and practice
• The code ensures engineers’ honesty &
trustworthiness
• Maintains high standards of professional
conduct and scientific expertise
Other Preamble Issues
• “Engineering registration is a privilege and not a
right. This privilege demands that engineers
responsibly represent themselves before the
public in a truthful and objective manner”
• “Engineers must compete fairly with others and
avoid all conflicts of interest while faithfully
serving the legitimate needs and interests of
their employers and clients.”
Engineer’s Obligation to Society
Obligation to Society
• “While performing services, the engineer’s foremost
responsibility is to the public welfare”
• “Engineers shall approve only those designs that
safeguard the life, health, welfare, and property of the
public while conforming to accepted engineering
standards”
• Engineers must keep wider, long-term issues in mind on
every project
“Whistleblowing”
• “if an engineer’s professional
judgment is overruled
resulting in danger to the life,
health, welfare, or property of
the public, the engineer shall
notify his/her employer or
client and any appropriate
authority”
Truth in Duties
• “Engineers shall be
objective and truthful in
professional reports,
statements, or
testimonies and shall
provide all pertinent
supporting information
relating to such items”
• “Engineers shall not
express a professional
opinion publicly unless it
is based upon knowledge
of the facts and a
competent evaluation of
the subject matter”
The Duty of Full Disclosure
• “Engineers shall not express a professional
opinion on subject matters for which they are
motivated or paid, unless they explicitly identify
the parties on whose behalf they are expressing
the opinion and reveal the parties’ interest in the
matters”
“Clean Hands” Rule
• “Engineers shall not enter business ventures or
permit their names or their firm’s names to be
used by any persons or firm which is engaging in
dishonest, fraudulent, or illegal business
practice”
Final Obligation to Society
• “Engineers who have knowledge of a possible
violation of any of the rules listed in this and the
following two parts shall provide pertinent
information and assist the state board in
reaching a final determination of the possible
violation”
Engineer’s Obligation to
Employers and Clients
Professional Competence
• “Engineers shall not
undertake technical
assignments for which
they are not qualified”
• “Engineers shall approve
or seal only those plans
or designs that deal with
subjects in which they are
competent and which
have been prepared
under their direct control
and supervision”
The Validity of Approvals
• “Engineers may coordinate an entire project
provided that each design component is signed
or sealed by the engineer responsible for that
design component”
Confidentiality Requirement
• “Engineers shall not
reveal professional
information without the
employer’s or client’s
prior consent except as
authorized or required by
law”
Conflict of Interest
• “Engineers shall not solicit or accept direct or
indirect considerations, financial or otherwise,
from contractors, their agents, or other parties
while performing work for employers or clients”
Full Disclosure
• “Engineers shall disclose
to their employers or
clients potential conflicts
of interest or any other
circumstances that could
influence or appear to
influence their
professional judgment or
their service quality”
• “An engineer shall not
accept financial or other
compensation from
more than one party for
services rendered on
one project unless the
details are fully
disclosed and agreed by
all parties”
Government Conflicts of Interest
• “To avoid conflicts of interest, engineers shall not solicit
or accept a professional contract from a governmental
body on which a principal or officer of their firm serves
as a member. An engineer who is a principal or
employee of a private firm and who serves as a member
of a governmental body shall not participate in decisions
relating to the professional services solicited or provided
by the firm to the governmental body”
Engineer’s Obligations to Other
Engineers
Obligations to Potential Employers
• “Engineers shall not misrepresent or permit
misrepresentation of their or any of their associate’s
academic or professional qualifications. They shall not
misrepresent their level of responsibility or the
complexity of prior assignments. Pertinent facts relating
to employers, employees, associates, joint ventures, or
past accomplishments shall not be misrepresented when
soliciting employment or business”
More Conflicts of Interest
• “Engineers shall not directly or indirectly give,
solicit, or receive any gift or commission, or
other valuable consideration, in order to obtain
work, and shall not make a contribution to any
political body with intent of influencing the
award of a contract by a governmental body”
Reputations of Other Engineers
• “Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or
falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional
reputations, prospects, practice or employment of other
engineers, nor indiscriminately criticize the work of
other engineers”
• Criticize cautiously and objectively with respect to the
person’s professional status
Ethics Discussion Quiz 3 #1
• With respect to the Moral Rules of Professional Conduct
for engineers:
▫ A. The rules are a bad thing because they encourage
engineers to spy on and betray their colleagues
▫ B. The rules are a useful legal defense in court when
engineers can demonstrate that they obeyed the rules
▫ C. The rules enhance the image of the profession and hence
its economic benefits to its members
▫ D. The rules are important in providing a summary of what
the public has a right to expect from responsible engineers
Ethics Discussion Quiz 3 #2
• The Model Rules of Professional Conduct
require registers engineers to conform to all but
one of the following rules. Which rule is not
required?
▫ A. Do not charge excessive fees
▫ B. Do not compete unfairly with others
▫ C. Perform services only in the areas of their
competence
▫ D. Avoid conflicts of interest
Ethics Discussion Quiz 3 #3
• You are a quality control engineer of a completely
produced U.S. made product. You notice one
subcontractor used foreign-made bolts. The customer
urgently needs this product. What should you do?
▫ A. Say nothing and deliver hoping no one notices
▫ B. Find, or invent, some equivalent violation of contract
where the customer is responsible. Tell them you will
ignore the violation if they ignore your violation
▫ C. Tell the customer and let them decide
▫ D. Put all efforts into trying to find a legal loophole in the
original specs.
Ethics Discussion 3 #4
• You are the engineer on a building project that is
behind schedule. Boss wants you to certify a
questionable roofing install. What should you
do?
▫ A. Certify it & negotiate a raise from boss
▫ B. Refuse to certify it
▫ C. Tell the clients about it and you will certify it if
they want you to
▫ D. Certify it, but keep a close watch on the project
in case any problems develop
Engineering Ethics and Legal
Issues
Contract Law
• Mutual agreement between two or more parties
to engage in a transaction which provides
benefits to each of them
• Mutual consent
• Offer and acceptance
• Consideration
Other Contract Stuff
• Legally enforceable
agreement requires a
definite promise by each
party to do something
specific
• Some benefit received
that each did not have
before
• Does not have to be in
writing to be valid
Breach of Contract
• An actual violation of the terms in the contract must
occur
• Items not supplied, supplied but of substandard quality,
or not supplied until long after a deadline
▫ Party required to provide an equivalent value previously
offered
• Inability to fulfill contract is under ethical and legal
imperative to do everything possible to provide
equivalent value to other party
The Letter vs. Spirit of the Law
• “Read between the lines”
in terms of the intent of
those documents as
understood by those who
formulated them