Introduction to Ethics - Making a Difference

1. Introduction to Ethics - Making a Difference The Challenger Disaster Peter Palchinsky Frederick Cluny and Intertect Relief and Reconstruction

2. Professional Ethics - Introduction • Importance of engineering knowledge to the lives and well-being of the public • Consequent responsibilities that engineers bear • Engineering advice is not always heeded

3. Professional Ethics - Introduction • Tom is designing a new chemical plant. One of his responsibilities is to specify the valves to be used in a certain portion of the plant. Before he makes his final decision, a salesman for one of the firms that manufactures valves invites Tom to a golf game at the local country club. Should Tom accept the offer?

4. Professional Ethics - Introduction • Mary discovers that her plant is discharging a substance into a local river. The substance is not regulated by the government. She decides to do some reading about the substance and finds that some studies suggest it is a carcinogen. As an engineer, she believes she has an obligation to protect the public, but she also wants to be a loyal employee. The substance will probably be expensive to remove, and her boss says, “Forget about it until the government makes us do something. Then all the plants will have to spend money too, and we will not be at a disadvantage.” What should Mary do?

5. Professional Ethics - Introduction • Jin’s company has an in-house tool-and-die department that would like to bid on a contract that has been submitted to outside venders. The in-house manager asks Jin for the quotes from the other venders so he can under-bid them. “After all,” the manager argues, “we are both on the same team. It’s better to keep the money inside if we can. You don’t have to tell the outsiders what you have done.” What should Jin do?

6. What is a Profession? Characteristics: • Entrance into a profession requires an extensive period of training • Professional’s knowledge and skills are vital to the well-being of the larger society • Professions usually have a monopoly on the provision of professional services • Professionals have an unusual degree of autonomy in the workplace • A professional claims to be regulated by ethical standards, usually embodied in a code of ethics

7. Professional Ethics - Morality • Professional Morality: moral standards and principles that apply in one’s workplace • Personal Ethics: our own moral standards, rules, and principles, not always shared by others • Common Morality: shared moral standards, rules, and principles Sometimes these will all agree, sometimes they may all be different… And it will vary from individual to individual!

8. Professional Ethics - Why a Standard Code? • Common, agreed-upon standards for professional conduct • A focus for debate on how professional ethics should be modified • A rationale for professionals to adhere to professional standards even when pressured by others to violate them

9. Professional Ethics -Standards for a Professional Community • Professional Ethics as Role Morality • Separate personal from professional • Issues in Engineering Ethics • What should the codes say? • What directions do the codes give in particular circumstances? www.nspe.org Appendix www.asme.org

10. Professional Ethics - Examples • Under Rules of Practice, Section 4.a of the NSPE code requires engineers to disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest to their employers or clients, but the code does not define conflicts of interest or give directions as to how potential conflicts of interest should be handled. Suppose that Scott, a design engineer, has a brother who owns a small company that manufactures a device for shutting off the fuel supply to boilers when the pressure gets too high. Scott believes that his brother’s product is superior to anything else on the market. Should he avoid specifying his brother’s valve in his designs, even though he believes it is the best available? How could he handle this situation so as to avoid a conflict of interest, or at least minimize its influence on his judgment or the quality of his services?

11. Professional Ethics - Examples • Under Professional Obligations, Section 10 of the NSPE code requires engineers to “recognize the proprietary interests of others.” Suppose Andrea, a chemical engineer, recognizes that some of the ideas she developed for her former employer provide the basis for a solution to a problem faced by her new employer. The two companies are not competitors, and the applications of the ideas are so different that few people would even recognize them as having a common origin. Is it ethical for her to employ her old ideas in this new and creative way?

12. Professional Ethics - Examples • The first of the Fundamental Canons of the NSPE code requires engineers to “hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties.” Kwan, a chemical engineer, notices that workers in his section of the plant are complaining of noxious fumes from hot metals. “They give me headaches every day,” one worker complains. Are workers part of the “public” for whom Kwan has a professional responsibility? Does he have an obligation as an engineer to try to remedy the problem?

13. Professional Ethics - Examples • The fourth canon of the NSPE code directs engineers to “act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.” Andre knows that the code gives priority to protecting the public, but this knowledge does not seem sufficient to solve his problem. His company manufactures a product that appears to have a slightly greater likelihood of harming users than similar products on the competition. His employer does not want to change the design, and he wonders whether in this case his obligation to protect the public outweighs his obligation to be a loyal and obedient employee.

14. Professional Ethics - Preventive Ethics • The Importance of Thinking Ahead • Laying the groundwork in College • Being aware of the possibilities • Education in Preventive Ethics • Engineers must be able to think ahead in order to anticipate consequences of their actions • Engineers must be able to think effectively about those consequences and decide what is ethically right

15. Recognizing moral issues Studying Ethics Tolerating disagreement and ambiguity Moral Imagination Analyzing concepts Sense of responsibility Professional Ethics - Aims in Studying Ethics

16. Professional Ethics - Case Studies • In the book, on the CD-Rom, through the societies • How to approach: • Introduce case • Define dilemma • What do the codes say? • Identify solutions or alternatives • Summarize

17. Professional Ethics -The Forklifter Engineering student Bryan has a high-paying summer job as a forklift operator. His supervisor, Max, has just told him to take a 50 gallon drum of used machine coolant (a toxic mixture) and dump half of it down the drain. When Bryan protests that they shouldn’t be pouring a toxic mix into the public system, Max announces that they simply can’t be worried about every little regulation that comes along. He claims that their practice of letting the drums sit allows the toxins to settle at the bottom of the drum, so that they are not pouring off the poisons. Max tells Bryan to dump the coolant, or he will lose his job. What should Bryan do?

18. Professional Ethics -The Forklifter Dilemma - Should Bryan dump the coolant? Codes - Solution - Summary -

19. Professional Ethics - Golfing I. Paul Ledbetter is employed as a manufacturing engineer. He meets regularly with venders. One vender, Duncan Mackey, is an avid golfer like Paul. Duncan invites Paul to play at his exclusive club. Dilemma - Should Paul accept the invitation? Codes - Solution - Summary -

20. Professional Ethics - Golfing II. Paul accepts the invitation and plays a very competitive match, including betting on holes. He is offered a rematch at the exclusive club. Dilemma - Should Paul accept this second invitation? Codes - Solution - Summary -

21. Professional Ethics - Golfing III.Paul accepts the second invitation, and continues to play golf with the others. Eventually he is put up for membership at the exclusive club. Over the years, Paul has won several hundreds of dollars from Duncan at golf. Duncan is still one of the venders that Paul interacts with at work. Dilemma - Does this situation pose any ethical problems? Codes - Solution - Summary -

22. Professional Ethics - Golfing IV. Paul’s company needs to make cutbacks in the vending area. Paul and two other engineers must meet and discuss cutting two venders. Dilemma - Should Paul bring up his golfing relationship with Duncan? Codes - Solution - Summary -

23. Professional Ethics - Golfing V. Paul mentions his relationship with Duncan. He mentions a concern about objectivity. The others also have relationships with other venders, and all decide to be as objective as possible. As discussion continues, it becomes obvious to Paul that Duncan’s company should be cut off. Dilemma - Should Paul make the suggestion to list Duncan’s company for cutbacks? Codes - Solution - Summary -

24. Professional Ethics - Golfing VI. Paul lets the others take the initiative to suggest cuts. Both recommend cutting Duncan’s company. Paul does not disagree. The group decides to sleep on their decision, and make it final the next day. Paul has a golf date with Duncan that afternoon, and he warns Duncan about the upcoming bad news. Duncan is upset at the news, reminds Paul of the years of service that his company has provided, and asks Paul to intercede with the others. Dilemma - Should Paul agree to this? Codes - Solution - Summary -

25. Professional Ethics - Golfing VII. Paul tells Duncan that he will not oppose the other engineers in this matter. He reminds Duncan that they talked about this possibility early in their friendship, and that Paul must be loyal to his company’s best interests. Duncan becomes irate and rants at Paul, saying that he let Paul win all those years and brought him into the club for the purpose of keeping his business. Dilemma - What ethical questions exist now? Would you go back and change any of your answers from earlier, knowing the ending? Codes - Solution - Summary -

26. Professional Ethics - Summary • Engineering Ethics - Professional Ethics • Separate from personal ethics • Separate from social roles • Concerned with: • What the standards should be • How to apply these standards in practice • Case studies help develop skills in the practice of preventive ethics