9/28/2017 Ethics in Engineering Profession – IES General Studies

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1. Engineering Ethics 27,2017
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2. Microethics  September 28, 2017

1. Personal Ethics September

27,2017
2. Professional Ethics 0
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3. Code of Ethics September
1. Fundamental values 27, 2017

1. Safety quiz-September
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3. Welfare of the public

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2. Personal Values September

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4. Ethical Issues 0
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1. Con icts of Values
September
5. Macro Ethics 26, 2017

6. Role of professional societies

7. Case Studies
IES-GS Paper1
strategy
1. Engineering Ethics
Engineering is an important and learned profession. Engineers are expected to Strategy of gener…
exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and
vital impact on the quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by
engineers require honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to
the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under
a standard of professional behaviour that requires adherence to the highest
principles of ethical conduct.
Motivational lecture
Thus ethics is not peripheral to, or an add-on to, engineering. It is integral to the
practice of engineering, part of engineering problem solving. Safety and guarding Motivational lect…
against avoidable harm are built into engineering; they are the principles that underlie
engineering codes and standards. 

Engineering ethics can be considered in three frames of reference—individual,

professional, and social. 

Engineering ethics can be further divided into “microethics” , concerned with

individuals and the internal relations of the engineering profession and Important dates for
“macroethics”, concerned with the collective, social responsibility of the engineering IES
profession and societal decisions about technology. Preliminary exam

Noti cation – 27th Sep,2017

Last date to apply- 23rd

Oct,17

Prelims Exam on 7th Jan,

2018

Mains exam on 01-07-18

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2. Micro Ethics
Micro ethics can be at two levels – Individual and Professional. The individual ethics
include honesty, integrity, fairness etc; where as professional ethics at micro level
include adherence to safety, quality etc.

2.1 Personal Ethics

Includes personal qualities like decent, honest and truthful life, technical qualities and
responsibility. Other than these personal qualities, professional speci c individual
values are, 

Technical ethics

covers the technical decisions and judgments made by engineers

microlevel analysis of individual technologies or practitioners
examples are – respect of intellectual property rights, computer ethics (not
helping the hackers)

Ethical responsibility

making wise choices when such choices suddenly, unexpectedly present

themselves
a willingness to engage others in the crucial choices
making choices on issues that confront technological society and how
intelligently to confront them

2.2 Professional Ethics

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The moral responsibility of engineers arise from special knowledge possessed by an

individual in the profession

The Professional ethics

covers professional relationships between engineers and other individuals who

are their managers, clients, colleagues and employers
the role of engineers in industry and other organizations, professional engineering
societies, and responsibilities of the profession
example
Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice as
recommended by the ACM/IEEE-CS says not to knowingly use software that is
obtained or retained either illegally or unethically.

Usually the professional and personal responsibility is represented in a code of ethics

which are covered under professional competencies in that organization.

3. Codes of Ethics
Codes of ethics vary from one professional society to another, but they typically
share common features in prescribing the responsibilities of engineers to the public,
their employers and clients, and their fellow engineers. All modern codes state that
the most signi cant responsibility of engineers is to protect the public health, safety
and welfare. Codes often also emphasise such characteristics as competence,
trustworthiness, honesty and fairness.

What does the code of ethics say?

The code Express the rights, duties and obligations of members of the profession
They restate existing standards of responsible engineering practice „
Create an environment within the profession where ethical behaviour is the norm
„
They are not legally binding – an engineer cannot be arrested for violating an
ethical code, but may be expelled from or censured by the engineering society

For example,

1. The IEEE Code of Ethics, implemented in 1990, pledges its members “to accept
responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety, health
and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger
the public or the environment.” It also commit its members “to assist colleagues
and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in
following this code of ethics”
2. NSPE Code of Ethics (The National Society of Professional Engineers is an
American professional association representing licensed professional engineers)
says

Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

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Perform services only in areas of their competence.

Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
Avoid deceptive acts.
Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to
enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.

3.1 The Fundamental Values

As most of the codes of ethics say, the values of safety, health and welfare of the
public are paramount to an engineer. These values are discussed below.

3.1.1 Safety
One of the main duties of an engineer is to ensure the safety of the people who will
be affected by the products that he or she designs. The code of  ethics  of the
professional  engineering  societies make it clear that  safety  is of paramount
importance to the engineer.

The Bhopal disaster, the gas leak incident in

India, is considered as the world’s worst
industrial disaster ever known to mankind. It is
proven that the responsibility for safety, risk
assessment and ethical codes was an absent
criterion in the UCIL plant.    Important lessons
learnt from Bhopal incident would be that in
professional ethics, responsibility for safety
and risk assessment are the most important
aspects that should be practiced in every
establishment.

What is safety?

Safety means freedom from damage, injury, or risk . Risk is the possibility of suffering
harm or loss.

Responsibility of Engineers

Safety should be an integral part of any engineering design

No duty of the engineer is more important than her duty to protect the safety and
well-being of the public 
Risk is a key element in any engineering design which has to be minimised to the
maximum possible extent

How to ensure safety?

The engineering design must comply with the applicable laws
Design must meet the standards of accepted engineering practice
Any design alternatives that are potentially safer must be explored

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Risk-Bene t analysis should be done to analyze risk and to determine weather a

project should proceed
The engineer must be aware  of potential product misuses by the users and  the
design should be to avoid these misuses
Once the product is designed, both prototypes and devices should be tested

Different types of accidents or risks are

1. Procedural Accidents „
Most common „
Often caused by bad choice, or failure to follow regulations or established
procedures „

2. Engineered Accidents „
Caused by aws in the design of a product or system „

3. Systemic Accidents „
Harder to understand and control „
Characteristic of complex technologies and systems „

4. Voluntary risk
Involvement of people in risky actions knowing that these actions are unsafe 

3.1.2 Health
Public health is affected by many factors such as pollution, toxic elements, awed
design etc. So the engineers should

Follow the quality standards, for example, the level of radiation from a cell phone
device
Minimise the emissions from industrial process
Minimise the use of toxic materials for end products
Adhere to the pollution standards for air, water, noise etc of the country
Shall be objective and truthful in professional reports, statements, or testimonies
Report to authority any potential risks

3.1.3 Public Welfare

If the standards for safety and health are met, it will add to the public welfare. Apart
from those public welfare includes

Identify, de ne and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental

issues related to work projects
Be objective in issues permits for engineering projects
Avoid illegal activities like hacking and cyber attacks etc
Ensure Quality of services and products

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Quality control is a system of maintaining standards in manufactured

products by testing a sample of the output against the speci cation.
The quality in public services like Indian Engineering Services is expressed
through the citizen’s charter

What is a citizen’s charter?

Citizen’s Charter is a document which represents the commitment of the

Organisation towards its Citizens in respects of Standard of Services,
Information, Grievance Redress etc.
It is a tool for facilitating the delivery of services to citizens with speci ed
standards, quality and time frame etc.
A good Citizen’s Charter should have the following components :-
Vision and Mission Statement of the Organisation
Details of Business transacted by the Organisation
Details of ‘Citizens’ or ‘Clients’
Statement of services including standards, quality, time frame etc. provided to
each Citizen/ Client group separately and how/ where to get the services
Details of Grievance Redress Mechanism and how to access it
Expectations from the ‘Citizens’ or ‘Clients’
Additional commitments such as compensation in the event of failure of
service delivery.

3.2 Personal Values

The codes of ethics also mention the personal values that an engineer should have.
They are

Integrity and honesty (refer previous article for more clarity)

Impartiality, fairness, and equity
Impartiality is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on
objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the
bene t to one person over another for improper reasons.
Fairness is de ned as the quality of having an unbiased disposition
Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial
Trustworthiness
Con dentiality – of certain information belonging to their employer or client
Privacy – important in cyberspace because of the number of personal records are
stored on and transferred among computers, where the engineers have access
and control
Ethics in Research and Experimentation „ 
Conduct oneself honourably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully
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The professional qualities that the code of ethics mandates are

Competence – the ability to do something successfully or e ciently

Provide service in their areas of competence only, being honest and forthright
about any limitations of their experience and education
Strive for high quality, acceptable cost and a reasonable schedule
Accept full responsibility for their own work
Disclose to appropriate persons or authorities any actual or potential danger
Cooperate in efforts to address matters of grave public concern etc
Shall strive for professional development 

What is competence?

Is the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities without which an individual is not a
quali ed practitioner. It is an ability to do something, especially measured against a
standard.

The four professional development core competency areas are:

1. Communication Literacy

2. Personal and Professional Management

3. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

4. Technical Literacy

The personal competence includes:  Self-Awareness,  Emotional

competence, Accurate self-assessment, Self-con dence and Self Management.

4. Ethical Issues
The common ethical issues or dilemmas faced by engineers „ are, 

Public Safety „
The engineer has an obligation to the employer but also
to protect the society. Some times he or she may be
forced to neglect the safety checks to meet with the
production targets.
Ex- Galaxy Note 7 launched to be in direct competition
with the iPhone 7 and Pixel. However, batteries started
exploding and devices caught re while charging.
Corruption, Bribery and Fraud – Corruption is dishonest or fraudulent conduct by
those in power

An engineer may be bribed to give permit to a potentially harmful project

Ex – giving permissions for real estate in environmentally sensitive areas and

for constructions not following the design standards

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Environmental Protection 
Generally the engineering goals and environmental goals
are con icting
Engineers today are grappling with the ethical dilemmas
posed by the con icts between the economic and
environmental requirements of their work
Ex – Power generation using fossil fuels
Fairness „
An engineer’s decisions will have an impact on a variety of different groups of
people.
As a professional an engineers has a duty to treat all of these people fairly.
It is sometimes di cult to identify exactly who will be affected by a particular
decision, and what their interests are
Honesty in Research and Testing „
Ex- Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal – the company rigged the air
pollution tests
Con ict of Values and Con ict of Interest
There exists con icts between the professional values of engineering and
business values (discussed in the next section)
Con ict of Interest(CoI) is often a common issues faced by many people in
their profession where one’s professional interests comes in con ict with
personal interests.
Con ict of Interest will undermine the concept of fairness (refer previous
article for more clarity)
Whistle blowing
Whistleblowing has drawn so much attention in engineering
The technical knowledge and organisational positions of engineers enable
them to detect serious moral problems that affect the public welfare
Sometimes they cannot bring appropriate attention to serious problems they
detect unless they can convince others to react
Whistleblowing so naturally comes up as an option for engineers
But it is recommend as a last resort
So the skills of persuading, negotiating, and allying with colleagues that
support other options is important

4.1 Con ict of Values

As a result of the concurrent development of engineering as a profession and
technology-driven corporations, there exists con icts between the professional
values of engineering and business values of corporations.

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The professionals value autonomy, collegial control, and social responsibility,

while businesses emphasize loyalty, conformity, and the overarching goal of
improving the bottom line.
This tension is exacerbated when the career paths of engineers lead to
management positions.
In the past con ict between self-interest and public interest was seldom a
problem for engineers, since engineering works were almost synonymous with
human progress.
Today environmental issues have created a divergence between self-interest,
employer interest, professional interest and public interest.
Thus engineers today are grappling with the ethical dilemmas posed by everyday
con icts between the economic and environmental requirements of their work.

5. Macro Ethics
Macroethics looks at bigger picture issues such as sustainability, poverty, social
justice, and bioethics which need to be addressed by the engineering profession (and
society) as a whole. Macroethics is also generally not captured by professional
codes of conduct.  Macro ethics covers certain professional and social ethics as
follows:

Professional Ethics

Is concerned with the collective, social responsibility of the engineering

profession
Collective action can even transcend international boundaries.
Macroethical issues affect all members of the profession
Ex- Ethical implications such as risk and product liability

Social ethics

Concerns with technology policy decisions at the societal level

Involves macro level analysis of technology as a whole
Examples
Ethical implications of public policy issues, sustainable development,
healthcare, and information and communication technology
Ethical issues generated by new developments such as nano science and
nanotechnology 
Ethical issues associated with robotics and autonomous systems
Cyber weapons

6. Role of Professional Bodies

The role of professional engineering societies has been limited largely to developing
codes of ethics. Professional societies, however, could potentially serve as a conduit
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to bring together the entire continuum of ethical frameworks by linking individual and
professional ethics and linking professional and social ethics. In the domain of
macroethics, professional societies can provide a link between the social
responsibilities of the profession and societal decisions about technology by issuing
position statements on public policy issues, such as sustainable development

For example, the engineering community reacted to Agenda 21 by establishing the

World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development (WEPSD) in
1992. Recently, some engineering societies have included the social objective in the
role of engineering in the realization of sustainable development.

The leaders of professional societies can be agents of change in the engineering

culture.

6. Case Studies
Try to nd solutions for the following case studies.

Case Study 1 – Con ict of Values

A Quality Assurance Engineer at a large electronics company responsible for the nal
testing of her company’s servers. Because there is such a short amount of time
between the release of each next new product, the Quality and Assurance
department cannot perform every possible test on the servers to ensure they are
defect free. The engineer decided that she will ship a product that has a likelihood of
failure resulting in data loss for the customer, because she knows that if she doesn’t,
her company’s competitor will.

Is this an ethical way to conduct business?

Case Study 2 – Privacy and Con dentiality

A commercial network operator collects personal information and sells it to

companies for telemarketers without informed consent.

Are such practices permitted?

If users have granted permission for redistribution, can he do so ?
How is this situation similar to and/or different from supermarkets that track
customer purchases and preferences through various means?

Case Study 3 – Miscommunication

The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

While reentering Earth’s atmosphere the shuttle unexpectedly disintegrated, resulting

in the death of all seven astronauts on board. The cause was later discovered to be
damage to thermal shielding tiles from impact with a falling piece of foam insulation
of an external tank during launch. It was the seventh known instance of this
particular piece breaking free during launch. NASA’s investigation team found melted
aluminium on the thermal tiles and inside edges of the left wing of the spacecraft,
supporting the notion that the Columbia’s destruction was due to hot gases that

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penetrated the damaged spot on the

wing.  Mission control deemed that foam
shedding was a not a safety factor prior to
launch, believed damage of the shuttle panels
were not a signi cant issue . It was not until
January 24, 2003, that mission control had
classi ed the damage as a problematic issue.
These missteps in communication between
mission control and the debris assessment
team inhibited a proper examination of the
damages to the spacecraft.

Is good communication a part of

professional ethics?

Case Study 4 – Responsibility

The Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express derailed with

14 coaches of the train jumped off the
track. Derailment could have been caused by
the ongoing repair work on the rail line; station
master insists he was not informed about any maintenance.

Is o cer’s responsibility to ensure safety, is a part of work ethics?

Case Study 5 – Macro ethics

The making of atom bomb

During II world war, President  Franklin D.

Roosevelt  approved a crash program to
develop an  atomic bomb.  In May 1942 J.
Robert Oppenheimer Oppenheimer was invited
to take over work on fast neutron calculations,
a task that Oppenheimer threw himself into
with full vigor. This resulted in the rst ever
atom bomb explosion. After the war, Oppenheimer lobbied for international control
of nuclear power to avert nuclear proliferation and a nuclear arms race.

Will you justify the work of J. Robert Oppenheimer ?

Case Study 6 – Design failure

1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

At the time the world’s third-longest suspension bridge, crossed a strait of Puget
Sound near Tacoma, Wash. A few months after its opening, high winds caused the
bridge to fail in a roar of twisted metal and shattered concrete.

The accident here is an example of?

Case Study 7 – Risk Assesment

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Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre

tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling
of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a
nuclear accident on 11 March 2011. All three
cores largely melted in the rst three days.

Is this accident a failure of engineering

ethics?

Case Study
8 (UPSC
2013) –
Con ict of
Values

You are
working as
an
Executive
Engineer in the construction cell of a Municipal Corporation and are presently in-
charge of the construction of a yover. There are two Junior Engineers under you
who have the responsibility of day-to-day inspection of the site and are reporting to
you, while you are nally reporting to the Chief Engineer who heads the cell. While the
construction is heading towards completion, the Junior Engineers have been
regularly reporting that all construction is taking place as per design speci cations.
However, in one of your surprise inspections, you have noticed some serious
deviations and lacunae which, in your opinion, are likely to affect the safety of the
yover. Recti cation of these lacunae at this stage would require a substantial
amount of demolition and rework which will cause a tangible loss to the contractor
and will also delay completion. There is a lot of public pressure on the Corporation to
get this construction completed because of heavy tra c congestion in the area.
When you brought this matter to the notice of the Chief Engineer, he advised you that
in his opinion it is not a very serious lapse and may be ignored. He advised for further
expediting the project for completion in time. However, you are convinced that this
was a serious matter which might affect public safety and should not be left
unaddressed.
What will you do in such a situation? Some of the options are given below. Evaluate
the merits and demerits of each of these options and nally suggest what course of
action you would like to take, giving reasons. 

1. Follow the advice of the Chief Engineer and go ahead.

2. Make an exhaustive report of the situation bringing out all facts and analysis
along with your own viewpoints stated clearly and seek for written orders from
the chief Engineer.
3. Call for explanation from the Junior Engineers and issue orders to the contractor
for necessary correction within targeted time.
4. Highlight the issue so that it reaches superiors above the Chief Engineer.

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5. Considering the rigid attitude of the Chief Engineer, seek transfer from the project
or report sick.

Case Study 9 (UPSC 2013) – Con ict of Interest

You are heading a leading technical institute of the country. The institute is planning
to convene an interview panel shortly under your chairmanship for selection of the
post of professors. A few days before the interview, you get a call from the Personal
Secretary (PS) of a senior government functionary seeking your intervention in favour
of the selection of a close relative of the functionary for this post. The PS also
informs you that he is aware of the long pending and urgent proposals of your
institute for grant of funds for modernisation, which are awaiting the functionary’s
approval. He assures you that he would get these proposals cleared.

1. What are the options available to you?

2. Evaluate each of these options and choose the option which you would adopt,
giving reasons

Case Study 10 (UPSC 2016) – Whistle Blowing

A fresh engineering graduate gets a job in a prestigious chemical industry. She likes
the work. The salary is also good. However, after a few months accidentally
discovers that a highly toxic waste is being secretly discharged into a river nearby.
This is causing health problems to the villagers downstream who depend on the river
for their water needs. She is perturbed and mentions her concern to her colleagues
who have been with the company for longer periods. They advise her to keep quite as
anyone who mentions the topic is summarily dismissed. She cannot risk losing her
job as she is the sole bread-winner for her family and has to support her ailing
parents and siblings.
At rst, she thinks that if her seniors are keeping quiet, why should she stick out her
neck. But her conscience pricks her to do something to save the river and the people
who depend upon it. At heart she feels that the advice of silence given by her friends
is not correct though she cannot give reasons for it. She thinks you are a wise person
and seeks your advice.

1. What arguments can you advance to show her that keeping quiet is not morally
right?
2. What course of action would you advise her to adopt and why?

Case Study 11 – Macro ethics

Elon Musk recently commented on Twitter that arti cial intelligence (AI) is more
dangerous than North Korea. It’s not the rst time that the entrepreneur has warned
about the dangers of AI.

Should we all be afraid as he is?

Will AI lead to a huge disaster or robot takeover that destroys humanity?

IES GS

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