CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

August 10, 1978 Ford Pinto

The gas tank design was flawed and
was not in line with accepted
engineering standards.
The dilemma was to balance the
safety of the people against the need
to produce the pinto at a price that
would be competitive in the market

1.1 Background Ideas

-

Ethical cases can go far beyond issues

of public safety and may involve,
bribery, fraud, environmental
protection, fairness, honesty in
research and testing, and conflicts of
interest.

Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology (ABET)
- Responsible for accrediting
undergraduate research program in
the United States
- Mandated that ethics topics be
incorporated into undergraduate
engineering curricula.
Ethics
The study of the characteristics of
morals.
- Also deals with moral choices that are
made by each person in his or her
relationship with other person.
Engineering Ethics
- The rules and standards governing the
conduct of engineers in their role as
professionals.
- A body of philosophy indicating the
ways that engineers should conduct
themselves in their professional
capacity.
1.2 Why Study Engineering Ethics?
-

Notorious cases that have received a

great deal of media attention
Because of these cases, engineers
realize how their technical work has
far-reaching impact on society.
Works of engineers can affect public
health and safety and can influence
business practices and even politics.

Every major corporation now has an

ethics office responsible in ensuring
that employees will have the ability to
express their concerns about issues

Moral Autonomy
- The ability to think critically and
independently about moral issues and
to apply this moral thinking to
situation that arises in the course of
professional engineering practice.
-

Because some ethical problems

encountered are very complex and
involve conflicting ethical principles,
the goal then is not to train you to do
the right thing when the ethical choice
is obvious and you already know the
right thing to do. Rather, the goal is to
train you to analyze complex problems
and learn to resolve these problems in
the most ethical manner.
(Example here is the Ford Pinto: Safety VS.
Competitive Market)
1.3 Engineering is Managing the
Unknown
-

Ethical issues encountered in the

course of engineering practices is lack
of knowledge, which is by no means
unusual situation in engineering
They dont have all the information
needed
As engineers, you can never be
absolute that your design wont cause
harm or detrimental changes in the
society
Simulate and test your design a lot of
times.

1.4 Personal VS. Professional Ethics

Personal Ethics
- Deals with how we treat others in our
day-to-day lives.
- Many of these principles are applicable
to ethical situations that occur in
business and engineering.
Professional Ethics
- Often involves choices on an
organizational level rather than a
personal level.

Problem involve relationship between

two corporation, between a
corporation and the government, or
between corporation and group if
individuals.

1.5 The Origins of Ethical Thought

Western Ethical Thought
- Originated in the philosophy of the
ancient Greeks and their
predecessors.
- Developed through centuries by many
thinkers in the Judeo-Christian
tradition
- Non-western cultures have
independently develop similar ethical
principle
- These principle are now cultural norms
in the West and are widely accepted
regardless of their origin.
-

Ethical people who are not religious

and Religious people who are not
ethical

1.6 Ethics and the Law

-

The practice of engineering is

governed by many laws on the
international, federal, state, and local
levels.
Many of these are based on ethical
principles, although many are purely
practical, rather than a philosophical,
nature.
Distinction between what is legal and
what is ethical.
Many things that are legal could be
considered unethical (releasing
treated toxic in the environment)
Something that is illegal doesnt mean
that it is ethical. (the law cant catch
up with technology)
Our interest is in areas where ethical
principles conflict and there is no legal
guidance for how to resolve the
conflict.

1.8 Case Studies

-

1.7 Ethics Problems are like Design

Problems
-

Problems are more open-ended and

are not susceptible to formulaic

answers as are problems typically

assigned in other engineering classes.
Ethical problems rarely have a correct
answer
The essence of engineering practice is
the design of products, structures, and
processes.
Design problems is stated in terms of
specification
There is no unique correct answer
There will be solution that is/ will be
better than other solutions. Depends
on what you want to achieve.
But, even though there is no unique
solution for this ethical problems,
there will be a range of solution that
are clearly right, some of which are
better than others. (there are also
solutions that are clearly wrong)
Engineering ethics and engineering
design both apply a large body of
knowledge to the solution of the
problem
Both involve the use of analytical
skills
Approaches to the problems and the
ultimate solution will be very similar to
those in engineering practice in
reference to ethical problems.

The Challenger
Engineers says to delay the lunch but
they were overruled by the
management
As an engineer, you will need to be
familiar with ideas about the nature f
the engineering profession, ethical
theories, and the application of these
theories to situations that are likely to
occur in professional practice.
These cases will help you examine
what engineers should do when
confronted with ethical troubling
situations.
Many cases will be postmortem
examinations of disasters, while other
may involve an analysis of situation in
which disaster was averted when
many of the individuals involved made
ethically sound choices and
cooperated to solve the problem.
No predictive abilities
Reading these cases from years ago
may tell as what could be the right

decision and it will be very easy for us

to determine that, so what we need to
do is to put ourselves in their situation
on that same time and try to look for
the best solution in the problem.
The Fundamental Cannons
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the
safety, health and welfare of the
public in the performance of their
professional duties.
2. Engineers shall perform services only
in the areas of their competence
3. Engineers shall issue public
statements only in an objective and
truthful manner
4. Engineers shall act in professional
matters for each employer or client as
faithful agents or trustees, and shall
avoid conflicts of interests.
5. Engineers shall build their professional
reputation on the merit of their
services and shall not compete
unfairly with others
6. Engineers shall associate only with
reputable persons or organizations
7. Engineers shall continue their
professional development throughout
their careers and shall provide
opportunities for the professional
development of those engineers under
their supervision.
RULES IMPLEMENTING THE CODE OF
CONDUCT AND ETHICAL STANDARDS
FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 1 of
Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as
the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards
for Public Officials and Employees, approved
on February 20, 1989, and which took effect
on March 25, 1989, conformably to Section
17 thereof, the following Rules are hereby
adopted in order to carry out the provisions
of the said Code:
Rule III
Reforms on Public Administrative
Systems
Section 1. Every department, office and
agency shall, as soon as practicable and in
no case later than ninety (90)
days from the effectivity of these rules, start
conducting value development programs for

its officials and employee in order to

strengthen their commitment to public
service and help promote the primacy of
public interest in the performance of their
duties. Such programs and other parallel
efforts on value development shall include,
among other things, the following subjects:
(a) Ethical and moral values;
(b) Rights, duties and responsibilities of
public servants;
(c) Nationalism and patriotism;
(d) Justice and human rights;
(e) Democracy in a free and just society;
(f) Philippine history. Culture and tradition;
and
(g) Socio-economic conditions prevailing in
the country, especially in the depressed
areas, and the need for a Code of Conduct
and Ethical Standards.
Continuing refresher courses and seminars
and/or workshops to promote a high
standard of ethics in public service shall be
conducted.
Section 2. Professional, scientific, technical
trainings and education programs shall
enhance to the highest degree,
professionalism, excellence, intelligence and
skills in the performance and discharge of
duties and responsibilities of officials and
employees. These programs shall be
conducted in all offices of the government
and may include subjects that are
enumerated in the preceding section.

Section 3. it is the responsibility of every

head of department, office and agency to
ensure that officials and employees attend
the value development program and
participate in parallel value development
efforts.
Section 4. Every department, office and
agency shall conduct continuing studies and
analyses of their work systems and
procedures to improve delivery of public
services. Towards this end, such study and
analyses shall: (1) identify systems and
procedures that lead or contribute to
negative bureaucratic behavior; (2) simplify
rules and procedures to avoid red tape; and
(3) devise or adopt systems and procedures

that promote official and employee morale

and satisfaction.
Each department, office or agency shall
develop a service guide or its functional
equivalent which shall be regularly updated
and made available to the transacting public.
A workflow chart showing procedures or flow
of documents shall likewise be posted in
conspicuous places in the department, office
and agency for the information and
guidelines of all concerned.
Upon request, the Department of Budget and
Management shall assists departments,
office and agencies in the evaluation and
adoption of work systems and procedures
that will institutionalize a management
climate conducive to public accountability.
Section 5. Every department, office and
agency shall consult the public they serve for
the purpose of gathering feedback and
suggestions on the efficiency, effectiveness

and economy of services. They shall

establish mechanisms to ensure the conduct
of public consultations and hearings.
Section 6. Every department, office and
agency shall continuously conduct research
and experimentation on measures and adopt
innovative programs which shall provide
motivation to officials and employees in
raising the level of observance of public
service ethical standards.
Section 7. Every department, office and
agency shall, appoint or designate a resident
Ombudsman, who shall act immediately on
all request for public assistance referred to
him by the Ombudsman ad his Deputies. He
shall be held accountable for the disposition
of all requests for assistance.
Section 8. Government officials shall make
themselves available to their staff for
consultations and dialogues.