Professionalism and ethics in engineering

1. Professionalism and ethics in engineering Dr. Yan Liu Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering Wright State University

2. Profession • What is Profession • “Occupation which one professes to be skilled in and to follow … A vocation in which professed knowledge of some branch of learning is used in its application to the affairs of others, or in the practice of an art based upon it” (Oxford Shorter Dictionary’s definition) • e.g. engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. • Characteristics of Professionalism • Entrance into a profession requires an extensive period of training which has intellectual content • Necessitates formal education (often in academic institutions) • Most professionals have at least a bachelor's degree from a college or university

3. Profession • Characteristics of Professionalism (Cont.) • Professionals’ knowledge and skills are vital to the well-being of the larger society • Professions usually have a monopoly or near monopoly on the profession of professional services • Only those who have graduated from a professional school should be allowed to hold the professional title • There should be licensing system for those who want to enter the profession • Doctors and lawyers must be registered; engineers do not have to be registered • Professionals have an unusual degree of autonomy in the workplace • Professionals exercise a large degree of individual judgment and creativity in carrying out professional responsibilities • Justification for the unusual degree of autonomy is that only the professional has sufficient knowledge to determine the proper professional service • A professional claims to be regulated by ethical standards, usually embodied in a code of ethics

4. Engineering • Is Engineering a Profession? • Engineering meets all the characters of professionalism • Engineers do not always hold the same status in society as that of lawyers or doctors • Becoming a Registered Professional Engineer (PE) • Step one: Receive a degree from an ABET credited engineering program • Step two: Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam • Offered in April and October • Eight-hour multiple-choice exam • Four-hour morning exam is comprised of 120 one-point questions covering topics from diverse engineering disciplines (common all engineering disciplines) • Four-hour afternoon exam is comprised of 60 two-point questions covering a specific chosen topic (e.g. mechanical, electrical, industrial, general, etc.) • May be taken during the last semester before graduation

5. Engineering • Becoming a Professional Engineer (Cont.) • Step three: Complete four years of acceptable engineering practice • Step four: Pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam • Offered in April and October • Eight-hour multiple-choice exam in a specific discipline • Four-hour morning exam consists of 40 questions covering the discipline broadly • Four-hour afternoon exam consists of 40 questions in a subspecialty of the discipline

6. Engineering • Reasons for Licensure • An engineer must be licensed if • Chief engineer at a firm • Expert engineering witness in court • Offers engineering consulting services • In a public employment position (usually) • Other reasons • Promotions • Money • Credibility • Respect • etc.

7. Ethics and Morality • Ethics • Reflective and theoretical perspectives of right and wrong (“moral philosophy”) • Study of what we ought to and how we ought to behave from a moral viewpoint (as opposed to an economic, religious, or political viewpoint) • Morality • Actual principles of conduct practiced by individuals or groups of individuals • Often used interchangeably with ethnics • Ethical Dilemma • When moral reasons or considerations can be offered to support two or more opposing courses of actions • e.g. respect for individual self-determination could be offered as a moral reason to support a person’s decision not to wear seatbelts while respect for the value of human life might be used to support or justify mandatory seatbelt laws

8. Ethics and Morality • Ethical Issue • A general topic or problem involving moral rules, principles, and norms (because of important differences of opinion and disagreement concerning what is morally correct) • e.g. Physician-assisted suicide is an ethical issue in medicine; Weapon research is an ethical issue in engineering

9. Moral Principles • Principle of Autonomy • Respect the autonomy of others • An individual is “autonomous” in the absence of internal or external constraints that would compromise the ability to act voluntarily toward a chosen course of action or fulfill a chosen life-plan • Principle of Nonmaleficence • Do not intentionally or deliberately do harms to others • Principle of Beneficence • Produce benefits and promote the good for others • Principle of Justice • Do what is fair or just • Give others what is due or owed to them • Give others what they deserve

10. Moral Principles • Principle of Truth-Telling (Honesty) • Disclose all relevant information honestly and intelligibly • Do not intentionally deceive • Principle of Promise-Keeping • Honor just agreements and contracts • Keep promises deliberately made

11. Why do Engineers Need to Know about Ethics With Knowledge and skills, engineers have the power to do great things. With this power, engineers have a tremendous responsibility to individuals, organizations, and society. Ethics help guide our decisions to ensure we act responsibly. All engineers are expected to behave in a professional manner (whether you are PE registered or not)

12. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster The fatal launching of space shuttle Challenger in 1985 resulted from a haphazard concatenation of economic considerations, political pressures and scheduling backlogs. The reality of a failed booster joint seal design took a back seat to these considerations, despite the protestations of design engineering Roger Boisjoly and others. Ethical issues raised by the case involve engineering responsibility versus management decision-making, as well as the ethics of post-hoc whistle blowing and negligence in design. Whistle blowing can be defined as “exposing the misdeeds of others in organizations in an attempt to preserve ethical standards and protect against wasteful, harmful, or illegal acts”.

13. Professional Codes of Ethnics for Engineers • Model Guide for Professional Conduct • Developed by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES), approved on 12/13/84 • http://www.aaes.org • Includes 10 briefly stated “Canons of Professional Conduct” • Code of Ethics for Engineers • Developed by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) • http://www.nspe.org • Includes six “Fundamental Canons”, five lengthy “Rules of Practice”, and nine lengthy “Professional Obligations”

14. Model Guide for Professional Conduct • Preamble • Engineers recognize that the practice of engineering has a direct and vital influence on the quality of life for all people. Therefore, engineers should exhibit high standards of competency, honesty and impartiality; be fair and equitable; and accept a personal responsibility for adherence to applicable laws, the protection of the public health, and maintenance of safety in their professional actions and behavior. These principles govern professional conduct in serving the interests of the public, clients, employers, colleagues and the profession • The Fundamental Principle • The engineer as a professional is dedicated to improving competence, service, fairness and the exercise of well-founded judgment in the practice of engineering for the public, employers and clients with fundamental concern for the public health and safety in the pursuit of this practice

15. Model Guide for Professional Conduct • Canons of Professional Conduct • Engineers offer services in the areas of their competence and experience, affording full disclosure of their qualifications • Engineers consider the consequences of their work and societal issues pertinent to it and seek to extend public understanding of those relationships • Engineers are honest, truthful and fair in presenting information and in making public statements reflecting on professional matters and their professional role • Engineers engage in professional relationships without bias because of race, religion, sex, age, national origin or handicap • Engineers act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, disclosing nothing of a proprietary nature concerning the business affairs of technical processes of any present or former client of employer without specific consent

16. Model Guide for Professional Conduct • Canons of Professional Conduct (Cont.) • Engineers disclose to affected parties known or potential conflicts of interest or other circumstances which might influence – or appear to influence – judgment or impair the fairness of quality of their performance • Engineers are responsible for enhancing their professional competence throughout their careers and for encouraging similar actions by their colleagues • Engineers accept responsibility for their actions; seek and acknowledge criticism of their work; offer honest criticism of the work of others; properly credit the contributions of others; and do not accept credit for work not theirs • Engineers perceiving a consequence of their professional duties to adversely affect the present or future public health and safety shall formally advise their employers or clients and, if warranted, consider further disclosure • Engineers act in accordance with all applicable laws and rules of conduct, and lent support to others who strive to do likewise

17. A FAILURE I R&M Machinery had for years provided XYZ with sophisticated equipment and reliable repair service. XYZ returned a failed piece of equipment. A meeting was held which included Archie Hunter, a representative from XYZ; Norm Nash, R&M's returned goods area representative, and Walt Winters, an R&M engineer intimately acquainted with the kind of equipment XYZ had returned. Norm Nash represented R&M's "official position": the piece of equipment was all right. However, during the course of the meeting it became apparent to Walt Winters that the problem had to be R&M's. He suspected that the equipment was not properly tested out by R&M, and that it failed because of an internal problem. Should Walt say anything about this in the presence of the customer, or should he wait until after the meeting to discuss this with Norm Nash?

18. A FAILURE (Cont.) Walt kept silent during the meeting. After the meeting he talked with Norm about his diagnosis. He suggested they tell XYZ that the problem was R&M's fault, and that R&M would replace the defective equipment. Norm replied, "I don't think it's wise to acknowledge that it's our fault. There's no need to hang out our wash and lessen XYZ's confidence in the quality of our work. A 'good will' gesture to replace the equipment should suffice." R&M management decided to tell XYZ that they would adjust to the customer's needs "because you have been such a good customer all these years." Although R&M replaced the equipment at its own expense, they did not tell XYZ the real nature of the problem. Discuss R&M resolution of the problem. Should R&M's way of handling the problem be of any concern to Walt Winters at this point, or was it basically a "management problem"?

19. The fundamental moral concept of honesty is at stake in this case study. Norm Nash, representing the position of management, made the decision to deny the possibility of a defective product. This decision was made on the basis of public image and ignored the technical opinion given by Walt Winters, one of the firm's engineers. Winter's silence was probably appropriate in the first meeting with the client. His position was one of technical support, not public relations. Also, his suspicions were not yet confirmed, and a preliminary contradiction of Nash's statement was unwarranted. Winters was correct in raising his objections directly with Nash following the meeting with the client. Norm Nash's reaction was unfortunate. Walt Winters should have been distressed by this reaction. His first move should have been to disassemble the equipment to confirm his diagnosis, if possible. If the evidence supported his hypothesis, then he ought to press Nash vigorously to deal honestly with the client.

20. The expression that this is merely a "management problem" of little concern to technical staff can lead to serious consequences. If management decisions routinely overrule factual technical information, placing public relations over honesty, the stage has been set for potential moral disaster. There are many examples from all engineering disciplines. One well documented case is the Morton Thiokol treatment of the events leading up to the Challenger Space Shuttle accident. Technical professionals and product manufacturers have a clear ethical responsibility to communicate honestly about failures, thus contributing to the safety and reliability of products and the advancement of engineering design practice.

21. Reference • Humphreys, K.K. (1999). What Every Engineer Should Know About Ethics. NY: Marcel Dekker Inc.