Ethical Issues: Professional Responsibility Health and Safety Privacy and Security

Ethical Issues
Professional Responsibility
Health and Safety
Privacy and Security
Professionalism
The following of a profession, sport, etc., as an
occupation; -Webster’s Dictionary
The expertness characteristic of a professional person;
-Wordnet (Princeton University)
“To be a professional is to be responsible and
accountable for using one's special skills to give careful
and constant consideration to the impact of one's
products and services on others” (Gotterbarn 1991)
Professional Traits
Attributes
Extensive intellectual training
Common body of knowledge
Skills are vital to society
Monopoly on service provided
Benefits/Responsibilities
Self-regulated
Privilege/prestige
Code of ethics
Professionals vs. Society
Professionals Agree to:
Service
Self-Regulation
Society Agrees to:
Autonomy
Social Status
High Pay
Professional Behavior Encompasses Ethical Behavior
Non-disclosure of confidential information
Reporting to work
Reporting absences
Telephone use
Use of equipment: fax, copier, etc.
Smoking regulations
Timed break periods
Security procedures
Dress code
Ethics in an Engineering Course????
We have been studying engineering, such as design,
analysis, and performance measurement.
Where does ethics fit in?
How Ethics Fits into Engineering
 Engineers . . .
 Build products such as cell phones, home appliances, heart
valves, bridges, & cars. In general they advance society by
building new technology.
 Develop processes, such as the process to convert salt water
into fresh water or the process to recycle bottles. These

processes change how we live and what we can accomplish.
Products and processes have consequences for society:
If the bridge has an inadequate support, it will fail.
If the gas tank is positioned too close to the bumper, it
might explode from a small accident.
If the process for recycling bottles produces too much
pollution, then it is counterproductive.
If the process for refining gas produces too much toxins, it
harms the local community
Decisions made by engineers usually have serious
consequences to people -- often to multitudes of people.
Ethics and ethical reasoning guide decision making
Notice the issues that come up in these discussions:
ISSUE #1: HEALTH AND SAFETY
RISKS: Danger to current and future generations from
leakage of radioisotopes used in nuclear power.
ISSUE#1:HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS, FURTHER
CONSIDERATIONS:
The possibility of medical science discovering a cure for
cancer sometime in the current or next centuries
qualifies the long-term health risks of leakages of radio-
active isotopes.
The use of nuclear power may increase our knowledge
of radio isotopes used for medical purposes.
ALTERNATIVES TO NUCLEAR POWER.
ISSUE#2: DEPLETION OF RESOURCES:
 Fossil fuels, oil, natural gas and coal, are non-renewable.
These sources also affect the goal of health through pollution
and climate changes.
CONSEQUENCES OF ALTERNATIVES TO NUCLEAR
POWER.
ISSUE #3:COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC COSTS OF
RENEWABLE SOURCES.
 Renewable sources such as hydro-electric-power, wind power,
solar power, geo-thermal heat, agricultural biomass and tides
do not cause the environmental hazards that fossil-fuels do.
Reasoning
The kind of reasoning that goes on in such discussions
involves certain goals such as, in this case, health, safety
and bio-diversity.
The reasoning then focuses on finding the best–or at
least the reasonably better–means
This type of reasoning is often called practical reason. It
uses different methods from mathematics and the
sciences.
Ethical reasoning is a type of practical reasoning which
in particular concerns certain societal or life-form
goals, such as justice, equality, freedom, health and
safety.
The Essence of Your Engineering Career
Engineering is one of the most important professions in
society.
As engineers we don’t just build things and develop
processes.
We build things and make processes in order to better
society.
In order to make society better we have to reflect
constantly on the products and processes that we make.
Social Responsibility
One main connection between ethics and engineering
comes from the impact that engineered products and
processes have on society.
Engineers have to think about designing, building, and
marketing products that benefit society.
Social Responsibility requires taking in to consideration
the needs of society.
Typical Ethical Issues that Engineers Encounter
Safety
Acceptable risk
Compliance
Confidentiality
Environmental health
Data integrity
Conflict of interest
Honesty/Dishonesty
Societal impact
Fairness
Accounting for uncertainty, etc.
Ethics has a second connection with engineering.
It comes from the way in which being socially
responsible puts duties and obligations on us
individually.
Ethics fits into engineering through professional
responsibility.
Two Dimensions of Ethics in Engineering
Ethics is part of engineering for two main reasons.
 Engineers need to be socially responsible when building
products and processes for society.
 Social responsibility requires professional responsibility.
Role-Responsibilities
The two ways ethical issues can apply to one’s life are
based on role responsibilities. Role responsibilities are
responsibilities that attach to us in virtue of a role that
we have. Each of us has different roles that we play in
our life.
Engineering Student
Friend
Citizen
Employee
Code of Professional Conduct
Ethical Principles
Responsibilities
The publicinterest
Integrity
Objectivity and independence
Due care
Scope and nature of services
Why People Act Unethically?
The person’s ethical standards are different from those
of society as a whole.
The person chooses to act selfishly.
In many instances, both reasons exist.
Rationalizing Unethical Behavior
Everybody does it.
If it’s legal, it’s ethical.
Likelihood of discovery and consequences
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
Obtain the relevant facts.
Identify the ethical issues from the facts.
Determine who is affected.
Identify the alternatives available to the person who
must resolve the dilemma.
Identify the likely consequence of each alternative.
Decide the appropriate action.
Computer Ethics
Is the branch of philosophy that analyses the nature and
social impact of computer technology as well as the
standards of conduct which pertain to proper use of
computers.
It involves social issues, such as access rights, working
place monitoring, censorship and junk mail;
professional issues such as professional responsibility
and code of conduct; legal issues such as legal
obligations, data protection, computer misuse and
software piracy.

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Ethical Issues

into fresh water or the process to recycle bottles. These

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