"8" PAPER-The Engineer in Society-September

2013

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS,SRI LANKA

PROFESSIONALREVIEW EXAMINATION
SECTION liB" - THE ENGINEER IN SOCIETY
Date:

rs" September

2013

'I'

I E S L

Time allowed: 3 hours

Instructions to Candidates
Before answering the questions, please read the instructions given below.
o Answer four questions only. Answer at least one question from section 1.
o Each question will carry 25 marks.
o Answers to each question should be written on separate answer sheet, as
each will be marked by a separate examiner.
o Write your Index Number and relevant Question Number clearly on top of
each answer sheet.
o It is important that you write question numbers to which you have
answered in the cage provided on the cover page.
o Pay attention to legibility, grammar, spelling, and punctuation marks, in
addition the relevance, organization and style of presentation.
o Answers to all questions should be in essay form, unless otherwise
specified in the relevant question.
o Rough work (if any) may be embodied in the answers, but should be struck
out with a single line. No marks will be given for rough work. Do not tear
any pages from answer books.

Section "B" Paper - The Engineer in Society - September

2013

Section "8" Question

Paper - September,

2013

SECTION 1

Question 1:
Clause 1 of the IESLCode of Ethics is;
"Engineers shall hold paramount
funds in the performance

the safety, health and welfare of the public and proper utilization

of their professional duties.

of

It shall take precedence over their responsibility

to the profession, to sectional or private interests, employers or to other engineers"

a.

What

do you

responsibility

understand

by the

to the profession,

sentence

to sectional

" ....It shall

or private

take

interests,

precedence
employers

over

their

or to other

engineers?"
b.

The engineers union of an engineering organization

for the community

responsible for the provision of utilities

resorts to trade union action to secure benefits for themselves.

causes severe inconvenience

This

to the public.

i.

Is this acceptable in terms of the IESLCode of Ethics?

ii.

What action should the IESL take if there is deemed to be a violation

of the IESL

Code of Ethics. Justify your reasoning.

Question 2:
The IESL Act NO.17 of 1968 declares ten Objects of the Institution, six of which are given below.
Choosing any four, comment on whether IESLhas met these Objectives, whether they have fallen short
of the Objective and why, how the Engineering profession can be developed/strengthened
by these
Objectives and whether the selected Object is relevant today, and if not, how can it amended to be
significant in the present context.
a)

to promote and advance the science and practice of engineering in all its branches in Sri Lanka;

b)

to help in the acquisition and interchange of technical knowledge by reading of original

communications and discussions thereon, by establishing and maintaining technical libraries,
publications on matters of professional interests and any such other means;

c)

to conduct examinations qualifying for membership of the Institute, to test the competence
persons engaged in engineering and to grant certificates of competence;

d)

to regulate the professional

activities and to assist in maintaining

of

high standards in the general

conduct of its members;

e)

to give the Government and other public bodies and others the facilities for conference with and
ascertaining the views of engineers as regards matters directly or indirectly affecting
engineering;

Section "B" Paper - The Engineer in Society - September

f)

2013

to foster co-ordination with similar institutes

objects of the Institute;

in Sri Lanka and other countries in furthering

the

SECTION 2
Question 3:
The rich countries
development,

have done heavy damage to the natural

and now have to invest heavily on mitigation

poorer countries

have the chance of 'Making Development

concept introduced
using appropriate

resource

base on earth

during their

of their impacts on the environment,

More Sustainable via Tunneling'.

by Prof. Mohan Munasinghe through many of his publications.

the

This is a

Explain this concept

figures, and describe the role of engineers in helping this process of "Tunneling".

Question 4:
(a) What similarities

and differences

do you observe between manufacturing

sector driven and service

sector driven economic development?

(b) Sri Lankan economy

evolved from

its predominantly

agricultural

base at independence,

being largely service sector driven economy by now. However, the country's
never

matured

beyond

being

a mere

low-value

added

garment

Founding your arguments on the patterns of sectoral evolution

towards

manufacturing

industry-dominated

sector
setting.

in the Sri Lankan economy, critically

examine the rationale of this opinion.

(c) "Sri Lankan manufacturing
international

sector failed to keep phase with technological

competitiveness

labour based industries".

innovation

and thus lost

in its exports, which has led the economy to get trapped in unskilled

Discuss as to what extent you agree and disagree with this statement.

Question 5:
Electricity generation
generation

in Sri Lanka is heavily dependent

of electricity

is very high owing to this dependency.

fossil fuels h~s adverse effects on the environment.

Conventional

on fossil fuels. It is a known fact that the cost of

It is also known that excessive use of

Most environmentalists

lobby for the use of Non

Renewable Energy (NCRE) sources and believe that it is a panacea for all energy related

problems. Further, they blame the engineers for not harnessing such resources in the country. As a
practicing

engineer,

environmentalist

explain

and give

your

reasons

for

not

harnessing

who is campaigning for the expedient development

such

resources,

to

an

and use of NCRE.

Question 6:
"Engineering

is not a profession

responsibilities,

similar to medicine and law. Hence it does not have the same social

and engineering is not given the same privileges as other professions. Accordingly, there

is no social obligation that promotes social responsibility".

Do you agree with
responsibilities

this statement?

Discuss your

opinion

in a broader

of other professions against the engineering profession.

2

sense by comparing

the

Section "8" Paper - The Engineer in Society - September

2013

Question7:

Discuss the broader

benefits

of ISO Standards.

Elaborate

your

answer

giving special attention

to

developing countries.

Question 8:
"Most organizations are over-managed
basic differences

in management

and under-led".

and leadership

Critically analyze this statement

principles,

taking any organization

referring to the
you are familiar

with, as an example.
Question 9:
Provide an example of how established companies in a given industry were successfully challenged by a
relative newcomer through the development

of a Disruptive Technology.

If you were the Chief Executive Officer of a small Sri Lankan manufacturing

firm operating in an industry

of your choice, explain how you would develop a Disruptive Technology so that you would not have to
build economies of scale usually necessary to compete head-on with large and established players in the
industry.
Question 10:
The Indian Ocean is a major area across which much trade and global economic connectivity

is

conducted. In this context, how do Sri Lanka's bilateral relations with China and India influence our
national interests?
Question 11:
Sri Lanka has a rich water heritage. Its history and civilization was, and still is intrinsically
water

resources and environmental

sustainability.

The annual rainfall

971 mm (South Eastern coast) to 5450 mm (Western

connected to

of Sri Lanka varies between

slopes of the Highlands). The 'annual average

rainfall in Sri Lanka is 1900 mm and this is well above the global average rainfall of 750 mm.
The demand for irrigated agriculture,

water supply for drinking and industries are rapidly increasing, and

water in Sri Lanka is truly becoming "everybody's

(IWRM) and partnership

approaches

business". Integrated

Water Resource Management

are gaining wide acceptance for optimizing

water use. Political

leadership and champions to promote IWRM and national water policy are also emerging.
In this context,

how does IWRM and national water policy impact economic

sustainable development

in developing countries like Sri Lanka?

growth

and pattern of