Technology Transfer: Technology Transfer Is A Process of Changing The Technology To A New Setting

GE6075-PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN ENGINEERING
UNIT – 5
GLOBAL ISSUES
Multinational Corporations – Environmental Ethics – Computer Ethics – Weapons Development –
Engineers as Managers – Consulting Engineers – Engineers as Expert Witnesses and Advisors –
Moral Leadership –Code of Conduct – Corporate Social Responsibility
1. What is meant by Technology Transfer? (NOV/DEC 2017)

Technology Transfer: Technology transfer is a process of changing the technology to a new setting
and implementing it. Technology includes hardware such as machines and installations as well as
techniques such as technical, organizational, and managerial skills & procedures. The transfer of
technology may be done by governments, universities private voluntary organizations, consulting
firms and by multinational companies
2. Point out the responsibilities of Consulting Engineers. (NOV/DEC 2017)

Consultants are individuals who typically work for themselves but may also be associated with a
consulting firm. They, for a fee, gives advice or provides a service in a field of specialized
knowledge or training. Most consultants carry their own life and health insurance, pay their own
taxes, most have their own tools and equipment. The consultant can work alone or with the client's
staff.
3. How is corporate social responsibility practised (APR/MAY 2017)

Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and
contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their
families as well as of the local community and society at large.
4. What is moral leadership? (APR/MAY 2016)

Engineers provide many types of leadership in the development and implementation of technology,
as managers, entrepreneurs, consultants, academics and officials of the government. Moral
leadership is not merely the dominance by a group. It means adopting reasonable means to
motivate the groups to achieve morally desirable goals. This leadership presents the engineers with
many challenges to their moral principles.
5. What is meant globalization? (APR/MAY 2016)

Globalization means integration of countries through commerce, transfer of technology, and
exchange of information and culture. In a way, it includes acting together and interacting
economies through trade, investment, loan, development schemes and capital across countries. In a
different sense, these flows include knowledge, science, technology, skills, culture, information,
and entertainment, besides direct human resource, tele-work, and outsourcing.
6. What is meant by computer ethics? (NOV/DEC 2016)

Computer Ethics is the analysis of the nature and social impact of computer technology and the
corresponding formulation and justification policies for the ethical use of technology. It defines as
a field concerned with “policy vacuums” and “conceptual muddles” regarding the social and
ethical use of information technology.
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7. Differentiate the Eye witness and expert witness in the legal system (MAY/JUNE 2014)
 An eyewitness is one who testifies what they perceived through his or her senses (e.g. seeing,
hearing, smelling, touching).
 That perception might be either with the unaided human sense or with the aid of an instrument,
e.g., microscope or stethoscope, or by other scientific means, e.g. a chemical reagent which
changes color in the presence of a particular substance
 An expert witness is one who allegedly has specialized knowledge relevant to the matter of
interest, which knowledge purportedly helps to either make sense of other evidence, including
other testimony, documentary evidence or physical evidence (e.g., a fingerprint)
8.What do you understand by business ethics. ? (APR/MAY 2016)

Business ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially
controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination,
corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities.
9. When does an expert witness engineer become a hired gun? (APR/MAY 2014)
Hired Guns The most flagrant abuse is the unscrupulous engineer who makes a living by not even
trying to be objective, but instead in helping attorneys portray the facts in a way favorable to their
clients. A small minority of engineers do become hired guns, who violate the standards of honesty and
due care in con-ducting investigations. Unfortunately, this minority has tainted the entire practice of
serving as an expert witness.
10. Can an engineer refuse to engage in a weapons development program - Justify?

(APR/MAY 2014)
Engineer’s involvement in manufacturing of weapons is unavoidable. For engineers who
design weapons, manufacture them, and use them have some reasons to support their involvement.
The following are some of the justifying arguments
Take a case of an engineer who involves in the manufacturing of antipersonnel bombs.
Antipersonnel bombs are most dangerous. When they explode, they evolve a shower of sharp
fragments of steel or plastic on the victims. They can fix the time to explode after some hours of
delivery. When they explode on a person, the removal of the fragments is a time consuming task. The
engineer who produces this kind of bomb clearly known about its danger. When he thinks morally he
does not want to be involved in producing them.
 However, for his involvement he may argue that if he does not do his job, someone else will be doing
the job. Doing job produces a steady income for his family.
 A chemical engineer who gets involved in the production of napalm (napalm is a jelly like petrol
substance used in incendiary bombs) argues that only the government must take necessary actions to
stop the production of napalms.
 Another engineer, who is a specialist in controlling and guiding missiles, says that he feels proud to
be able to help his country through his involvement in the defense industry. He also adds that there
should have not been any more world wars.
 A nuclear engineer knows very well about the danger of increasing nuclear arsenal. Arsenal is a place
where the weapons are being stored. He argued that he is working very hard to reduce the risk of
nuclear accidents.
From the above examples it is clear that all over the world talented engineers are engaged in the
weapons work. They should think morally, before getting involved in weapons production.
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11. What are the international rights listed by Donaldson?(NOV/DEC 2014)

Thomas Donaldson in his book”The ethics of International Business„ has listed the following as
the International rights:
The right to freedom of physical movement
The right to ownership of property
The right to freedom from torture
The right to a fair trial
The right to non-discriminatory treatment
The right to physical security
The right to freedom of speech and association
The right to minimal education
The right to political participation
The right to subsistence.
12. Explain the meaning of ‘moral leadership’. (NOV/DEC 2014)

-When the leader’s goals are not only permissible but also morally valuable, then it is known
as moral leadership.
-In other words, moral leadership means employing morally permissible means to stimulate
groups to move toward morally desirable ends.
13. Define ethical relativism (APR/MAY 2011)

Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture.
That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in
which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally
wrong in another.
14. What are the qualities of moral leadership? (APR/MAY 2011)

Integrity
Selfless service
Decision making
Personal values
15. What is code of conduct and mention its significance?(April/May 2018)

(OR)
Define code of conduct. (NOV/DEC 2016)
 A code of ethics provides a framework for ethical judgment for a professional.
 A code cannot be said as totally comprehensive and cover all ethical situations that an
engineer has to face.
 It serves only as a starting point for ethical decision-making.
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 A code expresses the circumstances to ethical conduct shared by the members of a

profession.
 It is also to be noted that ethical codes do not establish the new ethical principles.
 They repeat only the principles and standards that are already accepted as responsible
engineering practice.
 A code defines the roles and responsibilities of professionals.
16. What are the advantages of MNCs to host country? (April/May 2018)
Benefits to MNCs:
•Inexpensive labour
•Availability of natural resources
•Favourable tax conditions
•Fresh markets for products
Benefits to developing host countries:
•New jobs
•Greater pay and greater challenge
•Transfer of advanced technology
•Social benefits from sharing wealth
17. What are the demerits of MNCs to host country? (Nov/Dec 2018)
Besides business and social complications, there are several moral and ethical
problems arise because of these MNCs.
Some of the questions explaining the moral difficulties involved are:
1. Was this legal MNC business morally permissible?
2. Who benefits more and who losses more when MNC does ‘outsourcing’?
3. Are the host countries loss their resources ,control ever its own trade, and
political independence? In what ways? and how much?
18. What is mean by corporate social responsibility? (Nov/Dec 2018)

 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to a business practice that involves participating
in initiative that benefit society.
 Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically
and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce
and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.
19. Illustrate technology transfer with suitable examples? (MAY/JUNE 2013)

 Technology Transfer: Technology transfer is a process of changing the technology to a new
setting and implementing it.
 Technology includes hardware such as machines and installations as well as techniques such
as technical, organizational, and managerial skills & procedures.
 The transfer of technology may be done by governments, universities private voluntary
organizations, consulting firms and by multinational companies.
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20. State the most important ethical mistake made by the multinational corporation
which caused Bhopal gas plant disaster. (NOV/DEC 2010)
 The tanks used to store Methyl Iso-cyanate were overloaded to a tune of 75%.
 The emergency plant was also filled with a large amount of chemicals.
 The entire refrigeration unit had been shut down as a measure to reduce the cost and this led
to increase of temperatures to a higher level.
 One of the disappointed workers unscrewed a pressure gauge on a tank and inserted a
hosepipe into it, knowing that it would cause damage, but not to this extent.
 Scrubber has also been shut down.
 Flare tower was also not in an operating condition.
 Unfortunately there were no emergency drills or evacuation plants available.
PART-B
1) Discuss in detail about the moral and ethical issues involved in use of computers
(APR/MAY 2017)
(OR)
What is meant by Computer ethics? State and explain categories of ethical problems and the
unethical acts computer as instrument of unethical behaviour. What is meant by hacking?
(NOV/DEC 2017)
COMPUTER ETHICS
 Computers have become the technological backbone of our society.
 Their degree of sophistication, range of applications and sheer numbers continue to increase.
Through networks, they span the globe.
 If anything, it is more difficult to envisage the eventual impact of computers since they are not
limited to any one primary area of use comparable to a car's function in transportation.
 To evaluate and deal with these problems a new area of applied ethics called computer ethics
has sprung up.
 Computer ethics has special importance for the new groups of professionals emerging with
computer technology, for example, designers of computers, programmers, systems analysts,
and operators.
 To the extent that engineers design, manufacture, and apply computers, computer ethics is a
branch of engineering ethics.
 Power Relationships Computers dramatically increase the ability of centralized bureaucracies
to manage enormous quantities of data, involving multiple variables, and at astonishing speed.
Computers are powerful tools, which do not by themselves generate power shifts.
 They contribute to greater centralization or decentralization in so far as human decision-
makers so direct them.
 This is not to say that computers are entirely value-neutral. It is to say that moral issues about
power relationships tend to be nuanced and contextual. Below we list a few examples.
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 Job Elimination Computers have led and will continue to lead to elimination of some jobs.
 The employment practices have often been embraced from prudential motives to prevent a
public and employee backlash against introduction of computer technologies that eliminate
jobs, but moral considerations of human costs should be weighed even more heavily.
 Customer Relations There are also questions about public accountability of businesses using
computer-based services.
 It can be very difficult or relatively simple for a consumer to notice and correct computer
errors or computer-printed errors.
 Biased Software In addition to computer hardware, there is software, and programs can quite
easily be biased, just as can any form of communication or way of doing things.
 Stock Trading Program trading is the automatic, hands-off, computer trading of stocks,
futures, and options on the stock market.
 Attempts are under way to control this practice. Unrealistic Expectations Computer sales
people have the power to oversell "state-of-the-art" systems that are too large or sophisticated
for the intended purpose.
 They also may not even be ready for delivery; worse yet, the needed software may still be
under development.
 Political Power Politicians have always selectively disclosed their views. In a speech to a
conservative group, a candidate will tend to say very different things from what he or she tells
a liberal group.
 Different topics may be discussed, different emphases given, and inconsistent remarks made.
Computers make it possible to turn this political manoeuvre into a science.
 Computer from public records obtains the information about these groups of people. The
characterizations of the groups' attitudes and norms are computer-generated.
 Computer personalizes the letters sent to them. In addition, the mailing process is
computerized.
 With electronic accuracy and efficiency, politicians are enabled to have many different faces
when viewed by different groups.
Several moral issues are raised by this possible application of technology:
(1) Does such selective disclosure constitute deception?
(2) Does filtering the truth about a politician's views undermine the autonomy of voters in making
decisions?
(3) Since use of computers is expensive, is it fair that the rich have more extensive access to this
technology, or should equal-time laws for television be extended to computers?
Military Weapons The U.S.
 Department of Defense is supporting the creation of autonomous weapons that can be aimed
and fired by on-board computers that make all necessary decisions, including enemy
identification.
 Computer scientists and engineers are divided over the advisability of such a major step
toward automation of the battlefield.
 There is a dangerous instability in computerized deense systems even if they are working
perfectly.
 Let us assume then that all the nuclear warning software works without error, and that the
hardware is fail-safe.
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 Nevertheless, the combination of two such correctly functioning but opposing systems is
unstable.
 This is because secrecy prevents either system from knowing exactly what the other is doing,
which means that any input that could be interpreted as a danger signal must be responded to
by an increase in readiness on the receiving side.
The opposing side, which then steps up its readiness, and so on, in turn, monitors that readiness.
Property
The most troublesome issues about property and computers fall under two general headings. The
first is the use of computers in embezzlement and other forms of stealing money or financial
assets.
It is the most widely publicized form of computer crime and also the most morally clear-cut. The
second set of issues concerns the theft of software and information.
Here the issues are more complex
Embezzlement: Two factors make computers especially troublesome:
(1) Their speed and geographic coverage, which allows large numbers of people to be victimized,
(2) the difficulty of tracing the underlying transactions to apprehend the thieves.
This problem is compounded when the communication lines linking the computers involved cross
national boundaries.
Some of the most commonly discussed cases of computer abuse are instances of outright theft
and fraud, of which there are many forms:
1. Stealing or cheating by employees at work;
2. Stealing by non-employees or former employees;
3. Stealing from or cheating clients and consumers;
4. Violating contracts for computer sales or service;
5. Conspiring to use computer networks to engage in widespread fraud.
 Public interest has often been drawn to the glamorous capers of computer criminals. Enormous
sums of money have been involved.
 The amount for an average computer-related embezzlement is twenty times the amount stolen
in conventional embezzlement; many millions are often involved.
 Crime by computer has proved to be unusually inviting to many.
 The technology for preventing crime and catching criminals has lagged behind implementation
of new computer applications.
 Computer crime raises obvious moral concerns of honesty, integrity, and trust. It also forces a
rethinking of public attitudes about crime and its punishment.
 The potential for computer crime should enter significantly into the thinking of engineers who
design computers.
 In fact, protection against criminal abuse has become a major constraint for effective and
successful design of many computer systems and programs.
 For some time secret computer passwords have been used as a security feature. More recently
introduced, and still of limited effectiveness, is data encryption.
 This technique is widely employed to prevent theft from funds transfer systems. In data
encryption, messages are scrambled before transmission over communication lines and
unscrambled after reception according to secret codes.
 Such devices, of course, require special precautions in maintaining confidentiality and security,
and engineers have a major role to play in making recommendations in these areas.
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 Data and Software In the United States, computer hardware is protected by patent laws.
Software can be protected by copyright and trade secret laws. The latter permit employers to
 require their employees not divulge proprietary information.
Privacy
 Storage, retrieval, and transmission of information using computers as data processors has
revolutionized communication.
 Yet this very benefit poses moral threats to the right to privacy. By making more data available
to more people with more ease, computers make privacy more difficult to protect.
 Here we will discuss privacy and confidentiality for individuals, but the issues are similar for
corporations. There are reasons for privacy namely Inappropriate Access & Data Bank Errors.
Professional Issues
 Many of the issues in engineering ethics arise within the context of computer work. New
variations or new difficulties may be involved, often owing to the high degree of job complexity
and required technical proficiency introduced by computers. We provide some representative
examples below.
 Computer Failures can occur because of errors in hardware or software. Hardware errors do not
occur frequently, and when they do, they usually do so quite obviously.
 An exception was Intel's highly touted Pentium chip introduced in 1993. It produced very slight
and rare errors in floating point arithmetic.
 Perhaps more serious was the loss of confidence Intel suffered by not revealing the error before
it was detected by a user. Software errors are a different matter.
 Computer Implementation It should not be necessary to say so, but a changeover to a new
computer system should never be attempted without having the old system still operational.
Computer vendors who are too sure of their machines to recommend some redundancy during a
changeover display enough hubris for it to qualify as one of the seven deadly sins.
 Health Conditions Engineers who supervise computer personnel or design computer terminals
should check that ergonomic considerations are in effect to reduce back problems, provide wrist
support and good keyboard layouts to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, and offer good lighting
and flicker control.
2) Explain the role of engineers as consultant and expert witness (APR/MAY 2017)
(OR)
Discuss the ethical role of engineers as consultants with suitable examples? (NOV/DEC 2018)
(OR)
Discuss the ethical role of engineers as expert witness with suitable examples?
(NOV/DEC 2018)
(OR)
Justify Engineers as expert witness and Advisors with suitable examples? (APR/MAY2016)
 Consulting engineers work in private practice. Fees for the services they render, not by salaries
received from employers compensate them.
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 Because of this, they tend to have greater freedom to make decisions about the projects they
undertake. Yet their freedom is not absolute: They share with salaried engineers the need to
earn a living.
 Here we will raise questions in four areas—advertising, competitive bidding, contingency fees,
and provisions for resolution of disputes—which illustrate some of the special responsibilities
of consulting engineers.
 We will also note how in safety matters consulting engineers may have greater responsibility
than salaried engineers, corresponding to their greater freedom.
 Advertising Some corporate engineers are involved in advertising because they work in product
sales divisions.
 However, within corporations, advertising of services, job openings, and the corporate image
are left primarily to advertising executives and the personnel department.
 By contrast, consulting engineers are directly responsible for advertising their services, even
when they hire consultants to help them.
 Before 1976 Supreme Court decision, competitive advertising in engineering was considered a
moral issue and was banned by professional codes of ethics.
 It was also felt that competitive advertising caused friction among those in the field, lessened
their mutual respect, and damaged the profession's public image by placing engineering on a par
with purely money-cantered businesses.
However, the Supreme Court disagreed with that view. According to it‘s ruling, as well as other
rulings by the Federal Trade Commission, general bans on professional advertising are improper
restraints of competition.
They serve to keep prices for services higher than they might otherwise be, and they reduce public
awareness of the range of professional services available, particularly from new firms.
These rulings have shifted attention away from whether professional advertising as such is
acceptable toward whether an advertisement is honest. Deceptive advertising normally occurs
when products or services are made to look better than they actually are.
This can be done in many ways, including:
(1) by outright lies
(2) by half-truths
(3) through exaggeration
(4) by making false innuendos suggestions, or implications
(5) through obfuscation created by ambiguity vagueness, or incoherence
(6) through subliminal manipulation of the unconscious.
 Another way is to impress with performance data that is meaningless because it has no reference
standards.
 There are notorious difficulties in determining whether specific ads are deceptive or not. Clearly,
it is deceptive for a consulting firm to claim in a brochure that it played a major role in a well-
known project when it actually played a minor role.
 Engineers sometimes serve as consultants who provide expert testimony in adversarial or
potentially adversarial contexts.
 The focus may be on the past, as in explaining the causes of accidents, malfunctions, and other
events involving technology.
 Or the focus may be on the future, as in public planning, policy-making that involves technology,
and the potential value of patents.
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Expert Witnesses in the Courts

 Let us begin with the court system, either the plaintiff or the defense, usually in civil lawsuits
but also in criminal proceedings, may hire engineers.
 Some engineers serve only occasionally as expert witnesses, while others do so routinely and
become specialists in forensic engineering: the application of engineering skills within the
justice system.
 Testimony may concern a wide variety of cases: defective products, personal injury, property
damage, traffic accidents or airplane crashes.
 Typically, the main issue is who will be required to pay "compensatory damages" for injuries,
loss of property, or violation of rights.
 Their primary responsibility is to be objective in discovering the truth and communicating it
honestly.
 In particular, the role must be understood in terms of the aims of a (morally justified) legal
system, consistent with professional standards (as promulgated in codes of ethics).
 The legal system distinguishes between eye witnesses and expert witnesses. Eye witnesses
testify in matters of perceived facts.
 Whereas expert witnesses are permitted wider attitude in testifying on facts in their areas of
expertise, on interpreting facts, in commenting on the views of the opposing side's expert
witnesses, and in reporting on the professional standards especially the standard of care
applicable at the time of making a product or providing a service.
 The role of expert witnesses is to identify the truth about the causes of accidents.
 Frequently engineers are required to act as consultants and provide expert opinion and views in
many legal cases of the past events.
 They are required to explain the causes of accidents, malfunctions and other technological
behavior of structures, machines, and instruments, e.g., personal injury while using an instrument,
defective product, traffic accident, structure or building collapse, and damage to the property, are
some of the cases where testimonies are needed. The focus is on the past.
The engineers, who act as expert-witnesses, are likely to abuse their positions in the following
manners:
1. Hired Guns
Mostly lawyers hire engineers to serve the interest of their clients.
Lawyers are permitted and required to project the case in a way favorable to their clients.
But the engineers have obligations to thoroughly examine the events and demonstrate their
professional integrity to testify only the truth in the court. They do not serve the clients of the
lawyers directly.
The hired guns forward white lies and distortions, as demanded by the lawyers.
They even withhold the information or shade the fact, to favor their clients.
2. Money Bias
Consultants may be influenced or prejudiced for monitory considerations, gain reputation and
make a fortune.
3. Ego Bias
The assumption that the own side is innocent and the other side is guilty, is responsible for this
behavior.
An inordinate desire to serve one’s client and get name and fame is another reason for this bias.
4. Sympathy Bias
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Sympathy for the victim on the opposite side may upset the testimony.
The integrity of the consultants will keep these biases away from the justice.
The court also must obtain the balanced view of both sides, by examining the expert witnesses
of lawyers on both sides, to remove a probable bias.
Duties
 The expert-witness is required to exhibit the responsibility of confidentiality just as they do in the
consulting roles.
 They can not divulge the findings of the investigation to the opposite side, unless it is required by
the court of law.
 More important is that as witness they are not required to volunteer evidence favorable to the
opponent.
 They must answer questions truthfully, need not elaborate, and remain neutral until the details are
asked for further.
 They should be objective to discover the truth and communicate them honestly.
 The stand of the experts depends on the shared understanding created within the society.
 The legal system should be respected and at the same time, they should act in conformance with
the professional standards as obtained from the code of ethics.
Advisers in Planning and Policy-Making
 We now see the role of expert advisers in public policy-making and planning, a role played by
engineers as well as economists, sociologists, urban planners, and other professionals.
 Technology is always involved in decisions about public policy-making and public planning. In
policy-making, public officials and the general public need objective studies about the costs and
benefits of alternative systems of transportation, housing, energy use, land use, and national
defense.
 In planning, they need expert advice about the feasibility, risks, and benefits of particular
technological projects that affect local communities.
 For that reason, numerous laws and government policies have been adopted that require objective
studies before public funds are committed to projects.
 Large amounts of money, sometimes millions of dollars, are paid to engineering consultants to
obtain their best judgment about options.
 Technical Complexity and the Need for Assumptions The scale of public policy decisions can be
immense, with considerable resources, potential benefits, and uncertainties involved.
 A variety of assumptions must be made, including highly controversial ones. In looking to the
future there is usually a higher degree of uncertainty than in forensic investigations of past
failures. This invites each adversary in political controversies to accent assumptions and estimates
favorable to its case, all the while appearing to be in good faith.
 For example, with regard to energy decisions, some assumptions concern the extent of demands
for future energy, and hence assumptions about population increases and lifestyle.
 Other assumptions involve economic estimates about the projected costs of developing alternative
forms of energy.
 Still others involve political assumptions about the risks acceptable to the public. As a result,
clients will always pressure engineers to limit studies to assumptions favorable to them.
 Technical complexity contributes to moral complexity in an additional way. Forecasting studies
may be so complex and expensive that consumer groups and public officials may lack the
resources to check them for subtle biases.
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 Diffused Responsibility The usual sharing of responsibility within corporations is multiplied in

public policy-making.
Normative Models of Advisers
 Like engineers working in corporations, engineers who serve as planning advisers and policy
analysts have responsibilities both to their clients and to the general public.
 These responsibilities, as always, can conflict. We can distinguish three normative (value-laden)
models for how to balance these responsibilities.
 Hired Guns This model makes the obligation to clients paramount, if not exclusive. Studies
conform to clients' wishes, whatever they may be.
 Facts favorable to the client are dramatically highlighted, and unfavourable facts downplayed.
 Value-Neutral Analysts This model insists that engineers should be completely impartial. Not only
should they conscientiously avoid any taint of bias and favoritism, but they should avoid any form
of advocacy.
 Their role is to identify all options and analyze the factual implication of each option. If they
engage in weighing options, in particular by making cost-benefit analyses, they do so according to
value criteria that are stipulated by someone else and made explicit and overt.
 Value-Guided Advocates According to this model, engineering consultants may adopt partisan
views in controversial issues, but they remain honest and independent in their professional
judgment.
 Unlike value-neutral analysts, they understand that values are interwoven with facts, and they also
affirm the help provided by value-oriented technological studies.
 Unlike hired guns, value-guided advocates make their responsibility to the public paramount and
maintain honesty about both technical facts and the values that guide their studies
3. State the types of concern for environment by the engineers. Discuss the approaches to
resolve environmental problems. What do professional codes of ethics say about the
environment? (NOV/DEC 2014,2017)
Types of concern for environment

There are two types of concern for the environment they are
 health related concern
 Non health related concern
Health related concern:
Engineers can be concern for the environment when environmental pollution posses a direct and
clear threat to human health this is called health related concern for the environment.
Non health related concern:
Engineers can also be concern for the environment even when human wealth is not directly
affected .this concern is termed as non health-related concern for the environment.
Engineers concern for the environment:
While choosing a career or when taking up your new assignment or job every engineer should
ask himself the following ethical questions associated with the environment:
1. How does and to what extent a particular industry affect the environment?
2. How far such ill effects can be controlled physically and politically?
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3. What is the reasonable protective measures available for immediate implementation?

4. In what way I can be effective as an engineer in ensuring safe and clean environment?
5 what are my responsibilities in this regard?
6 preserving the environment and its non-human inhabitants be regarded as of value for its own
sake?
7. Do I have obligations for the future?
8. How are my applications to the Future to be balanced against my obligations to the present?
9. Do I belong to nature or does nature belongs to me?
10. If animals can suffer and feel pain like humans should I have moral standing?
What does professional codes of ethics see about the environment
Some of the professional codes of ethics regarding environment are given below
1. The courts of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Engineer should be committed to improving the environment by adherence to the principles of
sustainable development so as to enhance the quality of life of the general public.
2. The quotes of Institute of electrical and electronics engineers(IEEE)
Engineers have to accept the 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.
3 . Quotes of American Society of Mechanical Engineers(ASME)
Engineers shall consider environmental impact in the performance of the professional duties.
Approaches to resolve environmental problems
The two important temperatures that can applied to resolve environmental problems are:
1. Cost oblivious approach
2. Approach based on Cost benefit analysis
1.cost oblivious approach
 In this approach priority is given to the protection of environment than the cost of the
products designed by the engineers.
 This approach does not accept or tolerate any environmental degradation.
 Also this approach satisfies the concept of rights and duty ethics.
Drawback
This approach is difficult to sustain and enforcing a modern organised society.
2. Approach based on Cost benefit analysis
 In this approach the problem is analysed in terms of the benefits derived by reducing the
pollution and the cost required to solve the problem.
 In fact this approach is derived from the concept of utilitarianism.
 In other words the objective is not to achieve a completely clean environment but to
achieve and economically beneficial balance of pollution with the health or
environmental considerations.
Drawbacks
It is very difficult to determine the true cost of human life for the loss of species, also it is very
difficult accurately assess the cost and benefits.
Internationalicing the cost of environmental degradation
The cost of any product usually includes the direct labour cost, direct materials cost ,direct
expenses, factory expenses, administrative expenses and selling and distribution expenses.
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Other cost incurred due to numerous indirect factors such as the effects of pollution ,the
depletion of energy and raw materials, and social costs are not considered.
But in order to determine the true cost of the product all those cast should be Internationalized
i. e. added to the price.
Along with economists, the scientists, the lawyers and the politicians ,engineers how to play an
important role in finding acceptable mechanisms for pricing and releasing products.
It should be realised that the good engineering design process can provide the answer to protect
the environment without any edition of real cost.
Technology assessment
 Technology assessment refers to the studies on the social and Environmental effects of
Technology in various areas. The areas include nuclear war, healthcare, cashless trading via
bank card, pollution.
 Interview of economist Robert TheoBald, ingenious and extends to find the right answers to
the wrong questions. He also emphasized that the university curriculum should be based on the
finding right answers to the right questions.
 When engineers and scientists conduct experiments they should the information collected
through normative, conceptual and factual enquiries.
 As shown in the diagram engineer should use the funnel for distilling and applying knowledge to
design and build the engineering projects.
 The difficulties in technology assessment is to explore the extent of the effects and to prioritise
the possible adverse effects.
 Does it should be noted that engineers as social experiment or should do continuous monitoring
even after implementing the project so that to ensure safe and clean environment.
Technology assessment diagram
Philosophical views of nature

Do there are various views on Environment official brief four important views of it.
1. Sentient Centred ethics
 This view acknowledges the inherent worth of all sentient animals. Patient animals are those that
feel pain and pressure and have desires.
 Peter singer in his book animal Liberation, emphasizes that moral judgements must take into
account the effect of our actions on sensient animals.
 For example while constructing a dam or plant engineer should consider the impact on animals
living there.
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 According to Tom Regan, conscious creatures how incident work not only because they can feel
pleasure and pain comma but also because their subjects of experiences who form beliefs come
on memories come of preferences and can act purposefully.
 Both singer and Regan felt that dissentient animals need not to be treated in the identical way we
treat humans, but their interest should be weighed equally with human interest in making
decisions.
Biocentric ethics
This life centred ethics recognises that all living organisms as having inherent worth.
According to Albert schweitzer, all organisms have the river runs for life to survive and to
develop.
Ecocentric ethics
In contrast to the individualistic approaches of sentient centered and bio Centred ethics,
ecocentered ethics emphasizes inherent value in ecological systems.
According to the naturalist Aldo Leopold you think is right when it tends to preserve the
integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community.
Human centred environmental ethics
 Human centred ethics environmental ethics extends traditional ethics theories in the aspect of the
threats two human being presented by the destruction of nature.
 Virtue ethics draws attention to humility, appreciation of beauty, love and affection and gratitude
towards the world of nature.
 Write a text stresses that the fundamental rights to life and forces are right for living environment
in a particular period of time, when pollution and depletion of resources has reached dangerous
proportion.
 Duty ethics urges that the respect for human life implies more concerned for nature that has been
traditionally recognised.
 Utilitarianism stresses that human pleasures and self interest are linked to nature in so many
ways apart from the stage the engineering products are produced from natural resources.
4.Describe in detail global issues of weapon development? (APR/MAY 2016)
 It is a fact that today’s trillion-dollar defense industry had its beginnings only after World War II.
There had been industrialized armaments production prior to and during the first great conflict of
the 20th century, but on a small scale.
 It was the Nazi rise to power and the global Allied response to it that gave weapons
manufacturers their cue. The ensuing Cold War between East and West, led by the U.S. and
Soviet superpowers, guaranteed the expansion of arms production for decades to come.
 The fact of continual widespread war during the next half century meant that the armaments
industry itself would globalize and demand rapid technological development.
 This happened not only in the United States, the Soviet Union (later the Russian Federation) and
Western Europe but also in China, India, Israel, South Africa and Brazil.
 Despite the early 21st century’s worldwide economic disruption, the 2009 report from the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) put annual worldwide military
expenditure at $1.531 trillion—up 49 percent since 2000.
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A COMPLEX ISSUE
 In a world that yearns for disarmament and peace, warfare has become a globalized problem.
The defense industry is a key element in the equation, answering the demands of military
establishments and various governments that need jobs creation and the growth of defense
related exports to further domestic prosperity.
 This raises fundamental moral questions, though not for the first time. Following World War II,
American general Omar Bradley summarized the moral deficit that had emerged after that
conflict.
 In 1948 he said, “The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience.
Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know
about peace, more about killing than we know about living.”
 Despite Bradley’s perceptive analysis, a wartime colleague, U.S. president Dwight D.
Eisenhower (1953–61), oversaw the phenomenal postwar growth and development of the
American military-industrial complex.
 Yet when it came time to step down from office, he too made a speech in which he warned
about the dangers inherent in the relentless pursuit of supremacy by military-industrial means.
 He said, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted
influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
 The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Today the
military-industrial complex is far more powerful and influential than Eisenhower could have
imagined. SIPRI calculates the U.S. share of 2009 armaments purchases at 43 percent of the
world’s total.
 China comes a distant second at 6.6 percent! The reason usually given is that the United States
has obligations worldwide, whereas other nations do not.
 And while there have been ups and downs in spending and development over the past several
decades, the future of the industry now seems to depend on five factors. According to military
and defense analyst Richard Bitzinger, they are the hierarchical nature of the global arms
industry, defense spending, the global arms market, the globalization of armaments production,
and the emerging information technologies–based revolution in military affairs.
 Let’s look at them individually and assess the likelihood of a dramatic shift from involvement
in globalized arms production to disarmament and universal peace.
TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
The introduction of the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk drones into the Iraq
/Afghanistan/Pakistan theatre has changed the face of conflict.
There are now thousands of such drones in operation. Often launched from distant air bases and
guided by operators in faraway facilities, these weapons are really complete systems. According
to the U.S.
Air Force, “the MQ-1B Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, unmanned aircraft
system.
A fully operational system consists of four aircraft (with sensors and weapons), a ground control
station, a Predator Primary Satellite Link, and spare equipment along with operations and
maintenance crews for deployed 24-hour operations.”
The Reaper is a similar aircraft, while the larger Global Hawk is “a high-altitude, long-endurance
unmanned aircraft system with an integrated sensor suite that provides intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance, or ISR, capability worldwide.”
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There have been a number of significant and controversial treaties to try and control nuclear
weapons:
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
 The NPT was ratified in 1975. It has been ratified by 187 countries, more than any other arms
limitation and disarmament agreement.
 The objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote co-
operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear
disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
 Some 180+ countries thus agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for the nuclear
powers to adhere to treaties that would have the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.
 However, as others have put more bluntly, this treaty was to prevent new members from joining
the nuclear club.
The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty

 The ABM Treaty, signed in 1972, prohibits the use of defensive systems that might give an
advantage to one side in a nuclear war.
 The Mutually Assured Destruction scenario was invoked here to assure that each nation had
enough weapons to survive a nuclear attack and therefore have the ability to annihilate the other.
 Their rationale was that as long as both sides remained defenceless, in this respect, neither country
would dare attack the other.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The CTBT was designed to prevent testing of nuclear weapons and hence reduce the chance of an
arms race.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, START I and START II
START I and II were designed to reduce the weapons that Russia and the US have.
All four of these have been under pressure for a few years:
The NPT is seen by some critics as a means for the five nuclear powers at that time to retain their
weapons while telling others not to develop them, and thus allow these five to remain militarily
more powerful than other nations.
This is feared to then provide a pretext for other countries to develop their own nuclear weapons.
For example,
o India, Pakistan, Israel and Cuba did not sign the NPT.
o India and Pakistan went nuclear in 1998.
o Israel is known to have nuclear capabilities too.
o North Korea went nuclear in 2006. (More on this below.)
 The US is currently looking at developing an expensive national missile defense system, which
goes against the ABM treaty. [Since writing this page initially, the U.S. has withdrawn from the
ABM Treaty.]Although President Clinton had signed it in 1995, the US Senate rejected the CTBT
in 1999.
 Other countries such as China and Iran are also balking on the idea, using the excuses of U.S.
policies and costs, for example, as reported by Reuters (March 7, 2002).
 Russia initially stalled on START II because of the USA’s national missile defense program.
However, they finally endorsed the treaty in April 2000, but warned that if the US still pursues its
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missile defence program, which goes against the ABM treaty, then Russia would pull out of the
arms negotiations.
5) Explain in detail the various advantages and disadvantages of MNCs. (NOV/DEC 2016)
Organizations who have established business in more than one country, are called multinational
corporation. The headquarters are in the home country and the business is extended in many host
countries.
 The Western organizations doing business in the less-economically developed (developing
and overpopulated) countries gain the advantage of inexpensive labor, availability of natural
resources, conducive-tax atmosphere, and virgin market for the products.
 At the same time, the developing countries are also benefited by fresh job opportunities, jobs with
higher remuneration and challenges, transfer of technology, and several social benefits by the
wealth developed. But this happens invariably with some social and cultural disturbance.
 Loss of jobs for the home country, and loss or exploitation of natural resources, political instability
for the host countries are some of the threats of globalization.
The ten international rights to be taken care of, in this context are:
1. Right of freedom of physical movement of people
2. Right of ownership of properties
3. Freedom from torture
4. Right to fair trial on the products
5. Freedom from discrimination on the basis of race or sex.
If such discrimination against women or minorities is prevalent in the host country, the MNC will
be compelled to accept. MNCs may opt to quit that country if the human rights violations are
severe. Physical security. Use of safety gadgets have to be supplied to the workers even if the laws
of the host country do not suggest such measures.
6. Freedom of speech and forming association
7. Right to have a minimum education
8. Right to political participation
9. Right to live and exist (i.e., coexistence). The individual liberty and sanctity of the human
life are to be respected by all societies.
MNCs and Morality
 The economic and environmental conditions of the home and host countries may vary. But the
multinational institutions have to adopt appropriate measures not to disturb or dislocate the social
and living conditions and cultures of the home countries.
A few principles are enlisted here:
MNC should respect the basic human rights of the people of the host countries.
 The activities of the MNC should give economic and transfer technical benefits, and implement
welfare measures of the workers of the host countries.
 The business practices of the multinational organisations should improve and promote morally
justified institutions in the host countries.
 The multinationals must respect the laws and political set up, besides cultures and promote the
Cultures of the host countries.
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 The multinational organisations should provide fair remuneration to the employees of the host
countries.
 If the remuneration is high as that of home country, this may create tensions and if it is too low
it will lead to exploitation.
 Multinational institutions should provide necessary safety for the workers when they are
engaged in hazardous activities and ‘informed consent’ should be obtained from them.
 Adequate compensation should be paid to them for the additional risks undertaken.
Benefits to MNCs:
• Inexpensive labour
• Availability of natural resources
• Favourable tax conditions
• Fresh markets for products
Benefits to developing host countries:
• New jobs
• Greater pay and greater challenge
• Transfer of advanced technology
• Social benefits from sharing wealth
Disadvantages
Besides business and social complications, there are several moral and ethical
problems arise because of these MNCs.
Some of the questions explaining the moral difficulties involved are:
4. Was this legal MNC business morally permissible?
5. Who benefits more and who losses more when MNC does ‘outsourcing’?
6. Are the host countries loss their resources ,control ever its own trade, and
political independence? In what ways? and how much?
7. Which standards should engineers follow when working in foreign countries?
8. What are the responsibilities of enigeering MNCs doing business in under
developed and developing countries?
9. What are the moral responsibilities of enigeers working in foreign countries?
6) Describe the scope and functions of corporate responsibility. (NOV/DEC 2016)
MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS
On December 3, 1984, the operators of Union Carbide's plant in Bhopal, India, became alarmed by
 a leak and overheating in a storage tank.
 The tank contained methyl isocyanate, a toxic ingredient used in pesticides.
 Within an hour the leak exploded in a gush that sent 40 tons of deadly gas into the atmosphere.
The result was the worst industrial accident in history: 2500 deaths within a few days, 10,000
permanently disabled, and 100,000 others injured.
 Ten years later the list of victims rose to 4,000 to 7,000 deaths, with claims of injuries amounting
to 600,000. Compensation was progressing at snail's pace for puny amounts while much of the
$470 million settlement reached in court is spent on lawyers and government bureaucracy
associated with the case.
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 Multinational corporations do extensive business in more than one country. For example, Union
 Carbide in 1984 operated in 37 "host countries" in addition to its "home country," the United
States, and it was only a medium-sized "giant" corporation, ranking thirty-fifth in size among U.S.
corporations.
 Generally multinationals establish foreign subsidiaries, such as Union Carbide of India, retaining
51 percent of the stock and allowing investors of the host country to own the remainder, but some
countries restrict the parent company in the United States to 49 percent ownership.
 The benefits to U.S. companies of doing business in less economically developed countries are
clear: inexpensive labor, availability of natural resources, favourable tax arrangements, and fresh
markets for products. The benefits to the participants in developing countries are equally clear:
new jobs, jobs with higher pay and greater challenge, transfer of advanced technology, and an
array of social benefits from sharing wealth.
Three Senses of "Relative" Values
There are many versions of relativism, depending on the way in which values are supposed to be
relative. Here are three versions.
1.Ethical Relativism:
Actions are morally right within a particular society when law, custom, or other conventions of
that society approved by law or custom. They are wrong when they violate laws or customs .
This view is considered false, because it implies absurdities,.
Also it justifies genocide and other ridicules behaviors.
2.Descriptive Relativism:
In Fact, value beliefs, and attitudes differ from culture to culture.The first version, ethical
relativism, is false since it implies absurdities.
The second version, descriptive relativism, is obviously true.
It merely says there are differences between the moral beliefs and attitudes of various cultures.
3.Moral relationalism :
Essentially it is a reminder that moral judgments are contextual: Relationalism allows and insists
that the customs of cultures are often morally pertinent considerations that require us to adjust
moral judgments and conduct. Relationalism is important in multinational engineering contexts
involving different cultural conventions. Relationalism, we might add, is also consistent with
ethical pluralism, the view that there is more than one justifiable moral perspective.
"When in Rome"
Which standards should guide engineers' conduct when working in foreign countries? Ethical
relativism supports the maxim, "When in Rome do as the Romans do." That is, it would have us
believe there is no real problem with following the conventions dominant in the local area.
International Rights
A human right, by definition, is a moral entitlement that places obligations on other people to treat
one with dignity and respect. If it makes sense at all, it makes sense across cultures.
The Declaration of Independence, with its assertion that all people have rights to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness, recognizes and embeds that moral concept in law. But this legal r
ecognition of the idea of human rights does not create those rights. The rights exist by virtue of the
moral status of all people, including people living in countries that do not yet recognize those
rights.Donaldson suggests there are ten such international rights
1 The right to freedom of physical movement
2 The right to ownership of property
3 The right to freedom from torture
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4 The right to a fair trial

5 The right to nondiscriminatory treatment
6 The right to physical security
7 The right to freedom of speech and association
8 The right to minimal education
9 The right to political participation
10 The right to subsistence
 These are human rights; as such they place restrictions on how multinational corporations may act
in other societies, even when those societies do not recognize the rights in their laws and customs.
 Promoting morally ju st measures more fully, the business activities of multinational corporations
must do more overall good than bad, which means helping the country's overall economy and its
workers, rather than benefiting a few corrupt leaders in oppressive regimes.
 Not only must they pay their fair share of taxes, but also they must make sure the products they
manufacture or distribute are not causing easily preventable harms.
 An example, consider the issue of worker safety in companies that manufacture hazardous
chemicals. When is it permissible for the United States to transfer dangerous technology like
asbestos production to another country and then simply adopt that country's safety laws? Workers
have the right to informed consent. Even if the host country does not recognize that right,
corporations are required to inform workers, in language they can understand, of the dangers of
asbestos. That is a necessary, but not sufficient condition.
 Workers may be so desperate for income to feed their families that they will work under almost
any con-ditions. Corporations must eliminate great risks when they can while still making a
reasonable profit. They must also pay workers for the extra risks they undertake. Exactly what
this means is a matter of morally good judgment and negotiation.
 Technology Transfer and Appropriate Technology
 Technology transfer is the process of moving technology to a novel setting and implementing it t
here; Technology includes both hardware (machines and installations) and technique (technical,
organizational, and managerial skills and procedures). A novel setting is any situation containing
at least one new variable relevant to the success or failure of a given technology.
 In most instances, the transfer of technology from a familiar to a new environment is a complex
process. The technology being transferred may be one that originally evolved over a period of
time and is now being introduced as a ready-made, completely new entity into a different setting.
Discerning how the new set-dug differs from familiar contexts requires the imaginative and
cautious vision of "cross-cultural social experimenters."
 The expression appropriate technology is widely used, but with a variety of meanings. We use it in
a generic sense to refer to identification, transfer, and implementation of the most suitable
technology for a new set of conditions. Typically the conditions include social factors that go
beyond routine economic and technical engineering constraints. Identifying them requires
attention to an array of human values and needs that may influence how a technology affects the
novel situation.
 As examples, we may cite the introduction of agricultural machines and long distance telephones.
A country with many poor farmers can make better immediate use of small, single- or two-wheel
tractors that can serve as motorized ploughs, to pull wagons or to drive pumps, than it can of huge
diesel tractors that require collectivized or agribusiness-style farming.
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10) Explain about the Global Issues which have impact on business: (APR/MAY 2015)
Engineering as social experimenters, they should have the awareness about global issues in order
to deal various aspects of professional interactions.
1. Growing Urban Population
2. Global Warming
3. Demographic Changes
4. Emerging Markets Gain Power
5. Advances in Technology
Growing Urban Population
 The United Nations predicts that urban populations will grow by 72% in 2050. This growth
will mainly happen in African and Asian countries and the rural population will fuel this
growth.
 In developed countries, current infrastructure will not be enough to keep up with this growth
and in emerging economies new cities will form.
 Cisco believes that cities will want to use data and cloud technology to help promote efficient
city management and communication.
 Therefore Cisco is positioning itself for this growth opportunity.
 The article identified two implications as a result of rapid urban growth. The first implication
is that megacities (cities with more than 10 million residents) will have more influence on
nations due to their size and constituent voting power.
 The second is that as these cities grow there will be a greater demand for resources to build
infrastructure, educate residence, provide security and promote employment opportunities.
Global Warming
 Companies have noticed that the climate is changing because of the rise in extreme weather
and sea levels.
 This change is making it harder for traditional farming and creating a greater demand of
resources. Companies are already thinking about responses to this trend. For example, Coca-
Cola sees water scarcity in the future as a threat to its sustainability.
 This threat has caused Coca-Cola to initiate an initiative to restore the US watershed by
returning water to the National Forest System. Weather changes and population growth both
drive resource scarcity.
 The National Intelligence Council predicts that by 2030 we’ll need 50% more energy, 40%
more water and 35% more food.
 Due to these changes we are likely to see an increase in regulation directed towards
conservation and sustainability.
 We should also see an increase in conflicts around the world as access to resources is
decreased. These changes will make securing resources through collaboration all the more
fundamental and we could also see new industries being developed and existing ones
transforming.
Demographic Changes
 Populations are growing older in developed countries while other countries are experiencing
an increase in their overall growth rate.
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 This change will affect the labor force making it more difficult for companies to acquire talent
in developed countries.
 Almost two-thirds of CEOs are concerned that there are not enough skilled labors to meet
demand.
 Over 90% of companies are changing the way they attract and retain employees.
 The implications of this demographic change are that governments may have to increase taxes
in order to care for the elderly and companies may have to revise their business models due to
an increase in pension costs.
 Workers may also have to improve their skills or learn new ones in order to stay competitive
in the job market.
Emerging Markets Gain Power
 Over the past few hundred years, the West has been the economic powerhouse.
 Now developing countries, in particular “BRIC” countries, are gaining more influence due to
increases in population, exports, and innovation
 As these countries trade and invest within themselves, we are likely to see them grow at a
more rapid rate.
 India and China could see large increases in their middle classes. This poses a great
opportunity for car manufactures.
 Three-fourths of Americans own vehicles while only about 2% in India and 6% in China own
at least one vehicle.
 This shift in economic power may create more competition on a global scale while reducing
the influence of Western markets.
 This could make talent and businesses seek opportunities abroad placing established markets
at a disadvantage for growth.
 Western governments may notice large companies leaving to settle in emerging markets in
order to gain a tax break.
 This could cause governments to lower taxes in order to keep large companies from moving
abroad.
Advances in Technology
 New technological developments are creating totally new industries. These breakthroughs
have come from advances in nanotechnology, research and development, and mobile
technology. Companies are tackling with these changes by attempting to anticipate how they
will affect consumer trends.
For example, Amazon is seeking approval from the FAA to deploy a drone delivery system
and Ogranovo is creating 3D livers in a lab. Both of these advances are different but could
equally have a large impact on their industries.
 The implications for advances in technology are that there will be fewer barriers for virtual
businesses, thus creating more competition; and the ability to leverage and use this technology
will be a necessity instead of just an advantage.
10.Discuss the ethical role of engineers in weapon development with suitable examples.
(APR/MAY 2018)
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WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT
 The military of defences industry uses most of the world’s latest technological activity.
 The entire world spends much of its money in the new development of military
weapons.
 Engineers involve either directly or indirectly in designing and developing of these new
weapons.
 A weapon is an instrument used for the purpose of causing harm or damage to people,
animals or structures. Weapons are used in hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in
combat and range from simple implements like clubs and spears to complicated modern
machines such as intercontinental ballistic missiles. One who possesses or carries a
weapon is said to be armed.
 In a broader context weapons include anything used to gain an advantage over an
adversary or to place them at a disadvantage. Examples include the use of sieges, tactics,
and psychological weapons which reduce the morale of an enemy
Types of weapons used in worldwide:

 Personal weapons (or small arms) - designed to be used by a single person.
 Hunting weapon - primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport
 Infantry support weapons - larger than personal weapons, requiring two or more to
operate correctly
 Fortification weapons - mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within a
fortification.
 Mountain weapons - for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain.
 Vehicle weapons - to be mounted on any type of military vehicle.
 Railway weapons - designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.
 Aircraft weapons - carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other
aerial vehicle.
 Naval weapons - mounted on ships and submarines.
 Space weapons - are designed to be used in or launched from space.
Role of engineers in defense industry
There are several reasons for an engineer to join the military services
 The first and foremost reason is that of Patriotism introduction interest latest can be
threats or compulsion from the government or the rule of the country.
 There are also several reasons for an engineer to reduce the war work.
 because fundamentally the purpose of Designing war weapons used to kill human beings.
 Therefore many reasonable engineers feel that the activity of weapons development as
unethical.
 Every engineer has to decide by examining his or her own conscience whether to work or
not working defence related industries.
Importance of engineers in defence industry
 Defence industry is one of the areas which provide number of jobs opportunities to
engineers.
 engineers are capable of innovating and developing new weapons.
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 Weapons are designed for one purpose to kill human beings.

 On the one hand many of the rational engineers feel that they cannot work on designing
weapons which are ultimately used to kill the human beings.
 Even though they are not the ultimate uses of these weapons, they find it morally
unacceptable to work on such areas.
 And other hand similar morally responsible engineers feel that working in defence
industry is ethical because they feel it as a honour to work for their Nation / government.
 In fact the about two different views about working in defence industry or will justified
by various ethical theories.
 Also engineer should not be attracted by incentives and advancement that are being
offered in the defensive Industries, they must have the potential judgements to serve in
defence work that would Paradise the human community.
The engineers involvement in weapons work
 Engineers who have engaged themselves in manufacturing of War weapons and anti
personnel bombs, have developed compromising attitudes about their involvement, they
are aware of consequences of War weapons.
 Sometimes engineers are forced to involve in weapons work for their survival and
livelihood of their family members.
 Does every engineer who accepts job in a war related industry should seriously
concerned his or her motives in doing so.
 Shooting morally before getting involved in weapons protection.
Defense industry problems
 Many nations give privileges to Defense industry without even thinking on serious
problems that arise in large military build-ups. Some of the problems are
 The problem of waste and cost overruns is a major one in the defense industry.
 problem faced by the defense industry is the technology creep.
 The technology creep refers to the development of new weapons, such as the cruise
missile, can change diplomatic arrangements even as they are being negotiated.
 Does it affects the political stability of a country.
 Secrecy creates problems for the defense industry in the secrets of plant funding where
lead to contractors, then it may lead to high cost and poor quality of Defense materials
and weapons.
 many countries allocate funds for the defense sector than that of the Other public welfare
schemes.
 In a nutshell, engineer should examine both his Individual conscience and the social and
potential issues of weapons Technology before involving in the weapons development.
11.Explain about the types of weapons and its working principles.
WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT
A weapon is an instrument used for the purpose of causing harm or damage to people,
animals or structures. Weapons are used in hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat
25
and range from simple implements like clubs and spears to com plicated modern machines such
as intercontinental ballistic missiles. One who possesses or carries a weapon is said to be armed.
In a broader context weapons include anything used to gain an advantage over an
adversary or to place them at a disadvantage. Examples include the use of sieges, tactics, and
psychological weapons which reduce the morale of an enemy
Types of weapons used in worldwide:

 Personal weapons (or small arms) - designed to be used by a single person.
 Hunting weapon - primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport
 Infantry support weapons - larger than personal weapons, requiring two or more to operate
correctly.
 Fortification weapons - mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within a
fortification.
 Mountain weapons - for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain.
 Vehicle weapons - to be mounted on any type of military vehicle.
 Railway weapons - designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.
 Aircraft weapons - carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other aerial
vehicle.
 Naval weapons - mounted on ships and submarines.
 Space weapons - are designed to be used in or launched from space.
the construction of the weapon and principle of operation
 Antimatter weapons (theoretical) would combine matter and antimatter to cause a powerful
explosion.
 Archery weapons operate by using a tensioned string to launch a projectile.
 Artillery are capable of launching heavy projectiles over long distances.
 Biological weapons spread biological agents, causing disease or infection.
 Chemical weapons, poisoning and causing reactions.
 Energy weapons rely on concentrating forms of energy to attack, such as lasers or sonic
attack
 Explosive weapons use a physical explosion to create blast concussion or spread shrapnel.
 Firearms use a chemical charge to launch projectiles.
 Improvised weapons are common objects, reused as weapons.
 Incendiary weapons cause damage by fire.
 Non-lethal weapons are designed to subdue without killing.
 Magnetic weapons use magnetic fields to propel projectiles, or to focus particle beams.
 Melee weapons operate as physical extensions of the user's body and directly impact their
target.
 Missiles are rockets which are guided to their target after launch. (Also a general term for
projectile weapons).
 Nuclear weapons use radioactive materials to create nuclear fission and/or nuclear fusion
detonations.
 Primitive weapons make little or no use of technological or industrial elements.
 Ranged weapons (unlike Mêlée weapons), target a distant object or person.
 Rockets use chemical propellant to accelerate a projectile
 Suicide weapons exploit the willingness of their operator to not survive the attack.
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 Trojan weapons appear on face value to be gifts, though the intent is to in some way to harm
the recipient.
Type of target the weapon is designed to attack
 Anti-aircraft weapons target missiles and aerial vehicles in flight.
 Anti-fortification weapons are designed to target enemy installations.
 Anti-personnel weapons are designed to attack people, either individually or in
numbers.
 Anti-radiation weapons target sources of electronic radiation, particularly radar
emitters.
 Anti-satellite weapons target orbiting satellites.
 Anti-ship weapons target ships and vessels on water.
 Anti-submarine weapons target submarines and other underwater targets.
 Anti-tank weapons are designed to defeat armored targets.
 Area denial weapons target territory, making it unsafe or unsuitable for enemy use or
travel.
 Hunting weapons are civilian weapons used to hunt animals.
11.Discuss the ethical role of engineers in consulting engineer with suitable examples.
(APR/MAY 2018)
Engineers as Consultants
 Consulting engineer all persons who give expert advice in engineering, business, law etc.
 Consulting Engineers generally exercise their consulting activities as independent. They are
paid for their services by fees ,not by salaries.
 Since they are the sole employer for their practice, before they have greater freedom than
most salaried engineers to make decisions about the projects.
 Corresponding to their greater freedom, the Consulting Engineers should also deal with your
why the variety of moral concerns than salaried engineers.
Some of the responsibilities of Consulting Engineers are in the following areas
1 advertising
2 contingency fees
3competitive bidding
4 safety and client needs
5 provisions for resolution of disputes
1.Advertising
 Many companies seek help of the Consulting Engineers for advertising to promote and to
improve sales of their products.
 Consulting Engineers are responsible for advertising properly their services.
 SR consultant, engineer should not released misleading advertisements on endorse false claims
of a product.
27
 This experience that competitive advertising has caused friction among engineers, reduced their
mutual respect come and damage the profession's public image .
 Generally advertising happens when products / services are made to look better than they
actually are.
The misleading advertising can be achieved by many ways .they are
1.by openly telling lies
2 by telling half truths
3 by making wrong reference or suggestions
4 through exaggerations
5 through the confusion deliberately created by ambiguity or weakness
2.Competitive Bidding
 Competitive bidding means the process of offering of prices at an auction or in business to
achieve something.
 In other words it is the process of completing for projects on the basis of submitting priced
proposals.
 Negative aspect of competitive bidding
 It was considered that permitting competitive bidding in some engineering areas might invite few
unethical results.
 For example may compromise the desired result of safety and quality.
 In the case of high beats over resigning or padding maybe resulted.
 The burning of competitive bidding by engineers firms coma have raised many suspicious
questions in the minds of clients. Some of the questions are
 how to choose among many options?
 What are the criteria for the selection?
 Selection is based on the proven qualifications, then how qualifications are to be determined?
3.Contingency Fees
 Consulting Engineers should be paid the consultancy fees honestly unfairly for their professional
competence.
 According to the code of NSPE" shall not request, propose or accept a professional Commission
on a contingent basis under circumstances in which his professional judgment may be
compromised ,or provision is used as a device for promoting or securing a professional
Commission".
 Contingency fees or commissions can be paid only for those consultant engineers who succeed in
profiting are saving the client money.
 DYFI maybe area and argued amount Oriya fixed percentage of the savings to be realized
 Visa consultants do not succeed, they will not be paid any fees.
 It is obvious that under contingency fees arrangements them consultants judgments or biased.
 For example, the prospects of winning the fee may tempt an architect consultant to specify
inferior materials design concepts to reduce construction costs.
 Contingency fees arrangement would help consulting Engineers to find imaginative and
responsibility of saving cost to the Client or the public.
4.Safety and Client Needs
 Since the Consulting Engineers enjoy greater freedom than the salaried engineers than food they
have great responsibility in making concerning safety.
28
 Most of the times Consulting Engineers are offered only projects.

 In a 'design only projects' the consultants contracts only to design the project, not to have any
other roles even a supervisory work.
 Sometimes the design only projects are problematic because of difficulties encountered in
implementing the consultant's design.
 Improper implementation of design may cause unwilling consequences.
 Does on site inspection by the consultant who designed the project is very much essential to
complete the project successfully.
 Does even the consultant is contractor only for the design of the project, Consulting Engineers
should have some minimal more responsibilities such as doing occasional on-site inspections
,that reach beyond the legal responsibilities specified in the contract.
]5.Provision for resolution of disputes
 Since the large Engineering projects require responsibilities from different levels within the
organizations representing owner ,the Consulting Engineers, and the construction company,
therefore it is obvious that the there may be chances for overlapping responsibilities, misplaced
control, indecision, delays and inability to solve disputes quickly.
 Also in recent times, filling of legitimate in cases against the Consulting Engineers has increased
considerably.
 Since litigation is time consuming, costly, and laborious process, therefore the Consulting
Engineers should be prepared to have contractual provisions to resolve conflicts.
29

Technology Transfer: Technology Transfer Is A Process of Changing The Technology To A New Setting

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GE6075-PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN ENGINEERING

1. What is meant by Technology Transfer? (NOV/DEC 2017)

2. Point out the responsibilities of Consulting Engineers. (NOV/DEC 2017)

3. How is corporate social responsibility practised (APR/MAY 2017)

4. What is moral leadership? (APR/MAY 2016)

5. What is meant globalization? (APR/MAY 2016)

6. What is meant by computer ethics? (NOV/DEC 2016)

8.What do you understand by business ethics. ? (APR/MAY 2016)

10. Can an engineer refuse to engage in a weapons development program - Justify?

11. What are the international rights listed by Donaldson?(NOV/DEC 2014)

12. Explain the meaning of ‘moral leadership’. (NOV/DEC 2014)

13. Define ethical relativism (APR/MAY 2011)

14. What are the qualities of moral leadership? (APR/MAY 2011)

15. What is code of conduct and mention its significance?(April/May 2018)

 A code expresses the circumstances to ethical conduct shared by the members of a

18. What is mean by corporate social responsibility? (Nov/Dec 2018)

19. Illustrate technology transfer with suitable examples? (MAY/JUNE 2013)

Expert Witnesses in the Courts

 Diffused Responsibility The usual sharing of responsibility within corporations is multiplied in

Types of concern for environment

3. What is the reasonable protective measures available for immediate implementation?

Philosophical views of nature

4.Describe in detail global issues of weapon development? (APR/MAY 2016)

The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty

6) Describe the scope and functions of corporate responsibility. (NOV/DEC 2016)

4 The right to a fair trial

Types of weapons used in worldwide:

 Weapons are designed for one purpose to kill human beings.

11.Explain about the types of weapons and its working principles.

Types of weapons used in worldwide:

 Most of the times Consulting Engineers are offered only projects.

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