Codes of ethics

LECTURE 4
Class Activity
Analyze popular inventions to determine whom
they are intended to benefit, who has access to
them, who might be harmed by them, and who is
profiting by them. Then re-imagine the
inventions in a way that they would do more
good for humanity
Code of Ethics
Safety
Fitness for duty
Attendance Report
Work Place Harassments and Discrimination
Workplace Violence
Weapons at workplace
Protection and proper use of company Assests
Code of Ethics
Computer system security
Social Media
Fair dealing
Bribery
Confidential information
What is “Code of Ethics”??
Codes of ethics
Importance of codes:
◦ State the moral responsibilities as seen by the profession

◦ Support the freedom to perform these responsibilities

◦ Express collective commitment to ethics

Serving and protecting the public.
Engineering involves advanced expertise that professionals have and
the public lacks.

A code of ethics functions as a commitment by the profession as a

whole that, engineers will serve the public health, safety, and welfare.

In one way or another, the remaining functions of codes, all

contribute to this primary function
Guidance.
Codes provide helpful guidance by articulating the main
obligations of engineers.
Codes offer mostly general guidance and identify primary
responsibilities.
More specific directions may be given in supplementary
statements or guidelines, which tell how to apply the code
Shared standards
The diversity of moral viewpoints among individual engineers makes
it essential that professions establish explicit standards.

In this way, the public is assured of a standard of excellence on which

it can depend, and professionals are provided a fair playing field in
competing for clients.
Support for responsible professionals.
Codes give positive support to professionals seeking to act ethically.
A publicly proclaimed code allows an engineer, under pressure to act
unethically, to say: “I am bound by the code of ethics of my profession,
which states that . . .” This by itself gives engineers some group backing in
taking stands on moral issues.
Moreover, codes can potentially serve as legal support for engineers
criticized for living up to work-related professional obligations.
Education and mutual understanding.
Codes can be used by professional societies and in the classroom to
prompt discussion and reflection on moral issues.
Codes encourage a shared understanding among professionals, the
public, and government organizations about the moral responsibilities
of engineers.
 Deterrence and discipline

Codes can also serve as the formal basis for investigating unethical
conduct. Where such investigation is possible, a deterrent for immoral
behavior is thereby provided. Such an investigation generally requires
paralegal proceedings designed to get at the truth about a given charge
without violating the personal rights of those being investigated.
Contributing to the profession’s image.
Codes can present a positive image to the public of an ethically
committed profession. Where necessary, the image can help engineers
more effectively serve the public.
It can also win greater powers of self regulation for the profession
itself, while lessening the demand for more government regulation.
The reputation of a profession like the reputation of an individual
professional or a corporation, is essential in sustaining the trust of the
public
 Inspiration
Because codes express a profession’s collective commitment to ethics, they
provide a positive stimulus (motivation) for ethical conduct.

In a powerful way, they voice what it means to be a member of a profession

committed to responsible conduct in promoting the safety, health, and
welfare of the public.
 Limitations of the Codes

◦ Limitations: Codes are not a substitute of personal responsibility

◦ and ethical behavior

◦ Codes are not a one key to all the solutions

◦ Codes are specialized

◦ Wordings can come in conflict within the same situation; be truthful and keep the
confidentiality
 Heinz Luegenbiehl
The adoption of a code is significant for the professionalization of an
occupational group, because it is one of the external hallmarks testifying to
the claim that the group recognizes an obligation to society.
 Heinz Luegenbiehl
But he believes
◦ Codes of ethics create moral problems rather than helping to resolve them

◦ Practicing professionals rarely turn to their codes of ethics for guidance, and that the
guidelines within the codes sometimes seem internally inconsistent

◦ Implementation of a code of ethics may be in conflict with the moral autonomy we expect
of individuals
 John Ladd

Codes of ethics serve no good purpose whatever

Ethics should be open-ended and reflective, and that relying on a code of ethics is to confuse
ethics with law

That it is mistaken to assume that there is a special ethics for professionals which is separate
from the ethics of ordinary human beings within a moral society.

Professionals, he suggests, have no special rights or duties separate from their rights and
duties as moral persons, and therefore codes of ethics are pointless and possibly evil.
 Michael Davis’ arguments in favor of codes
The code is to protect each professional from certain pressures (for example, the pressure to cut corners to save
money) by making it reasonably likely...that most other members of the profession will not take advantage of her
good conduct. A code protects members of a profession from certain consequences of competition. A code is a
solution to a coordination problem.

Having a code of ethics allows an engineer to be objected to pressure to produce substandard work not merely as
an ordinary moral agent, but as a professional.

Engineers (or doctors, or clergy, etc.) can say "As a professional, I cannot ethically put business concerns ahead of
professional ethics."
 Four reasons of Michael Davis’ favor about
professional codes
First…supporting it will help protect them and those they care about from being injured by what other engineers do.
Second, supporting the code will also help assure each engineer a working environment in which it will be easier
than it would otherwise be to resist pressure to do much that the engineers would rather not do.
Third, engineers should support their profession's code because supporting it helps make their profession a practice
of which they need not feel…embarrassment, shame, or guilt.
Fourth, one has an obligation of fairness to do his part…in generating these benefits for all engineers.
 Stephen Unger's analysis
First, it can serve as a collective recognition by members of a profession of its
responsibilities.
Second, it can help create an environment in which ethical behavior is the norm.
Third, it can serve as a guide or reminder in specific situations…
Fourth, the process of developing and modifying a code of ethics can be valuable for a
profession.
Fifth, a code can serve as an educational tool, providing a focal point for discussion in
classes and professional meetings.
Finally, a code can indicate to others that the profession is seriously concerned with
responsible, professional conduct .