GS422 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

TOPICS: CHAPTER 1
WEEK: 1
LECTURE: 1
LEVEL: 8 TH SEMESTER
PREREQUISITES: NONE

COURSE TEACHER: MAHVISH NISAR ( mahvish.civil@suit.edu.pk )

ACCESS AT: portal.suit.edu.pk
Civil Engineering Department, SUIT Peshawar
MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 1
Course Objectives:
1. To introduce students to the concept, theory and practice of engineering ethics and enhance
their ability to engage in group work.

2. To enable students to recognize and evaluate ethical challenges that they are going to face in
their academic and professional careers through their decisions making processes and ethics.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 2

Ethics
➢System of moral principles
▪ Principles of right and wrong

➢Principles of conduct governing behavior of an individual or a group

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 3

Cont.
➢A person’s behavior is always ethical when one:
▪ Does what is best for oneself
▪ Has good intentions, no matter how things turn out
▪ Does what is best for everyone
▪ Does what is legal

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 4

Why Study Ethics in Engineering?
➢Engineers . . .
▪ Build products such as cell phones, home appliances, heart valves, bridges, & cars.

▪ Develop processes, such as the process to convert salt water into fresh water or the process to recycle
bottles.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 5

Products and processes have
consequences for society:
➢If the bridge has an inadequate support, it will fail.
➢If the process for refining gas produces too much toxins, it harms the local community.
➢If the gas tank is positioned too close to the bumper, it might explode from a small accident.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 6

Cont.
➢Decisions made by engineers usually have serious consequences to people -- often to
multitudes of people.
➢Ethics and ethical reasoning guide decision-making.
➢Ethics train them to analyze complex problems and learn to resolve these problems in the most
ethical manner.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 7

Two Dimensions of Ethics in Engineering
➢Ethics is part of engineering for two main reasons.

▪ Engineers need to be socially responsible when building products and processes for society.

▪ Social responsibility requires professional responsibility.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 8

 Ethical Issues that Engineers Encounter
➢Safety
➢Acceptable risk
➢Compliance
➢Confidentiality
➢Environmental health
➢Data integrity Engineering is Managing The Unknown
➢Conflict of interest
➢Honesty/Dishonesty
➢Societal impact
➢Fairness
➢Accounting for uncertainty, etc.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 9

Personal vs. Professional Ethics
➢Personal ethics deals with how we treat others in our day-to-day lives.

➢Professional ethics often involves choices on an organizational level rather than a personal
level.

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 10

Ethics and The Law

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 11

◦ THE END

MAHVISH NISAR (SUIT PESHAWAR) MAHVISH.CIVIL@SUIT.EDU.PK 12