Dr.

Saif ur Rahman
Mechanical Engineering Department
National University of Science and Technology,
Islamabad
Lectures 3 & 4
9th to 11th Feb. 2022
 Brief Contents
• Introduction
– Introduction to Ethics
– The Nature of Engineering Ethics
– Legal, Professional and Historical Definitions
– Origin of Professional Ethics
• Value of Ethics
– Value of Engineering Ethics
– Contemporary and Historical Reasons
– Why an Ethical Engineer?
– Ethics in Different Fields of Work
 Brief Contents
• Ethical Dilemmas
– Common Ethical Dilemmas
– Resolution of Ethical Dilemmas
– Possible Actions in Response to Dilemmas
– Probable Consequences of these Actions

• Business Ethics
– Ethics in Professional Communication
– Ethical HRM (Human Resource Management)
– Shaping the Ethical Conduct
– Discrimination and Favoritism
– Corruption
 Brief Contents
• Case Studies
– Any Religious, National, or International Law
Dealing with Engineering Ethics
– Code of Ethics/Conduct of any Professional
Society
– Historical and Professional Reasons of Existence
of Multiple Definitions of Ethics
– Benefits of Acting Ethically and Consequences
of Acting Unethically
 Chapter 1
Ethics and
Professionalism
 Engineer and Ethics
• Engineering is an important and scholarly profession
• As member of this profession, engineers are expected to exhibit the
highest standards of honesty and integrity
• Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of the life
for all the people
• Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require
•Honesty
•Impartiality
•Fairness
•Equity
• An Engineer must be dedicated to the protection of the public
health, safety and welfare
• Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior
that requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct
 Engineering and Ethics
•Exploration of the moon and planets stand
as highlights of engineering achievements.
•Explosions of the space shuttles, Challenger
(1986) and Columbia (2003), were tragedies.
•Could have been prevented had urgent
warnings voiced by experienced engineers
been noticed
•That is where the role of Ethics comes forth
Ethics and Excellence in Engineering
•Moral values are embedded in engineering
projects as standards of excellence, not
“tacked on” as external burdens.
– Design a chicken coop that would increase egg
and chicken production, using materials that
were readily available.
 Ethics and Professionalism
•In combining numerous design goals and
constraints, engineering projects Also
integrate and Incorporate multiple moral
values—
•For example,
– Safety
– Efficiency
– Respect for persons, and
– Respect for the environment
 Ethics and Professionalism
•Moral values are many, and they can give
rise to ethical dilemmas:
– Situations in which moral reasons come into
conflict,
– Or in which the applications of moral
values are problematic, and it is not
immediately obvious what should be done
•The moral reasons might be obligations,
rights, goods, ideals, or other moral
considerations
 Ethics and Professionalism
•Technical skill and morally good judgment
need to go together in resolving ethical
dilemmas, and, in making moral choices.
•So do competence and conscientiousness,
creativity and good character.
•In engineering, as in other professions,
excellence and ethics go together—for the
most part and in the long run
 Micro and Macro Issues
•Engineers are increasingly asked to
understand excellence and ethics in terms of
societal and environmental concerns
•Micro issues concern the decisions made by
individuals and companies in pursuing their
projects
•Macro issues concern more global issues,
such as the directions in technological
development
 Example: For Micro Issues
• Technological issue between Ford
Motors (Explorer) and Tire
manufacturers (Bridgestone/Firestone)
• 1990s, reports on tread on tires
separating from the rest of the tire,
leading to blowouts and rollovers
• By 2002, 300 people died, and 1,000
injured
• Ford and Bridgestone blamed each
other for the problem, leading to the
breakup of a century-old business
partnership
 SUVs Micro Issues
• As usual blame has to be shared;
• Bridgestone used a flawed tire design and poor quality
control.
• Ford chose tires with a poor safety margin, relied on
drivers to maintain proper inflation within a very narrow
range.
• And then dragged its feet in admitting the problem and
recalling dangerous tires.
 SUVs Macro Issues
• The SUV’s have some Macro Issues too;
• They are The most harmful vehicles
• Problems are many:
– gas-guzzling,
– excessive polluting,
– instability because their height leads to rollovers,
– greater “kill rate” of other drivers during accidents,
– reducing the vision of drivers in shorter cars behind them on
freeways, and
– blinding other drivers’ vision because of high-set lights.
 SUVs Macro Issues
•SUVs are causing 3,000 deaths in excess of
what cars would have caused:
•Roughly 1,000 extra deaths occur each year
in SUVs roll over
•About 1,000 more people die each year in
cars hit by SUVs.
•And up to 1,000 additional people succumb
each year to respiratory problems because of
the extra smog caused by SUVs.
 Questions?
•Should “the SUV issue” be examined within
engineering as a whole,
•Or at least by representative professional
and technical societies?
•If so, what should be done?
•Or, in a democratic and capitalistic society,
should engineers play a role as individuals?
•Should engineers remain uninvolved,
leaving the issue entirely to consumer
groups and lawmakers?
Dimensions of Engineering
Dimensions of Engineering