ENGR 4760U: Ethics, Law

and Professionalism for

Engineers
Module 2: Ethics and Engineering
and their Relation

ENGR4760U 2.1
Outline - 2: Ethics and Engineering and
their Relation
2.1 Ethics
2.2 Theories of Ethics
2.3 Scope of Engineering Ethics
2.4 Engineering Ethics and Duties
2.5 Professional Engineers Ontario Code of Ethics
2.6 Areas of Moral Conflict and Some Ethical
Problems
2.7 Case Studies in Engineering Ethics

ENGR4760U 2.2
2.1 ETHICS

ENGR4760U 2.3
 Ethics and Philosophy

 Ethics is 1 of 4 branches of philosophy

 Metaphysics: considers physical universe and
nature of ultimate reality
 Epistemology: how people come to learn what
they know (divine revelation, experience, logic
and reason, and intuition)
 Axiology: considers study of principles and
values (ethics and aesthetics)
 Logic: seeks to organize reasoning

ENGR4760U 2.4
 Ethics

A definition of ethics
 “defining, analyzing, evaluating and resolving
moral problems, leading to moral criteria that
guide human behaviour”
 Ethics seeks to explain:
 Good/evil
 Right/wrong
 Justice/ideals
 Obligations/rights
ENGR4760U 2.5
 Engineering Ethics

 Moral criteria that guide an engineer’s

behaviour
 Engineering ethics seeks to explain, in the
context of engineering:
 Good/evil
 Right/wrong
 Justice/ideals
 Obligations/rights

ENGR4760U 2.6
2.2 THEORIES OF ETHICS

ENGR4760U 2.7
 Four Theories of Ethics

 John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism (1800s)

 Greatest good for greatest number
 Immanuel Kant’s Formalism (Duty Ethics)
(1700s)
 Categorical imperative to behave well
 John Locke’s Rights Ethics (1600s)
 Have rights because you exist
 Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics (300s BC)
 Goodness of act depends on function/goal
 Golden Mean
ENGR4760U 2.8
 1 Mill’s Utilitarianism

 Always do what
produces the most
good for the most
people
 Somewhat akin to
Cost-Benefit analysis
 Not so easy to do
 Often used by
democracies

ENGR4760U 2.9
 Case Study: Ford Pinto (1970s)

 For years, the best-

selling compact in
North America
 Test showed that the
windshield would pop
out in collisions. So
engineers moved the
drive train back so
differential was close
to gas tank
 Many exploded on
rear-end collisions ENGR4760U 2.10
 Case Study (cont.)

 $11 part would

 greatly reduce the likelihood of injuries and deaths BUT
 drive the cost over $2,000 (perceived price-point)
 Would have to recall 12.5 million cars for a total cost of
$137 million
 But a death was worth $200,000 and an injury $67,000
 Assumed 180 burn deaths and 180 serious injuries for a
total cost of $49.5 million
 Cost-Benefit Analysis says do not install the part
 Thesis: Ford abused the utilitarian theory to suit their
needs, stayed within the laws of the time, but behaved
unethically
ENGR4760U 2.11
 Problems with Utilitarianism

 Problem in quantifying “maximum benefit”

 Mills suggested 3 factors should be
considered
 Number of people affected
 Intensity of pleasure (pain)
 Duration of pleasure (pain)
 Oftenplease one group at the expense of
another (eg, smoking vs. non-smoking)
 What about minority rights?
ENGR4760U 2.12
 2 Kant’s Formalism (Duty Ethics)

 Every human has a

duty to act in a correct
and ethical manner
 Categorical
Imperative
 The intension is the
action, not the result
 If you do your duty, all
will be well

ENGR4760U 2.13
 Kant’s Requirements

 Be honest
 Be fair
 Do not hurt others
 Do no harm
 Do not lie
 Never steal
 Keep your promises
 Obey the law

ENGR4760U 2.14
 Problem with Duty Ethics

 Life is never black and white but gray

 Eg, no white lies
 Does not consider the outcome of the
action

ENGR4760U 2.15
 3 Locke’s Rights Ethics

 Every individual has rights

 Right to life and right to the maximum
possible individual liberty is key
 Examples:
 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
within the Constitution Act, 1982
 Declaration of Rights within the American
Declaration of Independence, 1776

ENGR4760U 2.16
 Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
 Fundamental freedom of
conscience, religion, thought,
belief, opinion, expression,
peaceful assembly and
association
 Democratic rights to vote
 Mobility rights to enter,
remain in and leave Canada
 Legal rights to life, liberty and
security of person and right
not to be deprived of these
 Equality rights under the law
and the right to equal benefit
and protection of the law
ENGR4760U 2.17
 Declaration of Rights (Jefferson)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness….”
ENGR4760U 2.18
 Problems with Rights Ethics

 Rights can conflict

 Locke might argue
that income tax is
unethical because it
deprives a person of
their owned income
 Note: Mill would likely
refute this

ENGR4760U 2.19
 4 Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics

 The goodness of an act,

object or person depends
on the function or goal
concerned
 Humans need to achieve
true happiness by
developing the virtues of
thought, reason,
deduction and logic
 Virtues need to achieve
the Golden Mean as the
middle between excess
and deficiency ENGR4760U 2.20
 Examples of the Golden Mean

 Modesty is the golden mean between

 the excess of vanity and
 the excess of humility
 Courage is the mean between
 one extreme of deficiency (cowardice) and
 the other extreme of excess (recklessness or
overconfidence)

ENGR4760U 2.21
 Problems with Virtue Ethics

 What actually is the mean (or middle)?

 What if the opposite of ‘recklessness’ is taken
to be ‘cautiousness’ (a virtue)? Then does the
Golden Mean of ‘courage’ make sense?
 Hard to define “virtue”
 Aristotle said the mean depends on the
person, but does that make the virtue of
honesty different for a poor person who steals
and apple compared to a rich person?

ENGR4760U 2.22
 Comparison of the Four Theories
Mill, An action is correct if it produces the
Utilitarianism greatest benefit for the greatest number
-based of people. Must consider duration,
intensity, equal distribution.
Kant, Duty- Duty is to do what would be acceptable
based for everyone to follow.
Locke, Right- Everyone is free and equal. All have
based rights to life, health, liberty, and
possessions
Aristotle, Happiness comes from developing
Virtue-based virtues and qualities of character,
through deduction and reason. An act is dependent.
good if it comes from reason.
Conflicts arise amongst
benefits. Your benefit has
to be balanced against
someone’s loss.
Conflicts arise if principle
may cause harm. Telling a
white lie because it might
hurt.
Can be hard to tell if one’s
person rights infringe on
another’s.
Definition of virtue is hard
and may be culturally
ENGR4760U 2.23
 Alternative Perspective of the Four
Moral Theories
Consequence-based ethics
Actions are assessed by their consequences, i.e., how they
further well-stated goals
 Utilitarianism
Intention-based ethics
Rightness of an action depends on the intention or quality
of the action itself, rather than its consequences
 Duty ethics and Rights ethics
Virtue ethics
Right actions come from morally “virtuous” persons; ethical
actions depend on character attributes of such persons,
rather than consequences or intentions of actions

ENGR4760U 2.24
2.3 SCOPE OF ENGINEERING
ETHICS

ENGR4760U 2.25
 Scope of Engineering Ethics: Seven
Themes
I. Engineering as social experimentation
II. Ethics and excellence: moral values embedded
in engineering
III. Personal commitment and meaning
IV. Promoting responsible conduct and preventing
wrongdoing
V. Ethical dilemmas and their resolution
VI. Micro and macro issues in ethics
VII. Cautious optimism about technology
ENGR4760U 2.26
 I Engineering as Social
Experimentation
 Engineering projects generate new
possibilities but also risks, and engineers
share responsibility for creating benefits,
preventing harm and pointing out dangers
 Engineers must
 accept and share responsibility for their work
 exercise due care and foresee hazards
 monitor their projects
 alert other of dangers
ENGR4760U 2.27
Case Study: LeMessurier and Citicorp

 William LeMessurier was engineer who built

Citicorp Tower on Lexington Ave. in NYC
 Had to be built over a church
 Rises from four 9-story high stilts
 5th highest skyscraper, 59 stories, built in 1977
 Uses an imaginatively designed truss frame that
incorporates outside wind braces for stability
 Tuned mass damper at top to keep building from
swaying in the wind
ENGR4760U 2.28
Citicorp Building

Axonometric view
ENGR4760U 2.29
 The Story

 1 year later, student asks what a quartering wind

would do (40% stronger than a planar wind)
 Building code only specified planar wind forces
 LeMessurier says no problem: wind braces were
of highest quality weld
 LeMessurier contacts engineer responsible for
the erection and is told Bethlehem steel did not
think welding was needed so wind braces were
just bolted together
 Much weaker
ENGR4760U 2.30
 The Story (cont.)

 LeMessurierchecks with A. Davenport at

Western Univ., who simulates quartering
wind and shows
 stresses are much more than 40% greater
and
 a wind like that comes every 16 years to New
York
 Serious problem

ENGR4760U 2.31
 What Should LeMessurier Do?

1. Suicide (considered that)

2. Stay silent (had been approved by the
City and was within code)
3. Report and fix problem

ENGR4760U 2.32
 Outcome

 LeMessurier reports the problem and all details

 Bank and insurers decide to retrofit the braces
 weld 2” thick steel plates over more than 200 bolted
joints (with shielding for people since occupied)
 In 1978, Hurricane Ella appeared to be headed
for NYC, but veered off at last moment
 Settled out of court. Insurance paid $2M. Cost
was up to $12.5M. Paid by Citicorp
 LeMessurier viewed as highly ethical for
admitting mistakes and correcting them
ENGR4760U 2.33
II Ethics and Excellence: Moral Values
Embedded in Engineering
 Moral values permeating all aspects of
technological development, and hence ethics
and excellence in engineering go together (eg,
Citicorp building)
 Basic standards of safety
 Structure of corporations as communities of ethical
people engaged in shared activities
 Ethical character of the engineer
 Engineering as a profession combining advanced skill
with commitment to public welfare

ENGR4760U 2.34
III Personal Commitment and Meaning

 Personal meaning and commitments matter in

engineering ethics, along with principles of
responsibility that are central to codes of ethics
and are incumbent on all engineers
 But sources of meaning can be highly personal
and not shared by all
 Potentially difficult areas:
 Religion
 Environment
 Military work
 Family
 Personal ambitions ENGR4760U 2.35
IV Promoting Responsible Conduct and
Preventing Wrongdoing
 Promoting responsible conduct is perhaps
even more important than punishing
wrongdoing
 Must obey the law (eg, no fraud, theft,
bribery, incompetence)
 Must have processes in place to ensure
no wrongdoing occurs

ENGR4760U 2.36
 V Ethical Dilemmas and their
Resolution
 Ethical dilemmas arise in engineering, as
elsewhere, because moral values and
engineering can conflict
 Difficult when way to resolve is not
obvious
 May be several ways to resolve

ENGR4760U 2.37
 VI Micro and Macro Issues in Ethics

 Micro issues concern  Example: SUVs

decisions made by  Micro: Ford Explorer
individuals and and Firestone
companies  Macro: problem of
SUVs in general
 Macro issues concern
global issues

ENGR4760U 2.38
 Ford Explorer (Micro Ethics)

 Tread on Explorer tires separated from the tire

causing rollovers and blowouts
 Hundreds killed; billions of dollars in class action
lawsuits
 Bridgestone/Firestone used a flawed tire design
 Poor quality control on manufacturing
 Ford chose tires of poor safety margin (low cost)
 Relied on users to maintain tire pressure within
a very narrow range
 Delayed on recall
ENGR4760U 2.39
 SUVs (Macro Ethics)

 Very harmful on the road

 Instability with high centre of gravity
 Far higher death rate than other cars
 3,000 ordinary-driving people killed per
year by SUVs
 Reduce vision of other drivers
 Poor fuel economy

ENGR4760U 2.40
 VII Cautious Optimism about
Technology
 Technological progress warrants
optimism, with caution
 Pessimists opine:
 Climate change and environmental impact
from pollution
 Depletion of natural resources
 Loss of biodiversity through extinction
 Fear of nuclear war and chemical warfare
 Etc.
ENGR4760U 2.41
 Optimism: 20 Top Engineering
Achievements of 20th Century
1. Electrification 11. Highways
2. Automobiles 12. Spacecrafts
3. Airplanes 13. Internet
4. Water supply 14. Imaging technologies
5. Electronics 15. Household appliances
6. Radio/TV 16. Petrochemical tech
7. Agricultural 17. Laser and fiber optics
mechanization 18. Health technologies
8. Computers 19. Nuclear technologies
9. Telephones 20. High-performance
10. Air conditioning materials
ENGR4760U 2.42
2.4 ENGINEERING ETHICS AND
DUTIES

ENGR4760U 2.43
Precise Definition of Engineering Ethics

 Defined in the various provincial acts

 Ontario defines the Ontario Engineering
Code of Ethics but it is not enforceable
under the Act. Not so with all of the others.
 Is covered under misconduct.
 Two additional items added in Ontario
 Must post the Licence at place of work
 Must inform employer of all moonlighting

ENGR4760U 2.44
 The 7 Ethical Duties

1. Duty to Society (paramount duty)

2. Duty to Employers
3. Duty to Clients
4. Duty to Colleagues
5. Duty to Employees and Subordinates
6. Duty to the Engineering Profession
7. Duty to Oneself

ENGR4760U 2.45
 Case Study

 A international student
(who is not doing well
academically) gives her
professor a painting as a
gift. This is the custom in
her homeland.
 What ethical dilemmas
are posed to the
professor?
 What is the ethical
solution for the professor
here?
ENGR4760U 2.46
2.5 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
ONTARIO CODE OF ETHICS

ENGR4760U 2.47
 PEO Code of Ethics

1. It is the duty of a practitioner to the public, to the

practitioner’s employer, to the practitioner’s clients, to
other members of the practitioner’s profession, and to
the practitioner to act at all times with
i. fairness and loyalty to the practitioner’s associates, employer,
clients, subordinates and employees,
ii. fidelity to public needs,
iii. devotion to high ideals of personal honour and professional
integrity,
iv. knowledge of developments in the area of professional
engineering relevant to any services that are undertaken, and
v. competence in the performance of any professional
engineering services that are undertaken.
ENGR4760U 2.48
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

2. A practitioner shall,
i. regard the practitioner’s duty to public welfare as paramount,
ii. endeavour at all times to enhance the public regard for the
practitioner’s profession by extending the public knowledge
thereof and discouraging untrue, unfair or exaggerated
statements with respect to professional engineering,
iii. not express publicly, or while the practitioner is serving as a
witness before a court, commission or other tribunal, opinions
on professional engineering matters that are not founded on
adequate knowledge and honest conviction,
iv. endeavour to keep the practitioner’s licence, temporary licence,
provisional licence, limited licence or certificate of
authorization, as the case may be, permanently displayed in
the practitioner’s place of business.
ENGR4760U 2.49
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

3. A practitioner shall act in professional

engineering matters for the practitioner’s
employer as a faithful agent or trustee and shall
regard as confidential information obtained by
the practitioner as to the business affairs,
technical methods or processes of an employer
and avoid or disclose a conflict of interest that
might influence the practitioner’s actions or
judgment.

ENGR4760U 2.50
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

4. A practitioner must disclose immediately

to the practitioner’s client any interest,
direct or indirect, that might be construed
as prejudicial in any way to the
professional judgment of the practitioner
in rendering service to the client.

ENGR4760U 2.51
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

5. A practitioner who is an employee-engineer

and is contracting in the practitioner’s own
name to perform professional engineering work
for other than the practitioner’s employer, must
• provide the practitioner’s client with a written
statement of the nature of the practitioner’s status as
an employee and the attendant limitations on the
practitioner’s services to the client,
• satisfy the practitioner that the work will not conflict
with the practitioner’s duty to the practitioner’s
employer, and
• inform the practitioner’s employer of the work. ENGR4760U 2.52
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

6. A practitioner must co-operate in working

with other professionals engaged on a
project.

ENGR4760U 2.53
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)
7. A practitioner shall
i. act towards other practitioners with courtesy and good faith,
ii. not accept an engagement to review the work of another practitioner
for the same employer except with the knowledge of the other
practitioner or except where the connection of the other practitioner
with the work has been terminated,
iii. not maliciously injure the reputation or business of another
practitioner,
iv. not attempt to gain an advantage over other practitioners by paying
or accepting a commission in securing professional engineering
work, and
v. give proper credit for engineering work, uphold the principle of
adequate compensation for engineering work, provide opportunity for
professional development and advancement of the practitioner’s
associates and subordinates, and extend the effectiveness of the
profession through the interchange of engineering information and
experience. ENGR4760U 2.54
 PEO Code of Ethics (cont.)

8. A practitioner shall maintain the honour

and integrity of the practitioner’s
profession and without fear or favour
expose before the proper tribunals
unprofessional, dishonest or unethical
conduct by any other practitioner.

ENGR4760U 2.55
2.6 AREAS OF MORAL CONFLICT
AND SOME ETHICAL PROBLEMS

ENGR4760U 2.56
 Areas of Moral Conflict

 Illegal
actions
 Actions contrary to the Code of Ethics
 Actions contrary to the conscience of the
engineer

Legal

Ethics

Conscience
ENGR4760U 2.57
 Illegal Actions

 Employer/boss asks
you to copy
professional software
disks
 You should:
 Advise employer/boss
that this is illegal
 Resist any attempt to
break the law

ENGR4760U 2.58
Actions Contrary to the Code of Ethics

 Not necessarily illegal

but against the Code
of Ethics, which sets
a higher standard
 Often the main area
for ethical dilemmas
in engineering
 Employer/boss may
be ignorant of such a
violation
ENGR4760U 2.59
Actions Contrary to the Conscience of
the Engineer
 Depends on the moral
climate of the time
 Examples
 Military engineering
 Civil liberties (for
instance if you are
asked lawfully to write
software to record the
email activities of a
group of people)

ENGR4760U 2.60
 Some Engineering Ethics Problems

 Some problems
involving engineering
ethics arise more
commonly than others
 We now consider
some of these
 More covered in future
teaching modules

ENGR4760U 2.61
 Employer Authority vs Technical
Authority
 Employer/boss has management authority
to direct company resources
 Engineer has the technical authority to
exercise special knowledge and skill
 Each must respect each other’s authority
 Particularly worrisome when employer
authority overrules technical authority on
technical matter

ENGR4760U 2.62
 Unethical Employer/Boss

Options if
employer/boss is
unethical
 Try to correct problem
within the company
framework (escalation)
 Continue to work while
informing regulatory
agencies of problem
(whistleblowing)
 Resign in protest (but still
may have responsibilities)
ENGR4760U 2.63
 Engineers as Members of a Labour
Union
 Engineers can be
members of unions
 Normally not a
problem or ethical
violation, but can lead
to some engineering
dilemmas

ENGR4760U 2.64
2.7 CASE STUDIES IN
ENGINEERING ETHICS

ENGR4760U 2.65
 2.7.1 Accepting a Job Offer

Jayne Payne is nearing graduation and is seeking a

permanent job. She clearly states that her interests are in
mainly in software engineering but she applies to other
electrically-related companies because the recession is
setting in and she needs a permanent position. She
receives an offer from Dinosaur Power Generation (DPG)
to work on scheduling maintenance operations on their
substations. The salary being good and there being no
other software engineering offers, she accepts. A week
later, PowerPlus offers her a better paying position in their
Advanced Power System Design Division, which she
prefers very much. What should she do?
ENGR4760U 2.66
 The Problem

 Jayne Payne has

given her word to join
DPG
 DPG has invested
time and money in the
hiring process
 Now she has a better
offer

ENGR4760U 2.67
 The Ethical Dilemma

 To honour her
commitment to DPG
or to take the new
offer

ENGR4760U 2.68
 Options

1. Honour her commitment to DPG.

2. Write to DPG, tell them her plans have changed.
Although she will be eventually bound by the
Engineering Code of Ethics, she is still a lowly student
and does not feel obligated to do so now.
3. Write to DPG as above, refuse the job, but offer to
reimburse them for any out-of-pocket expenses they
may have occurred.
4. Write to PowerPlus and tell them that she is
contractually bound to DPG but in a few years, she
would consider joining them in a project then.
5. Others
ENGR4760U 2.69
 2.7.2 Moonlighting

 MC, although educated as a automotive

engineer, has always been interested in
education. She deliberately chose a job as a
high school teacher to encourage young women
to enter the profession.
 Time passes, her salary has flat-lined and the
money is getting tight. She knows that had she
gone to work for an automotive company, she
would be making much more, but she still loves
teaching. So she decides to freelance as a web-
designer for automotive companies.
ENGR4760U 2.70
 2.7.2 Moonlighting (cont.)

 MC uses her computer and Internet connection

at work, but only in the evening hours, and she
makes a good money doing this work. She is
very careful to use her own pens and pencils
and nothing of the school is used except the
computer, which she argues, is just lying idle
then anyway. She also argues that this permits
her to stay teaching so the school is benefiting
from this activity.
 Is MC being ethical? Why or why not?
ENGR4760U 2.71
 2.7.3 False Data in Advertising

 Digitus is the lead engineer for GBC, a Canadian

start-up computer company. Competition in this
field is tough and GBC is barely managing to
stay in business.
 In the latest push to capture market-share, the
Marketing Department advertises that GBC’s
new system can support up to 200 users. Digitus
has tested the system and knows that it can
support no more than 100 users.
 What should Digitus do?
ENGR4760U 2.72