Professional Practice and Ethics

HUMN 501
Instructor: Fahad Anwar
Email: faafarooqi@iau.edu.sa

Lecture 02
Engineering Profession
What is engineering?

Engineering is the process

of developing an efficient
mechanism which quickens
and eases the work using
limited resources, with the
help of technology.

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What is a profession?
• A profession is a number of individuals in the
same occupation, voluntarily organized to earn a
living by serving the society in a morally
acceptable way, beyond what the law, market and
public opinion would otherwise require

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Characteristics of a Professional

1)Extensive training of an intellectual character –based on a

body of knowledge acquired from a university and/or a
professional institution where entry is limited/restricted

2)Vital knowledge and skills acquired through formal education

and training ‐ e.g., physician, lawyer, accountant

3)Control of services –Only those who have acquired vital

knowledge and skills and recognized by a accreditation body can
practice in the profession.
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 Characteristics of a Professional
4)Autonomy in the work place ‐ exercise a large degree
of individual judgment and creativity in work and
problem solving.
5)Claim to ethical regulation –to prevent abuse of
autonomy, a code of conduct administered by a body is
necessary.
Professions as social practices
 Professions as social practices
• Every profession has one or more aims that are
especially associated with it
+ Medical profession –aims at the health of
patients
+ Legal profession –aims at justice
+ Accounting profession –aims at
accountability of finance
+ Engineering profession –aims at ???
 Professions as social practices
• Aims of a social practice must be morally
justifiable and praiseworthy
+ Professional thief ‐ ???
+ Professional killer ‐ ???
 Professionalism –some criteria
• A profession cannot be composed of one or few
persons having monopoly (monopoly means exclusive
control of something)

• A profession deals with public interests

• A profession is a category of qualified and skillful

people who earn a living based on
recognition/accreditation

• Although difficult to enter and get recognized

(licensed), a person can enter or leave a profession
voluntarily
 Professionalism –some criteria
• A profession must pursue a praiseworthy goal,
although it may not be unique to a given profession
(e.g., doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who aims at
the health improvement of patients)

• Professionals must pursue a morally praiseworthy

goal by morally permissible means (e.g., doctors,
while aiming at the health improvement of patients
cannot test new drugs on those patients)
 Morals in Engineering Profession
Not only an engineer, but
everyone has to follow a set of
morals in order to keep away
from getting morally degraded.
Our behavior should include the
following

• Respecting others and

ourselves.
• Respecting the rights of others.
• Keeping promises.
• Avoiding unnecessary
problems to others.
 Morals in Engineering Profession
• Avoiding cheating and
dishonesty.
• Showing gratitude towards
others and encourage them to
work.
Morality commands respect for
persons, both others and ourselves.
It involves being fair and just,
meeting obligations and respecting
rights and not causing unnecessary
harm by dishonesty and cruelty.
 Steps to Deal with Issues
• Moral Awareness − One should
be able to recognize the moral
problems and issues that occur in
Engineering. The analysis on the
problem is necessary in order to
differentiate and judge according
to ethics or according to the
rules to follow.
 Steps to Deal with Issues
• Clear Moral Reasoning − In
order to come to a
conclusion on an issue, the
argument has to be
assessed and understand.
The argument on both sides
has to be considered with all
the probabilities and the
nature of the argument
should be logical and moral.
 Steps to Deal with Issues
• Moral Coherence − After
having gone through all the
logical and moral facts,
consistent and
comprehensive view points
are to be formed based upon
a consideration of relevant
facts.
 Steps to Deal with Issues
• Moral Imagination − The
moral issues and the
practical issues have to be
dealt separately.
Alternative responses are
to be found out for dealing
with moral issues while
creative solutions should
be found out for practical
difficulties.
 Steps to Deal with Issues
• Moral Communication −
The language to
communicate about
one’s moral views should
be so precise and clear,
that the expression or
words should not alter
the original meaning.
 Conflict of Interest

“A situation in which a
person, such as a public
official, an employee, or a
professional, has a private
or personal interest
sufficient to appear to
influence the objective
exercise of his or her
official duties.

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 Leading Examples
Self‐dealing:
For example, you work for
government and use your official
position to secure a contract for
a private consulting company you
own. Another instance is using
your government position to get
a summer job for your daughter.

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 Leading Examples
Accepting benefits:
To make someone do
something for you by
giving the person money
gifts. For example, you are
the purchasing agent for
your department, and you
accept money or gift from
a major supplier.
 Leading examples
Using your employer’s property for private advantage:

This could be
• Stealing office supplies
for home use.
• Using software which is
licensed to your employer
for private consulting
work of your own.

In the first case, the employer’s permission eliminates the

conflict; while in the second, it doesn’t.
 Leading examples
Using confidential information:
While working for a private
client, you learn that the client
is planning to buy land in your
region. You quickly rush out
and buy the land in your wife’s
name.
 Leading Examples
Outside employment or moonlighting:

An example would be setting up a

business on the side that is in direct
competition with your employer.
Another case would be taking on so
many outside clients that you don’t
have the time and energy to devote
to your regular employer
 Types of conflict of interest and duty

• Conflicts may be
– Actual
– Potential
– Perceived
– Conflict of duty

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 Types of conflict of interest and duty

Actual conflict of interest:

There is a real conflict between an employee or
director’s public duties and private interests.

Potential conflict of interest: An employee or director

has private interests that could conflict with their public
duties. This refers to circumstances where it is
foreseeable that a conflict may arise in future and steps
should be taken now to mitigate that future risk.

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 Types of conflict of interest and duty
Perceived conflict of interest:
The public or a third party could form the view that an
employee or director’s private interests could improperly
influence their decisions or actions, now or in the future.

Conflict of duty:
Will arise when a person is required to fulfil two or more roles
that may actually, potentially or be perceived to be in conflict
with each other.
5 Tips for dealing with conflicts of interest

1. Don’t Run From Conflict

2. Understand Everyone’s
Position
3. View Conflict as a
Growth Opportunity
4. Involve the Participants in
the Solution
5. Stay Calm and Focus on
the Problem
1. Don’t Run From Conflict

• Ignoring the conflict can lead to worse

outcomes.
• Seek out potential sources of conflict and
intervene proactively before a situation
develops.
• Manage these differences quickly, fairly, and
decisively when they do occur.
2. Understand Everyone’s Position
• Both sides must have a chance to explain what
issues are important to them and why.
• This process not only helps people to be heard
and valued, it also creates the opportunity to
identify common ground and points of
interdependence that might serve as a starting
point for resolving team conflict.
3. View Conflict as a Growth Opportunity
• Conflict itself is neither good or bad.
• Properly managed, it can lead to very productive
outcomes and serve as an opportunity for people to
grow, both professionally and personally.
• For example, participants often come to see that
their disagreements arise from a mutual desire to
help the organization achieve its goals.
• Healthy debates over processes and strategies can
lead to greater innovation and learning in ways that
might not have been possible without conflict.
4. Involve the Participants in the Solution
• It’s important that the participants share their
respective positions to one another directly.
• If the participants can’t speak to one another
directly, they tend to drag the people around
them into the conflict and effectively force
them to take sides. A dispute between
individuals, then, can be very quickly dissolved.
• When both sides are encouraged to resolve
their disagreements together, they might very
well discover that much of the dispute is based
on faulty assumptions.
5. Stay Calm and Focus on the Problem
• Conflicts have the potential to become
heated very quickly and it’s very important
to control these negative emotions.
• Conflict becomes more about assigning
blame or “winning” an argument than
about actually identifying the source of a
problem and developing solutions.