AI010 805 G06- Professional

Ethics
 Course Objectives

.
The primary objectives of this course is to provide
students
A. To understand the moral values that ought to guide the
Engineering profession.
B. To deal effectively with moral complexity in engineering
practice
C. To justify the environmental ethics concerning profession.
D. To resolve the moral issues in the profession.
E. To understand the rights of others and develop a global
perspective
 Student Learning Outcomes / Course Learning Outcomes

1. To learn the significance of ethics in

professionals.
2. Learn the importance of engineering ethics.
3. Appraise the need of environmental ethics.
4. Understand the rights and responsibility of
Engineers.
5. Effectively learn the global issues in ethics.
 Reference Books and Materials

1. Mike W Martin, Roland Schinzinger, “ Ethics in Engineering”, Tata McGraw -Hill,

2003
2. Govindarajan M, Natarajan S, Senthil Kumar V S, “Engineering Ethics” PHI India,
2004
3. P Aarne Vesblind, Alastair S Gunn, “ Engineering Ethics and the Enviornment”
4. Edmund G Seebauer, Robert L Barry, “ Fundamentals of Ethics for scientists and
engineers” Oxford University Press 2001
5. R RGaur, R Sangal, G P Bagaria, “ A foundation course in value education and
professional ethics”
6.R.S Naagarazan”Text book on Professional ethics and Human values”
7.Prof . K Krishnaswamy,Dr K Thagaraj,Prof G Karmegan “Professional Ethics and
Human values”
 What is Ethics?
• The word ‘ethics 'comes from the Greek word
‘ethos’ meaning customs.
• Ethics generally refers to the study of morals
and values.
• Ethics is a matter of action or behavior .
• It is an activity and also an area of inquiry
• Ethics is about what is right and what is wrong
• It is about what is good and what is bad
• More than a set of rules of conduct ,ethics is about
the strength of character to uphold morals and
values.
• Being ethical is not always easy, but it is important
• Ethical decisions made by an individual ,makes him
or her a person of character.
• Ethics and values have emerged as advisory measure
to guide not only individuals but also institutions and
social systems towards positive accepted norms.
 What is Professional Ethics
• Professional Ethics is the underlying concept
behind the successful accomplishment of any
act of a professional towards achieving the
individual and societal goals.
• These goals should ultimately result in morally
,legally,ethically,and even culturally acceptable
good things for all
 What is a Profession
Attributes of a profession include
Work that requires sophisticated skills,the use of
judgment and exercise of discretion.
Membership in the profession requires extensive formal
education ,not simply practical training or apprenticeship
To set standard for admission to the profession ,to set
standard of conduct for members and to enforce the
standard .
Significant public good results from the practice of the
profession.
 Engineering as a Profession
• Engineering requires extensive and sophisticated
skills .
• The essence of engineering design is judgment ,how
to use the available materials,components,devices,etc
to reach a specified objectives.
• Primary concern of any engineer is the safety of the
public that will use the products and devices he
designs.
• Engineering requires extensive formal training
Profession in a new sense can be applied only to
the certain occupations which meet the
following special criteria
 Knowledge
 Organizations
 Pubic good
 Human Values
• Einstein once said “try not to be a man of success but
rather try to be a man of values”
 Story of Harish Chandra taught Gandhi about the power of
being truthful .
 Stories narrated by elders in the family make the children
learn several good things
 Stories of great personalities and stories from great epics and
classics teach the children the importance of several good
qualities like
truthfulness,honesty,integrity,courage,discipline,spirituality
and many more.
 Morals and values
• Morality refers to human conduct.
• Most humans have acquired or practiced certain
principles or moral code or norms. They accept them
implicitly or explicitly
• Moral principles imply that a human being must be
treated with respect and dignity.
• Morality involves understanding of human nature,
tradition and society
• It also determines one’s relationship to the natural
environment and one’s place in society and universe.
• While morality refers to human conduct
values and ethics refers to the nature of
human conduct .
• In order to develop as a morally good
person ,one should possess some values.
• Honesty,empathy,efficiency,politeness,
truth are some of the values which are
developed in a human being as he grows
Josephson Institute of Ethics list the following as
the 6 pillars of character which emphasize
ethical values
• Trustworthiness
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness
• Caring
• Good citizenship
• Values and ethics are generally related to
individuals
• Values remain the same irrespective of
gender,religion,nation etc.
• Ethic also possess social,moral and
professional character
• They are generally associated with a group of
individuals
 Why Ethics
• Lack of knowledge, or more than that ,misuse of
knowledge can create horrors and disasters.
• Following ethics and focus on human values are rapidly
becoming a must for professional in order to diminish
or nullify the scope and effect of such disasters.
• Values are the prime requisites of professional ethics .
• Lack of ethical values has been a major factor behind
the down fall of many firms,companies and corporate
even though some had grand vision and mission
statements
Gandhiji emphasizes the importance of values
and ethics when he talks about 7 social issues
• Politics without principle
• Wealth without work
• Pleasure without conscience
• Knowledge without character
• Commerce with out humanity
• Worship with out sacrifice
--principle, work, conscience , character,
humanity, sacrifice are the values to be promoted