BETU 4053

CHAPTER 6
The rights and responsibilities
of engineers
 CHAPTER 6 :
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• At the end of this chapter, you should be
able to;
1. Discuss the responsibilities and right
that engineers have
2. Understand what a conflict of interest is
and know how to manage one
3. Determine what whistle-blowing is and
when it is appropriate to blow the whistle
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

1) Confidentiality and Proprietary

Information
2) Conflict of Interests
3) Competitive Bidding
 PROFESSIONAL

1) Confidentiality and
RESPONSIBILITIES

Proprietary Information
• It is required that the professional keep certain
information of the company/employee and
clients secret or confidential.
The reason
• Most information about how a business is run, its
products, suppliers directly affects the company's
ability to compete in the marketplace.
Competitors may use by such information to
gain advantage and to catch up.
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Engineers working for a client are
frequently required to sign a
nondisclosure agreement.

• Engineers working for the

government especially in the defense
industry have even more stringent
requirements about secrecy placed
on them and may even require a
security clearance granted after
investigation by a governmental
security agency before being able
to work.
 PROFESSIONAL

Types of confidential RESPONSIBILITIES

information:
Obvious information such as;
~ test results and data,
~ upcoming unreleased products/designs/
formulas
Not so obvious information such as;
~ number of personnel working on a certain
project,
~ identity of suppliers
~ production costs
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES

How long confidentiality

extends after an engineer
leaves employment with a
company.
What are the action should
be taken?
1. _______
2. _______
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

1)
2) Conflict of Interests
3)
 2) Conflict of Interests
1) Actual conflict of 2) Potential conflict of 3) Appearance conflict
interests interests of interests

e.g.
A civil engineer working
for a state department
of highways might have
a financial interest in
a company that has a
bid on a construction
project. If that engineer
has some responsibility
for determining which
company's bid to
accept, then there is a
clear conflict of interest.
 2) Conflict of Interests
1) Actual conflict of 2) Potential conflict of 3) Appearance conflict
interests interests of interests

e.g.
an engineer befriended
the supplier of her
company. Although this
situation doesn't
necessarily constitute a
conflict, but there
is the potential that the
engineer's judgment
might become
conflicted by the needs
to maintain the
friendship.
 2) Conflict of Interests
1) Actual conflict of 2) Potential conflict of 3) Appearance conflict
interests interests of interests

e.g.
An engineer paid
based on a
percentage of the
cost of the design.
There is clearly no
incentive to cut costs
in this situation and it
may appear that the
engineer is making
the design more
expensive simply to
generate a larger fee.

2) Conflict of Interests
1) Actual conflict of
interests
e.g.
A civil engineer working
for a state department
of highways might have
a financial interest in
a company that has a
bid on a construction
project. If that engineer
has some responsibility
for determining which
company's bid to
accept, then there is a
clear conflict of interest.
PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
2) Potential conflict of 3) Appearance conflict
interests of interests
e.g. e.g.
an engineer befriended An engineer paid
the supplier of her based on a
company. Although this percentage of the
situation doesn't cost of the design.
necessarily constitute a There is clearly no
conflict, but there incentive to cut costs
is the potential that the in this situation and it
engineer's judgment may appear that the
might become engineer is making
conflicted by the needs the design more
to maintain the expensive simply to
friendship. generate a larger fee.
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES

2) Conflict of Interests
• A good way to avoid conflict of interest is to
follow the guidance of the company policy.;
• If absence of such a policy, asking a coworker or
manager will give a second opinion and make
clear that you are not trying to hide something.
• Finally look at code of ethics
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

1)
2)
3) Competitive Bidding
 PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES

3) Competitive Bidding
Competitive bidding was prohibited
because:
• Bidding was considered to be improper and
not all in keeping with the image that the
engineering profession desired to put forth to
the public.
• If engineer engaged in competitive bidding, it
would lead to price being the most significant
basis for awarding engineering contracts it
should be safety of the public.
PROFESIONAL RIGHTS
 PROFESIONAL RIGHTS
• The most fundamental right of an engineer is the right of
professional conscience (sense of right or wrong)
[ Martin and Schinzinger, 2000].

• This involves the right to exercise professional judgement

in discharging one’s duties and to exercise this judgement
in an ethical manner

• However, it is not surprise that this right is not always

easy for an employer to understand.
 PROFESIONAL RIGHTS
• For example :
 Right to refuse to engage in unethical behaviour. In a
clear case, where engineers are asked to falsify a test
result or cheat on the safety of a product

 An engineer ought to be allowed to refuse to work on

defense projects for environmentally hazardous work
if conscience says that such work is immoral.
 The right to act in accordance with one’s conscience
and to refuse to work on projects that violate their
personal/religion or professional codes.
 The right to publically express one’s professional
judgment.
 The right to become a better engineer.
 The right to express personal opinions, and participate
in political activities.
 The right not to suffer retaliation for ethical actions.
 The right to personal privacy.
 The right to recognition and fair salary.

Resource from : http://moodle.cse.unt.edu/pluginfile.php/4379/mod_resource/content/1/6%20-%20The%20Rights%20and%20Responsibilities%20of%20Engineers.pdf

 WHISTLE- BLOWING
Definition :

The act by an employee which informs the publics or

higher management of unethical or illegal behavior
by an employer or supervisor.

Often seen as an act of extreme disloyalty to the

company and to co workers.

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 WHISTLE- BLOWING
According to the codes of ethics of the professional
engineering societies,

ITEM no 1: Engineers have a duty to protect the health

and safety of the publics, so in many cases, an
engineer is compelled to blow the whistle on acts or
project that harm these values.

Engineer also have the professional right to disclose

wrong doing within their organizations and expect to see
appropriate action taken.

Example : BART case, the collapse of the I-35W Bridge 22

in Minneapolis, The Goodrich A7-D Brake Case and etc.

 Types of WHISTLE-
BLOWING
Acknowledge - Occurs when the employee blowing the whistle
put his name behind the accusations and is willing to withstand
the scrutiny brought on by his accusations

Internal – Occur when an External – Occur when an

employee goes over the head employee goes outside the
of an immediate supervisor to company and report wrongdoing
report a problem to a higher to the media or law- enforcement
level; of management. authorities.

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Anonymous - Occurs when the employee blowing the whistle
refuses to divulge/ reveal his/ her name when making accusation.
When to blow whistle?
You may blow the whistle if all
of the these conditions have
been met.
1. NEED
2. PROXIMITY
3. CAPABILITY
4. LAST RESORT
 Need – There must be a clear and important harm that can be
avoided by blowing the whistle.
Example : if an accident occurs at your company, resulting in a spill of a small qty
of a toxic compound into a nearby waterway that is immediately cleaned up, this
incident probably does not merit notifying outside authorities.

 Proximity – The whistle- blower must be in a very clear position to report on

the problem.
Example : Hearsay/ rumor is not adequate. Firsthand knowledge of the
problem and have enough expertise to make a realistic assessment to the
problem.

 Capability – The whistle-blower must have a reasonable chance of

success in stopping the harmful activity.
Example : You are not obligated to risk your career and the financial security of
your family if you can’t see the case through no completion or you don’t feel that
you have access to the proper channels to ensure that the situation is resolved.

 Last Resort – Whistle- blowing should only be attempted if all possible

effort to stop it have being explored and no one else more capable
to do it.
 Preventing WHISTLE- BLOWING
Employers should try to minimize the need for
employees to blow the whistle through the following
methods :
 Corporations should indicate a clear commitment to
ethical behavior at all levels.

 Corporations should establish clear lines of

communication throughout the organizations.

 Corporations should provide meaningful access to high

level managers for all employees so that they may bring
concerns forward without threat of retaliation/revenge.

 Management should be willing to admit mistakes and

should admit to the, publicly, if it is deemed necessary.
WHISTLE- BLOWING
in Malaysia
 WHISTLE- BLOWING in Malaysia
Whistleblower Protections Act 2010 (Act 711)
Akta Perlindungan Pemberi Maklumat (Akta 711)

 The Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 is a law of Malaysia to

combat corruption and other wrong doings by encouraging and
facilitating disclosures of improper conduct in the public and
private sector, to protect persons making those disclosures from
detrimental action, to provide for the matter disclosed to be
investigated and dealt with and to provide for the remedies
connected therewith.

 The objective of this act is to give protection to the whistleblower

in the form of confidentiality of their information, immunity from
civil and criminal action and protection from detrimental action
being taken against them. Whistleblower protection is one of the
Malaysian Government’s efforts towards tackling corruption and
promoting good governance under Government Transformation
Programme (GTP).
 WHISTLE- BLOWING in Malaysia
Whistleblower Protections Act 2010 (Act 711)
Akta Perlindungan Pemberi Maklumat (Akta 711)

 The whistleblower protection law covers any member of the public

and private sectors who discloses wrongdoings. Among the
disclosures that intended to be disclose are abuse of authority,
violation of laws and ethical standards, danger to public health or
safety, gross waste, illegality and mismanagement. The disclosure
should be made in “good faith” based on “honest and reasonable
grounds at the material time” without necessitating hard evidence
from the whistleblower.

 The duty of gathering evidence will be tasked to the investigation

unit of the enforcement agencies to ensure that the whistleblower is
not compromised. However, whistleblowers can provide evidence if
it is legally available through the course of their work.
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 WHISTLE- BLOWING in Malaysia
Whistleblower Protections Act 2010 (Act 711)
Akta Perlindungan Pemberi Maklumat (Akta 711)

 Disclosure of the confidential information will be liable to a fine not

exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding ten years or both.

 A whistleblower will not be subject to any civil action or criminal

liability and no administrative process can be taken against the
whistleblower for making disclosure of improper conduct. Under the
act also, no person shall take detrimental action against any
whistleblower or person related to or associated with the
whistleblower in reprisal for a disclosure of improper conduct.

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