Unit 2
Engineering Ethics
Nature of Engineering Ethics
Engineering is an important and learned profession. Engineers are expected to exhibit the very best standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering encompasses a direct and vital impact on the standard of life for all people. Accordingly, ethical qualities such as honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, are required through the services provided by engineers and must be dedicated to the protection of the general public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a high standard of professional behaviour that must adhere to ethical conduct and all its principles.
Thus, ethics isn't peripheral to, or an add-on to, engineering. It is integral to the practice of engineering. Safety and guarding against avoidable harm are built into engineering; they're the principles that underlie engineering ethical codes and standards and define the nature of ethics in engineering.
Engineering ethics may be considered in three frames of reference—individual, professional, and social.
Engineering ethics are often further classified as “micro ethics” which are concerned with individuals and therefore the internal relations of the engineering profession and “macro ethics” which are concerned with the collective, social responsibility of the engineering profession and societal decisions about technology.
Micro Ethics
Micro ethics may be subdivided into two types – Individual and Professional. Individual ethics incorporate ethical qualities such as honesty, integrity, fairness etc; on the other hand professional ethics at micro level may include adherence to safety, quality etc.
- Individual Ethics
Individual ethics incorporate personal qualities such as decent, honest and truthful life, technical qualities and responsibility. Individual ethics can be further classified into technical ethics.
Technical ethics
- Incorporates the technical decisions and judgments made by engineers
- Analysis of individual technologies or practitioners at micro level
- Instances of technical ethics include – respect of intellectual property rights, computer ethics
Ethical Responsibility
- Making wise decisions regarding situations that suddenly, unexpectedly present themselves
- a willingness to engage others in the most significant decisions
- Decision-making on problems that confront technological society and how intelligently to confront them
b. Professional ethics
- Incorporates professional relationships between engineers and other individuals that may include their managers, clients, colleagues and employers
- Includes the responsibilities of the engineering profession, the role of engineers in industry and other organizations, professional engineering societies
Typically, the professional and personal responsibilities of an engineer in an organization are guided by a Code of Ethics which are covered under professional competencies in that organization.
Macro Ethics
Macro ethics are concerned with larger, more pressing issues such as sustainability, poverty, social justice, and bioethics which need to be addressed by the engineering profession (and society) as a whole. Professional codes of conduct do not typically incorporate macro ethics. Macro ethics includes many professional and social ethics as given below:
- Professional Ethics
- Incorporates the collective social responsibility of the engineering profession
- Professional ethics may include collective action which can even transcend international boundaries.
- Macro ethical issues affect all members of the profession and not only of a specific organization
b. Social ethics
- Incorporates technology policy decisions at the societal level
- Involves macro level analysis of technology as a whole
- Incorporates environmental impacts of the engineering profession
- Includes social and political effects of the engineering profession
Profession and Professionalism
Profession
Profession means employment or an occupation, that helps an individual earn his living. An individual who is hired for getting involved in a particular profession so as to earn a living as well as to satisfy the laws of that profession can be understood as a Professional. The main criteria of a profession are given below:
- Advanced expertise − the criteria of a profession is to possess sound knowledge in both technical aspects and humanistic discipline as well. In general, continuing education and updating knowledge may also be considered important.
- Self-regulation − A significant role is played by a corporation that provides a profession in the admission to the profession, drafting codes of ethics, enforcing the standards of conduct and representing the profession before the general public and also the government.
- Public good − Any occupation serves some public good and social welfare by maintaining high ethical standards throughout a profession. This is an area of professional ethics where each occupation is meant to serve for the welfare of the general public, directly or indirectly to a definite extent.
An engineer who is a professional, has some tasks to perform by which he acts as any of the following, which can be termed as Models of Professional Engineers.
Savior
Guardian
Bureaucratic Servant
Social Servant
Social Enabler or Catalyst
Game Player
Professionalism
Professionalism covers comprehensively all areas of practice of a specific profession. For engineering, it refers to the skills and responsibilities involved in engineering profession. Professionalism implies a certain set of attitudes.
The art of Professionalism can be understood as the practice of doing the right thing, not because how one feels but regardless of how one feels. Professionals make a profession of the particular type of activity and conduct to which they commit themselves and to which they will be expected to adapt. Professionalism incorporates moral ideals that specify virtue, i.e., desirable feature of character. Virtues refer to desirable ways of relating to other people, groups and organizations. Virtues involve motives, attitudes and emotions.
Ideals and Virtues of Professionalism
Professionalism is defined by virtues that represent excellence in core moral behavior. The essentials for any professional to excel within the profession are behavior, skills and knowledge. These show the moral ideology of the professional.
Moral ideals talk a lot about the motives, attitude and emotions of an individual.
Public spirited virtues
Proficiency virtues
Team work virtues
Self-governance virtues
The virtues mentioned above show the professional responsibility of a person. Hence, the professionalism that comes in with these virtues is termed Responsible Professionalism. Let us now understand each virtue in detail.
- Public-spirited Virtues
An engineer should concentrate on the good of the clients and also the public at large, which implies no harm should be done intentionally. The code of professional conduct in the field of engineering includes avoiding harm and protecting, as well promoting the public safety, health and welfare.
Maintenance of public-spirited virtue can be done by an engineer by maintaining a sense of community with faith and hope within the society and being generous by extending time, talent and money to professional societies and communities. Finally, justice within corporations, government and economic practices becomes a vital virtue that an engineer must always possess.
2. Proficiency Virtues
These describe the virtues followed in the profession consistent with the talent and intellect of an engineer. Competence and diligence are the moral values included in this virtue. The competence is being successful in the job being done and the diligence is taking care and having alertness to dangers in the job. Creativity is an important factor that must be present in accomplishing the assigned task.
3. Teamwork Virtues
Coordination among team members which implies working successfully with other professionals are incorporated in these virtues. These include cooperative nature in conjunction with loyalty and respect towards their organization, which makes the engineers motivate the team professionals to strive towards their valuable goals.
4. Self-governance Virtues
These virtues are concerned with moral responsibilities which represent integrity and self-respect of the person. Integrity here refers to the moral integrity which refers to the actions, attitude and emotions of the person concerned during his professional period.
Commitment, courage, self-discipline, perseverance, self-respect and integrity are some of the morals self-governance virtues are centered on. The truthfulness and trustworthiness which represent his honesty are the crucial moral values to be maintained by a professional.
Ethics is defined as a branch of philosophy concerned with the meaning of all aspects of human behaviour. Professional ethics therefore, can be described as principles that govern the behaviour of a person or group in a business environment.
Similar to values, professional ethics provide rules on how an individual should act towards other individuals and institutions in such a professional environment. And unlike values, professional ethics are, more often than not, a defined set of rules, which a particular group of people use. Meaning all those in a particular group will use the same professional ethics, even though their values may be unique to each person.
Purpose of Professional Ethics
The purpose of professional ethics and the Code of Conduct is threefold:
- to increase professional and ethical consciousness among engineers and their sense of ethical responsibility;
- to guide engineers in making more informed ethical choices; and
- to help the Engineering profession itself function at the fullness of its potential.
Code of Ethics
The norm system governing and regulating professional behaviour is professional ethics. Certain common principles underlie professional codes and bodies, e.g. Medical and Dental Council, Police Service Code of Ethics, Estate Agents Code of Ethics. Codes may not be exhaustive and may not include all the rules and regulations that apply to every situation. The contents therefore have to be viewed within the framework of company policies, procedures and the requirements of the law.
In our society ethical concerns have escalated in the past few years and have been raised at government level. Organisations have hot lines for employees to anonymously report unethical behaviour. In our field of engineering issues of fairness have been legislated and we have a Code of Ethics in place. The question of ethical practice, however, covers broad ground and encompasses everything we do as professionals and the way we behave towards each other and our clients.
Practising engineers must become aware of their ethical responsibility towards the client as well as being on the lookout for possible areas where ethical concerns could arise.
Professionals need to understand what values are and examine their own value system which determines their interactions. What pitfalls regarding business and professional ethics face Professionals and what standards of integrity do they need to be aware of and adhere to, i.e. what ideals should they strive towards?
Most codes have common fundamental principles which boil down to four universal fundamental principles:
1. Respect for People’s Dignity and Rights
Respect the client’s personal integrity (privacy, confidentiality)
Be non-judgmental of the intrinsic value of the client irrespective of age, behaviour, culture, gender, race or religion
If you are not competent to undertake a project/ task refer to another engineer
Respect the knowledge skills and experience of your colleagues and other professionals
2. Responsible Practice
The critical focus of this principle is to limit your practice to your field of expertise and competence
You must have the appropriate knowledge and skill before undertaking an activity
Undergo relevant training and adhere to best practice
Keep abreast of new developments in your field
Use a new technique under supervision of a competent and experienced engineer
3. Integrity in Relationships
The power relationship is unbalanced between the client and the engineer as most power rests with the engineer (having the knowledge and skill) which leaves the client vulnerable
Professional codes expect engineers to act with integrity
For engineers to be accepted in society and successful in their profession they need to be trusted. There is a fiduciary relationship whereby one person (the client), in a position of vulnerability, justifiably reposes confidence, good faith, reliance and trust in another (the engineer) whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter. In such a relationship good conscience requires one to act at all times for the sole benefit and interests of another, with loyalty to those interests.
4. Responsibility
Clients are clearly the engineer’s first responsibility but professionals also have a responsibility to society
Examples of responsible social actions are to:
- To disperse information that can advance the profession
- To protect the public trust in the engineering profession by “blowing the whistle” on non-professional conduct
- To assisting in some instances where worthy causes cannot afford professional services to protect society from dangerous practices
Sample Codes – IEEE, ASCE, ASME and CSI
IEEE Code of Ethics
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) provides a code of ethics which states that, "We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the standard of life throughout the globe, and in accepting a private obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:
- To uphold the very best of standards of integrity, responsible behaviour, and ethical conduct in all-encompassing professional activities.
- To uphold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the general public, to strive to accommodate ethical design and sustainable development practices, to safeguard the privacy of others, and to disclose promptly factors which may endanger the people or the environment;
- To enhance the understanding by individuals and society of the capabilities and societal implications of conventional and emerging technologies, including intelligent systems;
- To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties after they do exist;
- To avoid unlawful conduct in professional activities, and to reject bribery altogether in all of its forms;
- To seek, accept, and offer honest judgement/criticism of technical work, to recognize, acknowledge and rectify errors, to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates relying on available data, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
- To keep up and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only on the condition if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;
- To treat all individuals equally and with respect, to not engage in harassment or discrimination, and to avoid injuring others.
- To treat all persons fairly and with respect, and to not engage in discrimination relying on characteristics like race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;
- To not engage in harassment of any kind such as sexual harassment or bullying among others;
- To avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious actions, rumours or all other forms of verbal or physical abuses;
- To strive to ensure this code is upheld by colleagues and co-workers.
- To support colleagues and co-workers in following this code of ethics, to ensure the code is upheld, and to not retaliate unjustly against individuals reporting a violation."
As formulated and adopted by the IEEE Board of Directors and incorporating revisions through June 2020.
ASCE Code of Ethics
The American Society of Civil Engineers provides the following Code of Ethics:
Fundamental Principles
Engineers uphold and extend the integrity, honour and dignity of the noble profession of engineering by:
- Using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and also the environment;
- Being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the general public, their employers and clients;
- Striving to improve the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and
- Supporting the technical and professional societies of their specific disciplines.
Fundamental Canons
- Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the general public and shall strive to accommodate the principles of sustainable development in their respective performance of their professional duties.
- Engineers shall extend their services only in areas of their competence.
- Engineers shall issue objective and truthful public statements.
- Engineers shall behave professionally and act in a professional manner for every employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
- Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the premise of merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.
- Engineers shall act in such a manner as to on uphold and increase the integrity, dignity and honour of the engineering profession.
- Engineers shall continue their technical and professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of upcoming engineers under their supervision.
ASME Code of Ethics
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) provides a code of ethics which is as follows:
The Fundamental Principles
Engineers uphold and maintain the dignity, integrity and honour of the engineering profession by:
I. Using the information they have gained as knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare;
II. Being honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the general public, their employers and clients; and
III. Striving to improve the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.
The Fundamental Canons
- Engineers shall associate only with reputable persons or organizations.
- Engineers shall issue public statements in a manner which is truthful and objective.
- Engineers shall consider environmental impact while conducting professional duties.
- Engineers shall hold the safety, health and welfare of the general public as paramount in the performance of their professional duties.
- Engineers shall conduct services only within the areas of their competence.
- Engineers shall strive for technical and professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of upcoming engineers under their supervision.
- Engineers must act in professional matters in a professional manner for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the looks of conflicts of interest.
- Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the premise of merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.
CSI Code of Ethics
According to the Computer Society of India (CSI), all members are required to give an undertaking to the effect that they would abide by the CSI Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics will also specify the procedure for the action to be taken against concerned members for any breach of this Code. Following principles prepared by the ExecCom describe the Code of Ethics adopted after approval by balloting by the Voting Members of CSI.
Code of ethics for CSI members (all categories)
A member of the CSI shall:
- Organise the resources available to him and optimise these in achieving the objectives of his organisation
- Not misuse his authority or office for private gains.
- Comply with the Indian laws concerning the management of his organisation and operate within the spirit of those laws.
- Conduct his affairs so that it may uphold, project and further the image and reputation of the CSI.
- Maintain integrity in research and publications.
As regards to his ORGANISATION CSI member should:
- Act with integrity in conducting the lawful policy and directions of his organisation and uphold its image and reputation. Plan, establish and review objectives and tasks for himself and his subordinates which are compatible with the Codes of practice of other professionals within the enterprise, and direct all available effort towards the success of the enterprise instead of himself.
- Fully respect the confidentiality of data which involves him in the course of his duties, and not use confidential data for private gain or in a manner which can be detrimental to this organisation or his clients.
- Not snoop around in other people’s computer files.
- In his contacts and dealings with other individuals, demonstrate his personal integrity and humanity and when called to present an opinion in his professional capacity, shall, to the best of his ability, give an opinion which will be objective and reliable.
As regards to the EMPLOYEES, CSI member should:
- Through his work and performance, set an example to his subordinates with his leadership and by taking account of the requirements and problems of his subordinates.
- Develop people under him to become qualified for higher duties.
- Pay proper respect to the protection and wellbeing of the personnel for whom he's responsible.
- Share his experience with fellow professionals.
As regards to the CLIENTS, CSI member should:
- Make sure that terms of all contracts and business be stated clearly and unambiguously.
- Not use the computer to harm people or to bear false witness.
- Be objective and impartial when giving independent advice.
As regards to the COMMUNITY, CSI member should:
- Make the most effective use of all employed natural resources.
- Be ready to give professional assistance in community affairs.
- Not appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
- Always use a computer in methods which will ensure consideration and respect for fellow humans.
Engineering itself relies on the development of current life, whether in terms of technology or efficiency or availability with less financial efforts. The process of engineering enables you to undergo a series of different experiments when it comes to practical use. Though it's not like an experiment in laboratory under controlled conditions, which is finished while learning, an engineer should be able to do the same on a social scale involving human subjects.
Experimentation is a significant aspect of the designing process. An engineer who is ought to design the parts of a car, will be able to understand the result only when it is tested practically. Preliminary simulations are conducted from time to time to understand how the new concept of engineering acts in its first rough design. Materials and processes are tried out, usually employing formal experimental techniques. Such tests function as a basis, which help in developing the ultimate product.
Engineers as Experimenters
In the process of developing a product, an engineer generally learns through experimentation. To simply put, a trial and error method is the mostly used one to acquire results, but that goes with some calculations. Hence, it can be said that, primarily any experiment is administered with partial ignorance. Even the outcomes of the experiments might not be as expected. An engineer must always be ready for the unexpected output. The improvement of current prototype will result in some change which may or may not be fruitful.
The experiments made are mostly subjected to risks though the project is little. Many uncertainties are likely to occur depending upon the changes which may occur within the altered model or materials purchased. At times, when the materials were subjected to continued stress and strain, or some process, it can happen that the character of the substance changes which could result in some destruction. These are the areas of experiment where nothing is admittedly predictable.
There are few things which an engineer is ought to keep in mind even though the experiments and the results are uncertain. Consider the subsequent points which are associated with the moral aspects of human behaviour −
- To maintain the safety of human beings.
- To procure their rights of consent.
- To keep them conscious of the experimental nature of the project.
- To warn them about the probable safety hazards.
- Should monitor the results of the experiment continuously.
- Having autonomy in conducting experiments.
- Accepting accountability for the results of the project.
- Exhibiting characteristics of professionalism and their technical competence.
Social Experimentation in Engineering
Engineering when considered as a social experiment involves the following:
Conscientiousness
The ethics that an engineer must follow rely on the moral standards of the individual. Conscientiousness implies consciousness which suggests the sense of awareness. Every engineer is anticipated to possess some moral standards regardless of the role he's performing.
The present working environment of engineers, narrow down their moral vision fully with the obligations accompanied with the status of the worker . But this might break the moral laws. Along with satisfying the employer’s goals, by behaving as a responsible employee, by not doing any fraud, not breaking confidentiality and violating patent rights etc., an engineer should be conscious about the unexpected. Adverse outcome may come up as unexpected results of their experiments; for this, they are answerable to the general public.
Informed Consent
As a responsible engineer, one should learn of the facts so as to be conscious. The engineered products of the corporate should be in such a way that they will never be used to perform any illegal or unsocial activities, which causes destruction.
It is to be observed that if an organization produces some products that are out of fashion or the things which promote wastage of energy and don't fetch in benefits, such things are to be explained to the employer and alternative solutions should also be suggested by the engineers.
Moral Autonomy
Any person may be morally autonomous only if one is being genuine in one’s commitment towards moral values. Moral beliefs and attitudes must be integrated into an individual’s personality which results in a committed action.
The responsibility to answer an unexpected result, influences an engineer to involve himself personally into the work. This results in moral autonomy wherein, he also gains the trust of the employer, through his commitment. Such responsible actions lead to great outcomes.
Accountability
Accountability may be understood as the moral responsibility that we've got towards our actions. It means an inclination to be willing to openly accept the moral examinations towards one’s actions and being attentive to the assessment of others. The gap between casual responsibility and moral accountability is common in any profession, in conjunction with engineering.
- When a group of individuals are involved in the completion of a project, then the accountability refers to the group minimizing the possibilities of acceptance of ethical responsibility towards a specific action, where everyone makes only a small contribution to something much larger.
- The accountability is diffused within the organization and one has to accept it. Both credit and failure must be considered for accountability where the work is diffused and therefore the areas of personal accountability are delimited within the organization.
- There is always an ethical involvement beyond the laid down institutional role, where the engineers cannot separate themselves from personal responsibilities of their work.
Life Skills
Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. For engineers, learning about societal problems and collaborating to implement a solution requires life skills such as building relationships and interacting with people.
Life skills incorporate a number of skills that help one in succeeding in life. Some of the important life skills are mentioned below:
Negotiation Skills
Negotiation skills are qualities that allow two or more parties to reach a compromise and a favourable outcome of a specific situation. Negotiation skills comprise soft skills which include abilities such as communication, persuasion, planning, strategizing and cooperating. A strong understanding of these skills is necessary to becoming a stronger negotiator.
The application of negotiation skills depends upon the environment, intended outcome and the parties involved. Below are the key negotiation skills are applicable to many situations:
Communication: Essential communication skills often consist of identifying nonverbal cues and expressing yourself in a way that is engaging and meaningful. It is imperative to understand and follow the natural flow of conversation and always solicit feedback. Active listening skills are crucial for understanding the parties involved in the negotiation. By establishing clear communication, misunderstandings can be easily avoided that could prevent you from reaching a compromise.
Persuasion: The ability to influence and convince others is one of the most important skill for negotiation. It will help define why your proposed solution to any given situation is beneficial to all parties engaged and encourage others to support your point-of-view.
Planning: In order to reach an agreement or concord that benefits all parties involved, it is imperative to consider how the consequences will impact everyone in the long-term. Planning skills are an essential element not only for the negotiation process but also for deciding how the terms will be carried out.
Strategizing: The best negotiators enter any discussion with at least one or two backup plans, but often more. Considering all possible outcomes, and being prepared for each of these scenarios is an important negotiating skill.
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to express and control emotions is essential, but so is the ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the emotions of others. This ability is referred to as emotional intelligence. Some experts even suggest that it can be more important than IQ in your overall success in life.
Components of Emotional intelligence
Researchers suggest that there are four different levels of emotional intelligence including emotional perception, the ability to reason using emotions, the ability to understand emotions, and the ability to manage emotions.
Perceiving emotions: The accurate perception of an emotion is the first step towards understanding it. Most of the time it involves understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial expressions.
Reasoning with emotions: The second most important component of emotional intelligence is using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions often prioritize what we pay attention and react to; in other words, we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention.
Understanding emotions: A wide range of meanings can be carried by the emotions that we perceive. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of the person's anger and what it could mean. For example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that they are dissatisfied with your work, or it could be because they got a speeding ticket on their way to work that morning or that they've been fighting with their partner.
Managing emotions: Manage emotions effectively is a crucial part of emotional intelligence and the highest level. Regulating emotions and responding appropriately as well as responding to the emotions of others are all important aspects of emotional management.
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal skills are the skills one uses while communication with individuals or groups in their everyday lives. Engineers with good people skills often tend to be more successful than people who lack them. Interpersonal skills are vital in all areas of one’s life. People with good interpersonal skills are able to work well with other people and are also good with social interactions.
Though they are more targeted towards communication, interpersonal skills also include understanding body language, active listening, using gestures to express thoughts and feelings, and also dealing with different attitudes. They also include the skills and attributes associated with emotional intelligence, or being able to understand and manage your own as well as others’ emotions.
Interpersonal skills are extensively useful in work environments, they help maintain good social relationships among colleagues and also help mitigate employer-employee affairs.
Some of the most common interpersonal skills are:
- Active listening
- Collaboration
- Problem-solving
- Conflict resolution
- Empathy
- Diplomacy
- Adaptability
- Leadership
- Mediation
- Patience
Teamwork Skills
Teamwork is an essential element to achieve success at work, no matter your industry or job title. Working in unison with clients, colleagues, managers and other people in your workplace can help you complete tasks efficiently while creating an enjoyable environment both for yourself and others. An organization is that emphasizes good teamwork skills is typically a healthy, high-functioning workplace.
Teamwork skills are the abilities and qualities that will allow you to work with others during formal conversations, projects, meetings or other collaborations. Teamwork skills are thoroughly dependent on your ability to communicate well, actively listen and be responsible and honest.
In every industry at every level in your career, you will be required to work alongside others. Doing so in an empathetic, efficient and responsible manner can help you accomplish career goals, grow your resume and contribute positively to your organization. It can also help you build rapport with others. Building rapport can lead to deeper working relationships, new connections and possibly new opportunities.
Decision Making Skills
Decision-making is the ability or skill that shows your proficiency in choosing between two or more alternatives. You can make decisions once you process all the information available to you and speak with the right points of contact involved in a certain situation. Overall, it's important to identify processes that help you make the right decision on behalf of the organization and make a concerted effort to uncover biases that may affect the outcome of it.
Below are some of the skills required for the decision-making process:
- Problem-solving
- Leadership
- Reasoning
- Intuition
- Teamwork
- Emotional intelligence
- Creativity
- Time management
- Organization
Engineers as Managers, Consultants and Leaders
Engineers, within their communities and professions contribute to technological process, as managers, business entrepreneurs, corporate consultants, academics and administration they supply many kinds of leadership in developing and implementing technology.
As Managers
The roles and responsibilities of engineers working as managers include:
- Promote an ethical climate, through framing organization policies, responsibilities and by personal attitudes and obligations.
- Resolving conflicts, by evolving priority, developing mutual understanding, generating various alternative solutions to problems.
- Social responsibility to stakeholders, customers and employers. They act to develop wealth and also the welfare of the society. Ethicists project the view that the manager’s responsibility is just to extend the profit of the organization, and only the engineers have the responsibility to safeguard the security, health, and welfare of the public. But managers have the moral responsibility to provide safe and good products (or useful service), while showing respect for the human beings who include the workers, customers and the general public. Hence, the objective for the engineers as managers is to produce valuable products that are also profitable.
- Manage and lead engineers, employees and technicians who design machinery, plan and develop civil projects, and oversee production and quality assurance.
- Supervise and administer production, operations, quality checks, testing, or maintenance in industrial plants.
- Oversee the research and development of latest products and procedures.
- Hire, mentor and train other engineers and supporting staff.
- Solve internal issues and write performance reviews.
- Discuss and lay out project specifications.
- Make detailed plans to accomplish goals.
- Analyse market demand and available resources.
- Review, approve, or modify product designs.
- Prepare budgets, bids, and contracts.
- Negotiate research contracts.
- Approve expenditures.
- Review and recommend contracts.
- Develop cost estimates.
- Draft proposals and reports for clients.
- Improve manufacturing processes and advance scientific research.
- Develop overall concepts for a new product.
- Check technical accuracy of work.
- Establish administrative policies, procedures, and standards.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of unit with other units or organizations.
- Confer with higher levels of management.
As Consultants
Engineering consultants work with various organizations and independent clients to provide engineering advice and technical solutions on different projects. A variety of tasks are included in the job description of an engineering consultant including but not limited to coordinating teams, preparing documentation, and developing project plans. Consulting engineers do not receive a fixed salary but are provided remuneration for the services they offer when called. Consulting engineers have ethical responsibilities different from a salaried engineer.
The type of organization an engineering consultant works for will determine the precise roles and responsibilities they are assigned. An engineering consultant’s roles and responsibilities typically involve:
- Project Management - The role of engineering consultants in project management involves working with clients to assess their needs and translate them into designs, equipment, or new systems. Consulting engineer’s manager project timelines and oversee all developments from the initial concept stage through to completion.
- Plan Technical Solutions - After assessing projects for technical issues, engineering consultants find unique ways to resolve them without affecting the final completion deadline or affecting the involvement from other departments or external companies.
- Build Relationships with Clients - Engineering consultants attend meetings with clients, architects, local authorities, and manufacturers to form a decent rapport with them to fully understand their requirements and supply accurate solutions, also as to provide them with progress updates along the way.
- Organize Project Logistics - Here, the role of a consulting engineer involves managing and organizing the logistics of the project, like purchasing or supply chain management. While organizing project logistics, engineers analyse the processes in place and identify areas that may be improved or find solutions to issues as they arise.
- Prepare Documentation - Engineering consultants are responsible for creating documents and reports that detail their assessments, any fact-finding survey data they’ve acquired, the project’s inception, and concept planning.
As Leaders
Leadership may be defined as the art of motivating a group of people to act toward attaining a common goal. In a professional setting, this can mean directing workers and colleagues with a strategy to meet the company's needs.
Leadership encapsulates the essential elements of being able and prepared to inspire others.
This holds true for the role of engineers working as leaders of various departments in an organization. Successful engineering leadership involves assisting individuals to work together in order to achieve specific team and big picture company goals. Great leaders provide communication, motivation, guidance and more to support the team effort.
Engineering teams are typically given very objective and specific instructions for each project: they must meet all client specifications; complete the project on time; stay on budget; and offer every reasonable assurance of safety, durability, and quality control. Achieving all this implies harnessing different engineering professionals’ distinct expertise and keeping them focused on the shared goal. This is the engineering leader’s primary duty.
The Responsibilities of an Engineering Leader
The main roles and responsibilities of an engineering leader are as follows:
- Managing people. All engineering teams include individuals representing different disciplines and areas of professional focus. Part of the leader’s job is guiding and motivating these diverse employees, ensuring that all individuals achieve at the highest level of their ability.
- Managing teams. Engineering leaders not only nurture individuals’ talents and abilities but also create team cohesion and unity. For example, leaders may set goals and remind team members of those goals. Engineers when acting as leaders also clarify expectations and hold team members liable for their actions.
- Managing projects. Engineering leaders must communicate with clients in order to make sure that they understand the project specifications while also highlighting any issues, problems, barriers, or changes that arise.
Leadership Skills for Engineers
Engineers must cultivate several essential skills and professional traits to become effective leaders. The most foundational leadership skills include the following:
- Communication. Leaders need to know methods of conveying expectations and setting a vision for the future. At the same time, they must know how to actively listen to their team members’ concerns.
- Decision-making. After seeking feedback from clients and team members, leaders must ultimately feel confident in making informed decisions and conveying them to those who report to them.
- Teamwork. Leaders must, by example and by trusting those who report to them, be prepared to foster cohesive team environments.
Engineering ethics play an important role in promoting an ethical climate in various social and formal aspects. This can be studied through the following categories:
Promoting an ethical business climate
Engineers help in the propagation of the following business ethics:
- Be it any industry or a company office, the infrastructure and also the working environment should be comfortable and motivating.
- The safety precautions and maintenance of the organization are to be taken care of.
- The work and the skills of the workers are to be identified and encouraged for the advancement of the organization.
- A hierarchical procedure is to be followed, maintaining the moral standards for the execution of various tasks.
- The product maintenance right from the procurement staple to the dispatch of product should be conducted in a standard procedure uninfluenced by any unethical issues.
- No tolerance should be there for any form of unethical behavior or influences that affect the manufacturing and organizational standards.
- To encourage the activities that promote social good and are environment-friendly.
Promoting environmental ethics
Globalization and industrialization have impacted the environment on a really large scale. The future effects of the environment are usually neglected unless it is considered as a gross and immediate effect.
We have gotten habituated to the ill-effects of pollution and industrial negligence shows on our surroundings. The aftermath can be seen in acid rains, water and land contamination, effect on crops and food sources, floods, drought, tsunamis and earthquakes, the effect on marine biology the effect on ozone and also the melting of snow mountains because of global warming, etc.
Engineers must promote responsibility towards the environment and must be ethical in their approach and find mitigating solutions for the protection of environment. Organizations should support the activities that promote environment protection. The environment ethics include −
The study of moral issues concerning the environment
- Moral perspectives, beliefs and attitudes concerning those issues.
- Promoting computer ethics
Computer Ethics
Computers with Internet raise a number of adverse moral issues, many of them connected with basic moral concerns like free speech, privacy, respect for property, consent and harm. To evaluate and take care of these issues, a brand new area of applied ethics called Computer Ethics has come up. These ethics are associated with all the computer professionals like programmers, analysts, operators, designers, etc. along with the users.
Engineers promote an ethical climate for computer usage by providing the ten commandments of Computer Ethics, created in 1992 by the Computer Ethics Institute. They are as follows:
1. One should not use a computer to harm people.
2. One shouldn't interfere with other people’s computer work.
3. One should not look around in other people’s computer files that may be private.
4. One should not use steal information using a computer.
5. One shouldn't use a computer to bear false witness.
6. One Should not copy or use proprietary software for which one has not paid for.
7. One shouldn't use other people’s computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
8. One shouldn't appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
9. One Should think about the social consequences of the program they are writing or the system they are designing.
10. One should use a computer in ways in which ensure consideration and respect for fellow humans.
