PROFESSION AND PROFESSIONALISM- PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES

ENGINEERING PROFESSION AND ETHICS

Engineering is the biggest profession and the decisions and actions of the engineers affect all of us in almost all areas of our lives, namely public society, health and welfare.

Engineering ethics is defined by the codes and standards of conduct endorsed by engineering (professional) societies with respect to the particular set of beliefs, attitudes and habits displayed by the individual or a group.

Goals of ethics: The discovery of the set of justified moral principles of obligation, rights and ideals that ought to be endorsed by the engineers and apply them to concrete situations.

Approach: There are two approaches in the study of ethics
a.   Microethics: It deals with decisions and problems of individuals, professional and companies.
b. Macroethics: Deals with social problems on a regional and national level. Eg: Global issues. Collective responsibilities of professional societies.

I. Senses of Engineering Ethics: There are two different senses fo engineering ethics- Normative and descriptive senses.
1.      Normative senses: It includes, knowing about moral values, studying decisions, policies of engineering practices.
2.      Descriptive senses: It refers to what specific individual or group of engineers believe and act without justifying the beliefs or actions.

II. Variety of Moral issues: The reasons for people including the employer and employee, behaving unethically are classified into 3 categories.
1.      Resource crunch: Due to pressure, time constraints, budgetary constraints and technological decay.
2.      Opportunity: Double standard behavior of employers towards employees and public. Management stressing on short term goals even at the expense of employees. Management without focus on empowerment and improvement of the infrastructure.
3.      Attitudes: Poor attitudes of employees is due to

a.       Low morale due to dissatisfaction and downsizing.

b.      Lack of transparency/ promotion/ carrier development.

c.       Absence of grievances redressal mechanism.

d.      Poor work environment.

Positive attitude among employees is promoted by giving proper training on ethical conduct. They must be encouraged and rewarded thereby positivity prevails.

III. Types of Inquiry: ( Questioning) These are of three types 1) Normative 2) Conceptual 3) Factual or descriptive.
1.      Normative inquiry: It seeks to identify and justify the morally desirable norms or standards that should be guide individual groups.
2.      Conceptual inquiry: It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or ideas or principles that are expressed by words or by questions and statements.
3.      Factual or descriptive inquiry: It is aimed at obtaining facts needed for understanding and resolving value issues. Researchers conduct these inquiries using mathematical or statistical techniques.

The inquiry provides important information on business realities, engineering practices and effectiveness of professional societies in nurturing moral conduct.

IV. Moral Dilemma: Dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons  come into conflict or in which he application of moral values are problems, and one is not clear of the immediate choice or solution of the problem.

            Moral reasons could be rights, duties, goods or obligations. These situations do not mean that things had gone wrong, but only indicate the presence of moral complexity. There are three complexes situations leading to moral dilemmas which include:

1.      Problem of vagueness- i.e., unable to distinguish good and bad.

2.      The problem of conflicting reasons- incase of two good moral options

3.      The problem of disagreement. When more options are available.

Steps to solve this dilemma

-          Identification of moral factors and reasons

-          Collection of all information, data and facts

-          Ranking the moral  options

-          Generate alternate course of actions to resolve the dilemma even by discussing with colleagues.

-          Final decision is arrived based on the priorities that are fixed.

V. Moral Autonomy:

Definition: Decision and actions exercised on the basis of moral concern for other people and recognition of good moral reasons.

Or- it means self determined or independent.

            Autonomous people hold moral beliefs and attitudes based on their critical reflection  rather than on passive  adoption of the conventions of the society or profession.

It is a skill and habit of thinking rationally about the ethical issues, on the basis of moral concern.

Threats to autonomy: From management point of view – they think of more profits than consistent quality.

From employee point of view, their autonomy is under threat due to- periodic performance appraisals, tight-time schedules and fear of foreign competition.

VI.Moral development Theories: Proposed by Kohlberg theory and Gilligan theory

1)      Kohlberg theory: Indicates that moral development occurs over age and expertise. It has three levels- Preconventional, conventional and post conventional levels.

Preconventional level: Right conduct for his benefit. It is gained by obedience or desire to avoid punishment. It satisfies needs or influences by power on them. Eg: in young kids

Conventional level: It is due to respect to law and authority. Rules and norms of family set standards of morality. Individuals try to please (satisfy/ get approval) others to meet expectations of society than self-interest (loyalty)

Post conventional level: People are autonomous. They think originally and live for universal good for the welfare of the people. They have no self interest.

2) Gilligan theory: They have tendency to solve problems by applying abstract moral principles. Men were found to resolve moral dilemma by choosing the most important moral rule, overriding others. Women give importance ro preserve personal relationships with people involved.

The context oriented emphasis on maintaining personal relationships is called ethics of care in contrast with ethics of rules and rights adopted by man

           

Gilligan revised 3 levels of moral development of Kohlberg as stages of growth towards ethics of caring. The theories of moral development of Kohlberg and Gilligan differ in many aspects as mentioned in table and also in the case mentioned below:

Kohlberg theory	Carol Gilligan theory
1.      Basic Aspects
1.      Based on the study of man	1. Based on study of both mean and women
2.      Men give importance to moral rules	2. Women try to keep good relationships with everyone involved in the situation
3.      Ethics of rules and rights	3. women give attention to circumstances leading to critical situations than to rules
2.      Characteristic features
1. Justice	1. Reason
2. Factual	2. Emotional
3. Right and wrong	3. Impact on relationships
4. Logic only	4. Compassion too
5. Logic and rule based	5. Caring and concern
6. less of caring	6. More of caring
7. Matter of fact ( Practical)	7. Abstract
8. Present focus	8. Future focus
9. Strict rules	9. Making exceptions
10. Independence	10. Dependence
11. Rigid	11. Human oriented
12. Taking a commanding role	12. Shying away from decision making
13. Transactional approach	13. Transformational approach

Heinz dilemma:
Heinz is poor and debtor who want to buy drugs to his sick wife. He couldn’t afford its price and begged the pharmacist to sell it at half price. As pharmacist refused he steals.

(A woman was on her deathbed. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's laboratory to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?- Source- Wikipedia)

According to Kohlberg theory- Men say- the theft is wrong at conventional level. At post conventional level it is right as it is to save a person in danger.

Women say- it is wrong. Instead would have asked for installments. Women decision is context oriented.

VII. Consensus and controversy:

Consensus means agreement and controversy means conflict or disagreement.

In moral autonomy, one is not likely to obtain the same result as same as others. The situation may end up in controversy. In such situations good amount of tolerance among the individuals, who are autonomous, reasonable and responsible is necessary. Many reasonable solutions are possible to any given ethical problem. The ethics make the engineers realize the importance of tolerance among them in case of disagreement while applying moral autonomy.

VIII. PROFESSION AND PROFESSIONALISM

Profession: Any occupation / job / vocation that requires advanced expertise (skill and knowledge), self regulation and concerted service to the public good. It brings high status socially and economically.

Characteristics of a profession include:
1)      Advanced expertise- Sophisticated skills and technical knowledge. For this formal education, training, continuing education and updating is required.
2)      Self-regulation- Professional societies play important role in setting standards for admission to profession; drafting codes of ethics; enforcing standards of conduct and representing the profession before the public and government.
3)      Public good: The occupation provides important public good by concerted efforts to maintain ethical standards. Eg: Engineers- provide products and they do projects for public welfare/ health and safety.

Professional: Relates to a person or any work that a person does on profession and which requires expertise (skills and knowledge), self- regulation and results in public good.

Professionalism: It is the status of a professional which implies certain attitudes or typical qualities that are expected of a professional

According to Macintyre- Professionalism is defined as the services related to achieving the public good, in addition to the practice of the knowledge of moral ideals.

Criteria for achieving sustaining professional status:
1)      Advanced expertise: Requires exercising judgment
2)      Self regulation: Being able to analyze problem independently of self-interest and direct to a decision towards the best interest of clients/ customers.
3)      Public good: The job must be recognized by public.

Characteristics of Profession:
1.      Extensive training: Entry into profession requires extensive period of training of intellectual (competence) and moral (integrity) character.
2.      Knowledge and skills: Necessary for well being of society. Eg: Aeronautical engineers- do research in defense apart from looking after aeroplane safety.
3.      Monopoly: Control is achieved in 2ways-
a)      Convinces community about eligibility criteria
b)     Persuades community to have a licensing system for those who want to enter a profession. Eg: Practicing medicine without license is a crime.
4.      Autonomy in work place: Professionals engaged in private practice have considerable freedom in choosing their clients.
5.      Ethical standards: Professional societies stress the code of conduct to regulare the professionals against their abuse or any unethical decision and actions (impartial. Responsible) affecting the individuals or groups of the society.

IX. MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL ROLES:

Promotion of public good is the primary concern of the professional engineers. There are several role models to whom the engineers are attracted. These models provoke their thinking, attitudes and actions.

1.Savior: Saves society for poverty, illiteracy, wastage, inefficiency and ill health. Contributes to societies, prosperity, technological advancement and social planning.  
Eg: R.L.Stevenson: he is Scottish novelist, poet and essayist. He was a travel writer and his famous works include- Treasure Island, Markheim, kidnapped and strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Born in 1850, he joined engineering but had the inclination towards writing. The Treasure Island, “Markheim” and The Ebb-Tide are deeply immersed in social, psychological and moral issues peculiar not only to the Victorian age but also relevant to our own time. His is the very gentle, natural and fatherly view of mankind common to all great thinkers and insightful artists. He explores the character of human mind with its deformities and incapacities as well as its virtues, for to be true to life is, in Stevenson’s own words, much more admirable than to idealize it. An honest critique of social illnesses is worth a great deal more than mere show of goodness, prudence and morality often required by the publishers and expected by the reading public of Victorian era.

2.Guardian: Guards interest of society and general public.
Eg. Lawrance of Arabia Arabia found fame in World War One for the work he did in the Middle East. Lawrence gained an almost mythical status amongst the Arabs and was titled ‘Al Auruns’ by them. Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was born at Tremadoc in Wales in 1888. He was the son of Thomas Chapman, who later changed his surname to Lawrence. T E Lawrence was born out of marriage  – relatively rare in Victorian Britain. He was a very able pupil and could read at the age of four. He was also reading Latin at the age of six. Lawrence won a scholarship to Oxford University and developed a passion for reading – especially books on military history.

At Oxford University, Lawrence read History and gained a first class honours pass. While a student at Oxford, he travelled to the Levant where he visited Crusader castles. After gaining his degree , he joined an expedition by D G Hogarth to excavate Carchemish. He found that he had a natural affinity with the Arab people who he met. He learned their language and customs and spent time reading about their history. When war was declared in August 1914, Lawrence tried to join the army but was turned down because he was too small. The minimum height set by the army was five feet five inches. However, he persevered and after several months he was given a commission. Lawrence joined the intelligence branch of the general staff. His knowledge of Arabic led to a posting to Egypt where he served in the ‘Arab Bureau’ at GHQ. Lawrence had an unorthodox approach to his commission. Ignoring the protocol in the British Army for smartness of uniform, he was seen as a very able but scruffy junior officer.
The British military campaign in the Middle East had not started well. The British had easily repulsed a Turkish attack on the Suez Canal but their pursuit of the Turks across Sinai ground to a halt near Gaza.  In other areas in the region, the Turks had been more successful, especially in Aden. The Ottoman Empire had swallowed a great deal of the Middle East and the Turkish overlords were not welcome in that region. On June 5th, 1916, the Arab Revolt started in the Hejaz – though some called it the Arab Awakening.
The revolt had some initial successes capturing Mecca, Jidda and Taif. But the Arabs failed to take the main rail line that ran through the region and the Turks were able to quickly send more troops there. Thus the revolt lost its original impetus. In October 1916, the British sent Ronald Storrs to investigate the revolt. He was accompanied by Lawrence.
Lawrence was sent to meet the Amir Feisal whose tribesmen had been attempting to besiege Medina. Feisal was the son of Sherif Hussein, ruler of the Hejaz. Feisal and Lawrence developed an immediate rapport. Feisal’s men were keen fighters but hopelessly ill-disciplined. Lawrence saw the potential of harnessing their commitment to their cause but in a different direction. He quickly realised that Feisal’s men had no chance of capturing Medina. Lawrence believed that while the Turks controlled the rail line they would always have the opportunity to supply Medina. He therefore believed that Feisal’s best chance lay in guerilla warfare against the rail line but away from Medina. 

Lawrence wanted to move their campaign north. The rail line was a single track affair that linked Medina to Damascus. Lawrence did not want to destroy the line as it would be needed after the Turks had been defeated. Instead, he wanted to harass the Turks along the route of the rail line so that they would have to use more and more troops to guard it along its length. As Lawrence and the Hejaz Arabs moved further and further north, they linked up with Trans-Jordan tribes who joined his campaign. On July 6th, 1917, Lawrence and his Arab followers captured Aqaba from the rear after defeating a whole Turkish battalion. Feisal moved his headquarters to Aqaba and placed himself and his men under the command of General Allenby, British commander in Palestine. Allenby planned to use the growing Arab revolt against the Turks to his advantage. He provided the Arabs with guns, ammunition and gold. Small numbers of British, French and Indian troops were sent to Aqaba to support Feisal’s men. The Turkish Army had a number of conscripted Arab units in it and Allenby hoped that the success of Feisal would lead to them leaving the Turkish army en masse in a demonstration of Arab unity. 
As the revolt became more successful, more and more Arab tribesmen joined it. This is what Allenby had hoped for. The Turks could barely cope with the revolt. On December 9th, 1917, Allenby’s forces entered Jerusalem. Lawrence was with him. Both men got on with one another despite their different ranks. Allenby was quite happy for Lawrence to wear Arab dress – something other British officers could not tolerate. In January 1918, Lawrence led an attack on the Turks at Tafila in which a whole battalion was destroyed. The British had set a date for a massive attack against the Turks – September 19th, 1918. Lawrence was asked by Allenby to launch a diversionary attack on the Turks at an important rail junction at Deraa on September 17th. The attack was a great success as was Allenby’s attack. Feisal entered Damascus in triumph and Lawrence took charge of civil and military order for several weeks. On October 31st, 1918, an armistice was concluded with the Turks.
Lawrence lived among those Arabs who fought the Turks. He lived the life of a Bedouin, always doing more than those he fought with – riding his camel further, pushing his body harder. He ate what they ate which led to a number of debilitating stomach ailments. But by doing this, he earned the respect of those who fought with him. Before he arrived in the region, the British campaign had got bogged down. After his meeting with Feisal, the campaign picked up. Lawrence went out of his way to befriend the Arabs – something that not all British officers in the Middle East chose to do. At Deraa, he had a force of 3,000 Arabs but they tied down 50,000 Turks who could not help their comrades against Allenby. The Turkish High Command also spread their forces (150,000 men in total) thinly across the region making the British campaign that much easier.
Lawrence accompanied the Arab delegation to the Versailles Peace Conference where they fully expected their reward for helping the Allies in the war – full independence. Britain and France carved up the Middle East into their own zones of influence and the French even ejected Feisal from Damascus. After Versailles had finished, Lawrence resigned from the army. He was made a Fellow of All Souls in 1919 and spent his time writing “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”. He enlisted in the RAF in 1922 under the name J. M. Ross in an effort to gain seclusion from the world he had been living in. His health had been badly affected from the time he spent in the desert and he was not a well man. When his true identity was found out by the media, he left the RAF and joined the Royal Tank Corps under the name T. E. Shaw. However, he did not take to this new life and rejoined the RAF in 1925.  Lawrence served in India from 1927 to 1929 before returning to Britain. He stayed in the RAF until 1935.
Several months after leaving the RAF, Lawrence was engaged in his favorite passion – riding his motor bike at speed. He had a specially tuned motor bike and he crashed it at 90 mph avoiding two boys who suddenly appeared in front of him. He was only 45 years old.

3. Bureaucratic servant: Serves organization and employees. The management of an enterprise fixes its goals and assigns job of solving problems to engineers who accept the challenge and shapes them into concrete achievements.
Jamshedhi Tata: He founded The Tata Group of companies. Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the legendary "Father of Indian Industry. He devoted his life to four goals: setting up an iron and steel company, a world-class learning institution, a unique hotel and a hydro-electric plant. He is an engineer ideologies led to foundation of TATA  group that now has more than 6.5 lakhs.

4. Social servant: Exhibits social responsibility. They translate the interest of aspiration of the society into reality.
M.Visvesaraya was an Indian engineer scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1918. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the British Indian Empire (KCIE) by King George V for his contributions to the public good. Every year, on his birthday, 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's Day in India in his memory. He is held in high regard as a pre-eminent engineer of India. He was the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad in Telangana, as well as the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore.

5. Social Enabler and catalyst: One who changes the society through technology.
Eg: Sunderlal Bahuguna is a noted Garhwali environmentalist, Chipko movement leader and a follower ofMahatma Gandhi's philosophy of Non-violence and Satyagraha. This idea of chipko movement was of his wife and the action was taken by him. For years he has been fighting for the preservation of forests in the Himalayas, first as a member of the Chipko movement in the 1970s, and later spearheaded the Anti-Tehri Dam movement starting 1980s, to early 2004.^[3] He was one of the early environmentalists of India,^[4] and later he and people associated with the Chipko movemenT later started taking up environmental issues, like against large dams.He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, on 26 January 2009.

6. Game Player: He is neither servant nor master. He plays unique role successfully within the organization, enjoying the excitement of the profession and having the satisfaction of surging ahead in competitive world.
Narayana murthy- Infosys and Dr kasthurirajan of ISRO

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy - is an Indian IT industrialist and the co-founder of Infosys, a multinational corporation providing business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services. Murthy studied electrical engineering at the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore, and M. Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Before starting Infosys, Murthy worked with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as chief systems programmer and Patni Computer Systems in Pune (Maharashtra). He started Infosys in 1981 and served as its CEO from 1981 to 2002 and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. In 2011, he stepped down from the board and became Chairman Emeritus. On 1 June 2013, Murthy was appointed as Additional Director and Executive Chairman of the board for a period of five years. Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He has been described as Father of Indian IT sector by Time magazine due to his contribution to outsourcing in India. Murthy has also been honoured with thePadma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awards.

Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is an Indian space scientist who headed the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from 1994 to 2003. He was a Member in the Upper House (Rajya Sabha, 2003–2009) of the Indian Parliament. He is now a member of the Planning Commission of Government of India, chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University^[1]and chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission . He was also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, from April 2004 to 2009. He is a recipient of the three major civilian awards from the Government of India: the Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000). 
Dr. Kasturirangan was responsible for directing the Indian Space programme for over 9 years, as Chairman of ISRO and the Space Commission and as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, before laying down office on 27 August 2003. He was earlier the Director of ISRO Satellite Centre, overseeing the development of new generation spacecraft, the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-2) and the Indian Remote SensingSatellites (IRS-1A and 1B) as well as scientific satellites. He was also the Project Director for India's first two experimental earth observation satellites, Bhaskara-I and II.
Under his leadership, the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launching and operationalisation of the India's prestigious launch vehicles, thePolar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. Studies on the advanced version of the GSLV, GSLVMk-III, was also completed including defining its full configuration. Further, he also oversaw the development and launching of some of the world's best civilian remote sensing satellites, IRS-1C and IRS-1D, realization of new generation INSAT communication satellites, besides ocean observation satellites IRS-P3/P4. He also led the initiative for India to enter the planetary exploration era by an extensive studies leading to the definition of Chandrayaan-I. These efforts have put India as a pre-eminent space-faring nation among the handful of six countries that have major space programmes. As an Astrophysicist, Dr. Kasturirangan's interest include, research in high energy X-ray and gamma ray astronomy as well as optical astronomy. Defining India’s most ambitious space based High Energy Astronomy observatory and initiating a related activities was also an important milestone under his leadership. He has made extensive and significant contributions to studies of Cosmic x-ray and gamma ray sources and effect of cosmic x-rays in the lower atmosphere.

X. RESPONSIBILITY

Senses: There are different senses of responsibility, such as:
1. Characteristic Quality: Principally responsibility implies duty with care and efforts.
2.  Obligation: One’s moral responsibility is to act right. The obligations such as honesty, fairness and decency are necessary for everyone. In addition everyone has few role responsibilities to take up- parents, inspectors and employees.
3.  General Moral capacity: It involves understanding and acting based on moral reasons
4.  Liability and Accountability: (of actions)- One should be accountable for their actions and must Justify or defend the decisions, actions or  means and the outcomes for the same.
5.   Praiseworthiness/Blameworthiness: When accountability for wrong actions or results is at issue, responsibility means blameworthy. When the right conduct or successful result is at issue, responsibility is praise worthy.

II. Types of Responsibilities: There are different types of responsibilities exhibited in human transactions which include:
1)      Moral Responsibility: A professional must be responsible morally in creating internal good or good outcomes, and minimizing side- effects from engineering and technology.
 These include:
a)      Obligations: A commitment or moral actions
b)     Conscientious: A comprehensive outlook to accept the duties and carefully, do the right things by putting their heart, head and hand.
c)      Accountability: Being answerable.
d)     Praiseworthy/Blameworthy: (same as above)

2)  Causal Responsibility: Must take up responsibility for the cause. Eg: A persons negligence has caused some mishap. He must take up this causal responsibility.

3)    Job Responsibility: Comprises of assigned tasks in the place of employment.
4) Legal responsibility: It is the response required by law and includes legal obligations and accountability to meet them. Many of these overlap with moral responsibilities.

III.       Responsible Professionalism:
It is the comprehensive virtue of engineers and is also called Professional Responsibility.
1.  Self-direction (self Governance): An important virtue required in exercising moral responsibility. For doing this one must have good character and practical wisdom. It also covers- courage. Discipline, perseverance, self-respect and integrity.
2.      Public- spirited virtues: it focuses on good of the clients and public. It includes the respect for rights and non-malfeasance. Engineering code also include- public safety, health and welfare, generosity (volunteering and money-volunteering) and unbiased justice.
3.  Team work virtues: Required to work successfully with others. They include- collegiality, cooperativeness, communicative ability, and respect for legitimate authority.
4.      Proficiency virtues: It means mastering of technical skills. It includes- competence, diligence (alert to dangers), creativity, excellence and self-renewal through continuing education.
5.      Cardinal (chief) virtues: Wisdom, courage, temperance and justice are included in this. These are the morals that govern our actions, regulate our passions and guide our conduct according to faith and reason.

IV.       Social responsibility

          Corporate organizations have social responsibility for all their stake holders who include- employees and their unions, investors, customers, dealers, suppliers, local communities, government organizations and business owners and managers.

Apart from these the organizations are also concerned with-

i)                    Product marketing and it end use (mot to be misused and is properly disposed). (Battery usage and disposal is always a concern).

ii)                  Protecting work environment

iii)                Training the disadvantages and physically challenged

iv)                Subcontracting and hiring practices and

v)                  Contributing to local communities by way of sponsorships.

V) Accountability: It refers to general disposition of being willing to submit one’s actions to moral scrutiny and be open and responsive to the assessments of others. It involves willingness to present morally cogent reasons for one’s conduct when called upon to do so in appropriate circumstances.

1. Capacity to understand the act on moral issues.

2. Willingness to submit one’s actions to moral scrutiny and be responsive to assessment of others.

3. Conscientiousness: - Being sensitive to full range of moral values and responsibilities and willingness to upgrade their skills, put efforts and reach the best balance possible among these considerations

4. Blameworthy/ Praiseworthy: Own responsibility for good or wrong outcomes.

Milgram says under authority people tend to give up accountability in profession. To solve this, the following are being adopted in engineering practices.

-          Fragmentation of work so that each individual has small contribution to make and it will not be a pressure on burden for the individuals.

-          There is a frequent pressure to  move on to a new project before the current one has been completed. This promotes a sense of being accountable only for meeting schedules.

VI) Obligations: These include-

Moral obligations through law and enforced codes of conduct, thought membership of professional society, contractual agreement.

1. Engineers shall be guided in all their relations by the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

 a. Engineers shall acknowledge their errors and shall not distort or alter the facts.

b. Engineers shall advise their clients or employers when they believe a project will not be successful.

c. Engineers shall not accept outside employment to the detriment of their regular work or interest. Before accepting any outside engineering employment, they will notify their employers.

d. Engineers shall not attempt to attract an engineer from another employer by false or misleading pretenses.

 e. Engineers shall not promote their own interest at the expense of the dignity and integrity of the profession.

2. Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest.

 a. Engineers shall seek opportunities to participate in civic affairs; career guidance for youths; and work for the advancement of the safety, health, and well-being of their community.

b. Engineers shall not complete, sign, or seal plans and/or specifications that are not in conformity with applicable engineering standards. If the client or employer insists on such unprofessional conduct, they shall notify the proper authorities and withdraw from further service on the project.

c. Engineers shall endeavor to extend public knowledge and appreciation of engineering and its achievements.

3. Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice that deceives the public.

a. Engineers shall avoid the use of statements containing a material misrepresentation of fact or omitting a material fact.

b. Consistent with the foregoing, engineers may advertise for recruitment of personnel.

c. Consistent with the foregoing, engineers may prepare articles for the lay or technical press, but such articles shall not imply credit to the author for work performed by others.

4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent, confidential information concerning the business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer, or public body on which they serve.

a. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, promote or arrange for new employment or practice in connection with a specific project for which the engineer has gained particular and specialized knowledge.

b. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, participate in or represent an adversary interest in connection with a specific project or proceeding in which the engineer has gained particular specialized knowledge on behalf of a former client or employer.

5. Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting interests.

a. Engineers shall not accept financial or other considerations, including free engineering designs, from material or equipment suppliers for specifying their product.

b. Engineers shall not accept commissions or allowances, directly or indirectly, from contractors or other parties dealing with clients or employers of the engineer in connection with work for which the engineer is responsible.

6. Engineers shall not attempt to obtain employment or advancement or professional engagements by untruthfully criticizing other engineers, or by other improper or questionable methods.

a. Engineers shall not request, propose, or accept a commission on a contingent basis under circumstances in which their judgment may be compromised.

b. Engineers in salaried positions shall accept part-time engineering work only to the extent consistent with policies of the employer and in accordance with ethical considerations.

c. Engineers shall not, without consent, use equipment, supplies, laboratory, or office facilities of an employer to carry on outside private practice.

7. Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other engineers. Engineers who believe others are guilty of unethical or illegal practice shall present such information to the proper authority for action.

a. Engineers in private practice shall not review the work of another engineer for the same client, except with the knowledge of such engineer, or unless the connection of such engineer with the work has been terminated.

b. Engineers in governmental, industrial, or educational employ are entitled to review and evaluate the work of other engineers when so required by their employment duties.

c. Engineers in sales or industrial employ are entitled to make engineering comparisons of represented products with products of other suppliers.

8. Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for their professional activities, provided, however, those engineers may seek indemnification (compensation for loss) for services arising out of their practice for other than gross negligence, where the engineer’s interests cannot otherwise be protected.

a. Engineers shall conform with state registration laws in the practice of engineering.

b. Engineers shall not use association with a nonengineer, a corporation, or partnership as a “cloak” for unethical acts.

9. Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will recognize the proprietary interests of others.

a. Engineers shall, whenever possible, name the person or persons who may be individually responsible for designs, inventions, writings, or other accomplishments.

b. Engineers using designs supplied by a client recognize that the designs remain the property of the client and may not be duplicated by the engineer for others without express permission.

c. Engineers, before undertaking work for others in connection with which the engineer may make improvements, plans, designs, inventions, or other records that may justify copyrights or patents, should enter into a positive agreement regarding ownership.

d. Engineers’ designs, data, records, and notes referring exclusively to an employer’s work are the employer’s property. The employer should indemnify the engineer for use of the information for any purpose other than the original purpose.

e. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and should keep current in their specialty fields by engaging in professional practice, participating in continuing education courses, reading in the technical literature, and attending professional meetings and seminars.

XI. Theories about Right action (Ethical theories)

The theories are useful- in situations of ethical dilemma, for practical guidance, and in maintaining professional morality. The various theories covered include;
1)      Utilitarian theory
2)      Duty theory
3)      Rights theory
4)      The virtue theory
5)      Self-realization ethics
6)      Justice (fairness theory)

1)      Utilitarian theory: Conceived in 19^th century by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill to help legislators determine which laws were morally best. Right actions are the ones that produce the greatest satisfaction of the preferences of the affected persons. According to this theory we have to- analyze the various courses of action available, analyses who will be affected by each action and then chose the action that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number.

Act – Utilitarian theory (Mill): They produce the most good for the most people

Rule Utilitarian theory (Brandt): They fall under the rule that if widely followed would produce the most good for the most people.

2)      Duty Theory: Proposed by Immanuel Kant states that- actions are consequences of performance of one’s duties such as, being honest, not causing suffering to others, being fair to others including meek and week, being grateful, keeping promises etc. It falls under principles of duty that respect autonomy and rationality of persons and that can be willed universally to apply to all people.

John Rawl: He states that they fall under principles that would be agreed upon by all rational agents in a hypothetical contracting situation that assures impartiality.

CWD Ross- a British Philosopher introduced the term Prima Facie duties, which means duties might have justified exceptions. Some duties may be obligatory and few with permissible exceptions and in such situations priorities are to be fixed.

The theory is criticized on the basis that intuitions do not provide sufficient guidelines for moral guidelines. He listed various aspects of duty ethics that reflect moral convictions:

1.      Fidelity- duty to keep promises

2.      Reparation: duty to compensate others when we harm them

3.      Gratitude- duty to thank those who help us

4.      Justice- duty to recognize merit

5.      Beneficence- duty to recognize inequality and improve the conditions of others

6.      Self- employment- duty to improve virtue and intelligence

7.      Non-malfeasance- duty not to injure others

3. Rights theory: Rights serve as protection barriers, shielding individuals form unjustified violation of their moral agency by others. According to Kant people have dignity based on their ability to choose freely what they will do with their lives and they have a fundamental moral right to have these choices. Other rights include

The right to access the truth

The right to privacy

The right not to be injured

The right to what is agreed

John Locke states that the actions are right, if they respect human rights of everyone affected.

Melden’s theory is based on rights; nature mandates that we should not harm other’s life, liberty or property.

4. The Virtue Theory

This emphasizes on the character rather than the rights or duties. The character is the pattern of virtues(morally-desirable features). The theory advocated by Aristotle, stressed on the tendency to act at proper balance between extremes of conduct, emotion, desire, attitudes to find the golden mean between the extremes of ‘excess’ or ‘deficiency’.

5. Self-realization Ethics

Right action consists in seeking self-fulfillment. In one version of this theory, the self to be realized is defined by caring relationships with other individuals and society. In another version called ethical egoism, the right action consists in always promoting what is good for oneself. No caring and society relationships are assumed.

6. Justice (Fairness) Theory

The justice or fairness approach to ethics has its roots in the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who said that “equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally.” The basic moral question in this approach is: How fair is an action? Does it treat everyone in the same way, or does it show favoritism and discrimination?

XII. Self-control: It is the virtue of maintaining personal discipline. A strong will and motivation and avoidance of fear, hatred, lack of efforts, temptation, self-deception and emotional response. It includes courage as well as good judgment. Self-respect promotes self-control.

XIII. Self-interest: It is being good and acceptable to oneself. It is pursuing what is good for oneself. As per utilitarian theory, this interest should provide for the respect of others also. Duty ethics recognizes this aspect as duties to ourselves. Then only one can help others. Right ethicist stresses our rights to pursue our own good.

However this self interest should not degenerate into egoism or selfishness, i.e., maximizing only own good in the pursuit of self-interest. The ethical egoists hold that the society benefits to maximum when

(a) the individuals pursue their personal good and (b) the individual organizations pursue maximum profit in a competitive enterprise. This is claimed to improve the economy of the country as a whole, besides the individuals. In such pursuits, both individuals and organizations should realize that independence is not the only important value. Self-respect includes recognition of our vulnerabilities and interdependencies. Hence, it is compatible with caring for ourselves as well as others. The principles of ‘Live and let (others) live’, and ‘reasonably fair competition’ are recommended to professionals by the ethicists.

XIV. Customs:

Ethical Pluralism: Various cultures in our pluralistic society lead to tolerance for various customs, beliefs, and outlooks. Accordingly ethical pluralism also exists. Although many moral attitudes appear to be reasonable, the rational and morally concerned people cannot fully accept any one of the moral perspectives. There are many varied moral values, which allow variation in the understanding and application of values by the individuals or groups in their everyday transactions. It means that even reasonable people will not agree on all moral issues and professional ethics.

Ethical Relativism: According to this principle, actions are considered morally right when approved by law or custom, and wrong when they violate the laws or customs. The deciding factor is the law or the customs of the society.

XV. Religion: Religions have played major roles in shaping moral views and moral values, over geographical regions. Christianity has influenced the Western countries, Islam in the Middle-East countries, Buddhism and Hinduism in Asia, and Confucianism in China. Further, there is a strong psychological link between the moral and religious beliefs of people following various religions and faiths. Religions support moral responsibility. They have set high moral standards. Faith in the religions provides trust and this trust inspires people to be moral. The religions insist on tolerance and moral concern for others.

Many professionals who possess religious beliefs are motivated to be morally responsible. Each religion lays stress on certain high moral standards. For example, Hinduism holds polytheistic (many gods) view, and virtues of devotion and surrender to high order. Christianity believes in one deity and emphasizes on virtues of Love, Faith, and Hope. Buddhism is non-theistic and focuses on compassion and Islam on one deity and adherence of ishan (piety or pursuit of excellence) and prayer. Judaism stresses the virtue of ‘tsedakah’ (righteousness). But many religious sects have adopted poor moral standards, e.g., many religious sects do not recognize equal rights for women. The right to worship is denied for some people. People are killed in the name of or to promote religion. Thus conflicts exist between the ‘secular’ and religious people and between one religion and another. Hence, religious views have to be morally scrutinized.

Religions such as Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity accept the existence of God. But Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism adopt only faith in a right path and do not believe in God. Socrates was said to have argued that God, an entity which is responsible, morally good, and beyond fear or favor, would not command murder, rape, torture, immoral activities, and even mass suicide. Many such crimes were committed in the name of God then and continue even now in different parts of the world. Some Western leaders had claimed that God had commanded them to invade against the Middle-East countries. If anyone claims to have obtained commands from God to kill people merciless, then we have to conclude that the person is not religious but insane.

XVI. Self-Respect: It is defined as valuing oneself in morally suitable ways. Self-respect includes (a) recognition, which means respect to others, their ideas, decisions, ability, and rights and

(b) appraisal, which means properly valuing ourselves as to how well we face moral standards and our personal commitments (aims). An intensive but balanced feeling of self-respect is sense of honor. This includes intense agony and guilt for wrong doings. Self-control is a virtue of maintaining personal discipline (self-regulation). Courage is a bye-product of self-respect, which makes a person face the hardship in rational way Self-respect is different from self-esteem in the following manner:

XVII. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: Engineers success in a project is the outcome of technical excellence combined with good ethics, most notably the ethics of team play among professionals who shared responsibility for the project. Therefore professional responsibility may be defined as the area of legal practice that encompasses the duties of attorneys to act in a professional manner, obey the law, avoid conflicts of interest and put the  interests  of clients ahead of their  own  interests. A responsible professional must have the following attributes:

A. Collegiality: It is shared power vested among colleagues; it is a form of social organization based on shared and equal participation of all its members. Thus collegiality is the tendency to support and cooperate with colleagues. Engineers must possess this quality and try not to harm the reputation, prospects, practice or employment of other engineers and should not criticize the work of other engineers. Important aspects of collegiality are respect, commitment and connectedness.
a)      Respect: Indicates valuing colleagues for the professional expertise, for their dedication in offering Services to public or for increased sales. It is mutual type and gained by reciprocation.
b)     Commitment: It refers to sharing a devotion of the moral ideals inherent in the practice of engineering. Even though there is a fierce competition among the profession of engineers they must share their ideas with one another for the betterment of the society.
c)      Connectedness: It is an awareness of being part of a cooperative undertaking created by shared commitments and expertise. Having a sense of connectedness promotes two things namely cooperative and support.

Collegiality as a virtue: Collegiality is an important virtue required for any professional which can be analyzed form society and professional point of view. One must be responsible with adequate levels of motivation.

B. Loyalty: A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment is affection towards a particular object, a person, an idea, a duty or a cause. There are two ways of loyalty. 1) Agency loyalty and 2) Identification loyalty
1)      Agency loyalty: When a person fulfills his contractual duties to his employees is said to be agency loyalty. It is purely a matter of action irrespective of its motive. The employee does tasks for which he is paid, like cooperation with his colleagues and obeying the values of authority within the company.
2)      Identification loyalty: it is based on personal identification with a group. It means carrying out ones moral duties willingly with a feeling of personal attachment to the group to which they are loyal.

Obligations in loyalty: agency loyalty is an obligation and is must treat employees fairly and must be clear with its goals.

Misguided loyalty: If employees hide facts thinking that it is an act of loyalty and is good for the company, it is misguided  loyalty.

C. Confidentiality: It means keeping the information on the employer and clients, as secrets. It is one of the important aspects of team work.

Justification for confidentiality: This is justified by ethical theories. Rights based theory justifies the rights of stake holders and right to intellectual property of company is also protected. The utilitarian theory The Utilitarian theory holds good, only when confidentiality produce most good to most people. Act utilitarian theory focuses on each situation, when the employer decides on some matters as confidential.

Further, the following moral principles also justify the concept of ‘confidentiality’:

1. Respect for Autonomy

It means respecting the freedom and self-determination of individuals and organizations to identify their legitimate control over the personal information of themselves. In the absence of this, they cannot keep their privacy and protect their self-interest.

2. Respect for Promises: It means giving respect for the promises made between the employers and employees. Employees must not disclose promises given to the employers.

3. Trustworthiness: Maintaining confidentiality by lawyers, accountants and attorneys are necessary to develop confidence and welfare of the individuals and the organization.

4. Respect for Public welfare: This is important in identifying relationships in professional transactions for the benefit of public welfare. Eg: medical practitioners keep their clients problems confidentially and patients in turn trust them and reveal their problems.

Types of confidential information: On the basis of possession, the confidentiality information is divided into two types 1) Privileged information and 2) Proprietary information

1) Privileged information: It is information that is available and accessed by virtue of a privilege of being employed on that assignment. The security check is also insisted during exit from the work place against the leakage of this type of information. An engineer working on defense project may know that the missile he has developed will be used against terrorists across the border.

2) Proprietary Information: It is information owned by an organization. Also refers to knowledge and procedures established in an organization. Eg: Trade secrets of a company. Quality manuals etc.

On the basis of severity of risk involved, confidentiality of information is further divided as
a)      Obvious information- which refers to data information and test results on the products yet to be released.
b)      Information of lesser confidentiality- it relates to business information such as number of employees working on projects, the identity of vendors or suppliers, customers, marketing strategies, yield of manufacture, substitution of materials etc. risk of loss is relatively less.

(Case study: 

Fury at HIV data leak in conservative Singapore- published in The Hindu, 11 feb, 2019

Singapore has witnessed information breaching about 14,200 HIV patients by an American who has published the details of the person publicly. The American has obtained the data from a partner who leaked the confidential information. This unprofessional activity would affect lives and basic living of the victims. One of the victim says , though Singapore has advanced economically, people mid has not changed. The social acceptance of HIV patients and gays is not there and this leakage can effect his existence and so of other victims.  )

D. Conflict of Interests:

It occurs when the employee has more than one interest. The situation may arise when a professional has an interest that if pursued might prevent him from meeting his obligations to his employers or clients, eg., an electrical engineer working in a State Electricity Board may have a financial interest in a company which supplies electrical instruments. A conflict of interest is different from conflicting interests.

Types of conflicting interests:
1.      Actual conflict of interest: This refers to the situation where the objective is list in decision making, and the inability to discharge the duty to the employer. It is the result of weaker judgment and service. A civil engineer working in the public works department has a financial interest in a contracting company, which has submitted a bid for the construction of a bridge. There may be a variety of outside interest. But the conflict arises when the outside interest influences or threatens the professional judgment in serving the employer or clients.

2.      Apparent conflict of interest: This is explained in the following example. An engineer is paid based on a percent of the cost of the design and there is no incentive for him to cut the costs. In this situation, it appears that the engineer makes the design more expensive in order to get larger commission for him. This situation leads to doubting the engineer’s interest and ability for professional judgment.

3.      Potential conflict of interest: There are situations where the interest of an employee extends beyond the current employer and into the interest on one’s spouse, relative or friend. The interest changes into intimacy and subsequent non-moral judgments against the interest of the employer and in favor of the outsider or even a potential competitor.
a)      Favorable contact: this happens when the engineer has partial or substantial stockholding in the business of that contractor or supplier.
b)     Bribe and Gift: The conflict arises when accepting large gifts from the suppliers. Bribe is different from a gift. The following table shows a comparison of the nature of bribe and gift. Codes of ethics do  not encourage even gifts, but employees have set forth flexible policies. Government and company policies generally ban gifts more than a nominal value (>Rs.1000?) An additional thumb rule is that the acceptance of gift should not influence one’s judgment on merit.
c)      Moonlighting : It is a situation when a person is working as employee for two different companies in the spare time. This is against the right to pursue one’s legitimate self-interest. It will lead to conflict of interests, if the person works for competitors, suppliers or customers, while working under an employer. Another effect of moonlighting is that it leaves the person exhausted and harms the job performance in both places.
d)     Insider Information: Another potential conflict of interest is when using ‘inside’ information to establish a business venture or get an advantage for oneself or one’s family or friends. The information may be either of the parent company or its clients or its business partners, e.g., engineers might inform the decision on the company’s merger with another company or acquisition or an innovative strategy adopted. In such cases, their friends get information on stock holding and decide on trading their stocks to sell or buy quickly, so that gain more or prevent a loss. For example, in WorldCom USA, the insider information was used to manipulate and sell a large amount of stock holding by the Director, upon knowing that the government has declined to admit their product.

E. WHISTLE BLOWING: It is defined as conveying information by an employee, on an important moral problem to somebody in a position to tale on the problem. Further this is done outside the approved organization channels.

Aspects

There are four aspects of whistle blowing, namely:

1. Basis of disclosure: The basis for disclosure may be intentional, or under pressure from superiors or others not to disclose.

2. Relevance of topic: The whistle blower believes that the information is about a significant problem for the organization or its business ally. It can be a threat to the public or employees’ health, safety and welfare or a criminal activity, or unethical policies or practices, or an injustice to the workers within the organization.

3. Agent: The person disclosing the information may be a current or former employee or a person having a close link to the organization.

4. Recipient: The person or organization, who receives the information, is in a position to remedy the problem or alert the affected parties. Usually, the recipients are not aware of the information fully or even partially.

Types

Based on the destination (recipient), whistle blowing is classified into types, as:

(a) Internal: In this case, the information is conveyed to a person within the organization, but beyond the approved channels.

(b) External: This happens when the information is transmitted outside the organization. The recipient may be a municipal chairman or member of legislature or minister. It becomes severe if the information reaches the press and through them the public. The damage is maximum and sometimes poses difficulty in remedying the situation.

Based on the origin or source (agent), this can be divided into three types, as follows:

(a) Open: The originator reveals his identity as he conveys the information. This information is reliable and true, but sometimes partially true.

(b) Anonymous: The identity is concealed. The information may or may not be true. But the agent anticipates perhaps some repression or threat, if identity is revealed.

(c) Partly anonymous (or partly open): Such a situation exists when the individual reveals his identity to the journalist, but insists that the name be withheld from others.

When to Justify ?

Under the following situations, the whistle blowing may be justified:

1. When the potential harm existing is identified as serious, or anticipated to occur with a high probability, in the near future.

2. When sufficient data on the harm had been gathered and adequately documented. This condition may not be required if revealing the information would jeopardize the national interests or help the competitors. A request to the appropriate authority for external investigation or permission by a court to release the information may be a solution.

3. The concerns have been reported earlier to the immediate superiors and no satisfactory response was forthcoming from them, within a reasonable time.

4. Regular channels within the organization have been used to transport the information to the highest level of managements and information has reached them. Situations 3 and 4 may not be appropriate, when one’s supervisors are the main source of the problem or when urgency demands that regular channels are expected to only add the delay.

5. There is a reasonable hope that the whistle blowing can prevent or remedy the damage existing or anticipated.

                                                                                                       

            Professional societies, unions and some central laws are there to protect the genuine whistle blowers, but the route is full of adventure. Laws alone are not sufficient. The engineers and other employees have to act as watch dogs and provide necessary legal assistance to the blowers. The  IEEE has taken active roles by assisting the members, backing them when they are to face legal proceedings, helping the  engineers discharged unjustly and honoring the courageous whistle blowers with public recognitions.

            Whistle Blowers have to consider
a)       The personal obligation to family
b)      Right to pursue one’s career and
c)      Sometimes sacrifice, before this venture.