Professional Ethics - Introduction

Dr. K. Pavan Kumar

Associate Professor
School of Civil Engineering
VIT Vellore 632014
 What is a Profession?
A free act of commitment to a way of life

One professes to be a type of person and to occupy a special role that

carries with it stringent moral requirements

By the late 17th century, the term had been secularized to refer to anyone
who professed to be duly qualified

The Oxford Shorter Dictionary, defines the act of professing as:

The occupation which one professes to be skilled in and to follow . .A vocation
in which professed knowledge of some branch of learning is used in its
application to the affairs of others, or in the practice of an art based upon it
 A Sociological Analysis of Professionalism
An occupation is simply a way to make living

A series of characteristics that are marks of professional status are as follows:

Extensive training
Vital knowledge and skills
Control of services
Autonomy in the work place
Claim to ethical regulation

According to the sociological analysis, the identifying characteristics of

professions may have one or both of two functions: altruistic and self-interest
 Professions as Social Practices
The concept of professions as social practice was defined by the
philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre as:
“any coherent and complex form of socially established cooperative
human activity through which goods internal to that form of activity
are realized in the course of trying to achieve those standards of
excellence which are appropriate to, and partially definitive of, that
form of activity”
Every social practice has one or more aims or goods that are especially
associated with it or ‘‘internal’’ to it
For example, medicine (along, of course, with nursing, pharmacy, osteopathy,
and the like) aims at the health of patients. One of the aims of law is justice.
A social practice is inconceivable without a distinctive aim
We cannot imagine medicine apart from the aim of producing health or law
without the aim of producing justice
The aims of a social practice must be morally justifiable aims
Both health and justice are morally praiseworthy aims
The distinctive aim of a social practice provides a moral criterion for
evaluating the behaviour of those who participate in the social practice and
for resolving moral issues that might arise in the practice
 A Socratic Account of Professionalism
Based on Socratic tradition, philosopher Michael Davis has derived the
following definition for profession:
A profession is a number of individuals in the same occupation voluntarily
organized to earn a living by openly serving a moral ideal in a morally
permissible way beyond what law, market, morality, and public opinion would
otherwise require

This definition highlights several features that Davis believes are important in
the concept of professionalism
 A profession cannot be composed of only one person. It is always composed of a number
of individuals
 A profession involves a public element. One must openly ‘‘profess’’ to be a physician or
attorney, much as the dictionary accounts of the term ‘‘profession’’ suggest
 A profession is a way people earn a living and is usually something that occupies them
during their working hours. A profession is still an occupation (a way of earning a living)
even if the occupation enjoys professional status
 A profession is something that people enter into voluntarily and that they can leave
voluntarily
 Much like advocates of the social practice approach, Davis believes that a profession must
serve some morally praiseworthy goal, although this goal may not be unique to a given
profession
 Professionals must pursue a morally praiseworthy goal by morally permissible means
 Ethical standards in a profession should obligate professionals to act in some way that
goes beyond what law, market, morality, and public opinion would otherwise require
 Engineering And Professionalism
Is engineering a profession as per the criteria defined earlier?
The occupations that clearly are professions include medicine, law, veterinary
medicine, architecture, accounting (at least certified public accountancy), and
dentistry
To what extent does engineering qualify as profession?
From sociological account:
• A borderline profession
• Engineers have extensive training and possess knowledge and skills that are vital to the public
• Engineers do not have anything like complete control of engineering services
• A license is not required to practice many types of engineering
• Engineers who work in large organizations and are subject to the authority of managers and
employers may have limited autonomy
• Engineering has a goal of producing technology for the welfare of society
Davis’ definition allows engineering full professional status:
 Engineering is a group activity, which openly professes special knowledge,
skill, and judgment
 It is the occupation by which most engineers earn their living, and it is
entered into voluntarily
 Engineering serves a morally good end, namely the production of technology
for the benefit of mankind
 Engineers have special obligations, including protecting the health and safety
of the public, as this is affected by technology
 Two Models of Professionalism
Business Model
 An occupation is primarily oriented toward making a profit within the boundaries set by
law
 Professionals seek profit by selling their expertise
 The ultimate goal is selling something in the marketplace for the profits

Professional Model
 Crucial to the professional model is the idea that engineers and other professionals have an
implicit trust relationship with the larger public
 Professionals agree to regulate their practice so that it promotes the public good
 They may agree to governmental regulations
 Professionals may seek a monopoly over the provision of the services in which they are
competent
 Three Types of Ethics or Morality
Common Morality
- Set of moral beliefs almost shared by everyone
- The three characteristics of common morality are:
1. Many of the precepts of common morality are negative
2. However, it does contain a positive or aspirational component
3. Common morality makes a distinction between an evaluation of a person’s
actions and an evaluation of his intentions
Personal Morality
- Set of moral beliefs that a person holds
- For most of us, our personal moral beliefs closely parallel the precepts of
common morality
Professional Ethics
- It is the set of standards adopted by professionals insofar as they view themselves
acting as professionals
- Engineering ethics is that set of ethical standards that applies to the profession of
engineering
- Some important characteristics of professional ethics are:
1. Professional ethics is usually stated in a formal code
2. The professional code of ethics of a given profession focus on the issue that are
important in that profession
3. Professional ethics is supposed to take precedence over personal morality
4. Sometimes professional ethics is more restrictive than personal morality, and
sometimes it is less restrictive
5. Professional ethics, like ethics generally, has a negative and a positive dimension
6. Professional ethics is an example of role morality
The Negative Face of Engineering Ethics: Preventive Ethics
 Preventive ethics is commonly formulated in rules, and these rules are usually stated in
codes of ethics
 The rules are often in the form of prohibitions, or statements that probably should be
understood primarily as prohibitions
 For example: “engineers shall not reveal facts, data, or information without the prior
consent of the client or employer except as authorized by law or this Code”
 For example: “engineers shall approve only those engineering documents that are in
conformity with applicable standards”
 Engineers shall not approve engineering documents that are not in conformity with
applicable standards
 The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Case
BART went into service in 1972. Holger Hjortsvang, a systems engineer, and Max
Blankenzee, a programmer analyst, became concerned that there was no systems
engineering group to oversee the development of the control and propulsion systems.
When they communicated these concerns to management, both orally and in writing, they
were told not to make trouble. At approximately the same time, an electrical engineer,
Robert Bruder, reported inadequate work on the installation and testing of control and
communications equipment. In November of 1971, the three engineers presented their
concerns in a confidential way to Daniel Helix, a member of the BART board of directors.
When BART managers identified the three engineers, they were fired. On October 2, 1972,
3 weeks after BART began carrying passengers, one of the BART trains crashed at the
Fremont station due to a short circuit in a transistor. Fortunately, there were no deaths and
only a few injuries. The three engineers finally won out-of-court settlements, although their
careers were disrupted for almost 2 years. The case generated legal precedents that have
been used in subsequent cases, and it had a major impact on the development of
engineering ethics
 The DC-10 Case
The DC-10, a wide-bodied aircraft, was introduced into commercial service in 1972, during
a time of intense competition in the aviation industry in the United States. Since the cargo
area is pressurized as well as the cabin, it must be able to withstand pressures up to 38
pounds per square inch. During the first year of service, a rear cargo door that was
improperly closed blew open over Windsor, Ontario. Luckily, a skilled pilot was able to land
the plane successfully. Two weeks after the accident, Convair engineer Dan Applegate
expressed doubts about the ‘‘Band-Aid’’ fixes proposed for the cargo door lock and latch
system. Managers rejected his expression of concerns because they believed Convair would
have to pay for any fixes they proposed, so the prime contractor, McDonnell Douglas, was
not notified of Applegate’s concerns. On March 3, 1974, soon after takeoff on a flight from
Paris to London, the cargo door of a plane broke off, resulting in a crash that killed 346
passengers. At that time, it was the worst aircraft accident in history.
The Positive Face of Engineering Ethics: Aspirational Ethics
 The first Fundamental Canon of the NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers)
code of ethics requires engineers to promote the ‘‘welfare’’ of the public, as well as
prevent violations of safety and health
 Some of the positive face of engineering ethics are:
o Global environmental management
o Sustainable development, especially in the less developed countries
o Tangible, visible steps toward greater economic justice
o Efforts to control and reduce the production and use of weapons, from landmines and
small arms to nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction
o Awareness of cultural differences and skill in finding common ethical ground
 The Sealed-Beam Headlight Air Bags
A group of General Electric engineers Carl Clark helped to develop air bags.
on their own time in the late 1930s Even though he was a scientist and
developed the sealed beam headlight, not a degreed engineer, his work
which greatly reduced the number of might well have been done by an
accidents caused by night driving. engineer. He is now advocating air
There was considerable doubt as to bags on bumpers, and he has even
whether the headlight could be invented wearable air bags for the
developed, but the engineers elderly to prevent broken hips. He
persisted and finally achieved success does not get paid for all of his time,
and the bumper air bags were even
patented by someone else
 Disaster Relief Engineers Without Borders
Fredrick C. Cuny attended engineering school, Engineers Without Borders is an international
but he never received his degree in organization for engineering professionals and
engineering due to poor grades. In his early engineering students who want to use their
twenties, however, he learned how to conduct professional expertise to promote human
disaster relief in such a way that the victims welfare. Engineering students from the
could recover enough to help themselves. At University of Arizona chapter are working on a
age 27, he founded the Interact Relief and water supply and purification project in the
Reconstruction Corporation. He was soon village of Mafi Zongo, Ghana, West Africa. The
working in Biafra helping to organize an airlift project will supply 30 or more villages, with
to rescue Biafrans after a war. Later, he approximately 10,000 people, with safe
organized relief efforts, involving engineering drinking water. In another project, engineering
work, in Bosnia after the war and in Iraq after students from the University of Colorado
Operation Desert Storm. When his work in installed a water system in Muramka, a
Iraq was completed, the Kurds held a farewell Rwandan village. The system provides villagers
celebration. Cuny was the only civilian in a with up to 7000 liters of safe water for
parade with the Marines with whom he had everyday use. The system consists of a gravity-
worked. fed settling tank, rapid sand filters, and a solar-
powered sanitation light
Ordinary Positive Engineering
 Most of the things an engineer does are examples of ordinary positive
engineering, as long as a good argument can be made that they contribute in
some way to human welfare
Some examples of ordinary positive engineering are:
An Auditory Visual Tracker
Students in a senior design course at Texas A & M decided to build an auditory
visual tracker for use in evaluating the training of visual skills in children with
disabilities. The engineering students met the children for whom the
equipment was being designed, and this encounter so motivated the students
that they worked overtime to complete the project. At the end of the project,
they got to see the children use the tracker
An Experimental Automobile
Daniel is a young engineer who is excited about being put on a project to
develop an experimental automobile that has as many recyclable parts as
possible, is lightweight but safe, and gets at least 60 miles per gallon

Reducing Emissions
Jane has just been assigned to a project to reduce the emissions of toxic
chemicals below the standards set by governmental regulation. Her managers
believe that the emission standards will soon be made more restrictive
anyway, and that by beginning early the plant will be ‘‘ahead of the game.’’ In
fact, however, both Jane and her manager are genuinely committed to
reducing environmental pollution.
A Solution to Gilbane Gold
In a well-known videotape in engineering ethics, a young engineer, David
Jackson, believes that his plant’s emissions should be reduced to comply with
a new and more accurate test that has not yet been enacted into law. His
manager refuses to cooperate until the standards are legally changed. David’s
resolution of the problem is to inform the press, an action that will probably
cost him his job. Michael Pritchard and chemical engineer Mark Holtzapple
suggest an engineering solution that would both further reduce toxic waste
and be less costly than the system David’s plant is currently using. The solution
would probably have helped the environment, changed the manager’s
position, and saved David’s job