UNIT-II

Professional Ethics is the activity and discipline aimed at

1) understanding the moral values that ought to guide engineering profession or practice
resolving moral issues in engineering, and

2) Justifying the moral judgments in engineering. It deals with set of moral problems and
issues connected with engineering

SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

The scope of Professional ethics is twofold:

1) Ethics of the workplace which involves the co-workers and employees in an organization.

2) Ethics related to the product or work which involves the transportation, warehousing, and
use, besides the safety of the end product and the environment outside the factory

There are conventionally two approaches in the study of ethics:

1) Micro-ethics which deals with decisions and problems of individuals, professionals, and
companies.
2) Macro-ethics which deals with the societal problems on a regional/national level. For
example, Macro-ethics which deals with the societal problems on a regional/national level.
For example, groups.

VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES

1. Resource Crunch
Due to pressure, through time limits, availability of money or budgetary constraints, and
technology decay or obsolescence. Pressure from the government to complete the project in time
(e.g., before the elections), reduction in the budget because of sudden war or natural calamity
(e.g., Tsunami) and obsolescence due technology innovation by the competitor lead to
manipulation and unsafe and unethical execution of projects Involving individuals in the
development of goals and values and developing policies that allow for individual diversity,
dissent, and input to decision-making will prevent unethical results.

2. Opportunity
a) Double standards or behavior of the employers towards the employees and the public. The
unethical behaviors of World Com (in USA), Enron (in USA as well as India) executives in 2002
resulted in bankruptcy for those companies,
b) Management projecting their own interests more than that of their employees. Some
organizations over-emphasize short-term gains and results at the expense of themselves and
others,

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c) Emphasis on results and gains at the expense of the employees, and
d) Management by objectives, without focus on empowerment and improvement of the
infrastructure. This is best encountered by developing policies that allow ‘conscience keepers’ and
whistle blowers and appointing ombudsman, who can work confidentially with people to solve
the unethical problems internally.

3. Attitude
Poor attitude of the employees set in due to
a) Low morale of the employees because of dissatisfaction and downsizing,
b) Absence of grievance redressal mechanism
c) Lack of promotion or career development policies or denied promotions,
d) Lack of transparency,
e) Absence of recognition and reward system, and
f) Poor working environments.

Giving ethics training for all, recognizing ethical conduct in work place, including ethics in
performance appraisal, and encouraging open discussion on ethical issues, are some of the
directions to promote positive factual inquiries using mathematical or statistical techniques. The
inquiry provide important information attitudes among the employees

TYPES OF INQUIRIES
The three types of inquiries, in solving ethical problems are: normative inquiry, conceptual
inquiry, and factual or descriptive inquiry

1. Normative Inquiry
It seeks to identify and justify the morally-desirable norms or standards that should guide
individuals and groups. It also has the theoretical goal of justifying particular moral judgments.
Normative questions are about what ought to be and what is good, based on moral values. For
example,
1. How far does the obligation of engineers to protect public safety extend in any given
situation?
2. When, if ever, should engineers be expected to blow whistle on dangerous practices of their
employers?
3. Whose values ought to be primary in making judgment about acceptable risks in design for a
public transport system or a nuclear plant? Is it of management, senior engineers, government,
voters or all of them?
4. When and why is the government justified in interfering with the organisations?
5. What are the reasons on which the engineers show their obligations to their employees or
clients or the public?

2. Conceptual Inquiry
It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or ideas or principles that are expressed by words
or questions and statements. For example,
(a) What is meant by safety? (b) How is it related to risk?

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(c) What is a bribe? (d) What is a profession?
When moral concepts are discussed, normative and conceptual issues are closely interconnected.

3. Factual or Descriptive Inquiry

It is aimed to obtain facts needed for understanding and resolving value issues. Researchers
conduct on business realities, engineering practice, and the effectiveness of professional societies
in fostering on business realities, engineering practice, and the effectiveness of professional
societies in fostering moral conduct, the procedures used in risk assessment, and psychological
profiles of engineers. The facts provide not only the reasons for moral problems but also enable us
to develop alternative ways of resolving moral problems. For example,
1. How were the benefits assessed?
2. What are procedures followed in risk assessment?
3. What are short-term and long-term effects of drinking water being polluted? and
4. Who conducted the tests on materials?

MORAL DILEMMA
Dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons come into conflict, or in which the application
of moral values are problems, and one is not clear of the immediate choice or solution of the
problems. Moral reasons could be rights, duties, goods or obligations. These situations do not
mean that things had gone wrong, but they only indicate the presence of moral complexity. This
makes the decision making complex. For example, a person promised to meet a friend and dine,
but he has to help his uncle who is involved in an accident — one has to fix the priority.
There are some difficulties in arriving at the solution to the problems, in dilemma. The three
complex situations leading to moral dilemmas are:

1. The problem of vagueness: One is unable to distinguish between good and bad (right or
wrong) principle. Good means an action that is obligatory. For example, code of ethics
specifies that one should obey the laws and follow standards. Refuse bribe or accept the gift,
and maintain confidentiality
2. The problem of conflicting reasons: One is unable to choose between two good moral
solutions. One has to fix priority, through knowledge or value system.
3. The problem of disagreement: There may be two or more solutions and none of them
mandatory. These solutions may be better or worse in some respects but not in all aspects. One
has to interpret, apply different morally reasons, and analyze and rank the decisions. Select the
best suitable, under the existing and the most probable conditions.

Steps to Solve Dilemma

The logical steps in confronting moral dilemma are:
1. Identification of the moral factors and reasons. The clarity to identify the relevant moral
values from among duties, rights, goods and obligations is obtained (conceptual inquiry). The
most useful resource in identifying dilemmas in engineering is the professional codes of ethics,
as interpreted by the professional experience. Another resource is talking with colleagues who
can focus or narrow down the choice of values.
2. Collection of all information, data, and facts (factual inquiry) relevant to the situation.
3. Rank the moral options i.e., priority in application through value system, and also as
obligatory, all right, acceptable, not acceptable, damaging, and most damaging etc. For example,

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in fulfilling responsibility, the codes give prime importance to public safety and protection of the
environment, as compared to the individuals or the employers (conceptual inquiry).
4. Generate alternate courses of action to resolve the dilemma. Write down the main options and
sub-options as a matrix or decision tree to ensure that all options are included.
5. Discuss with colleagues and obtain their perspectives, priorities, and suggestions on various
alternatives.
6. Decide upon a final course of action, based on priority fixed or assumed. If there is no ideal
solution, we arrive at a partially satisfactory or ‘satisficing’ solution.

MORAL AUTONOMY
Moral autonomy is defined as, decisions and actions exercised on the basis of moral concern for
other people and recognition of good moral reasons. Alternatively, moral autonomy means ‘self
determinant or independent’. The 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. Moral autonomy may also be defined as a skill and habit of thinking rationally about
the ethical issues, on the basis of moral concern. Viewing engineering as social experimentation
will promote autonomous participation and retain one’s professional identity. Periodical
performance appraisals, tight-time schedules and fear of foreign competition threatens this
autonomy. The attitude of the management should allow latitude in the judgments of their
engineers on moral issues. If management views profitability is more important than consistent
quality and retention of the customers that discourage the moral autonomy, engineers are
compelled to seek the support from their professional societies and outside organizations for
moral support. It appears that the blue-collar workers with the support of the union can adopt
better autonomy than the employed professionals. Only recently the legal support has been
obtained by the professional societies in exhibiting moral autonomy by professionals in this
country as well as in the West.

The engineering skills related to moral autonomy are listed as follows:

1. Proficiency in recognizing moral problems in engineering and ability to distinguish as well as
relate them to problems in law, economics, and religion,
2. Skill in comprehending, clarifying, and critically-assessing arguments on different aspects of
moral issues,
3. Ability to form consistent and comprehensive view points based on facts,
4. Awareness of alternate responses to the issues and creative solutions for practical difficulties,
5. Sensitivity to genuine difficulties and subtleties, including willingness to undergo and tolerate
some uncertainty while making decisions,
6. Using rational dialogue in resolving moral conflicts and developing tolerance of different
perspectives among morally reasonable people, and
7. Maintaining moral integrity.

Autonomy which is the independence in making decisions and actions, is different from
authority. Authority provides freedom for action, specified within limits, depending on the
situation. Moral autonomy and respect for authority can coexist. They are not against each other.
If the authority of the engineer and the moral autonomy of the operator are in conflict, a
consensus is obtained by the two, upon discussion and mutual understanding their limits.

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MORAL DEVELOPMENT (THEORIES)

1. Kohlberg Theory

Moral development in human being occurs overage and experience. Kohlberg suggested there
are three levels of moral development, namely pre-conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional, based on the type of reasoning and motivation of the individuals in response to
moral questions. In the pre-conventional level, right conduct for an individual is regarded as
whatever directly benefits oneself. At this level, individuals are motivated by obedience or the
desire to avoid punishment or to satisfy their own needs or by the influence by power on them.
All young children exhibit this tendency. At the conventional level, people respect the law and
authority. Rules and norms of one’s family or group or society is accepted, as the standard of
morality. Individuals in this level want to please or satisfy, and get approval by others and to
meet the expectations of the society, rather than their self interest (e.g., good boy, good girl).
Loyalty is regarded as most important. Many adults do not go beyond this level. At the post-
conventional level, people are called autonomous. They think originally and want to live by
universally good principles and welfare of others. They have no self-interest. They live by
principled conscience. They follow the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you’. They maintain moral integrity, self-respect and respect for others. Kohlberg believed
that individuals could only progress through these stages, one stage at a time. He believed that
most of the moral development occurs through social interactions.

2. Gilligan’s Theory

Carol Gilligan found that Kohlberg’s theory had a strong male bias. According to Gilligan’s
studies, men had a tendency to solve problems by applying abstract moral principles. Men were
found to resolve moral dilemma by choosing the most important moral rule, overriding other
rules. In contrast, women gave importance to preserve personal relationships with all the people
involved. The context oriented emphasis on maintaining personal relationships was called the
ethics of care, in contrast with the ethics of rules and rights adopted by men.
Gilligan revised the three levels of moral development of Kohlberg, as stages of growth towards
ethics of caring. The pre-conventional level, which is same as that of Kohlberg’s first one, right
conduct, is viewed in a selfish manner solely as what is good for oneself. The second level called
conventional level, the importance is on not hurting others, and willing to sacrifice one’s own
interest and help others. This is the characteristic feature of women. At the post-conventional
level, a reasoned balance is found between caring about others and pursuing the self-interest. The
balance one’s own need and the needs of others, is aimed while maintaining relationship based
on mutual caring. This is achieved by context-oriented reasoning, rather than by hierarchy of
rules.

The theories of moral development by Kohlberg and Gilligan differ in the following respects.

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The difference in these two theories is explained through the well-known example, Heinz’s
dilemma1. Heinz being poor and a debtor could not buy the costly medicine for his sick wife, at
ten times the normal cost. Initially he begged the Pharmacist to sell at half the price or allow him
to pay for it later. Pharmacist refused to oblige him either way. Finally he forcibly entered the
Pharmacy and stole the drug.
According to Kohlberg study, men observed that the theft was morally ‘wrong’ at the
conventional level, because the property right was violated. But men at the post-conventional
level, concluded that the theft was ‘right’, as the life of the human being was in danger. But
women observed that Heinz was wrong. They observed that instead of stealing he could have
tried other solutions (threatening or payment in installments?) to convince the Pharmacist.
Gilligan however attributed the decision by women as context-oriented and not on the basis of
rules ranked in the order of priority.

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Ethical Theories/Approaches
Several ethical theories have been dsseveloped over different times, each of them stressing
certain ethical principles or features. Each stresses a view and many a times, we find that these
theories converge and reinforce the ethics, in deciding upon the actions and justifying the results.

1. Utilitarian Theory
The term Utilitarianism was conceived in the 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and John
Stuart Mill to help legislators determine which laws were morally best. They suggested that the
standard of right conduct is maximization of good consequences. Good consequences mean
either ‘utilities’ or the ‘balance of good over evil’. This approach weighs the costs and benefits.
Right actions are the ones that produce the greatest satisfaction of the preferences of the affected
persons. In analyzing an issue in this approach, we have to:
(a) Identify the various courses of action available to us.
(b) Ask who will be affected by each action and what benefits or harms will be derived from
each.
(c) Choose the action that will produce the greatest benefits and the least harm. The ethical
action is the one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number.
The ACT UTILITARIAN theory proposed by J.S. Mill (1806-73) focuses on actions, rather than
On general rules. An action is right, if it generates the most overall good for the most people
involved.
The RULE UTILITARIAN theory, developed by Richard Brandt (1910-97), stressed on the
rules, such as ‘do not steal’, ‘do no harm others’, ‘do not bribe’, as of primary importance. He
suggested that individual actions are right when they are required by set of rules which
maximizes the public good.
The act utilitarian theory permitted a few immoral actions. Hence, there was need to develop rule
utilitarian theory to establish morality and justice, in the transactions. For example, stealing an
old computer from the employer will benefit the employee more than the loss to the employer.
As per Act, utilitarian this action is right. But rule utilitarian observes this as wrong, because the
employee should act as ‘faithful agent or trustee of the employees’. In another example, some
undisciplined engineers are terminated with the blame for the mistakes they have not committed.
The process is unfair although this results in promotion of overall good.

2. Duty Ethics
The duty ethics theory, proposed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) states, that actions are
consequences of performance of one’s duties such as, ‘being honest’, ‘not cause suffering of
others’, ‘being fair to others including the meek and week’, ‘being grateful’, ‘keeping promises’
etc. The stress is on the universal principle of respect for autonomy i.e., respect and rationality of
persons. As per Kant we have duties to ourselves, as we are rational and autonomous beings. We
have a duty not to commit suicide; a duty to develop our talents and a duty to avoid harmful
drugs. Kant insisted that moral duties are categorical imperatives. They are commands that we
impose on ourselves as well as other rational beings. For example, we should be honest because
honesty is required by duty. A businessman is to be honest because honesty pays — in terms of
profits from customers and from avoiding jail for dishonesty.
C.W.D. Ross, the British philosopher has listed various aspects of Duty Ethics that reflect our
moral convictions, namely:
1. Fidelity : duty to keep promises.

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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 condition of others.
6. Self-improvement : duty to improve virtue and intelligence.
7. Non-malfeasance : duty not to injure others.

3. Rights Theory
Rights are entitlement to act or to have another individual act in a certain way. Minimally, rights
serve as a protective barrier, shielding individuals from unjustified infringement of their moral
agency by others. For every right, we have a corresponding duty of noninterference.
The RIGHTS approach to ethics has its roots in the 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant,
who focused on the individual’s right to choose for oneself. According him, what makes human
beings different from mere things is, that 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 respected. People are not objects to be manipulated; it is a violation of human dignity to
use people in ways they do not freely choose. Other rights he advocated are:
1. The right to access the truth: We have a right to be told the truth and to be informed about
matters that significantly affect our choices.
2. The right of privacy: We have the right to do, believe, and say whatever we choose in our
personal lives so long as we do not violate the rights of others.
3. The right not to be injured: We have the right not to be harmed or injured unless we freely and
knowingly do something to deserve punishment or we freely and knowingly choose to risk such
injuries.
4. The right to what is agreed: We have a right to what has been promised by those with whom
we have freely entered into a contract or agreement.

4. The Virtue Theory

This emphasize on the character rather than rights or duties. The character is a pattern of
virtue(morally desirable features).
1) Wisdom: It is closely related to the skills of listening and being skilled.
2) Temperance: It ensures that person is not controlled by passion such as anger or tears.
3) Fortitude: It looks to the quality of courage.
4) Justice: It enables equal treatment of all parties.

CASE STUDY: CHOICE OF THE THEORY

The choice of the ethical theory to study a problem is illustrated herein with an example. In
tackling ethical problems, we can apply all the theories and analyze the actions and results from
different angles and see what result each theory gives rise to. This enables us to examine the
problem in different perspectives. Many a time, the result will be the same though we have
applied various theories.

Case: A chemical plant near a small town is discharging hazardous wastes into the fields nearby.
The ground water gets contaminated and significant health problems surface in the community.
Since harm is caused to the residents, the action is unethical as per rights ethics. The
agriculturists who have the agrarian right of water supply have been over looked. The pollutants

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may endanger their profession and welfare. Hence, rights ethics also concludes that the action is
unethical. The effects of polluted water and the cost to purify the water by the municipality may
outweigh the economic benefits of the plant. Hence, the utilitarian analysis leads to the same
conclusion. The groundwater harms the people and caused health problems. Hence, discharging
the pollutants is unethical as per duty ethics. Generally, because the rights of the individuals
should weigh strongly than the needs of the society as a whole, rights and duty ethics take
precedence over utilitarian considerations. Caution is necessary in applying theory of virtue
ethics. When we use the word ‘honor’, we mean it to be a measure of dignity and integrity. It is a
positive virtue. When it points to ‘pride’ it is not a virtue and has a negative connotation. History
abounds with examples of war, which have been fought and atrocities were committed on
innocent people in order to preserve the honor (pride) of an individual or a nation. In using virtue
ethics, we have to ensure that the traits of virtue are actually virtuous and will not lead to
negative consequences.

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Characteristics
The characteristics of the ‘profession’ as distinct from ‘non-professional occupation’ are listed as
follows:

1. Extensive Training
Entry into the profession requires an extensive period of training of intellectual (competence)
and moral (integrity) character. The theoretical base is obtained through formal education,
usually in an academic institution. It may be a Bachelor degree from a college or university or an
advanced degree conferred by professional schools.

2. Knowledge and Skills

Knowledge and skills (competence) are necessary for the well-being of the society. Knowledge
of physicians protects us from disease and restores health. The lawyer’s knowledge is useful
when we are sued of a crime, or if our business is to be merged or closed or when we buy a
property. The Chartered Accountant’s knowledge is important for the success of recording
financial transactions or when we file the income return. The knowledge, study, and research of
the engineers are required for the safety of the air plane, for the technological advances and for
national defense.

3. Monopoly
The monopoly control is achieved in two ways:
(a) the profession convinces the community that only those who have graduated from the
professional school should be allowed to hold the professional title. The profession also gains
control over professional schools by establishing accreditation standards
(b) By persuading the community to have a licensing system for those who want to enter the
profession. If practicing without license, they are liable to pay penalties.

4. Autonomy in Workplace
Professionals engaged in private practice have considerable freedom in choosing their clients or
patients. Even the professionals working in large organizations exercise a large degree of
impartiality, creativity and discretion (care with decision and communication) in carrying their
responsibilities. Besides this, professionals are empowered with certain rights to establish their
autonomy. Accordingly physicians must determine the most appropriate medical treatments for
their patients and lawyers must decide on the most successful defense for their clients. The
possession of specialized knowledge is thus a powerful defense of professional autonomy.

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5. Ethical Standards
Professional societies promulgate the codes of conduct to regulate the professionals against their
abuse or any unethical decisions and actions (impartiality, responsibility) affecting the
individuals or groups or the society.

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: The engineer as a savior, save the society from poverty, illiteracy, wastage,
inefficiency, ill health, human (labor) dignity and lead it to prosperity, through technological
development and social planning.
2. Guardian:He guards the interests of the poor and general public. As one who is conversant
with technology development, is given the authority befitting his expertise to determine what is
best suited to the society. For example, Lawrence of Arabia (an engineer).
3. Bureaucratic Servant He serves the organization and the employers. The management of an
enterprise fixes its goals and assigns the job of problem solving to the engineer, who accepts the
challenge and shapes them into concrete achievements. For example, Jamshedji Tata.
4. Social Servant: It is one who exhibits social responsibility. The engineer translates the
interest and aspirations of the society into a reality, remembering that his true master is the
society at large.
5. Social Enabler and Catalyst: One who changes the society through technology. The engineer
must assist the management and the society to understand their needs and make informed
decisions on the desirable technological development and minimize the negative effects of
technology on people and their living environment. Thus, he shines as a social enabler and a
catalyst for further growth.
6. Game Player: sHe is neither a servant nor master. An engineer is an assertive player, not a
passive player who may carry out his master’s voice. He plays a unique role successfully within
the organization, enjoying the excitement of the profession and having the satisfaction of surging
ahead in a competitive world. For example, Narayanamurthy, Infosys and Dr. Kasthurirangan,
ISRO.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

It refers to ethical obligations that people in professional occupations have to follow because of
their professional status. It encompasses how professionals ought to behave in their professional
work and not merely how they conduct themselves.

ENGINEERING ETHICS

It is the activity and discipline aimed at understanding the moral values that ought to guide
engineering practice, resolving moral issues in engineering and justifying moral judgments
concerning engineering.

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Responsible Professionalism
The most comprehensive virtue of engineers is responsible professionalism. It can also be called
Professional Responsibility. This consists of five types of virtues, as follows:

1. Self-direction (Self-governance) virtues are fundamental and necessary in exercising moral

responsibility. On the basis of ‘understanding and cognition’, it includes self-understanding,
humility (proper assessment of one’s character), and good moral judgment (termed as ‘practical
Wisdom’ by Aristotle). On the basis of ‘commitment and action’, it covers courage, self-
discipline, perseverance, self-respect, and integrity. Honesty a virtue common to both bases as it
implies truthfulness in thoughts and words and trustworthiness in actions.

2. Public-spirited virtues focus on the good of the clients and the public. It includes the respect
for rights (to make decisions and face the risk), non-malfeasance (not harming others
intentionally). Engineering codes go a step further and prescribe beneficence that includes
preventing or removing harm to others and also promoting the public safety, health, and welfare,
generosity (helping the community by voluntarily giving their time, talent, and money-voluntary
service to the professional society and community), and justice (unbiased) in all decisions and
actions.

3. Team-work virtues enable the professionals to work successfully with others. They include
collegiality, cooperativeness, communicative ability, and respect for legitimate authority.
Responsible exercise of authority and the ability to motivate other to achieve are also the
relevant to team-work virtues.

4. Proficiency virtues, which mean the mastery of technical skills (called as Intellectual Virtue by
Aristotle). It includes competence (having qualified, licensed, and prepared to execute the job
that is undertaken), diligence (alert to dangers, careful attention, and avoidance of laziness or
workaholic nature), creativity (learning to respond to the changing technological society),
excellence (perform at the highest level), and self-renewal through continuing education.

5. Cardinal (chief) virtues: Wisdom (prudence), courage (fortitude), temperance and justice.
Some of these may overlap other virtues. They are called ‘cardinal’ (Latin: cardo, hinge) because
they are hinges on which all virtues depend. These are also called moral (Latin: mores, fixed
values) because they govern our actions, regulate our passions, and guide our conduct according
to faith and reason. Wisdom is perception of truth and ability to distinguish between the right and
wrong. Courage means a firm and elevated mind. Temperance represents order in words and
actions. Justice is preserving humanity and observing the faith of contracts. Although these
virtues ring religious tones, they are very relevant to the engineering practice.

Moral Responsibility
Moral responsibility as applied to a professional: A professional must be responsible morally, in
creating internal good or good outcomes, and eliminating /minimizing un- intended side-effects,
from engineering and technology. It includes:
(a) Obligations: A commitment to moral actions (primary obligation to protect the safety of the
human beings and respect their rights),

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(b) Conscientious: A comprehensive perspective to accept the duties, and diligently do the right
things by putting their heart, head and hands (awareness of the experimental nature of the
product/project, anticipating possible and unexpected outcomes and putting efforts to monitor
them),
(c) Accountability (being accountable for the decisions, actions, and the results of
product/project including safety), and
(d) Praiseworthy/Blameworthy as applied to context of doing things right/doing things wrongly,
respectively.

Conscientiousness
Conscientious moral commitment means: (a) Being sensitive to full range of moral values and
responsibilities relevant to the prevailing situation and (b) the willingness to develop the skill and
put efforts needed to reach the best balance possible among those considerations. In short,
engineers must possess open eyes, open ears, and an open mind (i.e., moral vision, moral
listening, and moral reasoning). This makes the engineers as social experimenters, respect
foremost the safety and health of the affected, while they seek to enrich their knowledge, rush for
the profit, follow the rules, or care for only the beneficiary. The human rights of the participant
should be protected through voluntary and informed consent.

Comprehensive Perspective
The engineer should grasp the context of his work and ensure that the work involved results in
only moral ends. One should not ignore his conscience, if the product or project that he is
involved will result in damaging the nervous system of the people (or even the enemy, in case of
weapon development) A product has a built-in obsolete or redundant component to boost sales
with a false claim. In possessing of the perspective of factual information, the engineer should
exhibit a moral concern and not agree for this design. Sometimes, the guilt is transferred to the
government or the competitors. Some organizations think that they will let the government find
the fault or let the fraudulent competitor be caught first. Finally, a full-scale environmental or
social impact study of the product or project by individual engineers is useful but not possible, in
practice.

Accountability
Accountability means:
1. The capacity to understand and act on moral reasons
2. Willingness to submit one’s actions to moral scrutiny and be responsive to the assessment of
others. It includes being answerable for meeting specific obligations, i.e., liable to justify (or give
reasonable excuses) the decisions, actions or means, and outcomes (sometimes unexpected),
when required by the stakeholders or by law.
3. Conscientiousness: It means:
(a) Being sensitive to full range of moral values and responsibilities and
(b) The willingness to upgrade their skills, put efforts, and reach the best balance possible among
those considerations, and
4. Blameworthy/Praiseworthy: Own the responsibility for the good or wrong outcomes. Courage
to accept the mistakes will ensure success in the efforts in future.
The terms ‘corporate responsibility’ and ‘corporate accountability’ have different meanings.
Corporate responsibility emphasizes the voluntary compliance of a particular organization to

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particular codes of conduct. The groups of individuals in the organization are assigned
responsibilities through policy manuals and flow charts. The corporate accountability means
holding all the corporate organizations accountable to the public, employees, customers, and
stock holders, as empowered by rules and laws.
The engineer or the engineering firm is legally responsible for the harmful effects of defects in
their products. But they are not morally responsible for the harm or defects The hammer
manufacturer was legally responsible on the basis of the doctrine of strict liability, which does
not require any proof of effect in the design of the hammer. Morally the manufacturer was not
responsible The engineer is free from legal responsibility, but he has moral responsibility to
observe the work done No legal responsibility for pandal contractor. Owner of the hall is morally
responsible for the leakage Controller of Examinations can not be held legally responsible,
although he is morally responsible

Obligation
The safety and other obligations of professional engineers are justifiable based on the following
aspects.
1. Moral obligations through laws and enforced codes of conduct
2. Through membership of professional society
3. Contractual agreement with the employers
4. By entry into career as engineer upon graduation from Engineering institutions and
5. By special employment agreements or agreement with professional societies.
The paramount obligation means, giving importance to the safety, health, and welfare of the
public in performing the professional duties.

The norms of professional conduct

1. All members shall discharge their professional duties with integrity.
2. All members shall only undertake work that they are competent to do.
3. All members shall have full regard for the public interest, particularly in relation to matters of
health and safety, and in relation to the well-being of future generations.
4. All members shall show due regard for the environment and for the sustainable management
of natural resources.
5. All members shall develop their professional knowledge, skills and competence on a
continuing basis and shall give all reasonable assistance to further the education, training and
continuing professional development of others.
6. All members shall:
a. notify the institution if convicted of a criminal offence;
b. notify the institution upon becoming bankrupt or disqualified as a company director;
c. notify the institution of any significant breach of the rules of professional conduct by another
member.

The purpose of the code of professional conduct

The idea to provide a code of professional conduct to lay down, both for its members and for the
general public, the ethical standards by which its members should abide. The code will apply to
all its members, irrespective of their grade, the professional role they fulfil, and the countries in
which they practise. The code contains, first of all, the specific rules of professional conduct to
which members must adhere. The rules cover, in plain language, those basic things that members

14
must do. Where appropriate, there are guidance notes to help members interpret and apply the
rules.

The duty to behave ethically

The duty upon members to behave ethically is, in effect, the duty to behave honourably; in
modern words, ‘to do the right thing’. At its most basic, it means that members should be truthful
and honest in dealings with clients, colleagues, other professionals, and anyone else they come
into contact with in the course of their duties. Being a member a badge of probity and good faith,
and members should do nothing that in any way could diminish the high standing of the
profession. This includes any aspect of a member’s personal conduct which could have a
negative impact upon the profession. Members should always be aware of their overriding
responsibility to the public good. A member’s obligations to the client can never override this,
and members should not enter undertakings which compromise this responsibility. The ‘public
good’ encompasses care and respect for the environment, and for humanity’s cultural, historical
and archaeological heritage, as well as the primary responsibility members have to protect the
health and well-being of present and future generations.

Professional Status
The criteria for achieving and sustaining professional status or professionalism are:
1. Advanced expertise: The expertise includes sophisticated skills and theoretical knowledge in
exercising judgment. This means a professional should analyse the problem in specific known
area, in an objective manner.
2. Self-regulation: One should analyse the problem independent of self-interest and direct to a
decision towards the best interest of the clients/customers. An autonomous judgment (unbiased
and on merits only) is expected. In such situations, the codes of conduct of professional societies
are followed as guidance.
3. Public good: One should not be a mere paid employee of an individual or a teaching college or
manufacturing organization, to execute whatever the employer wants one to do. The job should
be recognised by the public. The concerted efforts in the job should be towards promotion of the
welfare, safety, and health of the public.

Codes of Ethics

The Codes of Ethics promote and sustain the ethical environment and assist in achieving the
ethical goals in the following manner:
1. It creates an environment in a profession, where ethical behavior is the basic criterion.
2. It guides and reminds the person as to how to act, in any given situation.
3. It provides support to the individual, who is being pressurized or tortured by a superior or
employer, to behave unethically.
4. Apart from professional societies, companies and universities have framed their own codes of
ethics, based on the individual circumstances and specific mission of the organizations.
These codes of conduct help in employees’ awareness of ethical issues, establish, and nurture
a strong corporate ethical culture.

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CODES OF ETHICS
The ‘codes of ethics’ exhibit, rights, duties, and obligations of the members of a profession and a
professional society. The codes exhibit the following essential roles:
1. Inspiration and guidance. The codes express the collective commitment of the profession to
ethical conduct and public good and thus inspire the individuals. They identify primary
responsibilities and provide statements and guidelines on interpretations for the professionals and
the professional societies.
2. Support to engineers. The codes give positive support to professionals for taking stands on
moral issues. Further they serve as potential legal support to discharge professional obligations.
3. Deterrence (discourage to act immorally) and discipline (regulate to act morally). The codes
serve as the basis for investigating unethical actions. The professional societies sometimes
revoke membership or suspend/expel the members, when proved to have acted unethical. This
sanction along with loss of respect from the colleagues and the society are bound to act as
deterrent.
4. Education and mutual understanding. Codes are used to prompt discussion and reflection on
moral issues. They develop a shared understanding by the professionals, public, and the
government on the moral responsibilities of the engineers. The Board of Review of the
professional societies encourages moral discussion for educational purposes.
5. Create good public image. The codes present positive image of the committed profession to
the public, help the engineers to serve the public effectively. They promote more of self
regulation and lessen the government regulations. This is bound to raise the reputation of the
profession and the organization, in establishing the trust of the public.
6. Protect the status quo. They create minimum level of ethical conduct and promotes agreement
within the profession. Primary obligation namely the safety, health, and welfare of the public,
declared by the codes serves and protects the public.
7. Promotes business interests. The codes offer inspiration to the entrepreneurs, establish shared
standards, healthy competition, and maximize profit to investors, employees, and consumers.

Limitations: The codes are not remedy for all evils. They have many limitations, namely:
1. General and vague wordings. Many statements are general in nature and hence unable to solve
all problems.
2. Not applicable to all situations. Codes are not sacred, and need not be accepted without
criticism. Tolerance for criticisms of the codes themselves should be allowed.
3. Often have internal conflicts. Many times, the priorities are clearly spelt out, e.g., codes forbid
public remarks critical of colleagues (engineers), but they actually discovered a major bribery,
which might have caused a huge loss to the exchequer.
4. They cannot be treated as final moral authority for professional conduct. Codes have flaws by
commission and omission. There are still some grey areas undefined by codes. They cannot be
equated to laws. After all, even laws have loopholes and they invoke creativity in the legal
practitioners.
5. Only a few enroll as members in professional society and non-members cannot be compelled.
6. even as members of the professional society, many are unaware of the codes
7. Different societies have different codes. The codes cannot be uniform or same! Unifying the
codes may not necessarily solve the problems prevailing various professions, but attempts are
still made towards these unified codes.
8. Codes are said to be coercive. They are sometimes claimed to be threatening and forceful.

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IChE Code of Ethics

“I AM, BY PROFESSION, A CHEMICAL ENGINEER. In my profession I take great

pride, but without vainglory; to it I owe solemn obligations that I am eager to fulfill. As a
member of engineering community, I am here to create a new world that never has been and see
the world that has been given to me by my predecessors. I have been taught to conserve material
and energy by which I will live to welcome the next generation and hand over the heritage to the
fledgling members of my profession.

As a chemical engineer, I will participate and advance none but honest enterprise and be
both a benefactor and beneficiary. To him that has engaged my services, as employer and client,
I will give the sincerest of my performance, integrity and fidelity. I know my efforts will be a
drop in ocean but ocean shall we have through collective wisdom and knowledge of all members
of my profession.

When called, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation and prejudice for
the good of not only human kind but also other members of the biosphere. From special capacity
springs the obligation to use it well in the service of humanity; I accept the challenge that this
implies. Well equipped now, I am ever eager to serve my profession as a member of the Indian
Institute of Chemical Engineer. I shall never close my eyes to new ideas and knowledge and
change any erroneous practices that might have served my profession to-date.

Zealous of the high repute of my calling, I will strive to protect the interests and the good
name of any engineer that I know to be deserving; but I will not shrink, should duty dictate, from
disclosing the truth regarding anyone that, by unscrupulous act, has shown himself unworthy of
the profession.

Since antiquity, human progress has been conditioned by the genius of my professional
forebears. By them have been rendered usable to mankind Nature’s vast resources of material
and energy. By them have been vitalized and turned to practical account the principles of
science, engineering and the revelations of technology. Except for this heritage of accumulated
experience, my efforts would be feeble and lost. My vision has been sharpened as a result of this
and it is my bounden duty to protect the environment and be in harmony with nature. I will strive
hard to overcome ignorance and prejudice and bestow the benefit of my knowledge on younger
generation so that they improve upon my mistakes to make this world a better place to live. I
dedicate myself to the dissemination of engineering knowledge, and, especially to the
instructions of younger members of my profession in all its arts, ethos and traditions.

I am seized of the great challenge which our profession is going to face in future and that
it to use our skills to improve the quality of life-foster employment, advance economic and social
development and protect environment. This challenge encompasses the essence of sustainable
development. I will work with others to make the world a better place for future generations.

As a chemical engineer, it will be my endeavour to design processes and products which

are innovative, energy-efficient and cost-effective, make the best use of scarce resources and
ensure that waste and adverse environmental impact are minimized; achieve the biggest

17
standards of safety in making and using products of all kinds; provide the processes and products
which give the people of the world, shelter, clothing, food and drink, and which keep them in
good health; work with other disciplines to seek solutions; engage in honest and open dialogue
with the public on challenges presented by manufacture of the products which the public
requires; promote research to allow the profession to respond fully to global demands; encourage
the brightest and best young people into the profession; and promote lifelong professional
development. I acknowledge that this challenge cannot be met by my efforts alone, but this does
not lessen the responsibility to pursue it. Therefore I must co-operate with other fellow
colleagues and recognize each other’s efforts in striving to meet this challenge.

I have found a new faith that traverses all narrow boundaries of nations, castes and creeds
and it envisions me to look at society afresh. To my fellows I pledge, in the same full measure I
ask of them, integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and devotion to the standards and
the dignity of our profession and the Institute; with the consciousness, always, that our special
expertness carries with the obligation TO SERVE HUMANITY WITH COMPLETE
SINCERITY.”

SAFETY
Awareness and maintenance of any situation is called as Safety.
The safety can be incorporated during design, pretesting, operation, field application and
learning from the past. The perception varies from person to person based on age, expertise,
experience and wisdom. A second hand electric heater may work well when it is purchased but
when used may give shock and damage the human. A scissor with the child may be unsafe but
with the adult it is safe.

SAFETY AND RISK

Safety was defined as the risk that is known and judged as acceptable. But, risk is a potential that
something unwanted and harmful may occur. It is the result of an unsafe situation, sometimes
unanticipated, during its use.

Probability of safety = 1 – Probability of risk

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Risk = Probability of occurrence × Consequence in magnitude

Different methods are available to determine the risk (testing for safety)
1. Testing on the functions of the safety-system components.
2. Destructive testing: In this approach, testing is done till the component fails. It is too
expensive, but very realistic and useful.
3. Prototype testing: In this approach, the testing is done on a proportional scale model with all
vital components fixed in the system. Dimensional analysis could be used to project the results at
the actual conditions.
4. Simulation testing: With the help of computer, the simulations are done. The safe boundary
may be obtained. The effects of some controlled input variables on the outcomes can be
predicted in a better way.

RISK ANALYSIS
Analytical Methods
Several analytical methods are adopted in testing for safety of a product/project.
1. Scenario Analysis
This is the most common method of analysis. Starting from an event, different consequences are
studied. This is more a qualitative method. For example, a disaster recovery plan, for an
organization is discussed. When the probability and size of loss (indicating possibility and
financial significance, respectively) are both high, risk exists. On the other hand, risk is not
associated with very low probability of occurrence, or with losses that under any other
circumstances would be considered “affordable”. But there is a gray area between
probability/loss combinations that are truly risky, and those that are not. This reflects the fact that
the boundary between risky and non-risky events is fuzzy, not exact. To assess the risk faced by
the organization, the planner matches the probability and loss characteristics of various
exposures to one’s intuition of risk. This exposure analysis can be most effectively carried out
using ‘loss scenarios’. A scenario is a synopsis of events or conditions leading to an accident and
subsequent loss. Scenarios may be specified informally, in the form of narrative, or formally
using diagrams and flow charts.

Steps for Risk Assessment

1. What can go wrong that could lead to an outcome of hazard exposure? (identification and
characterization of risk)

2. How likely is this to happen? (quantification of risk, likelihood, and magnitude)

3. If it happens, what are consequences? Scenarios are constructed and the ways and means
of facing the consequences are designed.

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2.Failure mode and effect analysis
In this method, various parts or components of the system and their modes (patterns, propagation
and nature) of failure are studied. The cause of the failure or the interrelationships between the
components is not studied. FMEA is one of the qualitative tools, which support proactive quality
strategies.
Successful implementation of FMEA requires relevant knowledge and insight as well as
engineering judgment. FMEA concept was introduced in 1960s by aerospace companies. Then
the use of FMEA was extended to automobile industries and other types of industries,
understanding the value of this approach. In the last decade, it has undergone metamorphosis
where focus was on severity, occurrence and detection rating. Thus, FMEA is defined as a
systematic tool to
(a) identify possible failure modes in the products/process,
(b) to understand failure mechanism (process that leads to failure),
(c) risk analysis, and
(d) plan for action on elimination or reduction of failure modes.

3. Fault-tree Analysis
This is a qualitative method and was originated by Bell Telephones. It is technology-based
deductive logic. The failure (undesirable event) is initially defined, and the events (causal
relationships) leading to that failure are identified at different components level. This method can
combine hardware failures and human failures
Example 2: A crash at main road junction
The details of this Fault-tree Analysis are shown in Fig. 4.2
Consider the probability of the crash at a road junction and construct a tree with and AND or
GATE logic. The tree is constructed by deducing in turn the pre-conditions for the final event
and then successively for the next levels of events, until the basic causes are identified. By
ascribing probabilities to each event, the probability of a top event can be calculated. This
requires knowledge of probable failure rates. At an OR gate, the probabilities must be added to
give the probability of the next event, whereas at an AND gate, the probabilities are multiplied.
This is a powerful technique for identifying the failures that have the greatest influence on
bringing about the end event

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RISK-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
The major reasons for the analysis of the risk benefit are:
1 To know risks and benefits and weigh them each
2 To decide on designs, advisability of product/project
3 To suggest and modify the design so that the risks are eliminated or reduced
There are some limitations that exist in the risk-benefit analysis. The economic and ethical
limitations are presented as follows:
1. Primarily the benefits may go to one group and risks may go to another group. Is it ethically
correct?
2. Is an individual or government empowered to impose a risk on some one else on behalf of
supposed benefit to somebody else? Sometimes, people who are exposed to maximum risks may
get only the minimum benefits. In such cases, there is even violation of rights.
3. The units for comparison are not the same, e.g., commissioning the express highways may add
a few highway deaths versus faster and comfortable travel for several commuters. The benefits
may be in terms of fuel, money and time saved, but lives of human being sacrificed. How do we
then compare properly?
4. Both risks and benefits lie in the future. The quantitative estimation of the future benefits,
using the discounted present value (which may fluctuate), may not be correct and sometime
misleading.

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5. Both risks and benefits have uncertainties. The estimated probability may vary from time to
time and region to region.

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3. Periodical monitoring (inspection) and testing of safety system to ensure reliability, e.g.fire
extinguishers, ‘earth’ system in electric circuits are checked periodically.
4. Issue of operation manuals, training of the operating personnel and regular audits are adopted
to ensure that the procedures are understood, followed and the systems are kept in working
condition.
5. Development of well-designed emergency evac

Chernobyl, Near Kiev, Russia (April 1986)

The RBMK (Acronym for water cooled and graphite moderated) reactors were graphite
moderated and they use water tubes. A test on the turbine generator was planned to be conducted
during a scheduled plant shut-down maintenance.
To conduct the test, the power plant output was reduced to 700 MW. But due to a sudden and
unexpected demand, the power output has to be raised.
1. To go ahead with the test, the reactor operators had already disconnected the emergency core-
cooling system, ignoring the raise in demand situation.
2. Further, a control device was not properly reprogrammed to maintain power at 700-100 MW
level
3. The test was conducted at 200 MW power out-put which is very low for the test. They should
have shut down the reactor.
4. The operators blocked all emergency signals and automatic shut-down controls, thus all safety
systems were disconnected.
5. The operators raised control rods to increase power output and tried to continue the test. This
made the reactor unsafe. The temperature of RBMK reactor increased and the fission rate
increased.
6. The test should have been postponed but continued. The reactor core melted and due to the
Hydrogen accumulation, the reactor caught fire and the radioactive waste began to spread out in
USSR and also Europe.
The people living around were informed after a few hours and were evacuated 12 hours after the
explosion. More than 30 workers in the complex lost their lives, while 200 workers sustained
burns. About 8000 people lost their lives. The agricultural products were affected due to
contaminated radioactive water, for several years.

Safety Lessons from TMI and Chernobyl

1. The thickness of the containment should be more, to withstand the possible explosion and
further damage due to radiation and leakage over the surroundings (Chernobyl).
2. When the test began at low loads, the demand for increased outpower should have been
declined.

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2. Attitude Loyalty (or Identification loyalty)
It is concerned with the attitudes, emotions, and a sense of personal identity. It includes
willingness to meet moral duties, with attachment, conviction, and trust with employer. The
attitude loyalty is more a virtue than an obligation. This type of loyalty is all right when the
organizations work for productivity or development of community. Working together in
falsification of records or serious harm to the public, does not merit loyalty. Further, with
frequent takeovers or merger resulting in large-scale layoff, employees find it difficult to
maintain attitude-loyalty.

Authority
Decisions can be taken by a few people, but putting into action requires larger participation from
different groups of people, such as operation, purchase, sales, accounts, maintenance, finance
etc. In effectively-and efficiently-transferring decisions to actions, the authority comes into play
a great role. Otherwise the individual discretions may ruin the activities. Further the authority
fixes the personal responsibility and accountability uniquely on each person. This is necessary to
ensure progress in action.
Institutional Authority
It is the authority exercised within the organization. It is the right given to the employees to
exercise power, to complete the task and force them to achieve their goals. Duties such as
resource allocation, policy dissemination, recommendation, supervision, issue orders (empower)
or directions on subordinates are vested to institutional authority, e.g., Line Managers and
Project Managers have the institutional duty to make sure that the products/projects are
completed successfully. The characteristics features of institutional authority are that they
allocate money and other resources and have liberty in execution.
Expert Authority
On the other hand, the Expert Authority is (a) the possession of special knowledge, skills and
competence to perform a job thoroughly (expertise), (b) the advice on jobs, and (c) is a staff
function. It is also known as ‘authority of leadership’. These experts direct others in effective
manner, e.g., advisers, experts, and consultants are engaged in an organization for a specific
term.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
It is the bargain by the trade union for improving the economic interests of the worker members.
The process includes negotiation, threatening verbally, and declaration of ‘strike’. It is
impossible to endorse fully the collective bargaining of unions or to condemn. There exist
always conflicting views between the professionalism and unionism.
A. Faithful Agent or Trustee?
Professional societies such as NSPE and IEI refuse to accept the ‘collective coercive action’ of
unionism, holding the principles of professional integrity as right, e.g., as per NSPE code III, i.e.,
engineers shall not promote their own interest at the expense of the dignity and integrity of the
profession.

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

26
Confidentiality can be justified by various ethical theories. According to Rights-based theory,
rights of the stakeholders, right to the intellectual property of the company are protected by this
practice. Based on Duty theory, employees and employers have duty to keep up mutual trust. 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.

27
or loss involved is relatively less. In competitive business situations, this information also
plays a vital role.
More on Confidentiality
A. Is Switching Job Ethical?
When persons change jobs (employers), what happens to their moral obligation? The obligation
to protect the information does not cease, when one shifts to another employee. Otherwise, the
former employee will reveal this information to the new employer or sell it to a competitor of the
former employer. The integrity of the employee, even upon switching the employer demands that
he maintains confidentiality and does not to divulge the information. The professional integrity
of engineers is more valuable than the loyalty to the current employer.
Many engineers value professional advancement than long-term tie and loyalty to a single
employer. The engineers involved in research and development and expert contribution change
jobs. Normally they are familiar with the innovative developments in the parent organizations.
For example, one manufacturing expert along with his colleagues as well as with some secret
documents left General Motors and joined Volkswagen. This violation of trade secret, lead the V
W to pay huge compensation to GM in cash and compulsion to buy parts from GM for seven
subsequent years. Employees, who change jobs, will not able to withhold their knowledge and
expertise. They are sought after only for their expertise. They may not carry the papers and but
their active brain always carry memories. Although some organizations hold that this is
unethical, the individuals can not be prevented from divulging the facts to benefit the current
employer. The courts have held a moral verdict. Even though the previous employers had the
right to maintain their trade secrets confidential, the personal rights of the employees, who
switched job in pursuit of career advancement, had to be honored and balanced.
B. Management Policies
How can we protect the rights of the employers and at the same time recognize the genuine
personal rights and other rights of the engineers/employees? Some of the management practices
and their limitations are discussed hereunder:
1. One way is to restrict the future employment of employees, by using employment contracts
at the time of their exit. Details such as the restriction on geographical location, time gap
between the departure from one place and engagement with the other employer, and on the
type of jobs that one can perform with future employer, are entered in to contracts. But such

28
contracts have not been given legal sanction.
2. An incentive instead of threatening their rights by the employment contract, may offer some
positive benefits in exchange for the restrictions listed. A lump sum post-employment payment
or compensation over a specific period may offered as incentive to restrict him.
3. Another approach by the management is to effect tighter controls on internal information
flow on trade secrets and other vital features. But this is likely to create a mutual distrust in
the organization and to throttle the creativity of engineers involved in the research and
development.
A better understanding between the ethical management and the professional responsibility of
the engineers will fulfill both professional concerns and employee loyalty.

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(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.

OCCUPATIONAL CRIME
An occupational crime may be committed by (1) wrong actions of a person through one’s lawful
employment or (2) crime by an employee to promote ones own or employer’s interest or (3) theft
or

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31
Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series, OHAS-18001 Certification has been adopted
in many Indian Industries. As per the Annual report of RIL10, an initiative called Project CASH,
Change Agent for Safety and Health, had been formed to bring about a positive change and
continual improvement in occupational health practices at the work place, besides attitudinal and
behavior changes. This is claimed to have prevented work-related diseases, injuries, reduced
absenteeism, and ultimately increased the productivity level.

Whistle Blowing

Whistle blowing is the act by an employee of informing the public or higher management of
unethical or illegal behavior by an employer or supervisor.
It is morally permissible for engineers to engage in whistle blowing when the following
conditions are met:
1) The harm that will be done by the product to the public is considerable and serious.
2) Concerns have been made known to the superiors and got no satisfaction from their
immediate superiors, all channels have been exhausted within the corporation including
the board of directors.

Types of Whistle Blowing:

(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.
(c) Open: The originator reveals his identity as he conveys the information. This information is
reliable and true, but sometimes partially true.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 should whistle blowing be attempted?

1) Need: There must be a clear and great harm that can be avoided by blowing whistle. In
deciding whether to go public, the employee needs to have a sense of proportion.
2) Proximity: The whistle blower must be in a very clear position to report on the problem.
3) Capability: the whistle blower must have a reasonable chance of success in stopping the
harmful activity.
4) Last Resort: It should be attempted only if there is no one else more capable or more
proximate to blow the whistle.

Preventing Whistle blowing:

There are four ways to solve the whistle blowing problem within a corporation.

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 1) There must be a strong corporate ethics culture.
2) There should be clear lines of communication within the corporation.
3) All employees must have meaningful access to high level managers in order to bring their
concerns forward.
4) There should be willingness on the part of management to admit mistakes publicly if
necessary.

Which mistakes are culpable?

Everyone makes mistakes. The consequences do not determine the extent to which a mistake is
morally blameworthy. The term “Honest Mistake” is used for a mistake to which no blame or
guilt is attached.

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