ENGR 4760U: Ethics, Law

and Professionalism for

Engineers
Module 3: Engineering Ethics

ENGR4760U 3.1
 Outline - 3: Engineering Ethics

3.1 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

3.2 Other Codes of Ethics for Engineers
3.3 Ethical Dilemmas: Areas and Types
3.4 Some Resources on Engineering Ethics

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3.1 RESOLVING ETHICAL
DILEMMAS

ENGR4760U 3.3
 A Decision Making Process in Ethical
Dilemmas

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Identify Define ethical Define Evaluate and Make decision
problem dilemma and alternative compare of
gather ethical proposed
information strategies ethical
strategies

Throughout, notify those who need to know of dilemma and obtain necessary
assistance

ENGR4760U 3.4
 Decision Making Process in Ethical
Dilemmas – Steps 1-2
Decision Making Step Related Activities
1. Problem identification Identify type and nature of problem:
Societal crisis
Accident or disaster
Political challenge
Professionally-related
Other

2. Definition of Define moral dilemma and all relevant information:

moral dilemmas and Statement of problem and dilemma
gathering of information Details of situation
Existing legal and ethical codes
Stakeholders

ENGR4760U 3.5
 Decision Making Process in Ethical
Dilemmas – Steps 3-5
Decision Making Step Related Activities
3. Definition of alternative Define relevant aspects of alternative strategies:
ethical strategies Moral theories
Decision-making criteria and process
Indicators of impact of actions on stakeholders

4. Comparative Evaluate direct and indirect impact of “actions” in

evaluation of each strategy:
proposed strategies Develop overall impact indicator for each strategy
Consider all qualitative indicators

5. Decision making Make “enlightened” decision

Using appropriate help
With those requiring knowledge notified (at this
and all appropriate stages)

ENGR4760U 3.6
Another Approach to Resolving Ethical
Issues in Engineering
A related approach is to use the
Engineering Design Process as a guide
 Only a rough guide

ENGR4760U 3.7
Apply the Engineering Design Process
to Ethical Situations
 Recognizing the problem/need
 Gather information to formulate
problem/goal
 Generate alternative solutions
 Cost-benefit analysis of alternatives
 Decide and optimize design
 Implement best solution

ENGR4760U 3.8
 Example

In most engineering codes of ethics, the

duty of the engineer to engineers who work
under your supervision is:
a. equal to the engineer’s duty to protect the
public from danger.
b. not mentioned.
c. of importance.
d. (a) and (c).
e. none of the above.
ENGR4760U 3.9
 Example

In most engineering codes of ethics, the

duty of the engineer to engineers who work
under your supervision is:
a. equal to the engineer’s duty to protect the
public from danger.
b. not mentioned.
c. of importance.
d. (a) and (c).
e. none of the above.
ENGR4760U 3.10
3.2 OTHER CODES OF ETHICS
FOR ENGINEERS

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 3.2.1 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Professional Engineers Institute of Electrical and
Ontario (PEO) Electronics Engineers
 A licensing association  A learned society

ENGR4760U 3.12
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to • It is the duty of the practitioner to • Accept responsibility in making

society the public, to the practitioner’s engineering decisions consistent
employer, to the practitioner’s with the safety, health and welfare
clients, to other members of the of the public and to disclose
practitioner’s profession, and to promptly factors which might
the practitioner to act at all times endanger the public or the
with: environment.
--fairness and loyalty to the
practitioner’s associates,
employers, clients, subordinates
and employees;
--fidelity to public needs; and
--devotion to high ideals of
personal honour and professional
integrity

ENGR4760U 3.13
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to society • A practitioner shall:

- regard the practitioner’s duty to the
public welfare as paramount;
- endeavour at all times to enhance
the public knowledge thereof and
discourage untrue, unfair of
exaggerated statements with
respect to professional engineering;
- not express publicly, or while
serving before a court, commission
or other tribunal opinions on
professional engineering matters
that are not founded on adequate
knowledge and honest conviction;
and
- endeavour to keep the practitioner’s
temporary licence, limited licence or
certificate of authorization
permanently displayed in the
practitioner’s place of business ENGR4760U 3.14
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to • A Practitioner must co-operate in • To seek and offer honest

colleagues working with other professionals criticism of technical work,
and and shall: acknowledge and correct errors,
co-Workers --act towards other practitioners and credit properly the
with courtesy and good faith; contributions of others.
--not accept an engagement to
review the work of another •To treat fairly all persons
practitioner for the same employer regardless of race, religion,
except where the connection of gender, disability, age or national
the other practitioner with the work origin.
has been terminated;
--not maliciously injure the •To assist colleagues in their
reputation of business of another professional development and
practitioner; support them in following this
code of ethics.

ENGR4760U 3.15
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to - not attempt to gain advantage • To avoid injuring other

colleagues over other practitioners by paying professional colleague, their
and or accepting a commission in property, reputation or
co-workers securing professional engineering employment by false or malicious
work; and action.
- give proper credit for engineering
work, uphold the principle of
adequate compensation for
engineering work, provide
opportunity for professional
development and advancement
for the practitioner’s associates
and subordinates, and extend the
effectiveness of the profession
through the interchange of
engineering experience and
information.
ENGR4760U 3.16
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics

Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics

Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to oneself • A Practitioner shall maintain the

and the honour and integrity of the
engineering practitioner’s profession and
profession without fear or
favour expose before the proper
tribunals unprofessional,
dishonest or unethical conduct by
any other practitioner.

ENGR4760U 3.17
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to • A Practitioner shall act in • Avoid real or perceived conflict of

employers and professional engineering matters interest whenever possible, and
clients for each employer as faithful disclose them to affected parties
agent or trustee and shall regard when they do exist.
as confidential information
obtained by the practitioner as to • To be honest and realistic in
the business affairs, technical stating claims or estimates based
methods or processes of an on available data.
employer and avoid or disclose a
conflict of interest that might • To reject bribery in all its forms.
influence the practitioner’s actions
or judgement. • To improve the understanding of
• A practitioner must disclose technology, its appropriate
immediately to the practitioner’s application and potential
client any interest, direct or consequences.
indirect, that might be construed
as prejudicial in any way to the
practitioner in rendering service to
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the client.
 Comparison of Codes of Ethics
Ethical Elements of Code of Ethics
Category
PEO IEEE

Duty to • A Practitioner who is an • To maintain and improve

employers employee-engineer and is technical competence and to
and contracting in the practitioner’s undertake technological tasks for
clients own name to perform professional others only if qualified by training
engineering work for other than and experience, or after full
the practitioner’s employer, must disclosure or pertinent limitations.
provide the practitioner’s client
with a written statement of the
nature of the practitioner’s status
as an employee and the attendant
limitations on the practitioner’s
services to the client, must satisfy
the practitioner that the work will
not conflict with the practitioner’s
duty to the practitioner’s employer,
and must inform the practitioner’s
employer of the work.
ENGR4760U 3.19
 3.2.2 Consulting Engineers Code of
Ethics
Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils
(FIDEC) Code of Ethics clauses:

 Responsibility to Society and the Consulting

Industry
 Must accept this responsibility
 Must seek solutions that are compatible with
sustainable development
 Must at all times uphold the dignity, standing and
reputation of the Responsibility to Society and the
Consulting Industry
ENGR4760U 3.20
 Consulting Engineers Code of Ethics
(cont.)
 Competence
 Must maintain knowledge and skills at levels
consistent with development in technology, legislation
and management and apply due skill, care and
diligence in the services rendered to the client
 Must perform services only when competent to
perform them
 Integrity
 Must act at all times in the legitimate interest of the
client and provide all services with integrity and
faithfulness
ENGR4760U 3.21
 Consulting Engineers Code of Ethics
(cont.)
 Impartiality
 Must be impartial in the provision of
professional advice, judgement or decision
 Must inform the client of any potential conflict
of interest that might arise in the performance
of services to the client
 Must not accept remuneration which
prejudices independent judgement

ENGR4760U 3.22
 Consulting Engineers Code of Ethics
(cont.)
 Fairness to others
 Must promote concept of Quality-Based Selection (QBS)
 Must neither carelessly nor intentionally do anything to
injure the reputation or business of others
 Must neither directly or indirectly attempt to take the
place of another consulting engineer already appointed
for specific work
 Must not take over the work of another consulting
engineering before notifying the consulting engineer in
question, and without being advised in writing by the
client of the termination of prior appointment for the work
 In the event of being asked to review the work of
another, must behave in accordance with appropriate
conduct and courtesy
ENGR4760U 3.23
 Example

The Code of Ethics of Professional

Engineers Ontario and the Code of Ethics of
any engineering society:
a. have some notable differences.
b. are equally important.
c. are virtually identical.
d. both do not relate to licensing.
e. none of the above.

ENGR4760U 3.24
 Example

The Code of Ethics of Professional

Engineers Ontario and the Code of Ethics of
any engineering society:
a. have some notable differences.
b. are equally important.
c. are virtually identical.
d. both do not relate to licensing.
e. none of the above.

ENGR4760U 3.25
3.3 ETHICAL DILEMMAS: AREAS
AND TYPES

ENGR4760U 3.26
 Common Areas Where Ethical
Dilemmas Arise
 Public safety and welfare
 Conflict of interest
 Engineering standards and practice
 Intellectual property rights
 Fair trade practices
 International engineering ethics
 Research ethics

ENGR4760U 3.27
 Ethicality and Legality of Actions
Legality Ethicality of Action
of Action Unethical Ethical

Illegal Unethical and illegal actions Global corporations and their

usually clearly defined; engineers can face
violation of law can result in situations were ethical
criminal indictments for actions (by Western
corporation and engineer Standards) can be in conflict
with local customs and laws

Legal Legal but unethical actions by Ethical and legal actions by

Corporations and individual corporations and their
engineers can result in “ethical engineers is ideal that most
dilemmas” and conflicts businesses seek

ENGR4760U 3.28
 Example: Ethical Dilemma

 Problem Definition:
 Universities often face financial problems
because of low public funding. Faculties often
diversify resources by seeking financial and
other support from the private sector.
 The Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied
Science approached an entrepreneur (Mr. X)
who owns a successful software company.
The entrepreneur's response was positive and
could potentially lead to a contribution to the
Faculty of $1 million. ENGR4760U 3.29
 Example: Ethical Dilemma
The Ethical Dilemma:
 Mr. X has been convicted of tax fraud and has spent
some time in a minimum security prison. He feels he
has paid his dues to society and wants to redeem
his reputation through philanthropic initiatives like
the one under consideration here. He understands
that:
 A donation of $1 million would be tied to attaching his
name to new facilities for the Faculty.
 A smaller donation of $250,000 could be made for
equipment acquisitions and a scholarship fund
without the name attachment.

ENGR4760U 3.30
 Example: Ethical Dilemma
Strategic Choices:
1: Accept Mr. X’s full offer and change name of software
engineering lab to “The X Laboratory of Software
Engineering”
 Rationale: Mr. X has paid his dues to society, and should not be
punished further

2: Accept Mr. X’s limited offer without name attachment

 Rationale: Practice of naming facilities after individuals is limited
to eminent professors and practitioners

3: Turn down Mr. X’s offer

 Rationale: Mr. X’s reputation is tarnished by his conviction, and
more harm than good would result from accepting his gift
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 The uneasy ties between Canada’s
universities and wealthy business magnates
T. Tedesco, Mar 9, 2012, Financial Post (National Post)
After almost 3 years of negotiation and internecine
battles, a private think-tank established & chaired
by Jim Balsillie has signed a $60-million deal with
York U. to create a school of international law.
Through the Centre for International Governance
Innovation (CIGI), the co-founder of BlackBerry
smartphone maker Research In Motion Ltd. has
committed to donate $30-million to create 10
research chairs and 20 graduate scholarships over
the next 10 years….
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In return, Mr. Balsillie’s private, not-
for-profit organization has secured a
voice to influence, and veto, staffing
and curriculum at the school.
The collaboration, which includes $30-
million from the Ontario government,
has raised eyebrows in the academic
community. The Canadian Association
of University Teachers has
“condemned” the agreement, saying it
“opposed any collaboration that allows
third-parties a voice in hiring or
academic decision-making.”
ENGR4760U 1.33
 Examples of Ethical Dilemmas

 Knowingly or unknowingly failing to comply with laws and

regulations
 Making agreements you do not intend to keep
 Shipping defective product
 Putting employees at risk
 Buying from unethical suppliers (e.g. re customers,
shareholders, employees/children, suppliers, society)
 Designing products, processes and services without
considering impact on environment and employees
 Avoiding giving bad news (e.g. to management,
employees, shareholders, suppliers, community)
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ENGR4760U 3.35
 Illustration: Ethical Dilemma
Ford rejected advice on recall: Papers
Engineers called door latches substandard
Car firm faces 16 liability lawsuits
May 3, 2004, Toronto Star, p. A18 (Associated Press)

Ford Motor Co. overruled its own safety engineers' recommendations to

recall up to 4.1 million pickups and sport utility vehicles they found to
have substandard door latches, court documents indicate.
A Ford safety engineering team determined in March, 2000, that door
latches on certain 1997-2000 model light trucks didn't meet U.S.
safety standards.
The trucks include popular F-150, F-250, Expedition and Lincoln
Navigator models, according to Ford internal memos made public as
part of court cases.
After the recommendations, Ford ordered immediate design changes
for future vehicles.
But the automaker decided against a recall, which could have cost up
to $527 million (U.S.). ENGR4760U 3.36
 Illustration: Ethical Dilemma (cont.)
The company determined instead that the latches could pass a rarely
used alternative compliance test, the Detroit News reported yesterday.
At least 16 product liability lawsuits have been filed against the
automaker in which plaintiffs claimed latch failures led to fatal
accidents that involved doors flying open. Many have been settled, but
others are still pending.
Federal safety officials are reviewing allegations that Ford skirted federal
laws by failing to recall the 4.1 million vehicles and alert the U.S.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the latch issue.
Ford maintains the door latches are safe and in compliance with federal
laws.
"Ford's extensive crash testing of the F-Series truck demonstrates that
the doors remain closed during a variety of crashes," Ford
spokesperson Kathleen Vokes told the paper.
"Compliance to (federal safety standards), crash testing, and real-world
data from years of on-road experience show the vehicles, including
the door latches, to be safe."
Plaintiffs' lawyers said the company's internal documents paint a detailed
picture of an automaker failing to address a safety issue because of
financial concerns… ENGR4760U 3.37
 Case Study

Boeing 737 Max safety system was vetoed, engineer says

By Natalie Kitroeff, David Gelles and Jack Nicas, The New York Times
Wed., Oct. 2, 2019

A senior Boeing engineer filed an internal ethics complaint this year saying that
during the development of the 737 Max jet the company had rejected a safety
system to minimize costs, equipment that he felt could have reduced risks that
contributed to two fatal crashes….
Ewbank noted, “It is not possible to say for certain that any actual
implementation of synthetic airspeed on the 737 Max would have prevented the
accidents”…. But he said that Boeing’s actions on the issue pointed to a culture
that emphasized profit in some cases, at the expense of safety….

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3.4 SOME RESOURCES ON
ENGINEERING ETHICS

ENGR4760U 3.39
 Some Important Resources
Engineering Ethics
 Online Edition of Engineering Dimensions, the
magazine of Professional Engineers Ontario:
 http://www.peo.on.ca/communications/edonline.htm
 Contains many engineering ethics and management articles,
e.g.,
 Pick: “January/February 2001” and then pick “ETHICS: Walking
the fine line of everyday ethics”
 Pick: “November/December 2000” and then pick “ETHICS:
Making judgment calls”
 Online Ethics Center for Engineering and
Science:
 http://onlineethics.org/
 Many case studies and links to related web sites are presented
at that web site under “Engineering Ethics Cases:”
 http://onlineethics.org/cases/index.html
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