PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS IN
ENGINEERING

1
OBJECTIVES

To enable the students to create an

awareness on Engineering Ethics and
Human Values

To instill Moral and Social Values and

Loyalty and to appreciate the rights of
others. 2
 UNIT I HUMAN VALUES 9
Morals, values and Ethics – Integrity – Work ethic –
Service learning – Civic virtue – Respect for others –
Living peacefully – Caring – Sharing – Honesty –
Courage – Valuing time – Cooperation –Commitment
– Empathy – Self confidence – Character –
Spirituality – Introduction to Yoga and
meditation for professional excellence and stress
management.
 Rajat and Meera are colleagues working in the same company. They are also in
the same team and are working on the same project. One day, Meera confides
to Rajat that she is going to quit the company after two months.
 Rajat tried to persuade her not to take such kind of decision in haste, but from
Meera’s determination, he realized soon that she has already made up her mind.
She requests him to not share this with anybody else as she hasn’t mentioned it
to anyone but him, and Rajat promised he won’t.
 After a week, Rajat was having an “off the record” conversation with his
manager in the parking lot, where he came to know that the management is
planning to offer a promotion to either Meera or Rajat; however, the decision is
slightly leaning in favor of Meera. If Meera is out of the way, Rajat becomes
the automatic choice for the job and he knows that she is going to quit.
 Should Rajat keep quiet or tell the manager?
 On one hand, he had promised her to keep quiet,
although under different circumstances. On the
other hand, she is leaving the company anyway,
so telling would only ease up the process.
 What would you have done?
 UNIT-I

GE6075 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN

ENGINEERING
 UNIT-I

- are the welfare principles enunciated by the wise

people, based on their experience and wisdom.
- refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right
and wrong.
Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals
such as:
(a)What ought or ought not to be done in a given situation?

(b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a situation?

(c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals
involved?
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
 VALUES
A value is defined as a principle that promotes well-
being or prevents harm
- guidelines for our success, our paradigm about
what is acceptable.
- associate emotions to our experiences and guide
our choices, decisions and actions.
- are the scales we use to weigh our choices for our
actions,
whether to move towards or away from something.
 VALUES
Humans have unique ability to define their identity,
choose their values and establish their beliefs.

All three of these directly influence a person’s

behavior.

Personal values : “Emotional beliefs in principles

regarded as particularly favorable or important for
the individual.”
Values related to RIGHT CONDUCT are:

(a) SELF-HELP SKILLS: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene,

modesty, posture, self reliance, and tidy appearance
(b) SOCIAL SKILLS: Good behavior, good manners, good
relationships, helpfulness, No wastage, and good environment, and
(c) ETHICAL SKILLS: Code of conduct, courage, dependability,
duty, efficiency, ingenuity, initiative, perseverance, punctuality,
resourcefulness, respect for all, and responsibility
Values related to TRUTH are:

Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness,

honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and deed), intuition,
justice, optimism, purity, quest for knowledge, reason, self-
analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, synthesis, trust, truthfulness,
and determination.
Values related to LOVE are:

Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration,

dedication, devotion, empathy, forbearance, forgiveness,
friendship, generosity, gentleness, humanness, interdependence,
kindness, patience, patriotism, reverence, sacrifice, selflessness,
service, sharing, sympathy, thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust
Values related to NON-VIOLENCE are:

(a) PSYCHOLOGICAL: Benevolence, compassion, concern for

others, consideration, forbearance, forgiveness, manners,
happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love

(b) SOCIAL: Appreciation of other cultures and religions,

brotherhood, care of environment, citizenship, equality,
harmlessness, national awareness, perseverance, respect for
property, and social justice.
Values related to PEACE are:

Attention, calmness, concentration, contentment,

dignity, discipline, equality, equanimity, faithfulness, focus,
gratitude, happiness, harmony, humility, inner silence,
optimism, patience, reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance,
self-confidence, self-control, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-
respect, sense control, tolerance, and understanding
 UNIT-I

 Ethics is the word that refers to morals, values, and beliefs of

the individuals , family or the society
 refer to rules provided by an external source, e.g., codes of
conduct in workplaces or principles in religions
 Basically it is an activity and process of inquiry
 Ethics refers to a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits
of individuals or groups concerned with morals
 It tells us how to live, to respond to issues, through the duties,
rights, responsibilities, and obligations.
 The study on ethics helps to know the people’s beliefs, values,
and morals, learn the good and bad of them, and practice them
to maximize the well-being and happiness
 Engineering Ethics

- is the study of the moral issues and decisions confronting individuals

and organizations engaged in engineering
- is the study of related questions about the character, policies, and
relationship of people and corporations involved in technological
activity
- It consists of the responsibilities and rights that ought to be endorsed
by those engaged in engineering, and also of desirable ideals and
personal commitments in engineering
Morals
-refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong

-Are up to the individual and differs from person to person , from one
culture to another
Ethics –
-Rules or principles provided by the external source

-Are specific and do not differ

 UNIT-I

 Integrity is defined as the unity of thought, word and deed

 open-mindedness
 It includes the capacity to communicate the factual
information so that others can make well-informed
decisions
 It enthuse people not only to execute a job well but to
achieve excellence in performance
 It helps them to own the responsibility and earn self-
respect and recognition by doing the job
 UNIT-I

 Industry and Society are the two

systems which interact with each other
and are interdependent

Industry Society
 Work Ethic
•Society requires industry/business system which provides
manufacturing, distribution and consumption activities.
•It needs investment (capital input), labour (input), supply (raw
materials), production (industries, business organizations),
marketing and distribution (transport), and consumption (public,
customer).
 UNIT-I

Work ethics
- is defined as “a set of attitudes concerned
with the value of work, which forms the
motivational orientation”.

The ‘work ethics’ is aimed at ensuring the

productivity, safety, health and hygiene
 Work ethics
 affirms that, the work per se is worthy, admirable and
valuable at personal and social levels.

 It improves the quality of life and makes life purposeful,

successful and happy.

 By work ethics, duties to the self, family, society, and

nation are fulfilled

 Rights of the individuals are respected and nourished.

 Work Ethics
To work (job), is not for monetary considerations
only.
Human beings believe that it is good to work. It is
good for the body and mind.
It promotes self-respect, self-esteem, good for the
family, and obligation to the society and allow the
world to prosper.
 Work lays a moral and meaningful foundation for
life.
 UNIT-I

Service learning
Service learning refers to learning the service
policies, procedures, norms, and conditions, other
than ‘the technical trade practices’.
The service learning includes the characteristics
of the work, basic requirements, security of the job,
and awareness of the procedures, while taking
decisions and actions.
It helps the individuals to interact ethically with
colleagues, to effectively coordinate with others, to
interact cordially with suppliers as well as the
customers, and to maintain all these friendly
interactions.
 UNIT-I

Alternatively, the service learning may be defined

as “the non-paid activity, in which service is provided
on voluntary basis to the public” (the service during
learning)

In the industrial scenario, adoption, study, and

development of public health or welfare or safety
system of a village or school is an example of service
learning by the employees.
Virtues
- Are positive and preferred values
- are desirable attitudes or character traits, motives
and emotions that enable us to be successful and to
act in ways that develop our highest potential
Civic virtues
- are the moral duties and rights, as a citizen of the
society . An individual may exhibit civic virtues by
voting, volunteering, and organizing welfare groups .
 UNIT-I

RESPECT FOR OTHERS

This is a basic requirement for nurturing friendship, team work, and for the synergy it
promotes and sustains. The principles enunciated in this regard are:

1. Recognize and accept the existence of other persons as human beings, because
they have a right to live, just as you have.

2. Respect others’ ideas, words, and labor.

3. Appreciate colleagues and subordinates on their positive actions. Criticize

constructively and encourage them.

4. Show ‘goodwill’ on others. This will facilitate collinearity, focus, coherence, and
strength to achieve the goals.
Nurture
1. Order in one’s life (self-regulation, discipline, and duty).
2. Pure thoughts.
3. Creativity
4. Beauty in one’s heart (love, service, happiness, and
peace).
Get
5. Good health/body (physical strength for service).
Act
6. Help the needy with head, heart, and hands
CARING
Caring is a process which exhibits the interest in, and
support for, the welfare of others with fairness,
impartiality

It includes showing respect to the feelings of others,

and also respecting and preserving the interests of all
others concerned.

Caring is reflected in activities such as friendship,

membership in social clubs and professional societies,
and through various transactions in the community
 SHARING
• Sharing is a process that describes the transfer
of knowledge, experience, commodities and
facilities with others.
• Sharing is voluntary and it can not be driven
by force, but motivated successfully through
ethical principles.

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 HONESTY
• Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two
aspects namely,
• (a) Truthfulness and
• (b) Trustworthiness
• Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities
upon telling truth – quality of being honest
• Trustworthiness is maintaining integrity and
taking responsibility for personal performance
– reliable / dependable
Honesty is mirrored in many ways.

The common reflections are:

(a) Beliefs (intellectual honesty).
(b) Communication (writing and speech).
(c) Decisions (ideas, discretion).
(d) Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals). and
(e) Intended and unintended results achieved.

33
Some of the actions of an engineer that leads to dishonesty
are:
1.Lying – giving wrong information to the right people

2. Deliberate deception - judge or decide on matters one is

not familiar or with insufficient data or proof, to impress
upon the customers or employers

3. Withholding the information - hiding the facts during

communication to one’s superior or subordinate,
intentionally or otherwise

4. Not seeking the truth - Some engineers accept the

information or data, without applying their mind and
seeking the truth

5. Not maintaining confidentiality - It is giving right

information to wrong people 34
 COURAGE
• Courage is the tendency to accept and face risks and
difficult tasks in rational ways. Self-confidence is
the basic requirement to nurture courage.

• Courage is classified into three types, based on the

types of risks, namely
• (a) Physical courage,
• (b) Social courage, and
• (c) Intellectual courage.
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• In physical courage, the thrust is on the adequacy
(capability) of the physical strength, including the
muscle power and armaments.

• The social courage involves the decisions and

actions to change the order, based on the conviction
(belief) for or against certain social behaviors.

• This requires leadership abilities, including

empathy and sacrifice, to mobilize and motivate the
followers for the social cause.
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• The intellectual courage is inculcated in people
through acquired knowledge, experience, games,
tactics, education, and training
• Facing the criticism, owning responsibility, and
accepting the mistakes or errors when committed
are the expressions of courage.

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VALUING TIME
•Time is rare resource. Once it is spent, it is
lost for ever. It can neither be stored nor be
recovered.
•Time is the most perishable and most
valuable resource too. This resource is
continuously spent, whether any decision or
action is taken or not.

38
The proverbs,

‘Time and tide wait for nobody’

and

‘Procrastination is the thief of

time’
amply illustrate this point.

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 COOPERATION
• It is a team-spirit present with every individual
engaged in engineering.

• Co-operation is activity between two persons or

sectors that aims at integration of operations
(synergy), while not sacrificing the autonomy of
either party.

40
• Further, working together ensures, coherence, i.e., blending
of different skills required, towards common goals.

• Cooperation promotes collinearity, coherence ,co-ordination

and the synergy.

• Cooperation should exist or be developed, and maintained,

at several levels; between the employers and employees,
superiors and subordinates, organization and customers and
among the colleagues.

41
The impediments(obstacles) to successful cooperation are:
•1. Clash of ego of individuals.
•2. Lack of leadership and motivation.
•3. Conflicts of interests, based on region, religion, language, and caste.
•4. Ignorance and lack of interest.

By careful motivation, leadership, fostering (development) and

rewarding team work, training on appreciation to different cultures
‘cooperation’ can be developed and also sustained.

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 COMMITMENT
• Commitment means alignment to goals and
adherence to ethical principles during the
activities

• Holding sustained interest and firmness, in

whatever ethical means one follows, with the
fervent (keen) attitude and hope that one will
achieve the goals, is commitment.

43
• It is the driving force to realize success.

• This is a basic requirement for any profession.

• When the teacher is committed to his job, the

students will succeed in life and contribute ‘good’ to
the society.

• The commitment of top management will naturally

lead to committed employees, whatever may be
their position or emoluments.
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 EMPATHY
• Empathy is sensing what others feel about, without
their open talk.

• Empathy begins with showing concern, and then

obtaining and understanding the feelings of others,
from others’ point of view.

• It is also defined as the ability to put one’s self into

the psychological frame or reference or point of
view of another, to know what the other person
feels. 45
To practice ‘Empathy’, a leader must develop,
the following characteristics

1.Understanding others
2. Service orientation
3. Developing others

In developing others, the one should inculcate

the ‘listening skill’ first.

Communication = 22% reading and writing +

23% speaking + 55% listening 46
• Giving correct feedback and positive expectation of
the subject’s abilities and the resulting performance.
• Leveraging diversity
• Political awareness: It is the ability to read political
and social currents in an organization.
• The benefits of empathy include:
• 1. Good customer relations
• 2. Harmonious labor relations
• 3. Good vendor-producer relationship

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SELF-CONFIDENCE
Certainty in one’s own capabilities, values, and goals,
is self-confidence

The people with self-confidence exhibit courage to get

into action and unshakable faith in their abilities,
whatever may be their positions.

They are not influenced by threats or challenges and

are prepared to face them and the unexpected
consequences.
48
The self-confidence in a person develops a sense of
partnership, respect, and accountability, and this helps the
organization to obtain maximum ideas, efforts, and guidelines
from its employees.

The people with self-confidence have the following

characteristics:
1. A self-assured standing

2. Willing to listen and to learn from others and adopt

(flexibility)

3. Frank to speak the truth, and

4. Respect others’ efforts and give due credit 49

The factors that shape self-confidence in a person
are:
1.Heredity (attitudes of parents) and family
environment (elders)

2. Friendship (influence of friends/colleagues)

3. Influence of superiors/role models

4. Training in the organization

50
The following methodologies are effective in developing self-
confidence in a person:

1.Encouraging SWOT analysis. By evaluating their strength and

weakness, they can anticipate and be prepared to face the
results.
2.2. Training to evaluate risks and face them (self-acceptance).
3.3. Self-talk . It is conditioning the mind for preparing the self
to act, without any doubt on his capabilities. This make one
accepts himself while still striving for improvement.
4.4. Study and group discussion on the history of leaders and
innovators

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Character
It is a characteristic property that defines the behavior of an
individual.

Character includes attributes that determine a person’s moral

and ethical actions and responses.

The character is exhibited through conduct. Character is

determined by the expectations of society.

Character implies certain unity of qualities with a recognizable

degree of constancy (faithfulness) in mode of action.

52
SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality is a way of living that emphasizes the constant awareness
and recognition of the spiritual dimension of nature and people, with a
dynamic balance between the material development and the spiritual
development.

Spirituality includes creativity, communication, recognition of the

individual as human being , respect to others, acceptance, vision

Spirituality is motivation as it encourages the colleagues to perform

better.

Tolerance and empathy are the reflections of spirituality.

Spirituality in the Workplace

1.Verbally respect the individuals as humans and recognize their values

in all decisions and actions.

2.Get to know the people with whom you work and know what is
important to them.

3. State your personal ethics and your beliefs clearly.

4. Support causes outside the business.

5. Encourage leaders to use value-based discretion in making decisions.

6. Demonstrate your own self-knowledge and spirituality in all your

actions.
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7. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Spirituality for Corporate Excellence
1.Self-awareness — Realization of self-potential.

2.Alertness in observation and quickness in decision making,

3.Being visionary and value based

4.Holism — Comprehensive views and interconnected with

different aspects.

5.Compassion — Sympathy, empathy and concern for others.

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 Respect for diversity — Respect others and their views.

 Moral Autonomy — It means action based on rational and moral

judgment.

 Creative thinking and constant reasoning

 Ability to analyze and synthesize

 Positive views of adversity

 Humility — The attitude to accept criticism (it requires courage!) and

willing to correct. It includes modesty and acknowledging the work
of colleagues.

 Sense of vocation — Treat the duty as a service to society, besides

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your organization.
Quit Making Excuses…

57
 Introduction to
Yoga and
meditation for
professional
excellence and
stress management
59
 YOGA
• Yoga is an ancient discipline designed to bring
balance and health to the physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the
individual

• Yoga offers an effective method of managing

and reducing stress, anxiety, and depression,
and numerous studies demonstrate the efficacy
of yoga on mood-related disorders.
60
Yoga is often depicted metaphorically(symbolically)
as a tree and comprises eight aspects, or limbs:
•yama (universal ethics)
•niyama (individual ethics)
•asana (physical postures)
•pranayama (breath control)
•pratyahara (control of the senses)
•dharana (concentration)
•dyana (meditation) and
•samadhi (bliss).

61
62
Yama – a list of outward observances (compliances) representing
principles of ethical behavior

Niyama – Inward personal observances (obedience) that improve the

self and surrounding relations

Asana – physical practice of yogic postures

Pratyahara – turning awareness inward, sense withdrawal

Dhayana – focused state of concentration, bringing the mind to a

single point of focus

Samadhi – bliss, to feel unity, peace, freedom

 The role of yoga in stress
management
Stress is a complex, dynamic process of
interaction between a person and his or her
life.

Stress can affect one’s health, work

performance, social life, and the relationship
with family members.
Stress can also be defined as the harmful
physical and emotional responses that occur
when the requirements of the job do not
match the capabilities, resources, or needs of
the worker.

Stress is a silent killer, and prolonged

exposure to stress may exert harmful effects
on physical, psychological, and behavioral
well-being of an individual.
 “Burnout”
•The rapid change of the modern working life is
associated with increasing demands of learning
new skills
•the need to adapt to new types of work
•pressure of higher productivity and quality of
work, time pressure, and hectic jobs
These factors are increasing stress among the
workforce.
 IMPACT OF STRESS
Stress-related disorders evolve gradually through
four recognizable stages
1.In the first, psychological changes such as anxiety,
irritability, and insomnia (restlessness) arise, due to over-
stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.
2.In the second stage symptoms such as high blood pressure,
elevated heart rate, and increased intestinal motility surface.
3.a more profound physical or biochemical imbalance
4.In the final fourth stage, irreversible symptoms that often
require surgical or long-term management appear.

67 Dr Gnanasekaran Thangavel 03/23/22

In contrast, the relaxation response has been
proposed as an antidote to stress; relaxation
decreases heart rate, breathing, body
temperature, and muscle tension.

Certain yoga techniques may improve

physical and mental health through
regulation of the sympathetic nervous
system (SNS).
 Yoga significantly decreases heart rate and
systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

 Studies suggest that yoga reverses the negative

impact of stress on the immune system by
increasing levels of immunoglobulin A as well as
natural killer cells.

 Regardless of the pathophysiologic pathway,

yoga has been shown to have immediate
psychological effects: decreasing anxiety and
increasing feelings of emotional, social, and
spiritual well-being.
 Yogic science includes

yogasanas (postures)

pranayama (breathing practices)

dhyana (meditation), and

relaxation techniques

which benefit human beings at every level.