Engineering Ethics KopyKitab

py Ki ta b Engineering Ethics Ko Includes Human Values M. Govindarajan S. Natarajan V.S. Senthilkumar

Engineering Ethics includes Human Values M. Govindarajan py Ki ta b Formerly Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Anna University, Chennai S. Natarajan Formerly Professor and Head Department of Mechanical Engineering Anna University, Chennai V.S. Senthilkumar Ko Associate Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Anna University, Chennai New Delhi-110001 2011

b py Ki ta Ko ENGINEERING ETHICS (includes Human Values) M. Govindarajan, S. Natarajan and V.S. Senthilkumar 2004 by PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN-978-81-203-2578-4 The export rights of this book are vested solely with the publisher. Twelfth Printing L L October, 2011 Published by Asoke K. Ghosh, PHI Learning Private Limited, M-97, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110001 and Printed by Rajkamal Electric Press, Plot No. 2, Phase IV, HSIDC, Kundli-131028, Sonepat, Haryana.

b To Ko py Ki ta The Lotus Feet of the Holy Mother

A Prayer b “I stretch it out to Thee with both arms in a gesture of offering and I ask of Thee: py Ki ta If my understanding is limited, widen it; if my knowledge is obscure, enlighten it; if my heart is empty of ardour, set it aflame; if my love is insignificant, make it intense; if my feelings are ignorant and egoistic, give them the full consciousness in the Truth”! Ko On the Mother by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar

b Contents Preface xvii–xxii Degeneration in Values xviii Holistic Code of Living xix Universal Values xix 0.3.1 Right Conduct xix 0.3.2 Peace xx 0.3.3 Truth xx 0.3.4 Love xx 0.3.5 Non-violence xx 0.4 Fundamental Values xxi 0.5 Holistic Vision xxi 0.6 Quality of Life xxii Sources xxii Ko 0.1 0.2 0.3 py Ki ta Chapter 0—Human Values xiii Chapter 1—Understanding Ethics 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Ethics—Action Oriented 1 Ethical Vision 2 Indian Ethos 3 Ethics Defined 3 1.4.1 Engineering Ethics 4 1.4.2 Ethical Decisions 4 1.4.3 Science of Ethics 4 1.4.4 Nature of Ethical Problems 4 1.4.5 Ethical Thinking 5 Approaches to Ethical Behaviour 5 1.5.1 Deontological Theories 5 1.5.2 Consequentialist Theories 5 vii 1–28

1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Ko 1.19 1.5.3 Virtue 6 1.5.4 Fundamental Virtues 6 Various Connotations of Engineering Ethics 7 Why Study Engineering Ethics? 8 Personal and Business Ethics 8 Ethics and the Law 9 Ethics and Design Problems 9 Duties and Rights 10 1.11.1 Morality and Law 10 What is a Profession? 11 1.12.1 Who is a Professional—An Analysis 11 1.12.2 Medicine and Law 12 Engineering as a Profession 12 Professional Societies 13 Core Qualities of Professional Practitioners 14 Professional Institutions 16 Operating in a Pluralistic Society 16 Environments and Their Impact 17 1.18.1 Economic Environment—Capital 17 1.18.2 Labor 17 1.18.3 Price Levels 17 1.18.4 Government Fiscal and Tax Policies 18 1.18.5 Customers 18 1.18.6 Technology 18 1.18.7 Impact of Technology: Benefits and Problems 19 1.18.8 Categories and Technological Change 19 1.18.9 Social Environment 20 Complexity of Environmental Forces 20 1.19.1 Political Environment 20 1.19.2 Legal Environment 20 Social Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values 21 1.20.1 Social Responsibility and Social Responsiveness 21 1.20.2 Arguments for Social Involvement of Business 21 1.20.3 Arguments against Social Involvement of Business 22 1.20.4 Social Audit 22 1.20.5 Institutionalizing Ethics 23 Code of Ethics 23 1.21.1 Purpose of Code of Ethics 24 1.21.2 Objections to Codes 24 1.21.3 Codes of Engineering Societies 24 1.21.4 Resolving Internal Conflicts in Codes 25 1.21.5 Other Types of Codes of Ethics 25 Solving Ethical Conflicts 26 1.22.1 Guidelines 26 1.22.2 Procedure for Solving Ethical Conflicts 26 b 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 Contents py Ki ta viii 1.20 1.21 1.22

Contents 1.23 Ethical Judgement 27 1.23.1 Law 28 1.23.2 Contract 28 1.23.3 Liability 28 1.23.4 Product Liability 28 Chapter 2 —Moral Reasoning and Ethical Theories 2.6 2.7 2.8 Ko 2.9 2.10 b 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Theories of Right Action 29 2.1.1 Utilitarianism 30 2.1.2 Cost-Benefit Analysis 30 2.1.3 Duty Ethics and Right Ethics 31 2.1.4 Which Theory to Use? 32 2.1.5 Uses of Ethical Theories 32 Variety of Moral Issues 34 Major Ethical Issues 34 Analysis of Issue in Ethical Problems 35 Three Types of Inquiry 36 2.5.1 Normative Inquiries 36 2.5.2 Conceptual Inquiries 36 2.5.3 Factual Inquiries 37 Engineering and Management Decision 38 Sustainability 40 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development 41 2.8.1 Piaget’s Theory 43 Carol Gilligan Theory 43 Moral Dilemmas 45 2.10.1 Examples 45 2.10.2 Concept of Moral Dilemma 45 2.10.3 Problems 46 2.10.4 Dilemmas and Consistency 47 2.10.5 Moral Residue 47 Types of Moral Dilemmas 48 Moral Autonomy 49 Moral Disagreement 51 Moral Absolutism 51 Moral Relativism 52 Moral Pluralism 52 Morality as Consequence 52 Ethical Egoism 53 Feminist Consequentialism 53 Conformity to God’s Commands 53 Proper Intention 54 Universalizability 54 Respect for Other Persons 54 py Ki ta 2.1 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 ix 29–59

x Contents 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 Caring 55 Respect for Rights 55 Contrast between Act-Oriented and Character-Oriented Ethics Virtue of Courage 56 Compassion 57 Value Based Ethics 58 Chapter 3—Engineering as Social Experimentation 60–68 b Comparison with Standard Experiments 60 Knowledge Gained 63 Conscientiousness 63 Relevant Information 64 Learning from the Past 64 Engineers as Managers, Consultants, and Leaders 65 Accountability 66 Role of Codes 67 Codes and Experimental Nature of Engineering 68 py Ki ta 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 56 Chapter 4—Engineers’ Responsibility for Safety and Risk 70 Ko 4.1 Safety and Risk 69 4.1.1 Concept of Safety 69 4.2 Types of Risks 70 4.2.1 Voluntary vs. Involuntary Risk 70 4.2.2 Short-term vs. Long-term Consequences 4.2.3 Expected Probability 70 4.2.4 Reversible Effects 71 4.2.5 Threshold Levels for Risk 71 4.2.6 Delayed vs. Immediate Risk 71 4.3 Safety and the Engineer 71 4.4 Designing for Safety 72 4.5 Risk-Benefit Analysis 73 4.6 Accidents 73 69–75 Chapter 5 —Responsibilities and Rights 5.1 Collegiality 76 5.1.1 Techniques for Achieving Collegiality 76 5.2 Two Senses of Loyalty 82 5.2.1 Obligations of Loyalty 82 5.2.2 Misguided Loyalty 82 5.2.3 Professionalism and Loyalty 83 5.3 Professional Rights 83 5.4 Professional Responsiblities 84 5.4.1 Confidential and Proprietary Information 84 76–96

Contents py Ki ta b 5.5 Conflict of Interest 85 5.5.1 Solving Conflict Problems 85 5.6 Self-interest, Customs and Religion 86 5.6.1 Ethical Egoism 86 5.7 Collective Bargaining 87 5.8 Confidentiality 88 5.9 Acceptance of Bribes/Gifts 88 5.9.1 When is a Gift a Bribe? 89 5.9.2 Examples of Gifts vs. Bribes 89 5.9.3 Problem Solving 90 5.9.4 Interests in Other Companies 91 5.10 Occupational Crimes 91 5.10.1 Industrial Espionage 93 5.10.2 Price Fixing 93 5.10.3 Endangering Lives 93 5.11 Whistle Blowing 94 5.11.1 Type of Whistle Blowing 94 5.11.2 When should Whistle Blowing be Attempted? 5.11.3 Preventing Whistle Blowing 96 xi 95 Chapter 6—Global Issues Globalization 97 Cross-cultural Issues 98 Environmental Ethics 100 Computer Ethics 102 6.4.1 Computers as the Instrument of Unethical Behaviour 6.4.2 Computers as the Object of Unethical Acts 104 6.4.3 Autonomous Computers 104 6.4.4 Computer Codes of Ethics 105 Weapons Development 106 Ethics and Research 106 Analysing Ethical Problems in Research 107 Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) 108 102 Ko 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 97–112 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Chapter 7—Ethical Audit 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Aspects of Project Realization 113 Ethical Audit Procedure 114 The Decision Makers 115 Variety of Interests 116 Formulation of the Brief 117 7.5.1 The Environment 118 7.6 The Audit Statement 119 7.7 The Audit Reviews 119 113–120

xii Contents Review Questions Case Studies Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Case Study 3 Case Study 4 121–125 127–164 Space Shuttle Challenger 129 Bhopal Gas Tragedy 140 The Three Mile Island Disaster The Chernobyl Disaster 162 151 Appendix 1 Institution of Engineers (India): Sample Codes of Ethics Appendix 2 ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 165 –166 167–173 References 175 Web Resources 177 Ko py Ki ta b Index 179–181

b Preface Ko py Ki ta Engineering Ethics, as a subject of study, owes its origin not only to the lack of ethics that led to the engineering disasters that have been recorded over a period of time but also to the day-to-day ethical behaviour that ought to be followed by engineering professionals. In the case of disasters, several factors were responsible—overconfidence (Titanic disaster), impatience (space shuttle Challenger explosion), negligence and poor maintenance (Bhopal Gas Tragedy) . Most of the disasters could have been prevented if the necessary code of ethics was observed. In order to cut down on the number of errors, both human and mechanical, many codes of ethics were established. The main purpose of these ethical codes is to ensure public safety. Ethics presupposes understanding of human nature and values. Values provide each one of us with a unique, personal, and moral template that we use to assess the intentions and actions of others and ourselves and the importance of the likely outcome of these various actions and reactions. By values, we mean an in-built mechanism which distinguishes the right from the wrong. Right or wrong should be interpreted only in the context of the social environment in which a person lives. There is a growing concern about deteriorating values because deviation from accepted values threatens the stability of society. Excessive technological growth has created an environment in which life has become physically and mentally unhealthy. The quality of work-life in any organization is greatly influenced by the ethical and moral values prevalent in that organization. The ethical quality of managerial decision-making can be improved through a full understanding and internalization of the doctrine of karma. All decisions depend critically on the purity of mind of the decision-maker. There are five system values and many sub-values, or virtues that come from these. They contain all that makes a human being noble, caring, and kind. The Five Universal Values from which the other values and virtues stem are Right Conduct (using the tool of the body), Peace (using the tool xiii