its related to engineering subject

1. Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering
Module II – ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Subject Code & Title: 20EI211 – PLANNING AND
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
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2. Ethics
• Ethics (நீ தி நநறி): Set of Principles or
standards of human conduct which governs the
behavior of individuals or organization which
was given by religion, laws, influence and
guidelines.
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3. Ethics
• What is ethics?
• At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles.
They affect how people make decisions and lead their
lives.
• Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and
society and is also described as moral philosophy.
• The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which
can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.
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4. Ethics covers the following dilemmas:
• How to live A good life
• Our rights and responsibilities
• The language of right and wrong
• Moral decisions - what is good and bad?
• Our concepts of ethics have been derived from
religions, philosophies and cultures.
• They infuse debates on topics like abortion,
human rights and professional conduct.
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5. Morals
• Morals: Concerned with the principles of right
and wrong behavior and the goodness or
badness of human character.
• Moral are the worthy ideals or principles that
one follows to distinguish the right from the
wrong.
• These ideals or virtues are considered worthy
in building up the character of an individual.
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6. Moral Values
• Moral Value refers to the good virtues such as honesty,
integrity, truthfulness, compassion, helpfulness, love,
respectfulness, hard-work, etc .
• Morality is concerned with principles and practices of
morals such as:
 What ought or ought not to be done in a given
situation?
 What is right or wrong about the handling of a
situation?
 What is good or bad about the people, policies, and
ideals involved?
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7. What is Morality?
• What would you do if you found $50,000 dollars
in a bank bag on the way home from work
tonight? Would you turn it in and hope for a
reward? Or would you keep it for yourself? Or
would you just keep it for 24 hours so you could
roll around in it for a while before returning it?
Our answer speaks of our morality; of what we
think is the right thing to do.
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8. What is Morality?
• So what is morality? The simplest answer is
that morality is the human attempt to define what is
right and wrong about our actions and thoughts, and
what is good and bad about our being who we are.
• But that's not really all that simple, is it? Philosophers
have been attempting to provide answers to this
question for thousands of years! Perhaps if we stand
upon their shoulders and look at this question we can
find some answers that will be meaningful for us.
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9. The Real value:
Where you find the real value of any
one or anything??
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10. Definitions
• Values are individual in nature.
• Values are comprised of personal concepts
of responsibility, entitlement and respect.
• Values are shaped by personal experience,
may change over the span of a lifetime and
may be influenced by lessons learned.
• Values may vary according to an
individual’s cultural, ethnic and/or faith-
based background.
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11. VALUES
• Humans have the unique ability to define their
identity, choose their values and establish
their beliefs. All three of these directly
influence a person’s behavior.
• A value is defined as a principle that promotes
well-being or prevents harm.
• Another definition is:- Values are our
guidelines for our success or our paradigm
about what is acceptable.
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12. Personal values
• Personal values are defined as:- Emotional
beliefs in principles regarded as
particularly favorable or important for the
individual.
• Our values associate emotions to our
experiences and guide our choices,
decisions and actions.
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13. Types of Values
1. 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.
c) Ethical Skills: Code of conduct, courage, dependability,
duty, efficiency in genuity, initiative, perseverance,
punctuality, resourcefulness, respect for all, and
responsibility.
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14. Types of Values
2. 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.
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15. Types of Values
3. 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.
4. 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
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16. Types of Values
5. 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.
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17. INTEGRITY
• Integrity is defined as the unity of thought, word and deed (honesty)
and open mindedness. It includes the capacity to communicate the
factual information so that others can make well- informed decisions.
• It is one of the self-direction virtues. 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.
• Integrity comes in many forms, but honesty and dependability are
two traits that are expected in most workplace situations.
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18. EXAMPLES OF INTEGRITY AT
WORKPLACE
• The biggest workplace challenge is said to be the
employee’s work ethics
showing up to work every day (interest in work
and attendance)
showing up to work on time (punctuality)
taking pride in the quality of their work
commitment to the job
getting along with others
• This situation demands inculcation of good
character in the workplace by employees.
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19. Service Learning
• Service-learning seeks to engage individuals in
activities that combine both community service and
academic learning.
• Service-learning programs are typically rooted in
formal courses (core academic, elective, or vocational),
the service activities are usually based on particular
curricular concepts that are being taught.
• It focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic
responsibility.
• Service-learning programs involve students in
organized community service that addresses local
needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of
civic responsibility, and commitment to the community.
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20. Service Learning
• The service learning is a methodology falling
under the category of experiential education.
• It is one of the forms of experiential learning
and community service opportunities.
• The engineering student analyzing and
executing a socially-relevant project is another
example of service learning.
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21. SERVICE-LEARNING
BENEFITS
• Service-Learning benefits students by:
 Linking theory to practice.
 Deepening understanding of course materials.
 Enhancing the sense of civic responsibility through civic
engagement.
 Allowing students to explore possible career paths.
 Stressing the importance of improving the human condition.
 Developing relevant career-related skills.
 Providing experience in group work and interpersonal
communication.
 Promoting interaction with people from diverse backgrounds.
 Instilling a sense of empowerment that enhances self-esteem.
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22. SERVICE-LEARNING BENEFITS
• Service-Learning benefits faculty by:
 Providing exciting new ways to teach familiar material.
 Offering professional development challenges.
 Engaging faculty in meaningful interactions with the community at
large.
 Encouraging faculty to form close, interactive, mentoring
relationships with students.
 Reminding faculty of the direct consequences of their teaching for
society.
 Connecting faculty across academic disciplines through a shared
approach to teaching and learning process.
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23. CIVIC VIRTUE
• Civic virtues are the moral duties and rights,
as a citizen of the village or the country or an
integral part of the society and environment.
• An individual may exhibit civic virtues by
voting, volunteering, and organizing welfare
groups and meetings.
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24. Examples
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25. The duties are
• To pay taxes to the local government and state, in time.
• To keep the surroundings clean and green.
• Not to pollute the water, land, and air by following
hygiene and proper garbage disposal. For example, not
to burn wood, tyres, plastic materials, spit in the
open, even not to smoke in the open, and not to
cause nuisance to the public, are some of the civic
(duties) virtues.
• To follow the road safety rules.
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26. On the other hand, the rights
are
• To vote the local or state government.
• To contest in the elections to the local or state government.
• To seek a public welfare facility such as a school, hospital or a
community hall or transport or communication facility, for the
residents.
• To establish a green and safe environment, pollution free,
corruption free, and to follow ethical principles. People are said to
have the right to breathe in fresh air, by not allowing smoking in
public.
• People have right to accept or reject a project in their area. One has
the right to seek legal remedy, in this respect, through public
interest petition
• Civic virtues as indispensable for a self-governing administration.
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27. Categories of virtues
• Civic Knowledge:
Citizens must understand what the Constitution says about
how the government is working and We must understand
the basis of our responsibilities as citizens, besides duties
and rights.
• Self-Restraint:(சுய கட்டுப்பாடு)
For citizens to live in a free society with limited
government each citizen must be able to control or
restrain himself; otherwise need a police state.
• Self-Assertion(சுய உறுதிப்பாடு)
It means citizens must be proud of their rights, and have
the courage to stand up in public and defend their rights.
• Self-Reliance:(சுய நம்பிக்கக)
Self-reliant citizens are free citizens in the sense that they
are not dependent on others for their basic needs.
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28. RESPECT FOR OTHERS
• This is a basic requirement for nurturing friendship and team work.
• The principles behind this is
 Recognize and accept the existence of other persons as human
beings, because they have a right to live, just as you have.
 Respect others ideas (decisions), words and labor (actions).
 One need not accept or approve or award them, but shall listen
to them first.
 One can correct or warn, if they commit mistakes.
 Appreciate colleagues and subordinates on their positive
actions.
 Show goodwill on others. Love others. Allow others to grow.
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29. Living Peacefully
• To live peacefully, one should start install
peace within (self).
• Then one can spread peace to family,
organization where one works, and then to the
world, including the environment.
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30. Living Peacefully
If you can live in
Harmony with all lives
surrounding you, there
is peaceful living
Disorder of Sound: Noise
Harmony of Sound: Music
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31. To live peacefully
• Get
 Order in one’s life (self-regulation, discipline, and duty).
 Pure thoughts in one’s soul (loving others, blessing others, friendly, and
not criticizing or hurting others by thought, word or deed).
 Creativity in one’s head (useful and constructive).
 Beauty in one’s heart (love, service, happiness, and peace).
 Good health / body (Physical strength for service to enjoy the academic
environment in the institution).
• Act
 Help the needy with head, heart and hands (charity). Service to the poor
is considered holier than the service to God.
 Not hurting and torturing others physically, verbally, or mentally.
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32. • The following are the factors that promote living,
with internal and external peace
• Conducive (good for) environment (safe, ventilated,
illuminated and comfortable).
• Secured job and motivated with recognition and
reward.
• Absence of threat or tension by pressure due to
limitations of money or time.
• Absence of unnecessary interference or disturbance,
except as guidelines.
• Healthy labor relations and family situations.
• Service to the needy (physically and mentally-
challenged) with love and sympathy.
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CONT

33. Caring
• It is a process which exhibits the interest in, and support
for, the welfare of others with fairness, impartiality and
justice in all activities, among the employees, in the
context of professional ethics.
• 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 family, fraternity,
community, country and in international councils.
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34. Caring: Showing respect to the feelings of others, and also
respecting and preserving the interests of all others
concerned
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35. SHARING
• Primarily, Caring influences sharing.
• Sharing is a process that describes the transfer of knowledge
(teaching, learning, and information), experience (training),
commodities (material possession) and facilities with others.
• The transfer should be genuine, legal, positive, voluntary, and
without any expectation in return.
• Sharing is voluntary and it can’t be driven by force.
• For the humanity, sharing is a culture. The happiness and
wealth are multiplied and the crimes and sufferings are
reduced, by sharing.
• Sharing maximizes the happiness for all the human beings.
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36. 36
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37. HONESTY
• Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two aspects namely,
 Truthfulness
 Trustworthiness
• Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities upon telling truth.
• One should keep one’s word or promise. By admitting one’s mistake
committed (one needs courage to do that!), it is easy to fix them.
• The reflections of truthfulness are
 Reliable engineering judgment
 Maintenance of truth
 Defending the truth,
 Communicating the truth
• People abide by law and live by mutual trust.
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38. Honesty is mirrored in many ways.
The common reflections are:
Beliefs (intellectual honesty)
Communication (writing and speech)
Decisions (ideas, discretion)
Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals)
Intended and unintended results achieved
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39. As against this, some of the actions of an engineer that leads to dishonesty
are:
• Lying: An engineer may communicate wrong or distorted test results
intentionally or otherwise. It is giving wrong information to the right
people.
• Deliberate deception: An engineer may judge or decide on matters one is
not familiar or with insufficient data or proof, to impress upon the
customers or employers.
• Withholding the information: It means hiding the facts during
communication to one’s superior or subordinate, intentionally or
otherwise.
• Not seeking the truth: Some engineers accept the information or data,
without applying their mind and seeking the truth.
• Not maintaining confidentiality: It is giving right information to wrong
people.
• Giving professional judgment under the influence of extraneous
factors such as personal benefits and prejudice. The laws, experience,
social welfare, and even conscience are given a go-bye by such actions.
Certainly this is a higher-order crime.
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40. COURAGE
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41. COURAGE
• Courage is when you to face danger or pain whether
you are afraid or not.
• 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:
 Physical courage
 Social courage
 Intellectual courage
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42. • Courage is the mental
muscle that conquers fear.
Like all muscles, the more
you use them the stronger
they become.
 Courage is not something you are born with, it
must be developed.
 Individuals, who fail to develop courage,
remain confined in mental prisons and face
each day as mental lightweights.
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43. Who has Courage?
• Anyone can have
courage.
• Some people show
courage at work.
• Some people show
courage when they are
having fun.
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44. To succeed you must approach
challenges with hard work,
determination and courage.
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45. Valuing Time
• A first step in good time
management is to understand
the value of your time.
• If you are employed by someone
else, you need to understand how
much your employer is paying for
your time, and how much profit he
or she expects to make from you.
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46. Valuing Time
• If you are working for yourself, you
should have an idea of how much
income you want to bring in after tax.
By working these figures back to an
hourly rate, this gives you an idea of
the value of your time.
• By knowing the value of your time, you
should be able to tell what tasks are
worthwhile to perform, and which tasks
give a poor return. This helps you cut
away the low value jobs, or argue for
help with them.
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47. Cooperation
 Cooperation is the process of groups of
organisms working or acting together for
common or mutual benefit, as opposed to
working in competition for selfish benefit.
Many animal and plant species cooperate
both with other members of their own
species and with members of other
species.
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48. Commitment
 Commitment is willingness to give your time and
energy to something that you believe in, or a
promise or firm decision to do something.
 Commitment means acceptance of the
responsibilities and duties and cooperation means
help and assistance.
 By developing team commitment and cooperation
in a work team you are assisting the team to meet its
goals and objectives. Work teams that are committed
and cooperative are more likely to achieve the goals
the business has set.
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49. Empathy
• Sensing what others feel about, without their
open talk, is the essence of empathy.
• Empathy begins with showing concern, and then
obtaining and understanding the feelings of
others, from others‘ point of view.
• It includes the imaginative projection into
other‘s feelings and understanding of other‘s
background such as parentage, physical and
mental state, economic situation, and
association.
• This is an essential ingredient for good human
relations and transactions.
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50. SELF-CONFIDENCE
• Certainty in one’s own capabilities, values,
and goals, is self-confidence.
• These people are usually positive thinking,
flexible and willing to change.
• They respect others so much as they respect
themselves.
• They are not influenced by threats or
challenges and are prepared to face them
and the natural or unexpected consequences.
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51. SELF-CONFIDENCE
The people with self-confidence have the
following characteristics:
A self-assured standing
Willing to listen
 To learn from others and adopt (flexibility),
Frank to speak the truth
Respect others‘ efforts and give due credit.
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52. 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.
• People are divided into several categories,
according to common tendencies such as ruthless,
aggressiveness, and ambition, constricting
selfishness, stinginess, or cheerfulness, generosity
and goodwill.
• Individuals vary not only in the type of their
character but also in the degree.
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53. CHARACTER
• Following types of characters should be
followed by the engineers.
Active (great and the mediocre)
Apathetic (Concern)
Intelligent
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54. Education and Character
• The aim of education is not only the cultivation
of the intellect but also the formation of moral
character.
• Increased intelligence or physical skill may as
easily be employed.
• It is the function of ethics to determine the
ideals of human character.
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55. SPIRITUALITY
• Spirituality is a way of living that emphasizes the
constant awareness and recognition of the spiritual
dimension (mind and its development).
• spirituality includes the faith or belief in supernatural
power/ God, regarding the worldly events.
• Spirituality includes creativity, communication,
recognition of the individual as human being, respect to
others, acceptance, vision and partnership.
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56. SPIRITUALITY
• Spirituality is motivation as it encourages the
colleagues to perform better.
• Spirituality is also energy: Be energetic and
flexible to adapt to challenging and changing
situations.
• Tolerance and empathy are the reflections of
spirituality.
• Blue and saffron colors are said to be
associated with spirituality.
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57. Spirituality in the Workplace
• Spirituality is promoted in the workplace by adhering to the
following activities:
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. Know their goals, desires, and dreams too.
3. State your personal ethics and your beliefs clearly in all your
actions.
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
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58. Spirituality for Corporate
Excellence
• The spiritual traits to be developed for excellence in corporate
activities are listed as follows:
1. Self-awareness
2. Alertness
3. Being visionary and value based
4. Holism
5. Compassion
6. Respect for diversity
7. Moral Autonomy
8. Creative thinking and constant reasoning
9. Ability to analyze and synthesize
10.Positive views of adversity
11.Humility
12.Sense of vocation
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59. VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
• There are so many engineering disasters which are
greater / heavier than the level of acceptable or
tolerable risk.
• Finding and avoiding such cases such as nuclear
plant accident at Chernobyl (Russia), Chemical plant
at Bhopal (India) where a big disaster of gas leakage
occurred in 1980, which caused many fatal
accidents.
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60. Cases for Engineering Disasters
• Oil spills from some oil extraction plants
• Hazardous waste
• Pollution and other related services
• Natural disasters like floods, earthquake
• Danger from using asbestos and plastics
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61. VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
• These fields should be given awareness of engineering ethics.
• It is essential for engineers to get awareness on the above said
disasters.
• They should also know the importance of the system of
engineering.
• When malfunction of the system is a rapid one, the disaster will
be in greater extent and can be noticed immediately.
• When it is slow and unobserved, the impact is delayed. So, the
engineers should not ignore about the functions of these
systems.
• These cases also explain and make the engineers to be familiar
with the outline of the case in future and also about their
related ethical issues.
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62. INQUIRY
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63. TYPES OF INQUIRY
• Inquiry means an investigation.
• Like general ethics, Engineering ethics also
involves investigations into values, meaning
and facts.
• These inquiries in the field of Engineering
ethics are of three types.
Normative Inquiries
Conceptual Inquiries
Factual or Descriptive Inquiries
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65. Normative Inquiries
• How do the obligations of engineers protect the public safety in
given situations?
• When should an engineer have to alarm their employers on
dangerous practices?
• Where are the laws and organizational procedures that affect
engineering practice on moral issues?
• Where are the moral rights essential for engineers to fulfill their
professional obligations? From these questions, it is clear that
normative inquiries also have the theoretical goal of justifying
moral judgments.
• What are the reasons on which the engineers show their
obligations to their employees or clients or the public ?
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66. Conceptual Inquiries
• It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or ideas
or principles that are expressed by words or by
questions and statements.
• For e.g.,
What is the safety and how it is related to risk?
What does it mean when codes of ethics say engineers
should protect the safety, health and welfare of the
public?
What is a bribe?
What is a profession and professional?
• Describing the meaning of concepts, principles, and
issues related to Engineering Ethics.
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67. Factual or Descriptive Inquiries
• These help to provide facts for understanding and
finding solutions to value based issues.
• The engineer has to conduct factual inquiries by
using scientific techniques.
• These help to provide information regarding the
business realities such as engineering practice,
history of engineering profession, the effectiveness
of professional societies in imposing moral
conduct.
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68. MORAL DILEMMAS
• 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.
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69. MORAL DILEMMAS
• 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.
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70. MORAL DILEMMAS
• There are some difficulties in arriving at the
solution to the problems, in dilemma.
• The three complex situations leading to moral
dilemmas are:
The problem of vagueness
The problem of conflicting reasons
The problem of disagreement
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71. 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
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72. The problem of conflicting reasons:
• One is unable to choose between two good
moral
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73. 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.
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74. Steps to Solve Dilemma
• Identification of the moral factors and reasons.
• Collection of all information, data, and facts (factual inquiry) relevant
to the situation.
• 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.
• 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.
• Discuss with colleagues and obtain their perspectives, priorities, and
suggestions on various alternatives.
• 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 solution
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75. 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.
• Moral autonomy means self-determinant or
independent.
• Moral autonomy may also be defined as a skill
and habit of thinking rationally about the
ethical issues, on the basis of moral concern.
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76. The engineering skills related to moral
autonomy is listed as follows:
• Proficiency in recognizing moral problems in engineering and
ability to distinguish as well as relate them to problems in law,
economics and religion
• Skill in comprehending, clarifying and critically-assessing
arguments on different aspects of moral issues
• Ability to form consistent and comprehensive view points based on
facts
• Awareness of alternate responses to the issues and creative
solutions for practical difficulties
• Sensitivity to genuine difficulties and subtleties, including
willingness to undergo and tolerate some uncertainty while making
decisions, Using rational dialogue in resolving moral conflicts and
developing tolerance of different perspectives among morally
reasonable people, Maintaining moral integrity.
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77. MORAL AUTONOMY
• 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.
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78. Moral Autonomy – Skills Needed
• Ability to relate the problems with the problems
of law, economics and religious principles
• Skill to process, clarify and understand the
arguments against the moral issues
• Ability to suggest the solutions to moral issues on
the basis of facts
• Must have the imaginative skill to view the
problems from all the viewpoints
• Tolerance while giving moral judgment, which
may cause trouble
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79. Kohlberg’s Theory
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80. Kohlberg’s Theory
• It was developed by Lawrence Kohlberg.
• He was a professor at Harvard University during
the early 1970s.
• He was famous for his works on developmental
psychology.
• He proposed a theory on moral development
which is popularly known as Kohlberg’s
theory.
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81. KOHLBERG’S THEORY
• Moral Autonomy is based on the
psychology of moral development.
• The first psychological theory was
developed by Jean Piaget
• On the basis of Piaget’s theory, Lawrence
Kohlberg developed three main levels of moral
development
• Which is based on the kinds of reasoning and
motivation adopted by individuals with regard
to moral questions.
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82. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory
• Kohlberg proposed that people progress in
moral reasoning based on their ethical
behavior.
• He postulated this theory based on the
thinking of younger children throughout their
growing period as adults.
• He conveyed that younger children make
judgment based on the consequences that
might occur and the older children make
judgment based on their intuitions.
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83. 1/8/2024 83

84. There are six stages of moral development
which are further classified into three levels.
The process being discussed here is about the judgment
made by the thinker about the protagonist (the leading
character) in a given situation. The steps of the thinking
process show the moral development of the thinker.
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85. Pre-conventional Level
• This can be understood as the first level of
moral thinking, which is generally found at
Elementary school level. The thinker at this
stage tends to think and behave based on
the direct consequences that might occur.
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86. Avoid Punishments
• A thinker at this stage generally thinks and
believes that the judgment are to be made as
per the socially acceptable norms as they are
said so by some higher official (a teacher or a
parent).
• This is a child-like obedience, in order to avoid
punishments.
• These thoughts are based on the idea that the
protagonist should obey the law or rules.
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87. Self–interest
• A thinker at this stage, shows interest in
making decisions according to the rewards
they get in exchange.
• This second stage is characterized by a
view that right behavior means acting in
one's own best interests.
• In this stage, they tend to follow the rules of
authority because they believe that this is
necessary to ensure positive relationships
and societal order.
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88. Conventional Level
• This can be understood as the second level of moral
thinking, which is generally found at the primary
and high school level. The thinker at this stage
tends to think and behave based on the want to
please others.
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89. Getting people to like them
• At this stage, the ideas of the society are
considered.
• This level can be that where the protagonist
behaves on account of the moral grounds
which people decide for decision making.
• This decision may or may not support the law.
• Whatever the result is, the thinking process is
based on how to impress others or society
and on how to please the people around.
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90. Maintain functioning in society
• A thinker at this stage, considers to follow the
rules for the good of the society.
• The moral grounds on how people in the society,
because the thinker believes that a social order is
maintained by abiding by the rules.
• Hence a thinker sticks to the idea that the
protagonist should follow the moral values.
• The thinker’s behavior is driven by the authority
while his thinking conforms to the social order.
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91. Post-Conventional Level
• This can be understood as the third level of Moral
thinking, which is generally found after the high school
level. The thinker at this stage tends to think and behave
based on a sense of justice.
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92. Reject rigidity of laws
• In this level, the thinker uses his moral
thinking skills at a commendable pace.
• He starts to feel for the protagonist based on
moral grounds.
• He also might have an opinion that the rules
have to be changed according to humanitarian
values.
• The thinker rejects the rigidity of the existing
laws and rules at this stage.
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93. Sense of Justice
• This is the pinnacle stage of Moral
development where the thinker feels a sense of
justice for the protagonist.
• The thinker has great moral values that he
keeps himself free from the external factors
that might influence his thinking process.
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94. Carol Gilligan
• This is an advancement of Kohlberg’s theory.
• It had been observed that Kohlberg’s theory was proposed
based on the moral thinking of privileged white men and boys.
• Hence this theory was popularized by taking both male and
female thinking capabilities into account.
• Carol Gilligan, a psychological theorist was born on Nov 28,
1936 in the New York city.
• She pursued her doctorate degree in Social Psychology from the
Harvard University.
• Gilligan was a research assistant for Lawrence Kohlberg, but she
eventually became independent and criticized some of his
theories.
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95. Gilligan’s Theory
• Carol Gilligan says that Kohlberg’s theories are biased upon
the male thinking process.
• According to Gilligan, Kohlberg seemed to have studied
only privileged men and boys.
• She believed that women face a lot of psychological challenges
and they are not moral widgets.
• The women’s point of view on moral development
involves caring which shows its effect on
human relationships.
• Hence she proposed a theory which has the same three stages
of Kohlberg but with different stages of moral development.
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96. Gilligan’s Theory
• According to the Carol Gilligan’s theory of moral
development, changes occur due to the change of
self rather than the critical thinking.
• It was stated that the post-conventional level of
Kohlberg is not attained by women.
• But Carol Gilligan researched and found that the post-
conventional level of thinking is not being easy for
women to go through because they care for the
relationships.
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97. Some Impediments to
Responsibility
• Some Impediments (obstruction) to Responsibility
Self-interest
Fear
Self-deception
Ignorance
Egocentric tendencies
Microscopic vision
Uncritical acceptance of authority
Groupthink
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98. 1. Self interest
• Taken to extreme, concern for self-interest
is a form of egoism--an exclusive concern
to satisfy one’s own interests, even at the
possible expense of others.
• Popularly characterized by “looking out
for number 1”
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99. 2. Fear
• Many potential fears
Fear of acknowledging mistakes
Fear of losing one’s job
Fear of punishment
Fear of the fate of whistleblowers
Fear of being unable to find alternative
employment
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100. 3. Self-Deception
• Definition: An intentional avoidance of truths
we would find it painful to confront self-
consciously
• We deceive ourselves into believing something is
OK by some rationalization
I’m not really doing this just for myself
Everyone takes shortcuts once in a while, etc.
• Example: bribing a city council to get a project
in order to save the jobs of your employees
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101. 4. Ignorance
• An obvious barrier to responsible action is
ignorance of vital information
• Sometimes engineers take on design
problems in areas in which they are not
sufficiently competent and avoidable
problems can result
– An engineer put an aluminum liner in the
Texas A&M nuclear reactor when most Civil
engineers would know that concrete and
aluminum are not compatible materials
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102. 5. Egocentric Tendencies
• Failure to view actions or projects from
alternative viewpoints
• It is a special form of ignorance
• Example from India--we may think what a
community needs is a new water or wastewater
system. The people may be perfectly happy with
water from a nearby ditch, but what they really
want is a school or health care.
• Product developer vs. user problems
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103. 6. Microscopic Vision
• Can’t see the forest for the trees
• Shoemaker example--knows a lot about
shoes but may be ignorant as to how they
are going to used in different
circumstances
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104. 7. Uncritical acceptance of
authority
• Engineers are do exercise independent,
objective judgment in performing their
duties
• Engineers also have a duty of fidelity to
their employers and clients
• Most engineers are not their own bosses,
and they are expected to defer to authority
in their organizations
• These responsibilities can conflict
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105. 8. Groupthink
• Groupthink: a situation in which groups
come to an agreement at the expense of
critical thinking
• Engineers tend to work and to deliberate in
groups and can be vulnerable to groupthink
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