Engineering foundation course at NUST.

1. ETHICS IN ENGINEERING
Dr Qaiser Malik
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

2. WHAT IS MEANT BY ETHICS?
http://manofthehouse.com/money/career-advice/business-ethics-in-the-workplace
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

3. System of moral principles
 Principles of right and wrong
Principles of conduct governing
behavior of an individual or a
group
http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/reference/define-ethics.html
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

4. QUIZ QUESTION
A person’s behavior is always ethical when one:
A. Does what is best for oneself
B. Has good intentions, no matter how
things turn out
C. Does what is best for everyone
D. Does what is legal
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

5. QUIZ QUESTION
A person’s behavior is always ethical when one:
A. Does what is best for oneself
B. Has good intentions, no matter how
things turn out
C. Does what is best for everyone
D. Does what is legal
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

6. ETHICS IN AN ENGINEERING
COURSE????
We shall be studying engineering;
such as design, analysis, and
performance measurement.
Where does ethics fit in?
http://www.free-clep-prep.com/Business-Ethics-and-Society-DSST.html
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

7. HOW ETHICS FITS INTO ENGINEERING?
 Engineers . . .
 Build products such as cell phones, home
appliances, heart valves, bridges, & cars. In
general they advance society by building new
technology.
 Develop processes, such as the process to
convert salt water into fresh water or the
process to recycle bottles. These processes
change how we live and what we can
accomplish.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

8. PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES HAVE
CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIETY
 If the bridge has an inadequate support, it will fail
 If the gas tank is positioned too close to the
bumper, it might explode from a small accident
 If the process for recycling bottles produces too
much pollution, then it is counterproductive
 If the process for refining gas produces too much
toxins, it harms the local community
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

9.  Decisions made by
engineers usually
have serious
consequences to
people -- often to
multitudes of people.
 Ethics and ethical
reasoning guide
decision-making.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

10. 10
THE NATURE OF ETHICS
 Ethics is generally concerned with rules or
guidelines for morals and/or socially approved
conduct
 Ethical standards generally apply to conduct that
can or does have a substantial effect on people’s
lives
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

11. 11
LAW VS. ETHICS
 LAW
 Creates rules to guide
conduct
 Balances competing
values
 Punishes conduct that
is “illegal” through
formal structures
 ETHICS
 Offers guidance on
conduct
 Addresses situations in
which competing values
clash
 Incentives and
disincentives may be
created by “group”
(formal or informal)
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

12. 12
IS “LEGAL” THE SAME AS
“ETHICAL?”
 YES:
 Law defines duties,
rights, “allowable
conduct.”
 “Compliance Approach”
to business ethics: fulfill
legally recognized duties,
and don’t go further.
 NO:
 Law does not address all
ethical dilemmas
 Legal duties may not
meet standard of ethical
conduct
 “Beyond Compliance”
approach: fulfill legally
recognized duties, but
don’t stop there.
In case of conflicts, it’s generally held that legal
standards must give way to ethical standards
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

13. 13
“AN ETHICAL DILEMMA?”
 Choice to be made
 Implicates competing values, rights, & goals
 Potential harm to decision maker?
 Potential harm to others?
 “Ripple effect:” long-term, far reaching
implications of decision to be made.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

14. Consider the March 11, 2011
8.9 magnitude earthquake
near Sendai, Japan.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

15.  The damage to the
Fukushima I
Nuclear Power
Plant (Fukushima
Dai-ichi) has led
people worldwide
to rethink the
ethics of nuclear
power
15
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

16. ISSUE #1: HEALTH AND SAFETY
RISKS: Danger to current and future
generations from leakage of radio-
isotopes used in nuclear power.
Plutonium-239 (half-life = 24,110 yrs)
is a particularly toxic radio-isotope.
Normally, 10 half lives are required
before a Pu-239 contaminated area
is considered safe again, in the case
of plutonium, roughly 250,000 years.
So if Pu leaked, -- say, due to an
earthquake -- it would cause a
health risk for roughly 8000
generations!!
16
Notice the issues that come up in these discussions:
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

17. THE ESSENCE OF YOUR ENGINEERING
CAREER
 Engineering is one of the most important
professions in society.
 As engineers we don’t just build things and
develop processes.
 We build things and make processes in order to
better society.
 In order to make society better we have to reflect
constantly on the products and processes that we
make.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

18. TWO DIMENSIONS OF ETHICS IN
ENGINEERING
 Ethics is part of engineering for two main
reasons.
a) Engineers need to be socially responsible
when building products and processes for
society.
b) Social responsibility requires professional
responsibility.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

19. PEC SAYS . . .
By the time of graduation
students will have the ability to
apply ethical principles and
commit to professional ethics
and responsibilities and norms
of engineering practice
3.2.2 (viii) Criterion 2 PLO New Accreditation manual 2014This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

20. WHAT WE WILL DISCUSS
 The code of ethics for engineers.
 Practicing ethics as an engineering student.
 How to identify and analyze an ethical dilemma
through case analysis.
 The nature of virtue.
 How virtue and practice pertains to being ethical.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

21. Part 1: The Code of
Ethics for Engineers
http://pec.org.pk/code_ethics.aspx
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

22. ETHICS IN ENGINEERING
 There are many fields of engineering, such as
 Civil
 Mechanical
 Electrical
 Software
 Industrial
 Aeronautical
 However, there are many ethical issues that arise
across all of these fields of engineering.
 The code of ethics for engineers pertains to
engineers of all kinds.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

23. THE PEC CODE OF ETHICS
Whereas Allah enjoineth upon His men faithfully
observe their trusts and their convenience; that
the practice and profession of engineering is a
sacred trust entrusted to those whom Nature is
its magnificent bounty has endowed with this
skill and knowledge; that every member of the
profession shall appreciate and shall have
knowledge as to what constitutes this trust and
covenant and; that a set of dynamic principles
derived from the Holy Quran shall guide his
conduct in applying his knowledge for the benefit
of society.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

24.  Now, therefore, the following Code of Ethics is
promulgated. It shall be incumbent upon the
members of the Pakistan Engineering Council to
subscribe to it individually and collectively to
uphold the honour and dignity of the engineering
profession:
THE PEC CODE OF ETHICS
HTTP://PEC.ORG.PK/CODE_ETHICS.ASPX
"Allah commands you to render
back your trust to those to
whom they are, and that when
you judge between people, you
judge with justice. Allah
admonishes you with what is
excellent”.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

25. THE PEC CODE OF ETHICS
HTTP://PEC.ORG.PK/CODE_ETHICS.ASPX
 "Give full measure and weight
justly and defraud not men of their
things, and act not corruptly in the
land, making mischief."
o "And let not hatred of a people incite
you not to act equitably, Be just; that
is nearer to observance of duty."
 "And swallow not up your property
among yourselves by false means, nor
seek to gain access thereby to the
judges, so that you may swallow up a
part of the property of men
wrongfully while you know."
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

26.  "And speak straight words."
 "Avoid most of suspicion for surely
suspicion in some cases is sin; and
spy not nor let some of you backbite
others."
 "And follow not that of which thou
hast no knowledge. Surely the
hearing and sight and heart, of all
these it will be asked."
 "And help one another in
righteousness and piety, and help not
one another in sin and aggression,
and keep your duty to God."
 "And whose affairs are decided by
counsel among themselves."
THE PEC CODE OF ETHICS
HTTP://PEC.ORG.PK/CODE_ETHICS.ASPX
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

27. TRY IT YOURSELF
 You are supervising a product with specifications
that only Japan made parts may be used.
 Late in the project you discover a sub-contractor
has supplied a part with Pakistan-made bolts.
 They aren’t very noticeable and would function
identically to Japan-made bolts.
 Your customer urgently needs the finished
product.
What
should you
do?
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

28. QUIZ QUESTION
Should you:
A. Say nothing and deliver the product with
the foreign bolts, hoping the customer
won’t notice.
B. Find some roughly equivalent violation of
the contract/specs for which the customer
is responsible and tell them you will ignore
their violation if they ignore yours.
C. Tell the customer about the problem, and
let them decide what you should do next.
D. Find legal loopholes in the original
specifications so that your company doesn’t
appear to have violated the specs.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

29. QUIZ QUESTION
Should you:
A. Say nothing and deliver the product with
the foreign bolts, hoping the customer
won’t notice.
B. Find some roughly equivalent violation of
the contract/specs for which the customer
is responsible and tell them you will ignore
their violation if they ignore yours.
C. Tell the customer about the problem, and
let them decide what you should do next.
D. Find legal loopholes in the original
specifications so that your company doesn’t
appear to have violated the specs.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

30.  C (tell the customer) is the correct answer
because it lets the customer decide what is in
their best interest given new information.
 This may be tough, because your job may be on
the line and your company’s reputation may be at
stake.
Avoid deceptive acts
Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or
trustees
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

31. WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THE CODE
OF ETHICS?
 The code of ethics is not something that we want
(or need) engineers to memorize.
 The code of ethics is something we want
engineers to understand and be able to live by as
engineers.
 However, in the beginning knowing the code is a
guide to understanding how to apply it.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

32. QUIZ QUESTION
Which of the following ensure that behavior
is ethical?
I. Following the law
II. Acting in the best interest of society
III. Following non-legal standards for
socially appropriate conduct
A. All of the above
B. II and III only
C. None of the above
D. I only
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

33. QUIZ QUESTION
Which of the following ensure that behavior
is ethical?
I. Following the law
II. Acting in the best interest of society
III. Following non-legal standards for
socially appropriate conduct
A. All of the above
B. II and III only
C. None of the above
D. I only
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

34. LAW VS. MORALITY:
DON’T CONFUSE THE TWO
Legal
&
Moral
Legal
&
Immoral
Illegal
&
Moral
Illegal
&
Immoral
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

35. EXAMPLES OF THE CATEGORIES
Legal & Moral Designing a system to be
safe.
Legal & Immoral Owning a slave pre-civil
war in the US.
Illegal & Moral Smoking Marijuana?
Illegal &
Immoral
Killing an innocent
person.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

36. Part 2: Practicing
ethics as an
engineering student
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

37. PLAGIARISM & CHEATING
 Many components go into being a good
engineering student.
 One of the most important, as reflected by the
codes of ethics for engineers, is to be competent
in your field of engineering.
 To be competent, it is necessary that one actually
knows what they claim to know.
 Proving to others that you know what you are
supposed to know requires certification through a
degree.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

38. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Cheating
Cheating is the act of obtaining or
attempting to obtain credit for
academic work through the use of
any dishonest, deceptive, or
fraudulent means.
5 basic types of cheating
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

39. CHEATING IS WRONG?
Cheating also undermines the work
of fellow students who are honest.
When you cheat, all the other
students who didn’t cheat are
penalized. They end up getting lower
grades. As a consequence of lower
grades they lose out on scholarships
and recommendations.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

40. CHEATING VS. TEAMWORK
 Working on a team for an assigned project
is not cheating.
 However, failing to do your assigned task
on a team project is a form of cheating. It
is called free-riding, which is benefiting
from the work of others without doing any
work of your own.
 Teamwork is important in engineering,
but free-riding is wrong, since if everyone
did it nothing would get done.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

41. COPYING
One obvious type of cheating that we
all recognize is copying someone’s
work on a homework assignment,
exam, or paper.
Submitting someone’s work as your
own is a kind of cheating.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

42. MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
Submitting your own work from one
class to another class or submitting
one piece of work to two distinct
classes is a kind of cheating.
A paper for one class is not a paper
for another class.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

43. UNAUTHORIZED SOURCES
Using sources that one is not
allowed to use as deemed by the
instructor or the university as a
whole is a kind of cheating, such as
solution manuals.
Also a text message from your
friend with the answer to a
question on the exam is a form of
cheating.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

44. ALTERING GRADES
Altering your grade in any way is a
form of cheating.
If you are given a C on your
homework, paper, or exam and then
you change your grade to a B+, you
have cheated.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

45. SURROGATE
Surrogate cheating occurs when
someone else either does your
homework, takes an exam for
you, or writes your paper.
Doing someone’s work for them
is a kind of cheating.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

46. WHY IS CHEATING WRONG?
Cheating undermines the credibility of
the university and the degrees it awards.
If too many people cheat at NUST, then
the degrees awarded by NUST won’t
certify that its students are competent.
So, by cheating you not only hurt
yourself, you also hurt others.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

47. ETHICS – COURAGE & INTEGRITY
 As we will be seeing more and more being ethical
requires:
 Courage to do the right thing the situation
calls for.
&
 The integrity to withstand the pressures that
push you in the wrong direction.
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

48. 65
LECTURE RECAP
Ethics is generally concerned with
rules or guidelines for morals and/or
socially approved conduct
Ethical standards generally apply to
conduct that can or does have a
substantial effect on people’s lives
This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar

49. Ethics is knowing the difference
between what you have a right to
do and what is right to do.
Potter Stewart
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50. ANY QUESTIONS?
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51. Thank you
68This Work is the Property of Engr Dr Qaiser Hameed Malik and Engr Naveed Zafar