Professional Ethics

Ethics

Ethics:

A system of moral values.

The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person

or

the members of a profession - Professional ethics.

Often cultivated and not imposed as rules.

Values, Morals, Ethics and CultureValues:

Beliefs of a person or Social group in which they have an emotional involvement. (either for or against something);

Example: liberal or conservatives values.

Values are the unwritten rules by which we make decisions about right and wrong.

Try not to become a man of success. Rather, become a man of value.

Values, Morals, Ethics and Culture

Values:

Making tough decisions, presenting unpopular solutions, convincing people to believe …

none of it comes easy unless you have values in you.

Values, Morals, Ethics and Culture

Morals:

Motivation based on ideas of right and wrong. Morals have a greater social element compared to values and tend to have a very broad acceptance.

Morals are far more about good and bad than other values.

Values, Morals, Ethics and Culture

Culture:

An individual’s approach to fellow human beings, to his environment and to himself reflects his culture.

Education can only stimulate the cultural values

but not bring in. One has to cultivate them.

Professional Ethics

It is about how you balance the technical / commercial pressures of the profession or business with the need to treat people fairly and act with integrity?

As a professional, the public trust you to be competent and to adhere to ethical standards.

Professional Ethics

Organizations and Professional groups have Conduct Rules setting certain standards of behaviour expected of its members.

However, a list of rules will never cover every situation that may arise, and there will always be a role for individual judgment in deciding how to apply these rules.

Professional Core Values

• Integrity & Honesty• Fairness • Health & wellbeing• Safety and risk • Environmental sustainability

Professional Core ValuesIntegrity:-

Integrity is difficult to define.

A person of integrity will resist pressure to compromise values and ethical standards and beliefs, whether that pressure comes from employers, clients, or anywhere else. (IET)

Personal integrity depends on your values and ethics.

Professional integrity means professional values and ethics.

Professional Core ValuesIntegrity:- Case examples

Decline any professional involvement or responsibilities in which you are not competent.

Accept personal responsibility for all work done by you or under your supervision.

If your professional advice is not accepted make sure to record its consequences at the appropriate level, if you still feel strongly about it.

Professional Core ValuesIntegrity

Never make derogatory statement about the organization, individuals or on the dignity of the profession.

Do not injure or attempt to injure, either directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects or business of any of your colleague or other person.

Avoid potential conflict that may exist or arise between personal interests and the interests of the organization.

If there is any conflict of interest, inform the concerned.

Professional Core Values

Integrity

Never disclose, without proper authority, any confidential information concerning organizations with which you have collaborated or worked.

Shall not offer improper inducement to secure business or receive any unauthorized inducements in professional work.

Professional Core Values

Integrity

Disagree and commit - Agree to disagree but finally support the decision taken, whole heartedly.

If two people in an organization always agree on every thing, then one of them is not needed.

If two people in an organization always disagree on every thing, both are not needed.

Integrity

Build the platform of integrity through:-

Honesty - Stating the truth.

Integrity - Keeping your word.

Fairness - Respecting the rights of others.

Health & Safety - Not harming the environment or life

Rules of the land - Not braking the law.

Professional Core Values

Honesty

Honesty is particularly important for engineers when:

Public funding is involved.

Tendering for projects;

Situations of conflicts of interest;

Reporting unethical behaviour;

Answering under Right to Information Act;

Disclosing sensitive personal issues,

- qualifications, experience, etc.

Professional Core ValuesFairness

Should be fair in professional dealings and in the relationships with the subordinates.

In professional activities your decisions will have an impact on a variety of different groups of people.  These could include your employers, other colleagues, customers and the public at large.  As a professional you have a duty to treat all of these people fairly. 

Examples: recruitment, resource allocation, critical decision making having societal impact.

Professional Core Values

Fairness

Convince your colleagues and never thrust your views on them.

• The blind see the world as they want and not as it is.

• In a way we are all blind as we see only our point of view.

Professional Core Values

Fairness

In a lighter vein, it is the art of cutting a cake in such a way that every one believes he got the best piece.

Professional Core ValuesHealth Concern

Take utmost care to limit any danger of death, injury or ill health to any person due to your work or from the products you produce.

Those working with potentially dangerous equipment, will be subject to various legal requirements with regard to health and safety. It is mandatory to familiarise yourself with these and ensure that you comply with them.

Professional Core Values

• Environmental sustainability

Avoid waste of natural resources, damage to the environment, and destruction of life and properties.

Professional Ethics

Core values, moral standing, and culture are the corner stones of Professional Ethics.

Use and Misuse of Technology

Use and Misuse of Technology

• Huge advances in technology in recent years have been so successful that people take them for granted.

• In fact technology is noticed only when it goes wrong. In

engineering and Technology success often means anonymity.

• As Engineers and Scientists, only our failures bring us to the public’s attention!

Use and Misuse of Technology

Tools, devices and products of technology are meant for useful applications.

They are developed by persons with good intentions.

When they are in the user’s hand, they obey only the user.

Here lies the difficulty.

Use and Misuse of Technology

Whether Hi-tech, Low Tech or mundane, results could be devastating if the user wants it to be so.

A Hi-Tech computer can create useful data or destroy it, or develop a useful software or a destructive malware.

Even a mundane tool like a rope can save a life or hang one.

Use and Misuse of Technology

It is foolish to think that intelligent systems can prevent the misuse of Science and Technology.

( Except that it could be an intelligent business proposition)

It is a human issue and not a technology impediment.

Use and Misuse of Technology

Even over use of technology is a misuse.

To state that Internet is important in today’s world is a bit like suggesting that air is useful for breathing.

It is prudent to make this analogy workable only within a balanced social environment.

Use and Misuse of TechnologyEthics, Values, Culture and Education do play an important role in matters related to use and misuse of technology.

While there is good awareness on the issue of misuse of technology, the solutions are not scientific or technological.

They are wholly humanistic.

If we fail on this, there could soon be an Invention to end all Inventions.

Thank youPartial Reference: IET Website