Do Engineers Have Social Responsibilities? By Dr. Mark Manion Associate Professor of Professional Ethics Philosophy Program Director

1Engineer-Manager Relations in Large Corporations or Organizations: Argument FourThe Received View: The corporate engineer lacks the sufficient autonomy necessary to be responsible and ethicalThe engineer is in constant conflict with management who often ends up overriding engineering judgment concerning engineering designs because of their incessant pursuit of the bottom lineLack of professional autonomy leaves scant room for ethical decision making (but not ethical judgment)

2Engineer-Manager Relations in Large Corporations or Organizations: Argument Four (cont.)Engineers are a captive profession in a highly compartmentalized work environment. Managers choose what to do, divide work up into small groups, and assign each engineer to a particular oneCommunication between engineers and managers is kept to a minimum to assure management controlEngineers identify options, test them, and report the work to managersManagers combine these reports with business information they alone have.Managers decide, engineers merely advise3Engineer-Manager Relations in Large Corporations or Organizations : Argument Four (cont.)Corporate engineers are used as hired hands who develop technology with the sole purpose of advancing the economic demands of the corporation or clientEngineers are not independent professionalsThey are employeesEmerging from the canal and railway building enterprises of the nineteenth century American engineering is a creature of large bureaucratic organizationsindividual engineers were the original organization man4The concept of Organization ManThis term was coined in the 1960s when sociological analyses of bureaucracies were conductedAn organization man is someone who represses or suppresses his or her individual desires and values and molds their personal behavior to conform to the demands of the organization he or she works for; a conformist Another definition is a employee of large corporations who has adapted so completely to what is expected in attitudes, ideas, and behaviors of the corporation so that they lose a sense of personal identity or independence Someone who so fully adapts that their personal identity and values are absorbed by organizational objectives and valuesSomeone who sacrifices his or her own individuality for what is perceived as the good of the organization 5Engineer-Manager Relations in Large Corporations or Organizations: CounterargumentRecent research: The Received View is False

Instead of rigid hierarchical and compartmentalized decision making process of the received viewThere exists a highly fluid process depending heavily on meetings and less formal exchange of information across departmental boundariesManagers seemed to have little control over what information would reach the engineersManagers are anxious to get engineers to hook up with one another for collaboration6Arguments/rationales for the Social Responsibility of EngineersCodes of EthicsProfessionalismSocial Contract ModelEngineering SocietiesPrinciple of Proportionate CareEngineering as Social ExperimentationThe Intrinsic Purpose of Engineering ItselfThe Impacts of Technology on Society7Rationales for Social Responsibility of EngineersFundamental Canons (NSPE) Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the publicPerform services only in areas of their competenceIssue public statements only in an objective and truthful mannerAct for each employer or client as faithful agents or trusteesAvoid deceptive acts 8Rationales for Social Responsibility of EngineersIEEE Code of EthicsWe, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences

9Engineering Codes of EthicsASCE Code of Ethics

Fundamental Canon 1.Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.

Software Engineering Code of Ethics

Principle1.03. Approve software only if they have a well-founded belief that it is safe, meets specifications, passes appropriate tests, and does not diminish quality of life, diminish privacy or harm the environment. The ultimate effect of the work should be to the public good.

10IEEE Code of Ethics for EngineersARTICLE IVEngineers shall, in fulfilling their responsibilities to the community: Protect the safety, health and welfare of the public and speak out against abuses in these areas affecting the public interest; Contribute professional advice, as appropriate, to civic, charitable or other non-profit organizations; Seek to extend public knowledge and appreciation of the engineering profession and its achievements