Download - Fleddermann Summary
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SEE 4012Professional Engineering PracticeSummary
Text by Fleddermann
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CONTENT
Professionalism & Code of EthicsCh. 2 Understanding Ethical ProblemsCh. 3
Ethical Problem-Solving TechniquesCh. 4
Risk, Safety & Accidents
Ch. 5 The Rights & Responsibilities of
EngineersCh. 6
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Ch. 2: Professionalism & Code of Ethics
What determines profession? Skills
Responsibilities
What is a profession?
1. Work requires sophisticated skills, judgment & discretion2. Extensive formal education, not simply training &
apprenticeship
3. Allowed by the public to form special societies controlled by
members of the profession4. Its practice results in significant public good.
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Ch. 3: Understanding Ethical Problems
4ethical theories:
1. Utilitarianismseek to produce a balance
between good & bad consequences of an
action, considering everyone affected.
2. Duty Ethicsthere are duties to be
performed regardless of whether these actslead to the most good.
3. Rights Ethicswe all have moral rights
and any action that violates these rights is
ethically unacceptable.
4. Virtue Ethicsregards actions as right that
manifest good virtues and bad as that
display bad charater virtues
- based on Western Ethics
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Maximizing the well-
being of society
Focuses on the type of
person we should strive
to be
Dont account for
overall good of the
society very well
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Non-Western ethical thinking: Muslim, Chines, Indian, Buddhist
Tools in engineering analysis Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Problem 1: hard to evaluate benefits in terms of $
Problem 2: cant account for subjective items e.g loss of scenicwilderness, species extinction etc.
Those who get the benefits = those who pay for the cost
Which theory to use?
None of these One of these
Combinations of these
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Ch. 4: Ethical Problem-Solving Techniques
Types of issues in ethical problems:1. Factualwhat is known about the case
2. Conceptualthe meaning and applicability of an idea
3. Moralclearer once factual & conceptual issues are
determined Ethical problem-solving techniques:
1. Line Drawing technique
2. Flow Chartingtechnique
Negative
Paradigm PositiveParadigm
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3 ways to solve conflict problems:
1. Easy choice
2. Creative middle way
3. Gut feeling
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Bribe
Bribesomething (money or favour) offered or given to
someone in a position of trust in order to induce him to actdishonestly.
Bribe vs. gift depends on:
- Valueof the gift
- Intentof the gift
Why bribery is NOTtolerated?
1. It corrupts free-market economic system & is anticompetetive
2. It does not reward the most efficient producer
3. It is a sell-out to the richcorrupt justice & public policy
4. It treats people as commodities that can be bought or sold
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Ch. 5: Risk, Safety & Accidents
Risk the possibility of suffering harm or loss. Safety freedom from damage, injury or risk.
Most important duty of an engineers:
- To protect the safety and well-being of the public
Factors in determining risk level:1. Voluntary vs. Involuntary
2. Short-term vs. Long-term consequences
3. Expected probability
4. Reversible effects5. Threshold levels for risk
6. Delayed vs. Immediate risk
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4 criteria in safe design:
1. The design must comply with the applicable law.
2. The design must meet the standard of accepted engineering
practice.
3. Alternative designs that are potentially safer must be explored.
4. Engineers must attempt to foresee potential misuse of the
product & design to avoid this problem.
5. Finished devices must be rigorously tested.
Designing for safety:
Define problemGenerate several solutionsAnalyse each
solutionTest the solutionsSelect best solutionImplement
the chosen solution
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Categories of accidents:
Type Source How to Overcome
1. Procedural(most common)
Result of bad choice
Failure to follow
procedure
Failure to follow design
rules
> training
> supervision
> strict enforcement of
laws & regulations
2. Engineered Flaws in design > knowledge gainedthru testing
> rigorous field test
3. Systematic Characteristic of verycomplex
technology/organization
Small problem that could
lead to disaster
> understanding on thesystem
Be creative in
determining how things
can be designed to avoid
mistakes.
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Ch. 6: Rights & Responsibilities of Engineers
Responsibilities of Engineers:
1. Keeping Confidentiality & Proprietary Information
keep certain info of their client confidential
Why?Wont affect theirbility to compete
2. Avoiding Conflict of Interest 3 types of Conflict of InterestActual, Potential, Appearance
How to avoid Conflict of Interest? Follow the guidance of
company policy/ ask co-workers/ refer to Code of Ethics
3. Prohibition of Competitive Bidding To avoid engineers cutting corners in providing services to offer
competitive price and endanger public safety.
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Rights of engineers:
1. Rights of Professional Consciencethe rights to exercise
professional judgment in an ethical manner
2. Rights of Conscientious Refusalrefuse to engage in
unethical behaviour
3. Whistleblowingan act by an employee of informing the
public or higher management of unethical or illegal behaviour
by an employer or supervisor.
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Whistleblowing
Types ofwhistleblowing
Internal(within
company)
Acknowledged Anonymous
External(outside
company)
Acknowledged Anonymous
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Only attempt whistleblowing if 4 conditionsare met:
1. Needa clear & important harm that can be avoided bywhistleblowing
2. ProximityNo hearsay, need first hand knowledge
3. Capabilitymust have a reasonable success in stopping theharmful activities
4. Last resortno one else more capable of whistleblowing andthat all other means are shut off.
4 ways to prevent whistleblowing:
1. Strong corporate ethics culture
2. Clear lines of communication within the organization3. All employees must have reasonable access to high-levelmanagers to bring any concerns forward
4. Willingness of the management to admit mistakes.