Corrupt Engineer Case Study
Title Page
Introduction
Overall discussion of the Ethics Case Study
Main Body
Discuss the parts of the IEEE Code of Ethics that seem to be violated in the Ethics Case Study
Craft your Response to the Ethics Case Study through two lenses:
Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations
Make informed judgments that consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
Conclusion
Give your short answer on how the main issue within the Ethics Case Study was handled.
Describe how you would have handled the main issue in the Ethics Case Study.
References
Corrupt Engineer Case Study
Engineering is a complicated and intricate profession because of its multifaceted sector. The decisions taken by engineers have a hug impact on the fate of people and places. To that extent, there is a high regard for engineering professionals in the society. The social impact of engineering is also an imperative aspect. Individuals and the society in general have huge expectations on engineers because of their ability to bring change. However, sometimes the behavior and consequences of engineers may be paradoxical. The impact of the works of engineers can be adverse and positive. At other times, there is uncertainty and the impact may be pernicious. The aspect of ethics in engineering is crucial in maintaining and guiding the professional in upholding public trust.
In engineering, ethics provide the characteristics of moral conduct for engineers as professionals and engineers. The practical and moral significance of ethics in engineering also relates with making quality decisions. The decisions made ethically incorporate tenets of justice, equity. Ethics also informs the professionals that collective and personal responsibility lies beyond the contractual obligations that bind them.
Ethical and engineering problems do not have readily deduced solutions. Both contain numerous solutions that are better or not useful (Syukri, Halim, Mohtar & Soewarno, 2018). Therefore, the making of prompt and rightful decisions among the available options is critical in the field on engineering. For instance, in the case study, the client needed certification of the plans as a matter of urgency. An engineer should have made the right decision for the comfort of the client while still maintaining professional ethics. In such cases where engineers may face moral dilemmas, ethical or legal conflicts, there may be no legal guideline to resolve the conflict. To that extent, ethics empowers the professionals to value their conscientious moral commitments.
Ethics also guides the professional conduct of engineers. The ethical values ensure that there are open and honest transactions in the practice of engineering (Ingram et al., 2010). The professionals should conduct their work without biasness or any form of external pressure. Additionally, ethics ensures that engineers are accountable for any actions. Therefore, they are able to accepts and recognize personal commitments towards clients and their roles. Engineers also know that they should maintain discretion concerning client information.
Ethics is imperative in engineering because the integrity of the profession relies on it. Failing to incorporate ethics in engineering is a risk. Ethical engineering practices actualize the essence of engineering in transforming the lives of people for the benefit of the society (Tang & Nieusma, 2017). Engineering has the potential of removing hardships and improving difficult living conditions. The role of an engineer is to build things and improve the present conditions. Engineers should also come up with innovative solutions to complicated problems. To date, engineers have created new forms of transportation, better way of generating energy and global communication networks. Engineers are an integral part of the functioning of the world. The important undertaking requires an approach informed by ethical minds.
The engineering ethics is a system of principles that apply in the practice of engineering. The rules set and examine obligations of engineers to the profession and to their clients (Wolff, 2017). The codes of ethics in engineering identify specific precedence in respect to the engineers’ consideration for the employers, the public, clients and the profession. The IEEE regulations incorporate regulations from numerous jurisdictions. Despite the statements of general principle, engineers still need sound judgement to interpret the code to different circumstances. The general principles of codes of ethics are similar for various engineering societies.
In particular, one of the mode important codes is the need to hold the safety and the welfare of the public paramount. Engineers should always put public safety first in their undertakings. The works should not endanger the lives of individual (Wolff, 2017). The code of conduct makes it possible for individuals to trust engineers. In the case study, the Charles Landers, acted against the first code of conduct that requires professionals to hold the safety, welfare and health of the public paramount. As an unlicensed practitioner, he was not in a position to provide the correct position on the safety of the construction designs.
An engineer should also play the role of improving the understanding of the society on matters that concern engineering capabilities. In line with upholding the standing of the profession amongst members of the public, engineers should offer the right advice and counsel to persons seeking their professional indulgence. In the case study, Charles Landers had not right to provide the client with the certification. Therefore, he acted against the fifth code of conduct. The standard requires engineers to improve the understanding of individuals on the capabilities and the conventions of emerging technologies. Engineers have the responsibility of explaining emerging technologies to the members of societies.
The tenth professional conduct requires engineers to help co-workers and colleagues in the professional undertakings. Engineers should Help each other with a strict adherence to the code of conduct. However, Charles Lander did not act to support his colleague Henry Wilson. Instead, he acted fraudulently to forge his signature and use his seal on documents to facilitate legal approvals. The action was also against the third code of conduct that requires engineers to be honest and realistic. By forging the signature, Lander failed to demonstrate integrity. His actions brought disrepute to the profession.
The health industry has benefited largely from the work of engineers. Without medical technology, doctors would not have the ability to scan people for diseases or use devices such as the pacemakers. Advancements in healthcare technology have also made it possible to track patient data and use the information to make predictions on geographical health outcomes. The machines also make it possible to obtain feedback that eventually Helps in the improvement of processes. Largely, engineers have informed the whole understanding of medical issues in todays’ world.
On technology as a whole, engineering has been the main pioneering profession. All generations owe the advancement in technology to engineers. After the end of world war two, engineers focused their efforts towards making life better. Today, it is possible to access the world from our fingertips. Additionally, engineers have made it possible to build machines and satellites that shape the lives of individuals each day. Innovations have also made it possible for people to gain a better understanding of the universe. For instance, the Hadron Collider from Switzerland made it possible to study the universe.
The work of engineers has improved communications. Individuals are now able to reach any part of the globe at an instant. To that extent, social and business interactions have improved significantly. The laying of the first transatlantic signal was in 1901. Followed many years later by the first television transmission in 1962. Fifty years later, people are now able to video chat from any part of the world. Effectively, it is now possible to do business with people thousands of miles away. The aeroplanes, steam engines and jet engine improvements have made it possible for business to work harder, smarter and faster.
Space travel is also an innovation of engineering. The international space station is the most complicated and largest scientific undertaking in the history of humanity (Wolff, 2017). The station allows people from all over the world to come together for research purposes. The station has allowed people to find answers that have disturbed human beings for centuries. Innovation is critical because it drives growth in normal life and industry. Computers were the greatest innovation from the past. Today, it is possible to perform almost all computer functions with a phone. Innovation is important because it inspires freedom. The freedom to think enables the application of creativity to tackle real issues.
Engineering is the lifeblood that sustains the society. World changing phenomena such as the golden gate bridge, space travel, smart buildings and fast cars are possible because of the role played by engineers (Karim, Al Ammar, & Aziz, 2017). Innovation is critical to the role of engineers. Therefore, it is important for them to find a balance between problems that need fixing and creativity. In some instances, engineers encounter specific problems that they need to solve against the certain constraints such as limited time or resources. However, the ethical standards still require them to utilize the legal and prudent measure to actualize their goals.
References
Ingram, B., Jones, D., Lewis, A., Richards, M., Rich, C., & Schachterle, L. (2010, March). A code of ethics for robotics engineers. In 2010 5th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) (pp. 103-104). IEEE.
Karim, N. S. A., Al Ammar, F., & Aziz, R. (2017, September). Ethical software: Integrating code of ethics into software development life cycle. In 2017 International Conference on Computer and Applications (ICCA) (pp. 290-298). IEEE.
Syukri, M., Halim, L., Mohtar, L. E., & Soewarno, S. (2018). The Impact of Engineering Design Process in Teaching and Learning to Enhance Students’ Science Problem-Solving Skills. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 7(1), 66-75.
Tang, X., & Nieusma, D. (2017). Contextualizing the Code: Ethical Support and Professional Interests in the Creation and Institutionalization of the 1974 IEEE Code of Ethics. Engineering Studies, 9(3), 166-194.
Wolff, K. (2017). Engineering problem-solving knowledge: the impact of context. Journal of Education and Work, 30(8), 840-853.
