Thinking Like an Engineer: The Place of a Code of Ethics in the Practice of a Profession

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Thinking Like an Engineer The Place of a Code
of Ethics in the Practice of a Profession

• Michael Davis Article
• PowerPoint Lecture Prepared by Christy Moore

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The Challenger disaster is the foundation of the
discussion.
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The Challenger disaster is the foundation of the
discussion.

• Robert Lund (VP for Engineering at Morton
  Thiokol)
• Recommends against the launch
• Because of faulty O-rings
• Jerald Mason (Lunds boss)
• Asks him to reconsider
• Asks him to think like a manager, not an engineer

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Lund changes his recommendation

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The shuttle crashes seconds after take-off

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• Challenger Astronauts lost during the Space
  Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986
  (Top Row, L to R Ellison Onizuka, Teacher in
  Space Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judy
  Resnick. Bottom Row, L to R Pilot Michael Smith,
  Cmdr. Dick Scobee, Ron McNair)

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Davis asks us to consider several questions.

• Whats the difference between thinking like a
  manager and thinking like an engineer?
• Why do we have codes of ethics?
• Why obey ones code of ethics?
• Why isnt conscience enough?

What does Davis say? Other ideas?
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Whats the difference in thinking like a manager
and thinking like an engineer?
hilton.org.uk/ obc.phtml?chostels
www.narowing.org/ photoalbum/Speakmon2003.htm
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Managers, it might be said, are trained to
handle people engineers, to handle things. To
think like a manager rather than an engineer is
to focus on people rather than on things.
Whats the difference in thinking like a manager
and thinking like an engineer?
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What is thinking like an engineer?

• to use ones technical knowledge of things
• Asking Lund to think like a manager was asking
  him to ignore his technical knowledge.

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Why do we have codes of ethics?

• a convention between professionals
• a guide to what engineers may reasonably expect
  of one another
• a guide to what engineers may expect other
  members of to profession to help each other do

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Why obey ones code?

• Protects professionals from certain pressures
• Such as cutting corners
• By making it more likely that good conduct will
  not be punished
• Protects professionals from certain consequences
  of competition
• Legitimizes the profession

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National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Code of Ethics
. Fundamental Canons Engineers, in the
fulfillment of their professional duties, shall
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare
of the public. 2. Perform services only in areas
of their competence. 3. Issue public statements
only in an objective and truthful manner. 4. Act
for each employer or client as faithful agents or
trustees. 5. Avoid deceptive acts. 6. Conduct
themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and
lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation,
and usefulness of the profession. (More
extensive Rules of Practice follow in the
Code) http//www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-code.asp
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ABET Code of Ethics of Engineers The Fundamental
Canons 1. Engineers shall hold paramount the
safety, health, and welfare of the public in the
performance of their professional duties. 2.
Engineers shall perform services only in the
areas of their competence. 3. Engineers shall
issue public statements only in an objective and
truthful manner. 4. Engineers shall act in
professional matters for each employer or client
as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid
conflicts of interest. 5. Engineers shall build
their professional reputation on the merit of
their services and shall not compete unfairly
with others. 6. Engineers shall act in such a
manner as to uphold and enhance the honor,
integrity, and dignity of the profession. 7.
Engineers shall continue their professional
development throughout their careers and shall
provide opportunities for the professional
development of those engineers under their
supervision.
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What is the paramountcy principle?

• NSPE Code of Ethics
• Engineers, in the fulfillment of their
  professional duties, shall
• 1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare
  of the public.

ABET Code of Ethics for Engineers 1. Engineers
shall hold paramount the safety, health and
welfare of the public in the performance of their
professional duties.
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Professional Codes of Ethics

• National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
• Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
  (IEEE)
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

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Why isnt conscience enough?

• What would it be like to be an engineer if
  engineers did not generally hold paramount the
  safety, health, and welfare of the public?
• What if the client or employer would benefit from
  ignoring the code?
• What are some situations in which the engineers
  interests as an engineer conflict with his/her
  interests as a person?

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What if Lund had insisted on cancelling the
launch?

• Would he have been a hero?
• What would have been the repercussions of his
  decision?

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Do engineers professional responsibilities go
beyond the code?

• Davis says Yes.
• In addition to following the code themselves,
  engineers should encourage others to do as
  the code requires and by criticizing,
  ostracizing, or otherwise calling to account
  those who do not.

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Additional comments?
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What is the moral principle of Daviss argument?
Fairness

• Since Lund voluntarily accepts the benefits of
  being an engineer, he is morally obliged to
  follow the convention that helps to make those
  benefits possible.

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What were Lunds two ethical options?

• To either refuse to authorize the launch
• To insist that the astronauts be briefed in
  order to get their informed consent