engineering ethics

C O V E R A G E 1 Human Values

2 Understanding Ethics

3 Moral Reasoning

4 Engineering as Social

Responsibility

5 Engineers’ Responsibility

6 Global Issues

7 Ethical Audits

8 Case Studies

E N G I N E E R I N G E T H I C S

Owes its origin not only to lack

of Ethics that led to

Engineering disasters

but also to

day - to - day Ethical

Behaviour expected of

Engineering Professionals

Disasters can be

averted

when Ethics

are Followed

Religiously

F A C T O R S I D E N T I F I E D f o r D I S A S T E R S

• Over confidence ( Titanic )

• Impatience ( Space

Shuttle Challenger

Explosion )

• Negligence & Poor

Maintenance

( Bhopal Gas Tragedy )

Factors Contributed to Disaster

• Three protective systems : out of service

• Plant was Understaffed due to Costs

• Very High Inventory of MIC, an extremely toxic material

• The accident occurred in the early morning

• Most of the People killed lived in a shanty town located very close to the plant

fence

On December 3, 1984, Union Carbide's pesticide-

mfg plant in Bhopal, India leaked 42 tons of the

deadly gas Methyl iso cynate into a sleeping

village - killing 2 500 and injuring 2 00 000 people

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

E T H I C S• Presupposes understanding of

Human Nature & Values

• Values provide us with a

Unique, Personal & Moral

Template to others & ourselves

• Values – an inbuilt mechanism

that distinguishes right from

wrong

NEED TO TEACH ETHICS !!• Growing concern on deteriorating

values ( deviation from right )

• Justification of Wrong Actions

• Scale & Power of Technology

reached alarming heights

• “Ethical Fitness” is the need of

the hour

• Trends in Student Violence &

cynicism ( lack of moral values )

• Quality of work – life in any

organization greatly

influenced by Ethical & moral

values prevalent in that

organization

• Decision making purely

depends on “Purity” of Mind

W H A T T O T E A C HI N E T H I C S ?

• To start with, “Moral Values”

• Right & Wrong

• Commercially Right &

Ethically Wrong

• Problem Solving

• Decision Making ( Correct )

V I R T U E S E X P E C T E D o r

T O B E D E V E L O P E D • Right Conduct (Tool of

Body)

• Peace ( Tool of Mind )

• Truth

• Love

• Non – Violence

WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE SHALL BE TRAINED TO DO ?!

• See the world through the lens of

Ethics

• Understand Right & Wrong

• Learn to tackle Difficult Right vs

Right Ethical dilemmas

• Understand the Growing

importance of Ethics in a

technology driven world