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ES 4498G

Engineering Ethics,

Sustainable Development andthe Law

January 25, 2010

TheThe UniversityUniversity of of Western OntarioWestern Ontario

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Case Study Assignment


• Write an original case study related to issues ofengineering ethics, law or policy

• 5! dou"le spaced pages• #escri"e a scenario and discuss the actions of the

engineers in$ol$ed

• %rotect confidentiality

• #iscussion with %rofessional &ngineers "est resource• #ue 'arch 22, ()00pm 20 mar*s

• +ate 5 mar*s-day

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+ast Class


• +i"rary %resentation .esources for %osition%aper and Case Study

• &thical issues for engineers in professionalemployment

• /ntroduction to the issues• ypes of authority and conflicts

• +a"our unions

• nethical managers

• #iscussion of case studies

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odays Class


• &thical issues for engineers in

management positions

• /ntroduction to issues

• Case studies Andrews Chapter 13

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&ngineers in 'anagement


• Competition• .ace for new contracts

• %eople pro"lems• Welfare of company• Salaries higher

• #e$eloping 'anagement S*ills)

• 4ision, %lanning, rgani6ing• Communicating• 'onitoring, &$aluating and Controlling• .ole 'odel

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• +eadership Style

• heory 7 8Authoritarian9

• heory : 8Collegial9

• ;oth can "e "eneficial under different

circumstances, "ut professional

engineering usually "enefits most from a

collegial atmosphere

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• Ad$antages)• unding• Contracts• %eople pro"lems

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&thical /ssues in 'anagement


• Adherence to the Act

•

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• &ngineering managers hire, fire, delegateand direct professional personnel

• Control company resources, negotiateagreements, protect company assets andensure law is followed

• 'ust o"ey the %rofessional &ngineers Actand ensure that it is "eing followed in thecompanys operations

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Adherence to the Act


• nlicensed personnel• %rofessional engineering must "e performed "y, or

super$ised "y, a professional engineer • /f unlicensed personnel are practicing engineering,

manager must wor* to correct

• 'isuse of engineering titles

• ?&ngineer@ or ?professional engineer@ as part of a title• wo degrees of se$erity)

• 'isusing title "ut not practicing engineering

• 'isusing title and practicing engineering

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'isuse of &ngineering itles


"professional engineer" means a person who holds alicence or a temporary licence 8BingnieurB9

"practice of professional engineering" means any act ofdesigning, composing, e$aluating, ad$ising, reporting,directing or super$ising wherein the safeguarding of life,health, property or the pu"lic welfare is concerned andthat reDuires the application of engineering principles,

"ut does not include practising as a natural scientist8BeEercice de la profession dFingnieurB9

#efinitions >rom %rofessional &ngineers Act 8ntario9

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ermination of &mployment


• ermination must "e conducted inaccordance with contract orcompany policies

• hree types of termination) >or Iust cause

Without Iust cause Wrongful dismissal

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• ?Just cause@ descri"es matters which would allow anemployer to terminate an employee without notice orse$erance pay

1G Serious misconduct2G

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• ermination without Iust causereDuires notice or eDui$alent pay8from two wee*s to years, dependingon circumstances

• Wrongful dismissal is termination

without Iust cause and without notice8or eDui$alent pay9

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• ther action may "e considered wrongfuldismissal, e$en though, technically, the

employee has not "een terminated) >orced resignation, demotion, downward

change in reporting function, unilateral changein responsi"ilities, forced transfer, and seriousmisconduct of the employer towards the

employee• See* legal ad$ice in ad$ance, "e

proacti$e rather than reacti$e

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eviewing !or and Evaluating #ompetence


• Wor* .e$iew for Accuracy ften done routinely, especially in safety critical

industries

/ncreases accuracy, impro$es confidence and safety,reduces ris* of failure and lia"ility

&ngineer who initially performed calculations isinformed and gi$en opportunity to clarify

• Wor* .e$iew to Assess Competence

sually part of regular and ongoing performancere$iews conducted "y engineering manager

.eDuires notification 8whyM9 "ut not permission

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'aintaining Competence


• &ngineers are reDuired to practice onlywithin their competence

• &mployers ha$e an o"ligation toencourage engineers to maintainprofessional competence

• #uty of manager to ensure thatemployees remain competent and to dealwith incompetence in a fair and ethicalmanner

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#iscrimination


• &ngineering manager, through in$ol$ement with hiring,termination and performance e$aluation, directlyaccounta"le

• Canadian Charter of .ights and >reedoms has priority andprohi"its discrimination on the "asis of) .ace Hational or &thnic rigin Colour .eligion SeE Age 'ental or %hysical #isa"ility

• /llegal inter$iew Duestions) marital status, plans forchildren, etcG

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'anaging /ntellectual %roperty


• &ngineering managers should *now lawregarding intellectual property to search

data"ases for design information and toprotect the intellectual property created "ycompany employees

• Canadian /ntellectual %roperty ffice

8C/%9, S %atent and rademar* ffice8%9 maintain /% data"ases and pro$ideguidance on protection of /% rights

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'anaging /ntellectual %roperty


• %atents Hew, useful and inno$ati$e 20 years protection

• /ndustrial #esigns Appearance or ornamentation of an article 10 years protection Also includes integrated circuit topographies

• Copyright Written material, including computer programs

+ife of creator N50 years, or 50 years for reproduci"le• rademar*s

+ogos, sym"ols, names, designs used to identify a company 15 years, renewa"le indefinitely

• rade Secrets

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Case Studies


• &thical %ro"lems in &ngineering'anagement

13G1 'isrepresentation

13G2 Concealing a conflict of interest

13G3 #isclosing errors

13G( #isclosing preliminary data 13G5 %rofessional accounta"ility

13G Student plagiarism

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&thical %ro"lems in &ngineering 'anagement

TheThe UniversityUniversity of of WesternWestern

OntarioOntario

&ngineering #esign approach to ethical cases)1G .ecogni6e the Heed or %ro"lem

2G =ather /nformation and #efine the %ro"lem

3G =enerate Alternati$e Solutions 8Synthesis9(G &$aluate Alternati$es 8Analysis9

5G #ecision 'a*ing and ptimi6ation

G /mplementation

Also, consider if the pro"lem is an issue pertinent to

the Code of &thics 8and if so, which part9 andwhether engineers must accept greaterresponsi"ility than others

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Case 13G1 'isrepresentation


OntarioOntario

• Who is responsi"le for this situationM Can youfire 7a$ier for Iust causeM

• Ouestions What if he was licensed in another pro$ince "ut hasnt

applied for your pro$inceM

What if his application for license is still "eingprocessedM

What if he has ne$er "een licensed in any IurisdictionM

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Case 13G2 Concealing a conflict of interest


OntarioOntario

• #o you ha$e an ethical o"ligation to point outyour own conflict of interestM hat of the otherpartyM

• Ouestions

Should engineers "e in$ol$ed in standardscommitteesM

When would you "e o"liged to spea* out a"out theother mem"ers conflictM

Are you "rea*ing an o"ligation to your employerM

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Case 13G3 #isclosing errors in plans


OntarioOntario

• #o you ha$e an ethical o"ligation to pursue thisapparent discrepancyM

• Ouestions Would the conseDuences of failure influence your

decisionM

Why is it important to document decisions in writingM

When would it "e appropriate to re$iew the wor* ofanother engineer against their wishesM

Would you continue to wor* with this companyM

Would it "e unethical to re$eal the discrepanciespu"liclyM

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Case 13G( #isclosing preliminary mining data


OntarioOntario

• /s it ethical to hide this information from theshareholders, who are the owners of thecompanyM

• Ouestions

What if the results were more conclusi$eM

Should you document your discussion with the C&, Iust in caseM

What if the company were structured differentlyM

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Case 13G5 %rofessional accounta"ility


OntarioOntario

• Should &ager "e held accounta"le for theemployees actionsM What lessons can "elearnedM

• Ouestions

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Case 13G Student plagiarism


OntarioOntario

• Should li$er su"mit the wor* reportwritten "y a former studentM

• Ouestions What are the potential conseDuencesM

#oes the "oss face repercussionsM

Where should the line "e drawn regarding plagiarismM

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#iscussion Ouestion 1


OntarioOntario

• As proIect manager, you must ma*ecost and time estimates for a new

proIectG• &stimates are high, so proIect may

"e discontinued some employees

may "e laid off • lder engineers encourage

reduction in estimate

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#iscussion Ouestion 2


OntarioOntario

• &ngineers often create intellectualproperty in their wor*

• 'ost employees sign a wai$er of /%rights, so owner retains rights

• What are the ethical aspects of this

reDuirementM nfair infringement on engineers rightsM What if in$ented on e$enings-wee*endsM

What if in different area than employmentM

es 4498g lecture 4 - 2010

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