İNŞ 239 LAW AND ETHICS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING Lecture Notes -2 Dr. Serkan Kıvrak

Aim of this lesson How to analyze professional and ethical issues Awareness of various views of ethical issues Awareness of responsibilities Resolving practical problems; enabling students to identify ethical issues

Why study ethics? When students enter the professional world, they will be expected to follow an explicit or implicit ethical code To responsibly confront moral issues raised by technological activity How to deal with ethical dilemmas in their professional lives?

Why the Interest in Professional Ethics? As occupations become more specialized, the ethical issues become more specialized Professional societies have increased efforts to establish ethical codes to guide members Public protection

Why do engineering students need to be taught ethics? The study of engineering ethics within an engineering course helps students prepare for their professional lives. A specific advantage for engineering students who learn about ethics is that they develop clarity in their understanding and thought about ethical issues and the practice in which they arise. The study of ethics helps students to develop widely applicable skills in communication, reasoning and reflection. These skills enhance students' abilities and help them engage with other aspects of the engineering programme such as group work and work placements.

An ALGEBRA course will teach you ALGEBRA. A STATICS course will teach you STATICS. A MANAGEMENT course will teach you principles of MANAGEMENT. Will an ETHICS course teach you to be ETHICAL?

Why do I need to take a course in professional ethics Why do I need to take a course in professional ethics? I am an ethical person. Professional ethics is not like personal ethics

No matter how competent or how successful you are as an engineer, your professional life is over, once you get involved in an ethical scandal

The objective of engineering ethics course is to increase your ability as engineers to responsibly confront moral issues raised by technological activity

Technology – Innovation From technical point of view, everything is right How about societal and economic impacts?

EXAMPLE You have an Engineering Ethics class at 9 in the morning. Your friend is also taking this course. But he wants to stay at home and sleep. He is asking you to sign the attendance sheet for himself. What would you do?

A. Sign the attendance sheet and notify the instructor about the signature. B. Sign the attendance sheet. The instructor will not look at the attendance sheet. C. Do not care. Its not your job. D. Tell your friend that you can not sign the sheet for anyone. ANSWER?

EXAMPLE Paul, a Project Manager, is supervising construction of a medium-sized part assembly workshop. He submits a report to his boss indicating the cost breakdown of the foundation and framing work based on the soil analysis and loading specifications for the building. The total came to $25,000. His boss then told him to do whatever it takes to get that figure down to $20,000. Paul should: A) Adjust the analysis and specifications figures somewhat in order to cut costs. B) Redo the soil tests to try to get better figures. C) Notify the inspection authorities that his boss was trying to get him to behave dishonestly. D) Try to revise the framing design to minimize material costs while meeting the design specifications. E) Both (b) and (d) are appropriate.

Answer (a) is obviously dishonest. Answer (c) would be correct if Paul was sure his boss intended that he behave dishonestly; this, however, is jumping to conclusions. Answer (b) is a good solution since soil testing is not an exact science and better results could be obtained. Answer (d) is also quite acceptable. Remember that you can rarely cut costs by looking at only one alternative; it often takes a combination of different revisions. So (e) is correct.