Ethical Engineering : A Practical Guide with Case Studies

Ethical Engineering: A Practical Guide with Case Studies provides detailed and practical guidance in making decisions about the many ethical issues practicing engineers may face in their professional lives. It outlines a decision-making procedure and helps engineers construct an ethics toolkit consisting of professional models, a comprehensive set of ethical considerations and factors that help in weighing those considerations, and analyses of particular issues, such as reverse engineering a patented process. Illustrating case studies, both brief and detailed, are provided. Features: • Introduces the nature of ethical decision-making as applied to engineering values and issues. • Helps readers develop a detailed ethics toolkit that identifies options and solutions and allows them to monitor and adjust as necessary. • Features topics such as safety, sustainability, bioethics, diversity and equality, information technology and AI, as well as critical areas often overlooked in engineering texts, such as mentoring, advertising (for consulting firms), engineering sales, and much more. • Includes 85 case studies to illustrate a variety of scenarios. • Offers an international perspective with codes of ethics from around the world, including Saudi Arabia, India, New Zealand, Chile, and Japan. Emphasizing the importance of the moral life and of engineering as an occupation with high ideals, this book helps readers navigate a variety of real-world ethical issues they are likely to face in this increasingly interdisciplinary, global, and diverse profession. This book provides practical guidance for engineers in making decisions about the many ethical issues they face. It outlines a decision-making procedure and helps engineers construct an ethics toolkit consisting of professional models, a comprehensive set of ethical considerations and factors to weigh the considerations, and analyses of issues. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 What Every Engineer Should Know: Series Statement 16 Preface 18 Acknowledgments 20 About the Author 22 PART I: Introduction and Ethical Decision-making 24 Chapter 1: The Nature of Engineering Ethics 26 What This Book Is About 26 Why Ethics for Engineers? 27 A Revealing Case 32 Cut-Throat v. Community Workplaces 33 The Consumer Life v. The Life of Values 35 What Should I Do? 38 Chapter 2: Ethical Decision-Making 44 The Nature of Ethical Decision-making 45 Making Ethical Decisions 47 A Template for Moral Decision-making 49 Preparation 50 Creating a Toolkit Rationally: Looking at the Arguments 53 Three Rational Responses to an Argument 53 Four Rational Responses to a Counterexample 54 Picture Building and the Moral Edifice 56 Relativism 58 Making Particular Decisions: The Five-Step Process 60 PART II: Sources of Ethical Decision-making 70 Chapter 3: The Engineering Way 72 What Is Engineering 72 Design Ethics and Cultural Appropriation 75 Thinking Like an Engineer 77 Characteristics of the Compleat Engineer 78 The Engineering Process 82 Models of the Profession 84 Models of the Engineering Profession 86 Engineering and Businesse 88 Chapter 4: Values of the Engineering Profession 98 Technology as Practical Wisdom 98 Safety 102 Extent of a Risk 102 Balancing Risks against Benefits 103 Nature of Risks 105 Publicizing Risks 105 Human Progress 113 Clean, Clear Decision-making 114 Community 115 Partnership with Nature 119 Chapter 5: Additional Ethical Sources (Part 1) 132 When to Fight a Battle 132 Treating Others Fairly and Well 135 Illustrating Cases 136 The Duty to Leave the World No Worse 139 World Religious Traditions 145 Promoting Good Consequences 151 Illustrating Example 153 The Golden Rule 153 Universality 156 Proclamative Principle (Duty to Set a Moral Precedent) 160 Case Studies 161 Respect for Persons 163 Right 164 Autonomy 168 Chapter 6: Additional Ethical Sources (Part 2) 176 Personal Values, Moral Beauty, and The Good Life 176 Virtues 179 The Precautionary Principle 179 Responsibility (Dual-Use) 181 The Nature of Moral Responsibility 182 Promoting Good Consequences (The Utilitarian Perspective) 183 Safety and Future Generations 184 Leaving the World No Worse Than One Found it 185 The Weak Samaritan Principle 186 Respect for Autonomy 187 The Doctrine of Intervening Wills (Novus Actus Interveniens) 188 Four Concluding Questions 189 Two Principles of Institutional Responsibility 190 Institutional Duties 191 When to Break the Rules 193 Codes of Ethics 200 Contents of Codes of Ethics 201 The Role of Codes of Ethics 202 PART III: Problems and Issues in Engineering 206 Chapter 7: Honesty and Professionalism 208 Whistleblowing 208 Competence 220 Keeping Accurate Records and Obeying the Law 221 Sales, Honesty, and Disclosure of Product’s Liabilities 225 Consulting v. Adversarial Sales 226 Chapter 8: Good Faith 232 Conflict of Interest 232 Confidentiality and Trade Secrets 235 Patents and Copyrights 238 Bidding 239 Chapter 9: Employee-Employer Relations 250 Types of Work Relationships 250 Leadership and Healthy Work Environments 252 Protégés 255 Dealing with Subordinates 256 Equality/Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) 257 Sexual Harassment, Favoritism, and Professional Relations 261 Hiring Practices 267 Interdepartmental Dealings and Hiring Away from Another Firm 269 Chapter 10: The Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability 278 Climate Change 278 Pollution 284 Sustainability 285 Conservation and Preservation 287 Solutions 287 Balancing Environmental Risk and Benefit 287 Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce 290 Nine General Responses to Environmental Problems 294 Conclusion 300 Chapter 11: Appropriate Technology and Less Developed Regions (LDRs) 304 Substituting Cash for Subsistence Crops 305 Products Banned at Home but Legal Abroad 307 Depleting Natural Resources (Such as Cutting Down Rainforests) 309 Less Stringent Environmental Regulation and Unsustainable Practices 309 Products Safe at Home but Unsafe Under Local Conditions 310 Cultural Disruption 311 Doing as the Romans Do 312 Implementing Regionally Appropriate Technology 313 Ethical Factors Useful in Dealing with these Concerns 315 Chapter 12: Bioengineering and Medical Engineering 320 Overview 320 Broad Issues Arising in Multiple Contexts 322 Safety and the Environment 322 Social Implications, Playing God, Respecting Humanity, and the Slippery Slope 322 The Enhancement/Treatment Distinction 324 Access and Social Justice 328 Areas of Ethical Concern 329 Designer Babies and Human Gene Engineering 329 GMOs in and outside of the Food Chain 332 New Reproductive Technologies 336 Biotechnology to Mitigate Disability or Enhance Human Beings, Brain Research, and Psychological Control 337 Genetic Testing 338 Further Issues 340 Summary 341 Chapter 13: Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Software Engineering 348 Overview 348 Characteristics of Information Technology Producing Special Ethical Concerns 349 List of Issues in Information Technology 350 Three General Reminders (Value-Sensitive Design, Broader Context, Anti-Patterns) 350 Issues About Software and Technology Development 352 Rushing to Market and Cutting Costs 352 Results of Failure and Unintended Consequences 353 Dual Use 356 Intellectual Property/Copyright/Patents/Trade Secrets 356 Issues About Content (Data) 357 Bias 357 Privacy, Security, and FRT 358 Hosts’ Responsibility for User/Client Code and Content 366 Information Technology, AI, and Society 369 Autonomous Technologies 369 Job Displacement and the Digital Divide 371 Additional Resources and Illustrating Cases 373 Chapter 14: Consulting Engineering 378 Advertising 378 Dishonest or Misleading Advertising 379 Unseemly or Demeaning Advertising 380 Advertising with Morally Questionable Messages 381 New Forms of Advertising 382 Competing with Other Firms 383 Competitive Bidding 383 Contingency Fees 383 Bribes and Kickbacks 383 Derogatory Remarks about Other Engineers 383 Reviewing the Work of Others 384 Reviewing, Checking, and Stamping the Work of Unlicensed Individuals 384 Reviewing the Work of Other Engineers 385 Safety and Liability 385 Appendix I: Links to Codes of Ethics from Across the World 388 Appendix II: Summary of Major Western Ethical Theories 392 Appendix III: Additional Cases 400 Appendix IV: Two Sample Suggestions 412 Formation of an Environmental and CommunityIssues Advisory Board (ECIAB) 412 Ethical Ombudsperson 413 List of Cases 414 Index 418 business,ethics;,ethics,in,engineering,bioethics;,Ethical,Decision,Making business ethics,ethics in engineering bioethics,Ethical Decision Making "Ethical Engineering: A Practical Guide with Case Studies provides detailed and practical guidance in making decisions about the many ethical issues practicing engineers may face in their professional lives. It outlines a decision-making procedure and helps engineers construct an ethics toolkit consisting of professional models, a comprehensive set of ethical considerations and factors that help in weighing those considerations, and analyses of particular issues, such as reverse engineering a patented process. Illustrating case studies, both brief and detailed, are provided. Features: Introduces the nature of ethical decision making as applied to engineering values and issues. Helps readers develop a detailed ethics toolkit that identifies options and solutions and allows them to monitor and adjust as necessary. Features topics such as safety, sustainability, bioethics, diversity and equality, information technology and AI, as well as critical areas often overlooked in engineering texts, such as mentoring, advertising (for consulting firms), engineering sales, and much more. Includes more than 50 case studies to illustrate a variety of scenarios. Offers an international perspective with codes of ethics from around the world, including Saudi Arabia, India, New Zealand, Chile, and Japan. Adds further cases and samples for discussion and a summary of key ideas. Emphasizing the importance of the moral life and of engineering as an occupation with high ideals, this book helps readers navigate a variety of real-world ethical issues they are likely to face in this increasingly interdisciplinary, global, and diverse profession"-- Provided by publisher