RESPONSIBILITIES

• An awareness that he does not have

any control over the experiment
once the product / project is given to
the user Group / Consumer
• Should strive & obtain an Informed
Consent by providing all pertinent
information to make a reasonable decision
( No vital information is held with )
FOUR P E R T I N E N T ELEMENTS

1 )Primary obligation to protect the

safety of society / human beings
2 )Autonomous, Personal
Involvement in all steps of a
project
3 )Accepting accountability for
results
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
• People act responsibly to the
extent they conscientiously
commit themselves to live
according to moral values
• A sensitivity to the full range of
moral values & responsibilities
• Contemporary Working
Conditions tend to narrow moral
• Mostly concerned with moral
obligation to the organization
However, conceiving Engineering as
Social Experimentation restores the
vision of Engrs as guardians of public
interest whose duty is to guard the
welfare & safety of these projects
affected by Engg Projects
RELEVANT INFORMATIO
N
• Conscientiousness is blind

without Relevant Factual

Information

• Hence moral concern involves

commitment to obtain and

properly assess all available

info pertinent to meet one’s

 ACCOUNTABILITY
• Narrow sense : being culpable and
blameworthy for misdeeds
• Better Understanding is “ Willing to
submit ones actions to moral scrutiny
and be open and responsive to
assessment of others ”
• There is a strong psychological
tendency in people to be willing to
abandon personal accountability
when placed under authority
Milgram observed the following :
• When a project is physically moved
from one’s immediate workplace it
lessens the sense of personal
accountability in Engineers
involved in the project
• Huge projects that have massive
workforce & bureaucracies tend to
lessen the personal accountability
of an individual
•Peer Pressure of project

execution on time makes the Engr

accountable for time schedules

only

•Pre occupation makes one wary of

becoming morally involved in

matters beyond ones strictly

 POSTMORTEMS
• Enables engineers to decide as to what
they should do when confronted with
ethically troubling situations
• Makes us to look at the problem from
the view point of individuals involved
at the time
• Thereby sharpens our intuitive abilities
to take right action at right time
conciously
• Studying the case enables us to see
 THAT BRINGS US TO CODE OF
ETHICS
• After all, human beings take an action
that quite often depends on the
Conduct, behaviour, temperament,
judgment, attitude & so on of the
individual or organization
• Unfortunately people on many
occasions disagree on what
constitutes Right Action in Specific
instances even when they agree on
Therefore, Societies, Corporations
and Universities considered it
necessary to provide a Moral
Framework ( Code of Ethics ) to their
members in exercise of their
professional obligations

• Invoking them diligently would

have arrested many catastrophes
 FUNCTIONS
OF CODE
• Act as Guidelines for Ethical
Conduct & Judgment
• Provides Inspiration &
Guidance in ethical
conduct
• Gives Positive support while
• Serves as formal base to
investigate unethical conduct
• Presents a Positive image to public
of ethically committed profession
Thereby enabling Engineers to
serve even more effectively
• Codes Protect established ethical
Conventions
 IN ESSENCE
Codes encompass the essential
substance of Professional Ethics,
namely,
• Public Interest & Safety
• Integrity
• Honesty
• Enterprise
• Moral Autonomy
• Accountability
Codes are only a small part of
Engineering Ethics
• This brevity renders them overly
general and vague
• Some provisions occasionally
contradict others
• Compromises between many
differing viewpoints
• Codes are anything but sacred writ
• Should always be viewed as open to
critical examination
• Practically looking at it,
codes only provide G e n e r a l
G u i d e l i n e s for a
conscientious engineer
• However, there are always
Exceptions
Hence, arose a need for
legislations
 LEGISLATIONS
• A Careful Balance of individual

needs & desires against

collective needs thro’

negotiations

( Dam, Road widening etc )

• Sensitization of Public
• A change in technology calls for
changing in Law / Rule making
agencies and therefore came

• Pollution Control Board

• Environment Protection Agency

• Central Electricity Authority

• Central Drugs Stds & Control

organ