Creative middle way solutions

THIS IS MY WEEKLY AND LECTURE READINGS:

Review and reflect on what you have learnt in the past 8 weeks. What is the most practical and easily applied lesson you learned? What was the hardest to grasp and why?

Please incorporate this reading and lecture material in the context of this paper

Citation: Charles Harris, Jr., Michael Pritchard, Michael J. Rabins, Ray James, Elaine Englehardt (2013). Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 5th Edition. Cengage Learning.

ISBN-13: 978-1-337-05592-5

ISBN-10: 1-337-05592-1

Read: Engineering in a Global context (Chapter 9)

Supplemental Reading: Website: http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycomponents/assessment_eval/2005-Jun-20_Paper_Global_Societal_Impact_v2.pdf

https://lms.grantham.edu/images/ci/sets/set01/blankpage_on.gif

Week 8 Lecture 1 - Engineering in a Global Context

Content

Engineering and Ethics

Engineering in a Global Context

Introduction

This module focuses on the ethical and professional issues raised by the globalization of the engineering profession. It begins with the consideration of the attempt to standardize technical qualifications for engineering education and licensure and then turn to the question whether there can be an international concept of professionalism. Then it discusses some of the ethical and professional issues engineers face in the international arena.

Engineering is becoming a globalized profession. Engineers from the United States and other countries now have employment in various parts of the world. Engineers have also established several regional and even worldwide engineering organizations and agreements. Most of these organizations are devoted to the standardization of criteria for engineering education and licensure, but some organizations have also suggested ethical and professional standards for their members. Establishing global professional standards is an important aspect of the internationalization of engineering.

The Emergence of International Engineering Standards

Established in 1989, the accord is an agreement among bodies that have the authority to accredit engineering programs in their respective countries or jurisdictions. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which has the responsibility for accrediting engineering programs in the United States, signed the accord for the United States. The accord recognizes “substantial agreement” among the signatories in the requirements for engineering education, so that signatory countries or jurisdictions should recognize the qualifications of engineers graduating from accredited institutions in other signatory countries or jurisdictions. The engineers in the accredited jurisdictions are expected not only to meet minimal technical standards in their education but also to maintain their competency and abide by a code of conduct, although little is said about what these codes of conduct should contain. The Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) has as its goal “to encourage the application of technical progress to economic and social advancement throughout the world; to advance engineering as a profession in the interest of all people; and to foster peace throughout the world.” These standards provide protection against professional incompetence, a key aspect of preventive ethics. The recognition of the importance of engineering in economic development and quality of life reflects the orientation of aspirational ethics.

An International concept of Engineering Professionalism

In the light of these and other problems, can an international concept of professionalism be developed? One possible way to answer this question is to appeal to the notion of a profession as a particular instance of a social role. What is a social role? Let us say that a social role is a relationship among humans defined by a set of duties, prerogatives, and virtues that are determined by the relationship itself. Fortunately, people in virtually every culture have some understanding of social roles, with their attendant duties, prerogatives, and virtues.

Social roles have the following characteristics, among others: (1) A social role supports a social good that is generally approved in a society. Most people in a society approve of the relationship of parents and children as promoting the proper raising of children, for example. (2) A social role is usually connected with formal or informal social institutions. The home might be considered a more informal institution, but government ministers are connected with more formal institutions. (3) A social role is usually connected with a “role morality” that consists of duties, prerogatives, and virtues that are connected to the function of the role in society. The example of parenthood has already been mentioned. (4) Social roles can conflict with each other. Most people occupy several social roles, and these roles may be associated with different obligations. In some cases, simple time requirements for performing various roles may produce conflict problems. A person’s role as parent can conflict with his or her role as an employee due to conflicting time demands and perhaps for other reasons. (5) A person’s social role can conflict with other aspects of his or her life. A child’s desires to pursue his or her career in a distant city may conflict with his or her obligations to care for aging parents.

1. The professions, including engineering, perform functions that are perceived as a social good in most cultures. In engineering, this function is the development, operation, and distribution of technology.

2. Like other social roles, the professions, including engineering, are connected with social institutions. These include government institutions, businesses of various sorts, and professional societies.

3. The professions, including engineering, have role moralities in the form of codes of ethics and other standards of conduct that govern their behavior and are closely connected with their functions.

4. The role of professional, including the role of an engineer, can conflict with other social roles an individual may occupy. For example, one’s role as an engineer may conflict with his or her role as an employee. If the employer asks the engineer to do something incompatible with his or her professional status, such as make misrepresentations in public statements about technical issues, the engineer can face a conflict between his or her role as an engineer and his or her role as an employee.

5. The role obligations of professionals, including engineers, can on occasion conflict with personal beliefs. For example, an engineer’s beliefs about the environment may conflict with professional requirements. The engineer may not be sympathetic with environmental protection, even though the engineering codes require it. These standards would include standards of conduct, such as those in the standard engineering codes of ethics. Once engineering is established as a highly regarded social role, motivation to comply with the standards associated with that role might be expected to follow.

Global Standards of Conduct for Engineers

In the realm of professionalism and conduct, some believe that the ultimate goal of the engineering profession should be to achieve a similar “substantial agreement” on global ethical standards for engineers. Differing cultural and ethical traditions, however, make this goal difficult to achieve. Encountering different ethical traditions often produces dilemmas that are difficult to resolve, especially when these dilemmas are compounded by problems caused by economic underdevelopment.

Economic, cultural, and social differences between countries sometimes produce “boundary-crossing problems” for engineers. Solutions to these problems must avoid absolutism and relativism and should find a way between moral rigorism and moral laxism.

Let us call the problems such engineers face boundary crossing problems. We can refer to the country in which they originally lived—in this case, the United States—as the home country and the country that they enter as the host country. Simple solutions to boundary crossing problems are attractive but often unacceptable. One simple solution is to hold to home country values and ways of doing things, no matter how different from host country values. Call this the absolutist solution or the imperialist solution, because it requires importing values from the home country into a different society. For example, customs regarding such practices as grease payments may be so pervasive and deeply entrenched in a host country that it may not be possible to do business in these countries without following the customs. Also, host country values and standards might be just as defensible as home country values and standards, just different. Another problem is that certain practices in the host country might be so repugnant that a home country engineer would have trouble following them. For example, the health and safety standards might be so low that they are clearly endangering the health and safety of workers and perhaps the engineers themselves.

Another and related issue has to do not with what standards to adopt, but with how they should be applied. One extreme is moral laxism, which holds that in some situations moral principles appear so far removed from the situations at hand that they cannot be applied with any precision, so that almost any action is permissible. Thus, the moral laxist allows solutions to moral problems that may involve serious violations of moral standards—either of home or host country. The solutions arrived at by the moral laxist, furthermore, may in practice be those that conform to the self-interest of the individual or the firm. The other extreme is moral rigorism, which holds that moral principles, whether they are those of the home country or host country, must be strictly applied in every situation.The moral rigorist is unwilling to accept the fact that, although a given course of action is not ideal, it may be the best that one can do in the situation. Few moral solutions follow extreme forms of either rigorism or laxism, but the distinction is important in understanding the nature of many moral solutions, such as creative middle way solutions, which typically fall between these two extremes.

Ethical Resources for Globalized Engineering

Creative Middle Ways

A creative middle way might be participating in the operation of the plant, but with an energetic effort to find a more economical remedy to the pollution problem. Notice this is not an extreme moral rigorist solution from the perspective of US laws and standards, because considerable pollution will be allowed, even pollution that may damage individuals and the environment. Neither is the solution extreme moral laxism, since it does not require a wholesale abandonment of concern for the environment or a simple resort to self-interested considerations.

The Golden Rule

Using the Golden Rule, an engineer can ask, “Would I be willing to accept the effects of this practice?” This question is especially difficult to answer when it requires putting oneself in the position of a person in another country, where the culture, economic conditions, living conditions, and values may be different from one’s own. This classic problem in applying the Golden Rule is thus especially acute when the Golden Rule is used by engineers in a host country, but it may pose difficulties even for engineers attempting to construct standards for their own country. Nevertheless, it is difficult to imagine that anyone would want to be exploited, or be forced to violate deeply held moral or religious beliefs.

Universal Human Rights

People in many countries appeal to human rights in making a case for everything from minimal standards of living to protection from torture or political oppression. Rights can be justified by the ethics of respect for persons because rights help protect the moral agency of individuals. Rights from the utilitarian perspective are means to utilitarian ends, not values in and of themselves. One measure of the cross-cultural nature of rights talk is the United Nation’s International Bill of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, the document ascribe to all human beings the rights to

· life

· liberty

· security of person

· recognition before the law

· an impartial trial

· marriage

· property ownership

· freedom of thought

· peaceful assembly and participation in government

· social security and work

· education

· participation in and forming trade unions

· nondiscrimination

· a minimal standard of living

Promoting Basic Human Well-Being

Another moral consideration for determining whether ethical solutions are satisfactory is whether a solution promotes the well-being of those affected. If a solution does not promote well-being, this is a strong argument against it. One of the most important ways in which engineering can promote well-being is through economic development.

Codes of Engineering Societies

There is always a global context in engineering codes that are clearly intended to apply to their members wherever they live.

· The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is explicitly an international organization. Its code opens with an acknowledgement of “the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world.”

· The code of the former American Society of Mechanical Engineers, now ASME-International, makes similar references to the international environment.

· A 1996 decision (Case 96-5) by the Board of Ethical Review of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) held that a member of the NSPE is bound by its code of ethics, even in another country.

Established professional codes give important guidance for individual engineers as they face ethical dilemmas in the international arena. They are also a source of guidance for engineers in host countries who are attempting to formulate their own codes and for engineers who are considering the possibility of an international engineering code.

Global Ethical Issues

In the following sections, we consider some of the more specific issues that engineers may encounter in a globalized society.

The Problem of Exploitation

Exploitation is a serious moral problem, and it is particularly likely to occur in economically underdeveloped countries, where workers have few options for jobs. According to Robert E. Goodin, the risk of exploitation arises when the following five conditions are present.

1. There is an imbalance of (usually economic) power between the dominant and subordinate or exploited party.

2. The subordinate party needs the resources by the dominant party to protect his or her vital interests.

3. For the subordinate party, the exploitative relationship is the only source of such resources.

4. The dominant party in the relationship exercises discretionary control over the needed resources.

5. The resources of the subordinate party (natural resources, labor, etc.) are used without adequate compensation.

Exploitation is usually wrong because it violates several of the moral standards. It violates the Golden Rule because it is doubtful that anyone in any culture in the world would, under normal circumstances, want to be the victim of exploitation. It violates utilitarian considerations because it denies the citizens of a minimal standard of living.

Bribery

Bribery is one of the most common issues faced by US engineers when they practice in host countries. In response to this problem, the US Congress passed the FCPA Act in 1977. “A bribe is a payment of money (or something of value) to another person in exchange for his giving special consideration that is incompatible with the duties of his office, position, or role.”

Both giving and receiving bribes are forbidden by professional engineering codes. There are several good reasons for this. First, if an engineer takes a bribe, she is creating a situation that will most likely corrupt her professional judgment and tarnish the reputation of the engineering profession. Second, if she offers a bribe, she engages in activity that will also tarnish the reputation of her profession if discovered and probably violate her obligation to promote the well-being of the public.

Extortion

Extortion is similar to bribery. An inadequate, definition is: “extortion is the act of threatening someone with harm to obtain benefits to which the extorter has no prior right.” The moral status of paying extortion is different from the moral status of paying and accepting bribes for the following reasons. First, paying extortion will not usually corrupt professional judgment, while bribery often does. Second, although paying extortion can tarnish one’s professional reputation, it will probably not do so as much as paying a bribe.

Grease Payments:

Grease payments are typically offered to facilitate routine bureaucratic decisions, such as hastening the passage of goods through customs or getting faster processing of permits. Grease payments usually involve relatively small amounts of money compared to many bribery or extortion payments. Again, a moral rigorist might hold that making grease payments is impermissible, and it would surely be better if they were eliminated and replaced by more adequate salaries.

The Problem of Nepotism:

In many areas of the world, the primary unit of society is not the individual but a larger group may be an extended family. The policy is nepotism and is in conflict with the policy of hiring the most qualified applicant. If one is not a moral rigorist, he or she may hold that this is an acceptable creative middle way solution to the problem. The policy of hiring the most qualified applicant in every case is surely the most desirable one.

The Problem of Excessive Gifts:

For people in many cultures, business relationships are built on personal relationships. Some solutions may be minimally acceptable in some circumstances such as creative middle ways between the moral requirement to avoid bribery and the desirable goal of doing business in the host country.

In case of excessive gifting, following steps can be considered. First, we must examine the gift-giving practices in the host country and determine whether the gift would be “excessive” by host country standards. Second, we must keep in mind the intent of the prohibition against excessive gifts. If this intent is not violated, this is an important consideration. Texas Instruments (TI) has set a policy on gift-giving in non-US countries that seems to embody these two considerations. We consider this policy to be morally acceptable.

The Problem of Paternalism:

Paternalism occurs when individuals (including engineers), governments, or corporations override the ability of others to decide what they should (or should not) do in the interests of those others. To discuss the moral concerns, we must distinguish between weak and strong paternalism. In weak paternalism, the paternalist overrides the decision-making powers of the recipient when there is reason to believe the recipient is not able to exercise her moral agency effectively. In strong paternalism, the paternalist overrides the decision-making powers of the recipient, even when there is no reason to believe the recipient is not exercising his or her moral agency effectively.

The Problem of Negotiation taxes:

Sometimes the business practices in host countries cause dilemmas for US engineers, and perhaps for engineers in the host countries as well. In some countries, it is customary for the government to assess taxes at an exorbitant rate because the government expects firms to report only half or some percentage of their actual earnings. If a firm reported its actual earnings, the taxes would force it out of business. So most of the firms adopt the practice of dishonestly reporting its profits. The practice in those countries is probably not the best way to collect taxes as it opens the way to bribery in the negotiating process. This also causes unfairness in the assessment of taxes since some firms may negotiate lower taxes (especially if they bribe the officials) than others. The practice does not appear to violate the Golden Rule since the firm would be willing for other firms to do the same thing. The practice does not seriously violate the rights of anyone, and it may produce more overall good than any alternative, assuming the firm’s work in that country benefits its employees.

Summary

To establish global standards, it would be useful to have an internationally recognized concept of what it means to be a professional. Even though the concept of “professional” is a Western concept, it is possible that the concept can be internationalized, because professional morality is role morality and all cultures appear to recognize roles with attendant special duties and obligations.

Economic, cultural, and social differences between countries sometimes produce “boundary-crossing problems” for engineers. Solutions to these problems must avoid absolutism and relativism and should find a way between moral rigorism and moral laxism. Applying the standards of one’s own country without modification or uncritically adopting the standards of the host country in which one is working are rarely satisfactory solutions to the moral dilemmas that arise in international engineering. Solutions involving creative middle ways are often particularly useful. Engineering work in the international arena can raise many ethical issues, including exploitation, bribery, extortion, grease payments, nepotism, excessive gifts, paternalism, and paying taxes in a country where taxes are negotiable.

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MY DICUSSION QUESTION STARTS HERE

Engineering in a Global Context

Directions: Please answer BOTH of the questions and respond to a minimum of two of your classmates’ discussion post.

Question A

Discuss some ethical issues encountered by engineers in an international arena.

Question B

Review and reflect on what you have learnt in the past 8 weeks. What is the most practical and easily applied lesson you learned? What was the hardest to grasp and why?

DIFFERENT ASSIGNMENT FINAL EXAM

Question 1:

A contemporary issue facing technology innovation today is the tension between personal privacy and public security. Discuss in-depth how this issue effects and drives the development of devices or software. Provide at least one example. (Write at least 2 - 3 paragraphs

Question 2:

Consider the following case study and answer the questions below.

An electric car is an automobile that uses electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device that is propelled by one or more electric motors. Electric cars can significantly reduce air pollution, as they do not emit tailpipe pollutants and reduce in greenhouse gas and other emissions and reduce dependence on foreign oil. But widespread adoption of electric cars causes higher cost, lack of recharging infrastructure outside of home charging and range anxiety which is the driver's fear that the electric energy stored in the batteries will run out before the driver reaches their destination, due to the limited range of the existing electric cars. The United States government also views energy efficient vehicles as environmentally friendly alternatives to vehicles that run purely on gasoline and provided tax credits to increase the popularity.

Identify and analyze the possible impacts (political, environmental, health, safety, cultural, economic) of the electric car technology on society (including individual, local, regional, or global context)? (Write 1 paragraph)

Engineers and technologists have a responsibility to add to the public discourse on technology issues (section 4.8 of your text). Choose the perspective of either an engineer working for a firm developing an electric car or an engineer working for an oil company. Address one of the ethical issues which arise from this impact using ideas presented throughout the text (environmentalism, cost-benefit analysis, social values, etc.). (Write 1 paragraph)

Question 3:

Consider a situation where “David” works for a US based firm in another Country “XYZ”. The government in Country XYZ assesses taxes at an exorbitant rate as the firms are expected to report only 70% of their actual earnings. If a firm reported its actual earnings, the taxes would force it out of business. David’s firm is considering whether it should adopt the local practice of dishonestly reporting its profits to Country XYZ, even though it would be illegal to do this in the United States. Whatever the decision, the firm will continue to report its profits honestly to the US government.

Describe ethical issues raised in this case? Be sure to address cross-cultural nature of the issues. (Write 1 paragraph)

Using the ethical approaches found in the text for cross-cultural ethics, do you think there are any creative middle way solutions? If so, discuss one of them. Identify the positive and negative consequences that would result from this solution. (Write 1 paragraph)

THIS IS MY WEEKLY AND LECTURE

READINGS:

Review and reflect on what you have learnt in the past 8 weeks. What is the most

practical and easily applied lesson you learned? What was the hardest to grasp and w

hy?

Please

incorporate this read

ing and lecture material in the context o

f this paper

Citation: Charles Harris, Jr., Michael Pritchard, Michael J. Rabins, Ray James, Elaine

Englehardt (2013).

Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 5

th

Edition

. Cengage

Learning.

ISBN

-

13: 978

-

1

-

337

-

05592

-

5

ISBN

-

10: 1

-

337

-

05592

-

1

Read:

Engineering in a Gl

obal context (Chapter 9)

Supplemental Reading:

Website:

http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycomponents/assessment_

eval/2005

-

Jun

-

20_Paper_Global_Societal_Impact_v2.pdf

Week 8 Lecture 1

-

Engineering in a Global Context

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