Paper presented at International Conference on Ethics in Engineering and Computer Science, March 22, 1999. Other keywords for this article: cases; safety.
From the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)11/11/96
The goal of these guidelines is to provide general advice to engineers, including engineering managers, who find themselves in conflicts with management over matters with ethical implications. Much of this advice is pertinent to more general conflicts within organizations.
Developed by The National Society of Professional Engineers -NSPE-. This report emphasizes the right and the obligation of engineers to raise ethical concerns in the workplace, and provides guidance on how best to raise such issues. It also guides companies that want to guarantee a working environment where employees can feel free to raise concerns.
An example of how engineering societies may act to support ethical behavior of engineers. See information about The Monts Case (Summary by David A. Monts)
Relevant Literature on this Topic
Unger, Stephen H. Controlling Technology: Ethics and the Responsible Engineer, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994.
(From the back cover): This valuable guide provides an in-depth treatment of what constitutes ethical behavior on the part of engineers. It carefully examines the various conflicts faced by engineers and offers practical, proven advice on what to do in such situations. Other keywords for this book: code violations, ethical codes and guidelines, conscientious objection, engineering ethics, the media, professional societies, professional responsibility, technological disasters, unions, whistleblowing.
Unger, Stephen H. "Reality Check: Ethics and Air Bags", IEEE Institute, August, 1998, p. 2.
Other keywords for this article: conscientious objection, product quality, professional societies.
Unger, Stephen H. "Would Helping Ethical Engineers Get Professional Societies into Trouble?", IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, V. 6, No. 3, Sept. 1987, pp. 17-21. Reprinted in Johnson, "Ethical Issues in Engineering", 1991, Prentice-Hall.
Other keywords for this article: conscientious objection, ethics and the law, professional societies, whistleblowing.
Joseph R. Herkert, ed. 1999. Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Engineering: Selected Readings. Piscataway, New Jersey: IEEE Press.
Other keywords for this item: consumer safety; design and the environment; ethical codes and guidelines from professional societies; ethics and economics; ethics and the law; global environmental issues; medical information; negligence, privacy; product quality; professional responsibility; professional societies; technical and scholarly societies; professionalism in computing; public safety; risk assessment; safety & performance; system security; whistleblowing.
Herkert, Joseph R. 1999. "Ethics and Professional Responsibility." In John G. Webster, ed., Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Other keywords for this: engineering ethics courses, ethical codes and guidelines from professional societies, pedagogy, product quality, professional responsibility, professional societies; technical and scholarly societies, whistleblowing.
Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr. and Allen Webb, "Business Ethics: A View from the Trenches," California Management Review 3 (Winter 1995): 8-28.
Other keywords for this: ethical codes and guidelines from professional societies; professional responsibility; ethics and prudence; professional advice; corporate ethics.
Austin, Nancy K. "Ethics: Personal vs. Professional," in Working Woman (September 1992): 28, 32.
Other keywords for this: conscientious objection; professional advice; corporate ethics; supervisors and managers.
John M. Staudenmeier, sj, The Politics and Ethics of Engineering
Included in pilot-project version for use in NSF-supported Greenfield Coalition ethics component at Focus: Hope, Detroit, MI. Other keywords for this: ethics and prudence; lying, deception; self-deception; moral ambiguity; pedagogy and the use of cases in teaching; incompetent superiors; professional responsibility; consulting relationships; professional societies; workplace relationships; communication; research and cultural diversity; research misconduct; whistleblowing; research integrity; correcting errors in databases.
Don Gotterbarn, "The Ethical Computer Practitioner - Licensing the Moral community: a proactive approach." SIGCSE Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 2.
Other keywords for this: accountability; criteria for competency.