COVERAGE

1 Human Values
2 Understanding Ethics
3 Moral Reasoning
4 Engineering as Social Responsibility
5 Engineers’ Responsibility
6 Global Issues
7 Ethical Audits
8 Case Studies
 ENGINEERING
ETHICS
Owes its origin not only to lack of
Ethics that led to Engineering
disasters
but also to
day - to - day Ethical Behaviour
expected of Engineering
Professionals
Disasters can be
averted
when Ethics
are Followed
Religiously
FACTORS IDENTIFIED
for DISASTERS
• Over confidence ( Titanic )

• Impatience ( Space Shuttle

Challenger Explosion )
• Negligence & Poor Maintenance

( Bhopal Gas Tragedy )

On December 3, 1984, Union Carbide's pesticide-mfg
plant in Bhopal, India leaked 42 tons of the deadly gas
Methyl iso cynate into a sleeping village - killing 2 500
and injuring 2 00 000 people
Factors Contributed to Disaster
• Three protective systems : out of service
• Plant was Understaffed due to Costs
• Very High Inventory of MIC, an extremely
toxic material
• The accident occurred in the early morning
• Most of the People killed lived in a shanty
town located very close to the plant fence
 MULTINATIONAL
CORPORATIONS
 MULTINATIONAL
CORPORATIONS
 MULTINATIONAL
CORPORATIONS
 MULTINATIONAL
CORPORATIONS
 ETHICS
• Presupposes understanding of
Human Nature & Values
• Values provide us with a Unique,
Personal & Moral Template to
others & ourselves
• Values – an inbuilt mechanism
that distinguishes right from
wrong
NEED TO TEACH ETHICS !!
• Growing concern on deteriorating
values ( deviation from right )
• Justification of Wrong Actions
• Scale & Power of Technology
reached alarming heights
• “Ethical Fitness” is the need of the
hour
• Trends in Student Violence &
cynicism ( lack of moral values )
• Quality of work – life in any

organization greatly influenced

by Ethical & moral values

prevalent in that organization

• Decision making purely

depends on “Purity” of Mind

 WHAT TO TEACH
IN ETHICS?
• To start with, “Moral Values”
• Right & Wrong
• Commercially Right & Ethically
Wrong
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making ( Correct )
VIRTUES EXPECTED
or
TO BE DEVELOPED
• Right Conduct (Tool of Body)
• Peace ( Tool of Mind )
• Truth
• Love
• Non – Violence
WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE SHALL BE
TRAINED TO DO ?!
• See the world through the lens of
Ethics
• Understand Right & Wrong
• Learn to tackle Difficult Right vs
Right Ethical dilemmas
• Understand the Growing importance
of Ethics in a technology driven
world