Unit 4

Responsibilities and Rights

Common to all Branches
07G004 Professional ethics and Human Values
Prepared by
R.SENTHIL KUMAR
Associate Professor/EEE
Responsibilities of Engineers
Internal Responsibilities
. Collegiality
. Loyalty
. Respect for Authority
. Collective Bargaining
External Responsibilities
. Confidentiality
. Conflicts of interest
. Occupational Crimes
Internal Responsibilities
Collegiality
Collegiality is the tendency to support and
cooperate with the colleagues
Team work Collegiality
Engineers should not try to harm the
feelings and respect of their colleagues
No criticism of work
Aspects of Collegiality
Respect
Admiration of colleague and their potential
Respect for the work
Commitment
Commitment towards the relationship
Sharing of loyalty
Connectedness
Co operation and bond in a team work
Mutual Understanding
LOYALTY
Being loyal in the profession
There are two aspects
Agency Loyalty
Fulfill a persons contractual duties to an
employer
Identification Loyalty
Attitudes, emotions and personal identity
exhibition
Obligations of Loyalty
Agency Loyalty is an obligation within a
limit of official commitment
Identification Loyalty is obligatory with
following conditions
Employees are sure that their goals are achieved with
the help of group in which they work
Employees to be treated in a fair manner
Professionalism and Loyalty
Performing duties on professional
commitment and not on orders of the
company
Loyalty to companies should be truthful
Professionals and employers should have
a moral understanding
Respect for Authority
Respect to legitimate authority of their
employers to fulfill the organizational aims
Authority paves way to understand the
personal responsibility and accountability
Respect to Authority
Institutional Authority
Authority within organization
To handle employees and subordinates
(Institutional Right to exercise power)
Given to qualified and experienced
professionals
Good decision makers, reasonable thinkers
Respect to Authority
Expert Authority
For resolving problems in institutional
authority (Incompetence)
Possession of special knowledge in system
Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers are expert
authorities in solving some problems that
could not be solved by managers just.

Unionism
Unionism is for the welfare of the
employees
Professionalism is for the welfare of the
organization and economy
Unionism and Professionalism
Unionism and Respect to authority
Unionism and Loyalty
ULTIMATE CONTRADICTION !!!
Collective Bargaining
Unions are bargaining agents for
improvement of economic status of
employees
Loyalty decreases as unionism increases
Communist thoughts and employee
satisfaction
Arguments in favor of unionism
Obtaining healthy salaries & promotions
Job security and protection
Resist the unethical impositions by org.
Grievance resolving medium
Struggles against the exploitation of
employees
Creates a confidence
Arguments against unionism
Cause for inflationary condition
Cause for Destruction to economy
Always oppose the decision than co-
operating
Removes individual negotiations between
employee and org.
Encourages disqualified workers
Escapes employees from penalization for
their mistakes
Influences Promotions and rewards
Develops an enmity between the org. and
employees
Less transparency between employee and
management
Arguments against unionism
External Responsibilities - 1
Confidentiality
Keep certain information secret in an
organization
Should be a habit of a professional
All professions have got confidential
matters Confidentiality in professionals
becomes essential
Keep up the proprietary information
Confidential Information
Related Terms
Privileged Information (Details known to PA
to MD due to privilege of being PA)
Proprietary Information (Information owned
by a company)
Trade Secret Information (Designs, quoted
cost for tender, etc)
Patents (legally protected works)

Types
Obvious Information
Test results, Data, tender quotation, design
values of unreleased product etc
Information of lesser confidentiality
Vague information like strategy followed, no
of employees, methods adopted, systems
followed etc
Confidentiality Limits
There are two levels
1. First level
Respect for autonomy
Respect for Promises
Respect for Public well being
2. Second level
Right based theory
Duty based theory
Utilitarian
Confidentiality Limits
Respect for autonomy
State of self realization to keep up the secrets
Respect for Promises
Commitment to the promises to the company for
keeping up secrets
Respect for Public well being
Secrets reveled causing danger to any individual or
group should not be done
Ethical theories and secrets
Right based theory (Violation of Rights in
violating confidentiality Issues)
Duty based theory (Violation from Duty to
violate confidentiality Issues)
Utilitarian
Rule (Very clear that GO BY RULES)
Act (Act according to situations)
How management maintains
confidentiality?
Employment contracts and restrictions A
threaten to employees
Tight control of flow of secret information
Creating a professional responsibility
amongst employees by motivation and
good culture of work
External Responsibilities -2
Conflicts of Interest
It is the conflict that a professional has
when his interest is disrespected
If an engineer is more interested in going
for a bidder who is good in quality
But management wants a low bidder who
is poor in quality
Conflict of interest of an engineer arises.
Types of Conflicts
Actual Conflicts of Interest
Loss of professional duties due to conflict
Potential Conflicts of Interest
A good relationship maintained with a client
being misunderstood by management
Apparent Conflict of Interest
Misunderstanding a professional that he tries
to improve his margin in getting the business
Avoiding conflict of interest
Follow company policy
Opinions from boss and subordinates
Examining ones motives
Follow code of ethics properly
External Responsibilities -3
Occupational Crime
Illegal acts that are made possible
through a persons lawful employment
Carried out by office workers and
professional are called as White collars
Crime
Industrial Espionage (spying), Price Fixing
and Endangering lives
Industrial Espionage
Getting confidential details of a company
in illegal way
Gopal, a spy for 10 year was caught in
California..ICs and Computer companies
suffered a lot of spying and espionage
Reason may be due to tough competition
in the production business
Price Fixing
Fixing the contract bidding price and other
quotations without knowledge of the
proprietors
Westing house and General Electrics
Case.
Rotating plan: Phase of Moon basis
Endangering Lives
Exposing employees to safety hazards
Asbestos industry caused a lung disease
named asbestosis and a cancer named
mesothelioma
25 million people affectedcase went on
in court compensation..
Occupational crimes of macro and micro
structure
Rights
Engineers have lot of rights in addition to
their responsibilities
Three types
Human Rights (personal)
Employee Rights
Professional Rights(PR)
Express views, judgment, refuse unethical,
warn public, remuneration and recognition,
talk publicly about jobs, society engagement
Employee Rights
Employ rights are the rights that apply or
refer to the status or position of employee
Any right moral, legal, that refers for well
being of employee
Contractual Employee Rights
Documented and Informed to an employee
when he joins an org.
Eg. Right to receive salary, right to receive
other benefits, etc.
Employee Right
Non contractual Employee Right
Not formally recognized in specific contracts
or recognition
Rights to choose outside activities (Taking
tuitions in evening), right to prevent sexual
harassment
Eg. Right to choose outside activities, privacy,
nondiscrimination etc.
Choice of Outside activities
Basic human rights for any one to engage
in outside activities
No interference should be there from the
management
Violations in rights like scolding for doing a
business outside, taking tuition classes
being a school teacher
Choice of outside activities
Outside activities are the rights of
employees till they stick to the following
The activity should not affect the business,
fame and respect of the organization
Ex. Doing a moonlighting is not
permittedcannot be justified as right
Professional Rights
Its one of the most fundamental rights
Professional rights are the rights
possessed by virtue of being professionals
having special moral responsibilities
Eg. Express views, judgment, refuse
unethical, warn public, remuneration and
recognition, talk publicly about jobs,
society engagement
Aspects of PR
Two aspects
1. Rights of professional conscience
2. Specific rights
1. Rights of professional conscience
It refers to moral right to exercise responsible
professional judgment in discharging once
professional duties
Its the right to do what everyone agrees, its
obligatory for professional engineer to do
Aspects of PR
2. Specific rights
Two kinds
Right of conscientious refusal and
Right to recognition
Right of conscientious refusal
It is the right to refuse to engage in unethical
behavior
Which means no employer can force an employee
to do unethical practice
This is possible in two situations
1. Where there is a widely shared agreement in the
profession reg. ethical and unethical acts
2. Where there is a possibility for disagreement
among people over unethical acts
Right to recognition
It refers the engineers right to
professional recognition for their work
It may be of two types
1. Extrinsic rewards: related to monetary
benefits, like, salary increment,
incentives, cash bonus
2. Intrinsic rewards: non monetary
rewards, like, appreciation letters etc.,
Principles of Professional Rights
Justification by Right Ethics
Everyone have got their own rights....
similarly professionals.
should not be disturbed from their rights
Justification by Duty Ethics
It is the duty of the public to allow engineers
to take better decision (to use their rights
Principles of Professional Rights
Justification by Utilitarianism
Greatest good is promoted by permitting
Engineers to do good things
Their rights should be protected
Rule utilitarianism try to set up best policy or
rule for employee rights
Privacy
Employers should not look in to personal
and private life of employees
But contradictory justification is that
Personal life only influence in professional
behavior.
Cashier, Sales Department, (Trust
worthiness)
Personal Counseling for enhancement of
professional performance
Rights due to process
Rights to take actions on indisciplinary
grounds
Contradiction: Misuse of the rights
Proper documents for the use of rights of
process
Produce explanations for actions taken
What is Intellectual Property?
It is the information and original
expression that derives original values
from creative ideas with commercial
values
Provides an ownership and independence
for property
IPs
Patents
Plant varieties
Undisclosed Information
Design of ICs
Industrial design
Trademarks
Copyrights
Geographical Indications
Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR)
To keep the intellectual proprietary
High impact on socio economic and
technological improvement of a nation
Trade Related Intellectual Property Right
System (TRIPS) takes care of the IPR
systems
WTO supposed to implement standards
Intellectual Property Rights
Technology Obsolescence and fierce
competitions to protect the innovations
with patents, trademarks, service marks,
design registration etc
IPR plays a vital part in advancing
technological ambience
IPR Agreements
Agreement established by WTO and TRIPS
accepted by India during 1995
This gives certain minimum standards for
protecting an innovation
Enforcement as law in many countries will
protect IPR much
Elements of IPR
Patents for Inventions
Copyrights for materials
Trademarks for broad identity
Trade Secrets
IP could be bought, sold, licensed or
exchanged
Patents
Innovations New or improved product of
processes which are meant for industrial
applications
Contract between Inventor and Individual
Inventor has rights to prevent anybody
using or selling invention
Patents
Patent period 20 years.after that people
can freely use the product
Enforceable by civil laws and criminal
proceedings
Non obviousness
Patent Requirements
Problem of invention
Current report of problem to address
Solution or procedure to problem
Extent of novelty or inventive
Application or uses
Details of the inventor
Resources of funds
Types of Patents
Utility Patents
Inventions or discoveries to utilize new and
useful 20 years (Chemical composition)
Design Patents
Design of new things, article, ornaments etc
14 years
Plant Patents
Asexually reproduces a new variety of plant -
20 years
Copy Rights
Specific and exclusive right even for
reproduction of an original work
Material, Literature, aesthetic material,
music, film, sound recording,
broadcasting, software, multimedia
Licensing from the owner Disclaimer
statements Legal proceedings
Trade Marks
Identity for a specific product
Territorial right which needs registration
Source of any sign or combination of signs
of goods
Service marks to individualize product
In form of logos, symbols and wordings
TRIPS agreement provides protection
similar to copyright
Trademarks
Registration must be renewed for
encouraging competition, protecting
inventors good will etc.,
Trademarks are of National Level
Distinctive marks (distinguish products)
Trademarks are very generic and not clear
about the process
Need for protecting IPR
Prevent plagiarism
Prevent others using it for financial gains
Support income generation strategy
Importance of IPR
Granted to the investors for their freedom
for further creation
Give the inventors the right of use
Permit entry to a technical market
Steady Income by licensing
Discrimination
Unfair difference in treatment of people
Giving preference on sex, race, religion,
status etc.
Teasing and ill-treating people based on
their religion, race, sex etc.
Called as Reverse Preferential Treatment
Discrimination Examples
Selecting candidates based on communal
preferences
Securing mistakes of people based on
communal preferences
Appointing women in front office sales
operations
Voluntary Retirement Schemes
Preferential Treatments
Weak Preferential treatment
Selecting a candidate who belong to the
community of the organizational majorities
Strong Preferential treatment
Selecting women / minority candidate based
on reservations by law or by conventions
Strong Preferential Treatment to be
supported !!
As per Right ethics every one has right to
get an opportunity.
Minority and backward class reservations
are compensatory benefits for the
discriminations in the past
As per Utilitarian principle, social
improvement is main factor Reservations
are essential.
As per right ethics, an individual who
comes without any reservation is violated
from his rights to get a job
Equal opportunities are not given
Strong Preferential Treatment to be
supported !!
Sexual Harassment
Continuous annoying and attacks on
women on the basis of sexual
considerations
Harassment by Female superiors to male
employees also come under this
discussion
Moral and ethical violations as well,
CULTURAL DEVASTATION
Sexual Harassment
Any sex oriented practices that endangers a
womans job that undermines her job
performance and threatens her economic
livelihood
Unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in
the context of relationship of unequal power
A Woman may be a boss, employee, engineer,
manager..
Different Forms of Harassment
Interviewer / Recruiter seeking for a
sexual favor, for offering a job
Boss seeking a sexual favor for offering a
promotion
Tortures like scolding, firing a woman not
for accepting the sex request
Comments, Tease, sex jokes, Request for
dates etc.,
Forms of Harassment
Violation of basic rights as happened in a
school of New Delhi (Camera capture)
For the sake of promotions, survival in the
job etc, women are exploited
All the four theories, stand in one line,
with no controversies to disagree with Sex
Harassment

END OF UNIT IV
Difference Between His & Her
Thoughts
HER DIARY ---------
Friday night, I thought he was acting weird. We
had made plans to meet at a cafe to have some
coffee. I was shopping with my friends all day
long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that
I was a bit late, but he made no comment.
Conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested that
we go somewhere quiet so we could talk, he
agreed but he kept quiet and absent.
Difference Between His & Her
Thoughts- Continues..
I asked him what was wrong - he said,
"Nothing." I asked him if it was my fault that he
was upset. He said it had nothing to do with me
and not to worry.
On the way home I told him that I loved him, he
simply smiled and kept driving. I can't explain
his behavior, I don't know why he didn't say, "I
love you, too.
When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as
if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He
just sat there and watched TV, he seemed
distant and absent. Finally I decided to go to
bed.
Difference Between His & Her
Thoughts- Continues..
About 10 minutes later he came to bed. I
decided that I could not take it anymore,
so I decided to confront him with the
situation but he had fallen asleep.
I started crying and cried until I too fell
asleep. I don't know what to do. I'm
almost sure that his thoughts are with
someone else. My life is a disaster.
HIS DIARY ---------
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.
.
.
.
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Today India again lost the cricket match.
DAMN IT