PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES

LESSON 3
Self-confidence

❑ Certainty in one’s own capabilities, values and goals is self confidence

❑ Qualities of self-confident people:
▪ Trust in their own abilities
▪ Flexibility and willingness to change
▪ Easily giving others credit
▪ Ability to tell the truth, despite the circumstances
◼ Lack of self-confidence leads to:
❑ Seeking approval of others
❑ Avoid to take risks for fear of failure

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Self confidence
◼ The factors that shape self-confidence in a person are:
❑ Heredity (attitudes of parents) and family environment (elders)
❑ Friendship (influence of friends/colleagues)
❑ Influence of superiors/role models
❑ Training:
❑ Perform a SWOT analysis: Evaluate strengths and weaknesses in order to
anticipate, and be prepared to face situations (self-acceptance).
❑ Self-talk: conditioning the mind for preparing the self to act, without any doubt
of capabilities. This make one accepts himself while still striving for
improvement.
DISCUSSION

A plane is about to take-off. The first officer notices ice on the wings of the plane,
and based on his training, they should not take off. He asks the captain “Do you think
that the ice on the wings will allow us to take off?” The captain takes a cursory look
and says “We can take off.” The first officer is not in agreement.
◼ From his initial query, does the first officer have self-confidence?

◼ How would tell the captain that they should not take off?
Character

◼ Character is a combination of qualities or attributes that determine a person’s moral

and ethical actions and responses and distinguishes one person, group or thing from
another.
◼ It is typically exhibited through conduct:
❑ Ruthless, aggressiveness, ambition, constricting selfishness, stinginess,
cheerfulness, generosity and goodwill etc
◼ Good character emerges due to the practice of proper behavior and discipline.
◼ Good character is demanded in the workplace by employees
◼ Character of the people decide the quality of the organization.

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Work ethic

❑ Work ethic is a set of values based on moral virtues of hard work and diligence.
❑ Work ethic means dedication to the importance of work:
❑ As a means of earning a living
❑ Utility of work in health, safety, personality, self-esteem
❑ Characteristics of employees with strong work ethics:
Dedication and reliability- Commitment to the job, Integrity
taking initiative
Discipline Professionalism
Productivity Responsibility – No excuses
Cooperation - Working in a team: collegiality, Maintaining social skills: courtesy,
loyalty, respect for authority and collective conscientiousness
bargaining

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Work ethic
Unethical excuses: attempt by the wrongdoer to justify why they acted a certain way:

❑ Everybody does it
❑ Nobody is going to notice
❑ I don’t get paid enough

It’s not part of my

job description

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WHY STUDY HUMAN VALUES
An Engineer shall;
▪ Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the Integrity
public in the performance of their professional duties. Honesty
▪ Perform services only in the areas of their competence. Civic Virtue
Service Learning
▪ Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
Respect for others
manner. Living peacefully
▪ Act in professional matters for each employer or client as Caring and Sharing
faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of Courage
interest. Valuing time
▪ Build their professional reputation on the merit of their Cooperation
services and shall not compete unfairly with others. Commitment
▪ Act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honour, Empathy
integrity and dignity of the profession. Self-confidence
▪ Continue their professional development throughout their Character
Work ethic
careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional
development of those engineers under their supervision
PROFESSION

What is the difference between a profession and an occupation?

Profession: means a job/occupation,

that requires advanced expertise (skills
Occupation: Way to make a living
and knowledge), self-regulation and
concerted service to the public good.

Mechanical Engineer Licenced Mechanical

at XYZ company Engineer at XYZ company

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CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION

1) Extensive training –
❑ Professions require sophisticated skills and theoretical knowledge in both technical
aspects. In general, formal education, training and continuing education are
important.
❑ Occupations require extensive apprenticeship and training, and they often require
practical skills. Professions focuses more on intellectual content than practical skills.
❑ Most professionals have at least a bachelor’s degree or more advanced degrees,
which are often conferred by a professional school. Professions are, therefore,
usually closely allied with universities.
2) Offer vital knowledge and skills:
❑ We are dependent on the knowledge and research of scientists and engineers for
technological advance e.g. safety in an airplane, national defense etc.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION
3) Control of services:
❑ Self-regulation − Professional societies play a major role in setting standards for the
admission to the profession, drafting codes of ethics, enforcing the standards of
conduct and representing the profession before the public and the government.
❑ Professions usually have a monopoly on, or at least considerable control over, the
provision of professional services in their area. This is achieved in two ways.
◼ Graduates: Control over professional schools by establishing accreditation
standards that regulate the quality, curriculum content, and number of such
schools.
◼ Licensing system for those who want to enter the profession. Those who practice
without a license are subject to legal penalties.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION
4) Autonomy in the workplace:
◼ Professionals often exercise individual judgment and creativity in carrying out
their professional responsibilities.
◼ The professional has sufficient knowledge to determine the appropriate services
in a given situation.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PROFESSION

5) Claim to ethical regulation:

◼ Professions serve public good by maintaining high ethical standards e.g. an
engineer provides a product or project for use by the public towards their health,
welfare and safety.
◼ Professionals are regulated by ethical standards, embodied in a code of ethics.

◼ Professional codes are ordinarily promulgated by professional societies and state

boards that regulate the professions.

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FEATURES OF A PROFESSION

i. A profession cannot be composed of only one person. It is always composed of a

number of individuals.
ii. A profession involves a public element. One must openly ‘‘profess’’ to be a
physician/attorney/engineer.
iii. A profession is something that people enter into voluntarily and that they can
leave voluntarily.
iv. Profession must serve some morally praiseworthy goal by morally permissible
means. For example, medicine cannot pursue the goal of health by cruel
experimentation or by deception or coercion.
v. Ethical standards in a profession should obligate professionals to act in some way
that goes beyond what law, market, morality, and public opinion would otherwise
require. Engineers have an obligation to …
PROFESSIONALISM
◼ Professionalism is the status of a professional which implies certain attitudes or
typical qualities that are expected of a professional. The criteria for achieving and
sustaining professional status or professionalism are:
a. Advanced expertise: The professional should analyze problems in specific known
area (where he has skills and knowledge), in an objective manner.
b. Self-regulation: The professional should analyze problems independent of self-
interest and direct a decision towards the best interest of the clients/customers;
Unbiased decision making based on the codes of conduct of professional
societies.
c. Public good: The concerted efforts in the job should be towards promotion of the
welfare, safety, and health of the public.
❑ The art of Professionalism is the practice of doing the right thing, not because how one
feels but regardless of how one feels.

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PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
◼ Ethical commitment is central to professionalism.
◼ How is professional ethics different from any other types of ethics?
❑ Professional ethics is the set of standards adopted by professionals.
❑ Engineering ethics is that set of ethical standards that applies to the profession of
engineering.
a) Professional ethics are stated in a formal code have codes of ethics, referred to a
i.e. ‘‘code of professional responsibility,’’ ‘‘code of professional conduct’’.
b) Professional codes of ethics focus on issues that are important in that profession.
e.g. in the engineering profession, concern about building codes etc.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
c) Professional ethics takes precedence over personal morality.
❑ Example: Employer reveals details of a business relationship to an engineer. He can

expect the engineer to keep these details in confidence, even though he knows
nothing about the personal morality of the engineer. These expectations are based
on knowledge of the professional ethics of medicine and engineering.

d) Some professions have made provisions for exceptions to professional obligations

based on conscience.
❑ Suppose a client asks a civil engineer, who has strong personal environmental

commitments, to design a project that the engineer believes imposes unacceptable

damage to a wetland. In this case, the engineer should probably refer the client to
another engineer who might do the work.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

e) Professional ethics sometimes differs from personal morality in its degree of

restriction of personal conduct.
Suppose engineer Jane refuses to design military hardware because she believes war is
immoral. Engineering codes do not prohibit engineers from designing military hardware, so
this refusal is based on personal ethics and not on professional ethics. Here, Jane’s personal
ethics is more restrictive than her professional ethics.

On the other hand, suppose civil engineer Mary refuses to participate in the design of a
project that she believes will be contrary to the principles of sustainable development,
which are set out in the code of the Engineers Board of Kenya. She may not personally
believe these guidelines are correct, but she might (correctly) believe she is obligated to
follow them in her professional work because they are stated in her code of ethics. Here,
Mary’s professional ethics is more restrictive than her personal ethics.
CODES OF ETHICS
▪ Codes of ethics state the moral responsibilities of engineers as seen by the
profession and as represented by the professional society
▪ They express the profession’s collective commitment to ethics, stressing engineers’
responsibilities but also in supporting the freedom needed to meet them.

Importance of Codes of Ethics:

▪ Codes can present a positive image to the public of an ethically committed
profession.
▪ Where warranted, the image can help engineers more effectively serve the public.
▪ The reputation of a profession is essential in sustaining the trust of the public.

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ROLE OF CODES

1) Serving and protecting the public

▪ Engineering involves advanced expertise that professionals have and the public
lacks.
▪ Professionals have a fiduciary relationship with the public: trust is essential
▪ Code of ethics is a commitment by the profession as a whole that engineers will
serve the public health, safety and welfare

2) Guidance
▪ Codes provide helpful guidance by articulating the main obligations of engineers
▪ Because codes should be brief to be effective, they offer mostly general guidance

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ROLE OF CODES

3) Inspiration
▪ They provide a positive stimulus (motivation) for ethical conduct.
▪ They voice what it means to be a member of a profession committed to responsible
conduct in promoting the safety, health and welfare of the public

4) Shared standards
▪ The diversity of moral viewpoints makes it essential for professionals to establish
explicit minimum standards.
▪ The public is assured of a standard of excellence on which it can depend and
professionals are provided a fair playing field in competing for clients.

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ROLE OF CODES
5) Support for responsible professionals
▪ Codes give support to professionals seeking to act ethically.
▪ It allows an engineer under pressure to act unethically, to say “I am bound by the
code of ethics of my profession, which states that..”
▪ Gives engineers some group backing in taking stands on moral issues.

6) Education and mutual understanding: Codes can be used by professional societies

and in the classroom to prompt discussion and reflection on moral issues.
▪ They are widely circulated and officially approved by professional societies.

▪ Codes encourage a shared understanding among professionals, public and

government organizations about the moral responsibilities of engineers

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ROLE OF CODES
7) Deterrence and discipline:
▪ Codes can also serve as the formal basis for investigating unethical conduct,
providing a deterrent for immoral behavior
▪ Such an investigation requires paralegal proceedings designed to get at the truth
about a given charge without violating the personal rights of those being
investigated.

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LIMITATIONS OF CODES
1. Codes are no substitute for individual responsibility in grappling with concrete
dilemmas.

2. Most codes are restricted to general wording and may contain substantial areas of
vagueness.

3. Uncertainties can arise when different entries in codes come into conflict with each
other since they usually provide little guidance as to which entry should have priority.
▪ Example: Tensions arise between stated responsibilities to employers and to the wider
public.

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LIMITATIONS OF CODES
4. Impression of relativity and variability: Existence of separate codes for different
professional engineering societies can give members the feeling that ethical conduct
is more relative and variable than it actually is.

5. Flaw by omission and commission:

❑ Omission: Until recently, most codes omitted explicit mention of responsibilities
concerning the environment
❑ Commission: Formerly, engineering codes banned competitive bidding

Abuse of Codes
▪ When codes are not taken seriously within a profession, they increase public
cynicism about the profession.
▪ Codes occasionally stifle healthy criticism, debate or dissent within the profession.

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ENGINEERING CODE OF ETHICS
◼ Guidelines and principles for evaluation of ethical conflicts
◼ Not laws, but often basis for laws
◼ Developed for most engineering disciplines and formally accepted by professional
engineers
◼ Mechatronic engineering covered by:
❑ Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) Code of Ethics (February 2016):
One of the functions of the Board as provided under Section 7(1)(u) of the Act is to
“develop, maintain and enforce the code of ethics for engineers and regulate the
conduct and ethics of the engineering practice in general.”
❑ IEEE Code of Ethics
❑ Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) Code of Ethics
❑ ASME Code of Ethics
EBK CODE OF ETHICS
◼ Professional engineer (PE) are governed by statutes and have very formal code of
ethics
❑ Hold professional license, member of EBK
❑ Providing professional services to public, clients or government
◼ Code of Ethics typically consists of:
❑ Fundamental cannons: fundamental principles
❑ Rules of practice: practical implementation of cannons
❑ Professional obligations: specifies guidelines for professional conduct
EBK CODE OF ETHICS
Fundamental cannons
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of public

2. Perform services in area of competency

3. Issue public statement in an objective and truthful manner

4. Act for employer or client as a faithful agent and trustees

5. Avoid deceptive acts

6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly and lawfully so as to enhance honor,

reputation and usefulness of the profession

Based upon these fundamental cannons, various engineering societies develop their
own (usually more specific) codes of ethics
IEEE: CODE OF ETHICS
◼ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers was formed in 1963 as a merger of American
Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) and Institute of Radio Engineers (IRA)
◼ World’s largest professional/technical organization for advancement of technology
◼ IEEE membership requires adherence to IEEE code of ethics which provides guidance on
cases of ethical decisions facing engineers
❑ Acknowledging mistakes (IEEE CoE – Cannon 7)

❑ Conflict of interest (IEE CoE – Cannon 2)

❑ Safety of products (IEEE CoE – Cannon 1)

❑ Environmental safety (IEEE CoE – Cannon 1)

❑ Responsibility arising from what others do (IEEE CoE Cannon 10)

❑ Discrimination in the work place (IEEE CoE Cannon 8)

❑ Whistle blowing (IEEE CoE Cannons 1, 2, 3, 4, 9)

❑ Issuing non-expert statements (IEEE CoE Cannon 6)

CODE OF ETHICS
◼ Ethical behavior is not always protected by law
◼ Ethically-aware companies provide:
❑ Help to employees facing ethical conflicts

❑ Allow employees to raise ethical concerns anonymously

❑ Explicitly prevent any forms of retaliation for reporting unethical behavior

Quick ethics test:

Is the action legal?
Does it comply with our values?
How will it look in the newspaper?
If you know it's wrong, don't do it!
If you're not sure, ask.
Keep asking until you get an answer.
EXAMPLE 1

A manufacturing company holds a contract from City Y for the development and
production of a completely automated mass transportation system. A failure of the
system, should it occur, would endanger the public safety. Periodic engineering tests
have been conducted of the various components during the development period, but a
final test by Engineer B of the assembly fails. Engineer A, the engineer who is manager
of the department charged with responsibility for the project, reports the failure to his
superiors. Engineer A is told, however, that in order to meet contract commitments, the
equipment will be shipped to City Y without notifying the client of the failure of the
final tests. Engineer A learns that the shipment subsequently is made to the client and
voices his objection to this decision. However, Engineer A does not notify the client or
the proper authorities of the test failure and drops the matter altogether.
Question: Was it ethical for Engineer A to fail to notify the client or the proper
authorities of the test failure?

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EXAMPLE 1: EBK Code of Ethics
According to the Engineers Board of Kenya, Code of Ethics, Section 5(1):
Engineers shall at all times recognize that their primary obligation is to protect the
safety, health, property and welfare of the public. If their professional judgment is
overruled under circumstances where the safety, health, property or welfare of the
public are endangered, they shall notify their employer or client and such other
authority as may be appropriate.

Code is relevant when:

Code is violated when:
Engineer is responsible for a particular
Engineer does not guard against the
project or engineering work
dangerous conditions
AND
Engineer does not promptly call the
The project or work could be dangerous
dangerous conditions to the attention of
or threatening to safety, welfare, or
those responsible
property

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EXAMPLE 1: EBK Code of Ethics

To avoid violating the code:

Section 12(6): Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for all professional activities
under their charge and shall;
a) Conform to state registration laws in the practice of engineering.
b) Not use association with a non-engineer, a corporation, or partnership, as a ‘cloak’
for unethical acts, but must accept personal responsibility for all professional acts.

▪ It was not ethical for Engineer A to fail to notify the client and the proper
authorities of the test failure.
▪ Engineer A should make every effort within the company to have the corrective
action taken.
▪ If these efforts are of no avail, and after advising the company of his intentions, he
should notify the client and responsible authorities of the facts.

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EXAMPLE 2
A professional engineer employed as an assistant sanitary engineer in a county health
department is responsible for the administration of certain programs which require approval of
plans for proposed water supply and sewage treatment facilities and for the issuance of permits
for such projects, as prescribed by the law. His immediate supervisor is the district sanitary
engineer, also a professional engineer.
The policy and practice of the office is that all approval of plans and issuance of permits are
under the signature of the district sanitary engineer, although the assistant sanitary engineer
performs the actual engineering review in the great majority of applications. The policy of the
office also provides that when the district sanitary engineer is absent, the assistant sanitary
engineer shall review the plans and applications for permits and, after approval, sign the name
of the district sanitary engineer, even though the district sanitary engineer has not seen or
reviewed the documents.
Question: Is it ethical for the assistant sanitary engineer to sign the name of the district sanitary
engineer to engineering documents?

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EXAMPLE 2: EBK Code of Ethics

EBK Code of Ethics, Section 13(1):

Engineers shall give credit for engineering work of those to whom credit is due, and will
recognize the proprietary interests of others

Code is violated when:

Code is relevant when: Engineer does not name the person or
Engineer is involved in engineering persons who were responsible for designs
work or invention or writings or
accomplishments

❑ It is not ethical for the assistant sanitary engineer to sign the name of the district
sanitary engineer to engineering documents.
❑ It follows that it is also unethical for a professional engineer to permit or require
such action.

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RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALISM

◼ Also known as professional responsibility. This consists of five types of virtues:

a) Cardinal (chief) virtues: They are called ‘cardinal’ (Latin: cardo, hinge) because
they are hinges on which all virtues depend.
❑ They govern our actions, regulate our passions, and guide our conduct.
◼ Wisdom (prudence) is perception of truth and ability to distinguish between the
right and wrong.
◼ Courage (Fortitude) means a firm and elevated mind.
◼ Temperance represents order in words and actions.
◼ Justice is preserving humanity and observing the faith of contracts.

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RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALISM

b) Self-direction (Self-governance) virtues

❑ Understanding and cognition: self-understanding, humility (proper assessment of

one’s character), and good moral judgment (termed as ‘practical wisdom’)

❑ Commitment and action: it covers courage, self-discipline, perseverance, self-

respect, and integrity.

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RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALISM

c) Public-spirited virtues focus on the good of the clients and the public as
prescribed in the engineering codes that includes:
◼ Respect for rights (to make decisions and face the risk)
◼ Non-malfeasance (not harming others intentionally)
◼ Promoting the public safety, health, and welfare
◼ Generosity (helping the community by voluntarily giving their time, talent, and
money-voluntary service to the professional society and community), Justice
(unbiased) in all decisions and actions.

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RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALISM

d) Team-work virtues enable the professionals to work successfully with others.

❑ Collegiality, cooperativeness, communicative ability, and respect for legitimate
authority.
❑ Responsible exercise of authority and the ability to motivate others to achieve

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RESPONSIBLE PROFESSIONALISM

e) Proficiency virtues which mean the mastery of technical skills

❑ Competence (having qualified, licensed, and prepared to execute the job that is
undertaken)
❑ Diligence (alert to dangers, careful attention, and avoidance of laziness or
workaholic nature)
❑ Creativity (learning to respond to the changing technological society),
❑ Excellence (perform at the highest level)
❑ Self-renewal through continuing education

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TO DO:

◼ Read the:
❑ Engineers Board of Kenya Code of Ethics
❑ Institution of Engineers of Kenya Code of Ethics

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