Ethics

CE 301
3rd Class on Ethics
 Code of Ethics, IEB
• 1. I solemnly promise that as a member of The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh I
shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering
profession using my knowledge and skill and shall hold paramount the safety, health
and welfare of the public and shall try to comply with the principles of sustainable
development in the performance of my professional duties.
• 2. I shall be honest and impartial and serve with complete fidelity the public,
employer and clients. I shall not accept remuneration for services rendered other
than that form my employer or with my employer's permission.
• 3. I shall perform services only in areas of my competence.
• 4. I shall build my professional reputation on the merit of my services and shall not
complete unfairly with others.
 Code of Ethics, IEB
• 5. I shall act in professional matters for my employer or client as faithful agent or
trustee and shall avoid conflict of interest and avoid deceptive acts.
• 6. I shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner, and shall
not in a self laudatory language or in any manner derogatory to the dignity of the
profession or professional bodies, neither advise or write articles for publication, nor
shall authorize such advertisements to be written or published by any other person.
• 7. I, without disclosing the fact to my employer in writing shall not be director of or
have a substantial financial interest in, nor be an agent for any company, firm or
person carrying on any contracting consulting or manufacturing business which is or
may be involved in the work to which my employment relates, nor shall I receive
directly or indirectly any royalty, gratuity or commission or any article or process used
in or for the purpose of the work in respect of which I am employed unless or until
such royalty, gratuity or commission has been authorized in writing by the employer.
 Code of Ethics, IEB

•8. I shall support the professional and technical societies of my discipline.

•9. I, in connection with work in country other than my own shall order my conduct according to these
rules, as far as they are applicable; but where the country has recognized standards of professional
conduct, I shall adhere to them.
•10. I shall not offer, guide, solicit or receive, either directly or indirectly any political contribution in an
amount intended to influence the award of a contract by the public authority.
•11. I solemnly promise I shall avoid bribery and extortion in any form. If I encounter such acts done by
any member. I shall be ethically bound to report it to the Ethical Review Board (ERB) of IEB.
•12. I shall continue my professional development throughout my career, and shall provide
opportunities and support for the professional development of the engineers under my supervision.
•13. A member who shall be convicted by a competent tribunal of criminal offence, which in the
opinion of the disciplinary body renders him unfit to be a member, shall be deemed to have been
guilty of improper conduct.
[Author Site:http://ww.iebbd.org/ (Approved in the 476th Central Council Meeting, fEB, held on 6.8.2003)]
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• The structure for registration process of engineering practitioners are designed
as to make the Engineers Committed to Code of Conduct and completely
accountable to carry on their duties/responsibilities which cannot be
compromised at any level of planning, designing, implementing, maintaining,
demolishing etc.
• The ethics are fundamental to the values of profession.
• The service providers and consulting professional Engineers should adhere to the
Code of Ethics while dealing with employers, employees, associates and society.
• The Code of Ethics aims at maintaining high standards of personal and
professional conduct, competency and integrity assuring ethical conduct in
fulfilling social responsibility to the society and global community.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS

• It is mandatory that Engineers in profession maintain individual

behavior in an ethical manner ensuring the following:-
1. Social Responsibility to uphold Ethical Values of the Society.
2. Responsibility to Maintain High Standards of Professional Quality
3. Obligation to Maintain High Standard of Personal Behavior in a Responsible
Manner.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS

1. Social Responsibility to uphold Ethical Values of the Society.

• Engineers shall abide by the laws of the land in which the work is performed, respect the local
customs, uphold the human rights, safeguard public property/ safety; abjure violence and
acts of terrorism.
• Engineers shall treat fairly with all persons irrespective of race, creed, caste, religion, state,
gender or national origin in discharging professional duties.
• Engineers shall strive to protect and maintain clean, healthy and safe environments to comply
with statutory requirements.
• Engineers shall uphold paramount safety, health and welfare of public and individuals while
exercising their professional work. They shall consider the welfare of society and the impacts
of the natural environment.
• Engineers shall comply with the principles and practices of sustainable development in their
professional duties. They will also promote the needs of future generations.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERS

• Engineers shall support and recognize the professional and technical

societies of their discipline.
• Whenever Engineers’ professional judgments are overruled of the ground of
safety of public health and welfare of public, are endangered, Engineers
shall inform the clients and employers of the possible consequences
providing convincing data.
• Engineers shall foster environmental awareness among the public and they
shall minimize foreseeable and avoidable impacts on the environment.
• Engineers shall strive to ensure that the engineering projects for which they
are responsible will have minimal adverse effects on the environment and
health.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
2. Responsibility to Maintain High Standards of Professional Quality
• Engineers shall not misrepresent their educational qualifications or professional
title.
• Engineers shall seek work through fair and proper methods, and shall take full
responsibility for the tasks and that shall be carried out under their supervision.
They must be qualified by experience in the specific field of engineering involved
and shall not undertake tasks for which they are not competent.
• Engineers shall approve only those designs, which safely and economically meet
the requirement of the client and shall not approve any engineering document,
design, materials, and stages of work which they consider to be unsound and
against the public interest.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of
engineering profession using their knowledge, skill and education. They shall
observe proper duties of confidentiality and not accept or give inducements.
• Engineers shall be committed to perform services only in the areas of their
expertise and competency. But they can accept a project requiring experience
outside their own fields of competence provided the phases of the project out of
their experience shall be performed by qualified associates or employees
maintaining relevant competences at the necessary levels.
• Engineers shall be committed to maintain competency and professional
reputation on the merit of their services. They shall not compete unfairly with
others.
RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• Engineers, in connection with work in countries other than their own, shall
order/maintain Code of Conduct according to these Rules as far as they are
applicable; but where the host country has its recognized standards of
professional Code of Conduct, they shall adhere to them.
• Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout the career
and shall provide opportunities for and support the professional and ethical
development of the engineers under their supervision
 RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
3. Obligation to Maintain High Standard of Personal Behavior in a Responsible Manner.
• Engineers shall not maliciously or falsely, injure the professional reputation of another
Engineer or Organization, rather respect their dignity and professional standing.
• Engineers shall respect the personal rights of people with whom they work and they
shall go by the legal and cultural values of the societies in which they carry out
assignment.
• Engineers shall be honest and impartial. They shall serve with complete fidelity the
public, employer and clients.
• Engineers shall not solicit or accept remuneration financial or otherwise for services
rendered on a Project other than that from their employers or of their employers’
permission, under specific circumstances.
 RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• Engineers shall act in professional matters for their employers/clients as faithful
agent/trustee. They must avoid conflict of interest and deceptive acts. They shall
promptly inform their employees/clients of any business association or interest which
could influence the quality of their services. They must provide impartial analysis and
judgment to employers.
• Engineers can issue public statements or reports only in an objective and truthful
manner that shall not be in a self-laudatory language or in any manner derogatory to
the dignity of the profession or professional bodies. They shall include all relevant and
pertinent information in such reports or statements. They shall be prepared to
contribute to public debate on matters of technical understandings in which they are
competent to comment
 RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• Engineers without disclosing the fact to the employer in writing shall not
i. Be director or have a financial interest in any business/negotiations and take any
professional assignments outside their regular work.
ii. Be an agent for any company, firm or person carrying on any contracting, consulting or
manufacturing business which is or may be related to employment.
iii. Receive directly/indirectly any royalty, gratuity or commission or any article or process
used in for the purpose of work in respect of which they are employed without written
authorization of his employer.
• Engineers shall not undertake any assignments which could knowingly create a conflict
of interest between themselves and the clients or employees.
 RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• When in Public Service as members or Advisors of a Government body, Engineers shall
not participate in activity with respect to services provided by their organization (s) in
private engineering practice.
• Engineers shall admit their own errors when proven wrong and refrain from distorting
the facts to justify their mistakes.
• Engineers shall refrain himself from making any statement, criticism or argument on
Engineering matters on the inspiration of an interested party, which may cause
confusion or conflict among others.
• Engineers shall not offer, guide, solicit/receive and use direct/indirect political
contribution in any amount to influence the award of a contract by a public authority
 RULES OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
• Engineers solemnly promise, they shall avoid bribery and extortion in any form and
encounter such acts done by any Member which they shall ethically bound to report to
the IEB or Ethics Board of IEB.
• Engineers who shall be convicted by competent tribunal/court of a criminal offence,
which in the opinion of the disciplinary body of IEB renders them unfit to be a Member
or a Peng holder and they shall be deemed to have been guilty of improper conduct.
Computer Ethics: Background
• Computers have become the technological backbone of society.
• Their degree of complexity, range of applications, and sheer numbers continue to
increase.
• Through telecommunication networks they span the globe.
• Yet electronic computers are still only a few decades old, and it is difficult to foresee all
the moral issues that will eventually surround them.
• The present state of computers is sometimes compared to that of the automobile in
the early part of this century. At that time the impact of cars on work and leisure
patterns, pollution, energy consumption, etc., was largely unimagined.
• If anything, it is more difficult to envisage the eventual impact of computers because
they are not limited to any one primary area of use as is a car’s function in
transportation.
Computer Ethics: Background
• Computer ethics is the application of moral principles to the use of
computers and the Internet. Examples include intellectual property
rights, privacy policies, and online etiquette, or "netiquette".
• Computers make it easy to duplicate and redistribute digital content.
However, it is ethical to respect copyright guidelines. When using
software, it is important to understand and follow the license agreement.
• Using commercial software without paying for a license is considered
piracy and is a violation of computer ethics.
• Hacking, or gaining unauthorized access to a computer system, is also an
unethical way to use computers.
Computer Ethics: Definition
• Computer ethics are a set of moral standards that govern the use of
computers.
• It is society’s views about the use of computers, both hardware and
software.
Computer Ethics: The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments of computer ethics have been defined by the
Computer Ethics Institute.
• 1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people:
• 2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work:
• 3) Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files:
• 4) Thou shalt not use a computer to steal:
• 5) Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness:
• 6) Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid:
The Ten Commandments
• 7) Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without
authorization:
• 8) Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output:
• 9) Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you
write:
• 10) Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect:
[Thou means You, Shalt is an old-fashioned form of shall
thou shalt meaning 'you shall', used when talking to one person → shalt.]
https://ualr.edu/computerscience-5dove/files/2014/01/IFSC-2200-Computer-
Ethics-Student-Paper-1.pdf
Privacy Concerns
• Hacking – is unlawful intrusion into a computer or a network. A hacker can intrude
through the security levels of a computer system or network and can acquire
unauthorised access to other computers.
• Malware – means malicious software which is created to impair a computer
system. Common malware are viruses, spyware, worms and trojan horses. A virus
can delete files from a hard drive while a spyware can collect data from a computer.
• Data Protection – also known as information privacy or data privacy is the process
of safeguarding data which intends to influence a balance between individual
privacy rights while still authorising data to be used for business purposes.
• Anonymity – is a way of keeping a user’s identity masked through various
applications.
Intellectual Property Rights
• Copyright – is a form of intellectual property that gives proprietary publication,
distribution and usage rights for the author. This means that whatever idea the author
created cannot be employed or disseminated by anyone else without the permission
of the author.
• Plagiarism – is an act of copying and publishing another person’s work without proper
citation. It’s like stealing someone else’s work and releasing it as your own work.
• Cracking – is a way of breaking into a system by getting past the security features of
the system. It’s a way of skipping the registration and authentication steps when
installing a software.
• Software License – allows the use of digital material by following the license
agreement. Ownership remains with the original copyright owner; users are just
granted licenses to use the material based on the agreement.
Effects on Society

• Jobs –
• There are ethical concerns on health and safety of employees getting sick from
constant sitting, staring at computer screens and typing on the keyboard or
clicking on the mouse.
• Environmental Impact –
• Environment has been affected by computers and the internet since so much
time spent using computers increases energy usage which in turn increases the
emission of greenhouse gases.
• There are ways where we can save energy like limiting computer time and
turning off the computer or putting on sleep mode when not in use.
• Buying energy efficient computers with Energy Star label can also help save the
environment.
 Effects on Society
• Social Impact –
• Computers and the internet help people stay in touch with family and friends. Social
media has been very popular nowadays.
• Computer gaming influenced society. Negative effects are addiction of gamers,
isolation from the real world and exposure to violence.
• Computer technology helps the government in improving services to its citizens.
Advanced database can hold huge data being collected and analysed by the
government.
• Computer technology aids businesses by automating processes, reports and analysis.
• There is no way to assure that the power exercised by organizations because of this
access to information is used fairly.
• There should be a balance between the need for information on the part of an
organization and the interests of the individual.
Ethical Responsibility of IT Pros
• Another area of concern in conjunction with all of this has to do with the
power computer professionals exercise because of their knowledge of
computer systems.
• Computer professionals can act in one of two ways:
(1) When it is unclear, assume information is in the public domain until there is some
evidence that it is not; or
2) When it is unclear, assume information is private unless or until there is evidence
that it is not”.
• It is desirable that a professional adopt the second rule because it allows
the professional to protect him or herself from ethical indiscretions, while
the first allow for a greater chance of ethical breach.