Engineering, Business and Professional Ethics
With practical case studies and examples throughout, this book highlights the ethical dimension of engineering while showing how values and responsibility relate to everyday practice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Engineering, Business and Professional Ethics
Chapter 4: Ethical Codes
What's the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers? Mechanical engineers build weapons
Civil engineers build targets
Anon
[W]e must remember that good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government. Hence there are two parts of good government: one is the actual obedience of citizens to the laws, the other part is the goodness of the laws which they obey
Aristotle, Politics
Introduction
This chapter will investigate ethical and professional ethical codes. It will review:
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The purpose of codes, deciding at whom they are primarily aimed.
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Elements that are essential in a workable practical ethical code.
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The concept of the 'profession' and the 'professional code'.
As each profession and organization seem to have developed its own separate and individual code we will enquire why is this the case, and if it is possible to have only one single professional code for use by all? A brief methodology will be included to guide those wishing to write their own code.
A selection of existing engineering codes from the United Kingdom and overseas is appended to the chapter and these will be examined to highlight the issues raised above.
Copyright Simon Robinson, Ross Dixon, Christopher Preece and Krisen Moodley 2007 under license agreement with Books24x7
