Any product or project has to undergo various stages such as planning, idea, design, and manufacturing which is followed by testing, sales and services. This has to be done by engineers of various branches like Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical etc. These engineers may be grouped together as a team or they may be separated from each other with an interconnection or co-ordination. Some cases explain and make the engineers to be familiar with the outline of the case in future and also about their related ethical issues.
In spite of the engineers’ full attention and care, sometimes the product or project may be unsafe or less useful. This may be due to some reasons 1) The product or project may be designed for early …show more content…
An inspector finds a faulty part in the manufacture of a machine, which prevents the use of that machine for a longer period. But his superior, takes this as a minor mistake and orders that the faulty part to be adjusted so that the delay in the process has to be avoided. But the inspector doesn’t want this and so he is threatened by the supervisor.
2. An electronic company applies for a permit to start a Nuclear Power Plant. When the licensing authority comes for visit, they enquire the company authorities on the emergency measures that have been established for safety of the surroundings. The engineers inform them about the alarm system and arrangements have been made in local hospitals for the treatment of their employees and they have no plan for the surrounding people. They also inform that it is the responsibility of the people.
3. A Yarn Dyeing company which dumps its wastes in the nearby river. It causes heavy damage to the people those who are using the river. The plant engineers are aware of this, but they do not change the disposal method because their competitors also doing similarly as it happen to be a cheaper. They also say that it is the responsibility of the local …show more content…
Like general ethics, engineering ethics also involves investigations into values, meaning and facts. These inquiries in the field of engineering ethics are of three types.
1. Normative Inquiries
2. Conceptual Inquiries
3. Factual or Descriptive Inquiries
2.4.1 Normative Inquiries
These inquiries are mostly helpful to identify the values which guide the individuals and groups in taking a decision. These are meant for identifying and justifying some norms and standards of morally desirable nature for guiding individuals as well as groups. In most of the cases, the following normative questions arises:
1. How do the obligations of engineers protect the public safety in given situations?
2. When should an engineer have to alarm their employers on dangerous practices?
3. Where are the laws and organizational procedures that affect engineering practice on moral issues?
4. Where are the moral rights essential for engineers to fulfill their professional obligations?
From these questions, it is clear that normative inquiries also have the theoretical goal of justifying moral