fessional Ethics in Engineering, Parts 6 to 10

Professional Ethics in Engineering, Part 6: The Citicorp Center Case

Michael C. LouiProfessor of Electrical and Computer

EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

December 2008

© 2008 Michael C. Loui 2

William LeMessurier designed the structure for the Citicorp Center


The Citicorp Center in Manhattan …


The Citicorp Center in Manhattan …


… was built over a church on the corner of a city block


The diagonal bracing structure was innovative


Quartering winds can cause a building to sway


LeMessurier took responsibility for reinforcing the structure Calculated that building would fall down in

a 16-year storm Determined that welding steel plates over

200 joints would secure the building Worked with Citicorp to organize repairs

over two months Litigation settled for limit on LeMessurier’s

professional liability insurance


The Citicorp Center may now have the strongest structure in New York


Reference J. Morgenstern, The fifty-nine-story

crisis, The New Yorker, pp. 45–53, May 29, 1995.

Photos and illustrations from New York Times (slide 2) Online Ethics Center, http://onlineethics.org

(slides 5, 6) www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES001.htm

(slides 3, 4, 8)

Professional Ethics in Engineering,Part 7: Codes of Ethics



December 2008


All engineering organizations have codes of ethics Accreditation Board for Engineering and

Technology National Council of Examiners for

Engineering and Surveying National Society of Professional Engineers Disciplinary engineering societies

American Society of Civil Engineers American Society of Mechanical Engineers, …


Different codes serve different purposes Aspirational

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Educational Association for Computing Machinery

Decision support “You are asking me to violate my

profession’s code of ethics. I could lose my license.”


IEEE Code of Ethics (2006)We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:


IEEE Code of Ethics (2006)1. to accept responsibility in making

decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;


IEEE Code of Ethics (2006)3. to be honest and realistic in stating

claims or estimates based on available data;

4. to reject bribery in all its forms;5. to improve the understanding of

technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;


IEEE Code of Ethics (2006)6. to maintain and improve our technical

competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;


IEEE Code of Ethics (2006) 8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such

factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin;

9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;

10. to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.


SourcesCodes of Ethics Onlinehttp://www.iit.edu/departments/csep/codes/coe.htmlIEEE Code of Ethicshttp://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/iportals/aboutus/

ethics/code.htmlM. Davis, Thinking like an engineer: the place

of a code of ethics in the practice of a profession, Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 150–167, Spring 1991.

Professional Ethics in Engineering,Part 8: The NSPE Code and the BER



December 2008


The NSPE Code of Ethics (2007) National Society of Professional

Engineers NSPE Code of Ethics has four sections

Preamble I. Fundamental Canons II. Rules of Practice III. Professional Obligations


NSPE Code of Ethics (2007): Preamble

Engineering is an important and learned profession. As members of this profession, engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require honesty, impartiality, fairness, and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.


Some items from the NSPE Code of Ethics, II. Rules of Practice (2007)II.2.b. Engineers shall not affix their signatures to

any plans or documents dealing with subject matter in which they lack competence, nor to any plan or document not prepared under their direction and control.

II.4.b. Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for services on the same project, or for services pertaining to the same project, unless the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties.


Items from the NSPE Code of Ethics, III. Professional Obligations (2007)III.4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent,

confidential information concerning the business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer, or public body on which they serve.

III.9.c. Engineers, before undertaking work for others in connection with which the engineer may make improvements, plans, designs, inventions, or other records that may justify copyrights or patents, should enter into a positive agreement regarding ownership.


The NSPE Board of Ethical Review BER consists of seven experts Issues consensus advisory opinions on

cases submitted by members, Opinions based on interpreting

provisions of the NSPE Code of Ethics


SourcesNSPE Code of Ethicshttp://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.htmlBER Caseshttp://www.murdough.ttu.edu/pdd.cfm?

pt=NIEE&doc=EthicsCases

Professional Ethics in Engineering, Part 9: Overview of Moral Theories



December 2008


Ethics is the formal study of morality Morality

Actions that ought to be done Character that a person ought to be Values that one ought to adopt

Ethics Formal study of morality (philosophy) Moral standards of particular group

(engineering ethics, medical ethics, etc.) Moral theories: Kinds of moral reasons


Consequentialist theories emphasize consequences of actions Assess good and bad consequences

Both individual and others Both short- and long-term

Act-utilitarianism Choose action with greatest net benefit over

costs Rule-utilitarianism

Choose rule with greatest net benefit


Consequentialist theories have practical difficulties Assessing chance occurrences Measuring on common scale (e.g., cost

of life) Distribution of benefits may seem unfair


Deontological theories emphasize duties and rules Kant’s Categorical Imperative

Act according to that maxim which should be a universal law

Rawls’s Theory of Justice Rules that rational persons would agree to follow,

not knowing their actual positions in society Most individual liberty compatible with equal

amount for others Differences in social and economic power justified

only if all benefit, including disadvantaged groups


An important duty is treating people with respect Kant’s Categorical Imperative (alternate

form) Treat people as ends, never as means

Golden Rule Test Christian form: “Do unto others as you would have

them do unto you” Confucian form: “Do not do to others what you

would not want them to do to you” Rights and duties are reciprocal

My right to not be deceived, your duty to tell truth


What should we do when duties/rights conflict? Conflicts between rights

Individual privacy vs. airport security Gewirth’s hierarchy of rights

First tier: required for existence (life, health) Second tier: maintenance of self (not being

cheated, not suffering broken promises) Third tier: enhancement of self (property

acquisition, self-respect, achievement) Create solutions that honor all rights


References C. E. Harris, M. S. Pritchard, and M. J.

Rabins, Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 3rd ed., Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, Belmont, Calif., 2005.

M. W. Martin and R. Schinzinger, Ethics in Engineering, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Professional Ethics in Engineering, Part 10: Ethics in Research



December 2008


Research misconduct refers to three practices Fabrication

Creating research data illegitimately Falsification

Altering data inappropriately Plagiarism

Presenting the words and ideas of others without attribution

What about errors and negligence?


Questions about authorship and citation Who can be a co-author of a report or

article? Does authorship order matter? If a published article has a mistake,

which authors are responsible? Why? Is a citation required for a well-known

fact, theory, or principle?


Questions about peer review What are the obligations of a reviewer of

a manuscript or proposal? What information in a manuscript should

be considered confidential? Why? Why are the identities of reviewers

hidden? When can a professor who is asked to

review a manuscript delegate the task to a graduate student?


Questions about data management Who owns experimental data? How should data be collected, recorded,

and protected to ensure integrity? To what extent should data be shared

with other researchers? Do these answers change when the

research is sponsored by an industrial firm?


References The National Academies, On Being a

Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research, 3rd ed., to appear soon.

Online Ethics Center at the National Academy of Engineeringwww.onlineethics.org

fessional Ethics in Engineering, Parts 6 to 10

Education

professional ethics

professions code of

ieee code of ethics

online ethics center

codes of ethics michael

preamble engineering

engineering organizations

professional conduct