Notes From Chapter 2, Thinking Like an Engineer

1. Introduction
   Engineers can make decisions that affect thousands of people
   Practice analyzing and making ethical decisions daily, it will make the process easier when you are faced with a major decision
   
   2 reasons people make ethical decisions:
   Desire to make the world a better place for everyone (altruism)
   Desire to avoid unpleasant consequences
   
   The majority of ancient and modern societies have developed rules, laws, and regulations to specify unacceptable behavior and punishments for said behavior
   (going back to Code of Ur Nammu)
   
   Religions also establish codes of conduct
   
   
2. Ethical Decision Making
   
   No set of rules or algorithms that ensure the most ethical decision is being made in a situation
   
   The following four-step process guides people in considering questions with ethical aspects and consequences
   
   
3. The four step procedure with original (not from book) examples to illustrate your points

   
   

   Example: Nannies who give active children sleeping medicine/alcohol to calm them down.

   
   

   1. Determine what the issues are and who (stakeholders) might be affected by the various alternative courses of action that might be implemented.

   
   

   Issues:

   Giving drugs/alcohol to children on a regular or periodic basis

   Parental consent

   Health of children

   The responsibilities associated with being a nanny

   
   

   Stakeholders:

   Children and their physical and emotional health
   

   Parents

   Nannies

   Doctors

   
   2. Consider the effects of alternative courses of action from different perspectives.

   
   

   Perspective 1: Consequences (how does each alternative plan affect the different stakeholders)

   
   

   Children: Physical health/influence on body functions

   
   

   Legal ramifications depending on the substance used to sedate the child

   
   

   Substance abuse/dependence/withdrawal and corresponding treatment

   
   

   
   

   Perspective 2: Intent (intentions of the person doing the action in question)

   
   

   (a) Is the action I am taking something that I believe everyone should do?

   NO

   
   

   (b) Do I believe that this sort of behavior should be codified in law?

   NO 

   
   

   (c) Would I like to be on the receiving end (the victim) of this action? 

    NO

   
   

   Perspective 3: Character (attributes of the person considering the action)

   
   

   (a) Would a person of good character do this?

   NO

   
   

   (b) If I do this, does it enhance or degrade my character?

   YES, it will degrade my character and my ability to handle tough situations. Overactive children need extra attention, not induced sleep.

   
   

   (c) Would a person I revere as a person of unimpeachable character (whoever that might be) would take this action? 

   NO 

   
   3. Correlate perspectives. (Consider the results of the three perspectives and come to a conclusion; if no conclusion is apparent, reconsider the question in greater detail; if no conclusion is apparent still, go with 2/3 perspectives)

   
   4. Act. (Carry-out the necessary actions related to the conclusion reached in the previous step)
   If you are a nanny, do not use sleeping medicine/alcohol to calm an active child.

   
   

   "Do I have the courage to do what I know is right?"

   YES

   
   
4. The three perspectives (consequences, intent, and character discussed above)
   
   
5. Comment on each of the examples in 2.1 (your thoughts, not a repeat of textbook)
   
   Example 2-1: Consider the question of whether to allow further drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). List several issues and stakeholders.
   
   Issues:
   Gas prices
   Sustainable energy
   Disruption of the ecosystem
   Disruption of life for local residents
   Stock market
   
   Stakeholders:
   Oil companies
   Employees (local and foreign)
   Ecosystem organisms
   Foreign relations
   Stockholders in oil companies
   Local residents
   
   My ethical opinion:
   I am not an oil company or an environmentalist, but I know there are other areas to drill for oil instead of the National Wildlife Refuge. These should be considered as valid options since drilling in the ANWR may have negative effects on the local wildlife and residents.
   
   Example 2-2: Should all U.S. children be fingerprinted when entering kindergarten and again each third year of grade school (3, 6, 9, 12)? Identify the stakeholders and consequences.
   
   Stakeholders:
   Software companies and developers (database configuration)
   U.S. children and their families
   U.S. government
   U.S. law enforcement departments
   cyber hackers
   ink companies
   
   Consequences:
   Record of U.S. children
   Confidentiality precautions
   Risk of cyber hacking for info
   
   
   My ethical opinion:
   To be honest, I don't know enough about this situation to argue for or against it. What I do know is if this action is allowed, parents will have to be convinced this action is in their children's best interest.
   
   Example 2-3: Should you download music illegally over the Internet?
   
   My ethical opinion:
   No, it's stealing.
   
   Example 2-4: Your friends are deriding another student behind her back because she comes from a poor family and does not have good clothes.
   
   

   Do you:

   
   

   (a) Join in the criticism? NO

   
   

   (b) Ignore it, pretend it is not happening, or simply walk away? NO

   
   

   (c) Tell your friends that they are behaving badly and insist that they desist? YES

   
   

   - Would a person of good character do this? YES 

   
   

   - If I do this, does it enhance or degrade my character? ENHANCE MY CHARACTER, I will be standing up for my friend instead of allowing my friends' potential reactions to keep me from doing what I think is right.

   
   

   - Would a person I revere as a person of unimpeachable character (whoever that might be) would take this action?  YES

   
   Example 2-5: Your company has been granted a contract to develop the next generation of electronic cigarette, also known as "nicotine delivery system," and you have been assigned to the design team. Can you in good conscience contribute your expertise to this project.
   
   My ethical opinion:
   No, I cannot in good conscience contribute my expertise to this project. I do not endorse smoking. I will not work on projects that promote actions I do not promote in my own life. Someone else may feel passionately supportive about the actions of this project and I would rather they dedicate their time and efforts to this work. They would probably provide higher quality results due to their positive attitude towards this project than someone who feels negatively towards the project.
   
   
6. Plagiarism
   
   Plagiarism is presenting someone's work as your own.
   Plagiarism is regarded as academic dishonesty.
   If a work contains small phrases or instances of wordings similar to another source, it is most likely accidental.
   If a work contains several instances of such things, the probability of plagiarism is high.
   But it comes down to intent: Did you voluntarily copy a portion of someone else's work and present it as your own without giving them credit?
   
   
7. Engineering Creed

   I thought a direct quote of the creed from the book would be more effective than summarizing its tenants. Please find the creed below.

   
   

   

   
   

   I find it interesting that the final line of the Engineer's Creed says "In humility and with need for Divine Guidance..."
   

   This provides further evidence that engineers are collaborative to the core. They know they cannot succeed alone and they don't pretend otherwise.

   
   
8. Social Responsibility
   
   Engineers develop skills and have access to resources that allow them to solve technical problems; however, their work does not stop there. These skills and resources should be used to solve issues on a local or global scale. Solving problems and enhancing lives does not stop when engineers leave the office or lab.
   
   
9. In your opinion how do an Engineer’s ethics affect public safety

   
   The ethics of individual engineers affect their reasoning and decisions, which result in projects and goals that are designed to influence the life of the public.

   
   10.   Write about how all of this relates to “The Whole Life Concept”

   
   

   I don't remember discussing "The Whole Life Concept" but after a google search I found this paper written for an engineering class. The introduction explains that "The Whole Life Concept" is composed of four core principles: passion, impact, knowledge, and application.
   
   Ethics lends itself to these four principles.
   
   
   

   Passion: Ethical standings vary from person to person based on their experiences, beliefs, values, and biases. Ethical standings can be shared with an abundance of emotional energy.

   
   
   

   Impact: Ethics affect the way we act, think, and speak as individuals, which in turn affects the lives of those around us.

   
   

   Knowledge: We often use facts as evidence for our ethical standings. Ethical values influence the way we APPLY objective knowledge for various subjective purposes.

   
   

   Application: We apply our ethical standings in our daily lives by allowing them to dictate  where we go, what we do, what we wear, what we say, what we think, what we accept, what we reject, etc.