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Kyle Trepanier Professor Leslie Wolcott ENC 1102 9 November 2012 Engineering Ethics Literature Review An amazing understanding of mathematical and technological knowledge is what makes engineers so unique and valuable to society. One aspect that is often overlooked in the engineering field but just as important are the ethics of becoming an engineer, also known as the code of ethics. Many disasters and mishaps that have happened in the past could have been avoided if engineers had a better understanding of their code of ethics. The space shuttle Challenger explodes in 1986 as a result of mechanical engineer Roger Boisjolys recommendations of delaying the launch due to design flaws being ignored by the engineering management team (Hoke, Harris, Davis, Pritchard, and Rabins). The Citigroup Center had disastrous design flaws regarding its structural support beams withstanding strong winds that had gone unnoticed until a year after it was built, and was repaired only after the flaws were brought to lead structural engineer William J. LeMessuriers attention (Hoke). A civil engineer, Marvin Camper, gets suspended from the American Society of Civil Engineers for three years for extorting political contributions from engineers in order to help his young business grow (Hoke). Multiple engineering articles agree that a misunderstanding of ethics played a major role in the Challenger, Citigroup Center, and Marvin Camper incidents as well as

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the collapse of the Hyatt-Regency walkway in Kansas City, the Bhopal disaster, DC-10 crashes, and many others alike (Hoke, Ramani, Harris, Davis, Pritchard, and Rabins). According to Dr. Raja V. Ramani Professional codes are framed in terms of personal moral traits, duties and responsibilities to the public, employers, clients, fellow engineers, the profession and to oneself. They prescribe fundamental canons, rules of practice and professional obligations. Our ever expanding world calls for greater and more complex issues for engineers to solve with no guidelines or instruction manual to conquer each unique job, so the code of ethics is always changing and conforming with time, science, and technology (Ramani). This also makes engineering ethics very hard to define. Many articles agree that a code of ethics is imperative to understand among individuals that belong to the engineering community in order for the community to run at its full potential (Ramani, Hoke, Graber and Pionke, Carhart, King and Skakoon, Newberry, Herkert, Harris, Rabins, Davis, and Pritchard). The codes are not a single set of written laws nor do they even have an exact definition, they are implied set rules and ideals that one is expected to follow if they intend to become an engineer. The planning, designing, engineering, organizing, monitoring, and controlling aspects of an engineers job are all influenced by the code of ethics that they are expected to follow (Ramani). Moral traits like faithfulness, integrity, fairness, and honesty are also expected of the engineers through the code of ethics (Ramani). Engineering ethics are vital for engineers to understand in order for them to be successful in their career. In order to help engineers better understand engineering ethics colleges need to offer their engineering students more ethics related classes. According to surveys by Karl D. Stephan, Donnie J. Self, and Elizabeth M. Ellison only 27 percent of engineering students are required to take an ethics course related to engineering. The curriculum for engineering majors is strictly

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centered on mathematical and technological type classes with little room for students stray off into any other type of courses. Some colleges blend ethics into their academic classes for seniors, but it is very brief where students dont have a complete in depth understanding of what ethics is and how it applies to their career (Graber and Pionke). At the University of Tennessee Engineering students were offered the chance to take a course called Engineering Ethics that strictly taught students the code of ethics (Graber and Pionke). This course was intended to cover all of the nonacademic aspects of becoming an engineer like: the profession of engineering, its role in business and society, and the ethical issues that engineers and their managers face (Graber and Pionke). Students who took the course felt that it helped them become better-rounded with their knowledge of the engineering field and have even recommended the class to their peers (Graber and Pionke). If more courses like Engineering Ethics become required as part of an engineering students curriculum it would help students have a better understanding of the code of ethics, and allow them to carry the moral knowledge they gained from the course over to the professional field. At the same time there is a question that arises, is one year or one semester long enough to imbed correct morals and ethics into students with many different upbringings and back rounds (Self and Ellison)? Also, how and with what materials would be the best way to teach students these ethics and morals (Self and Ellison)? Either way you look at it there is an effort being put forth in attempt to help engineers have a better understanding of the engineering code of ethics. To learn from past mistakes and progress its obvious that there needs to be more ethics type of classes created and offered to engineers while they are still in school. Though academics play a major role in engineering, it is only part of becoming successful in the field. The other part you must grasp is how to morally and ethically act like a professional engineer, which can be

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taught to students through classes like the Engineering Ethics class talked about by Graber and Pionke. To become successful in the engineering field good ethics is imperative because without them you do not have a good ethical foundation that could be built upon, which makes you have no potential for positive growth and worthless to an employer.

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Works Cited Stephan, Karl D. "A survey of ethics-related instruction in US engineering programs." Journal of Engineering Education 88.3 (1999): 459-464. Self, Donnie J., and Elizabeth M. Ellison. "Teaching engineering ethics: assessment of its influence on moral reasoning skills." JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATIONWASHINGTON- 87 (1998): 29-34. Hoke, Tara. "The Importance of Understanding Engineering Ethics." Civil Engineering (08857024) 82.5 (2012): 40-41. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Oct. 2012 Ramani, Raja V. "Engineering Ethics an Area In Need Of Greater Understanding." Mining Engineering 63.8 (2011): 55-67. Applied Science & Technology Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Graber, Glenn C., and Christopher D. Pionke. "A Team-Taught Interdisciplinary Approach to Engineering Ethics." Science & Engineering Ethics 12.2 (2006): 313-320. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Newberry, Byron. "The Dilemma of Ethics in Engineering Education." Science & Engineering Ethics 10.2 (2004): 343-351. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. King, W. J., and James G. Skakoon. "The Unwritten Laws of Engineering." Mechanical Engineering 132.12 (2010): 43-47. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Oct. 2012. Carhart, Henry S.. The Twentieth Century Engineer. Science, New Series, Vol. 32, No. 810 (Jul. 8, 1910), pp. 33-41.

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Joseph R. Herkert (2000): Engineering ethics education in the USA: Content, pedagogy and curriculum, European Journal of Engineering Education, 25:4, 303-313. Harris, Charles E., et al. "Engineering ethics: what? why? how? and when?." JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION-WASHINGTON- 85 (1996): 93-96.