The University of Western Ontario

ES 4498G
Engineering Ethics,
Sustainable Development and
the Law
January 25, 2010

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Case Study Assignment

Write an original case study related to issues of
engineering ethics, law or policy
5-8 double spaced pages
Describe a scenario and discuss the actions of the
engineers involved
Protect confidentiality
Discussion with Professional Engineers best resource
Due March 22, 4:00pm - 20 marks
Late 5 marks/day

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Last Class
Library Presentation Resources for Position
Paper and Case Study
Ethical issues for engineers in professional
employment
Introduction to the issues
Types of authority and conflicts
Labour unions
Unethical managers

Discussion of case studies

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Todays Class
Ethical issues for engineers in
management positions
Introduction to issues
Case studies Andrews Chapter 13

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Engineers in Management

Competition
Race for new contracts
People problems
Welfare of company
Salaries higher

Developing Management Skills:

Vision, Planning, Organizing

Communicating
Monitoring, Evaluating and Controlling
Role Model

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Engineers in Management
Leadership Style
Theory X (Authoritarian)
Theory Y (Collegial)

Both can be beneficial under different

circumstances, but professional
engineering usually benefits most from a
collegial atmosphere

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Engineers in Management
Advantages:

Higher salaries
Greater autonomy / control
Influence on company policies
Challenging tasks

Disadvantages

Time Demand (personal and family)

Conflict of interest decisions
Engineering/ Technical Development
Funding
Contracts
People problems

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Ethical Issues in Management

Adherence to the Act
Hiring and dismissal
Reviewing work and evaluating
competence
Discrimination in engineering employment
Managing intellectual property

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Engineers in Management
Engineering managers hire, fire, delegate
and direct professional personnel
Control company resources, negotiate
agreements, protect company assets and
ensure law is followed
Must obey the Professional Engineers Act
and ensure that it is being followed in the
companys operations

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Adherence to the Act

Unlicensed personnel
Professional engineering must be performed by, or
supervised by, a professional engineer
If unlicensed personnel are practicing engineering,
manager must work to correct

Misuse of engineering titles

Engineer or professional engineer as part of a title
Two degrees of severity:
Misusing title but not practicing engineering
Misusing title and practicing engineering

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Misuse of Engineering Titles

"professional engineer" means a person who holds a
licence or a temporary licence; ("ingnieur")
"practice of professional engineering" means any act of
designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting,
directing or supervising wherein the safeguarding of life,
health, property or the public welfare is concerned and
that requires the application of engineering principles,
but does not include practising as a natural scientist;
("exercice de la profession d'ingnieur")
Definitions From Professional Engineers Act (Ontario)

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Hiring and Dismissal

Responsibility of engineering manager
Contracts and policies
Clear-cut contracts that specify duties, contract
duration, remuneration, vacation entitlements, etc.
If many professionals on staff, institute company
policies dealing with similar issues
NSPE Guidelines to Professional Employment for
Engineers and Scientists

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Termination of Employment
Termination must be conducted in
accordance with contract or
company policies
Three types of termination:
For just cause
Without just cause
Wrongful dismissal

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Termination of Employment

Just cause describes matters which would allow an

employer to terminate an employee without notice or
severance pay
1.
2.
3.
4.

Serious misconduct;
Habitual neglect of duty;
Serious incompetence;
Conduct incompatible with duties and prejudicial to the
companys business;
5. Willful disobedience to a lawful and reasonable order of a
superior in a matter of substance;
6. Theft, fraud, or dishonesty;
7. Continual insolence and insubordination;
8. Excessive absenteeism despite corrective counseling;
9. Permanent illness; and
10. Inadequate job performance over an extended period as a
result of drug or alcohol abuse and failure to accept or
respond to the companys attempt to rehabilitate.

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Termination of Employment
Termination without just cause
requires notice or equivalent pay
(from two weeks to years, depending
on circumstances
Wrongful dismissal is termination
without just cause and without notice
(or equivalent pay)

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Termination of Employment
Other action may be considered wrongful
dismissal, even though, technically, the
employee has not been terminated:
Forced resignation, demotion, downward
change in reporting function, unilateral change
in responsibilities, forced transfer, and serious
misconduct of the employer towards the
employee

Seek legal advice in advance, be

proactive rather than reactive

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Reviewing Work and Evaluating Competence

Work Review for Accuracy

Often done routinely, especially in safety critical
industries
Increases accuracy, improves confidence and safety,
reduces risk of failure and liability
Engineer who initially performed calculations is
informed and given opportunity to clarify

Work Review to Assess Competence

Usually part of regular and ongoing performance
reviews conducted by engineering manager
Requires notification (why?) but not permission

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Maintaining Competence
Engineers are required to practice only
within their competence
Employers have an obligation to
encourage engineers to maintain
professional competence
Duty of manager to ensure that
employees remain competent and to deal
with incompetence in a fair and ethical
manner

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Discrimination

Engineering manager, through involvement with hiring,

termination and performance evaluation, directly
accountable
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has priority and
prohibits discrimination on the basis of:

Race
National or Ethnic Origin
Colour
Religion
Sex
Age
Mental or Physical Disability

Illegal interview questions: marital status, plans for

children, etc.

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Managing Intellectual Property

Engineering managers should know law
regarding intellectual property to search
databases for design information and to
protect the intellectual property created by
company employees
Canadian Intellectual Property Office
(CIPO), US Patent and Trademark Office
(PTO) maintain IP databases and provide
guidance on protection of IP rights

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Managing Intellectual Property

Patents

Industrial Designs

Written material, including computer programs

Life of creator +50 years, or 50 years for reproducible

Trademarks

Appearance or ornamentation of an article

10 years protection
Also includes integrated circuit topographies

Copyright

New, useful and innovative

20 years protection

Logos, symbols, names, designs used to identify a company

15 years, renewable indefinitely

Trade Secrets

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Case Studies
Ethical Problems in Engineering
Management

13.1 Misrepresentation
13.2 Concealing a conflict of interest
13.3 Disclosing errors
13.4 Disclosing preliminary data
13.5 Professional accountability
13.6 Student plagiarism

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Ethical Problems in Engineering Management

Engineering Design approach to ethical cases:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Recognize the Need or Problem

Gather Information and Define the Problem
Generate Alternative Solutions (Synthesis)
Evaluate Alternatives (Analysis)
Decision Making and Optimization
Implementation

Also, consider if the problem is an issue pertinent to

the Code of Ethics (and if so, which part) and
whether engineers must accept greater
responsibility than others

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Case 13.1 Misrepresentation

Who is responsible for this situation? Can you

fire Xavier for just cause?
Questions
What if he was licensed in another province but hasnt
applied for your province?
What if his application for license is still being
processed?
What if he has never been licensed in any jurisdiction?

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Case 13.2 Concealing a conflict of interest

Do you have an ethical obligation to point out

your own conflict of interest? That of the other
party?
Questions
Should engineers be involved in standards
committees?
When would you be obliged to speak out about the
other members conflict?
Are you breaking an obligation to your employer?

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Case 13.3 Disclosing errors in plans

Do you have an ethical obligation to pursue this

apparent discrepancy?
Questions
Would the consequences of failure influence your
decision?
Why is it important to document decisions in writing?
When would it be appropriate to review the work of
another engineer against their wishes?
Would you continue to work with this company?
Would it be unethical to reveal the discrepancies
publicly?

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Case 13.4 Disclosing preliminary mining data

Is it ethical to hide this information from the

shareholders, who are the owners of the
company?
Questions
What if the results were more conclusive?
Should you document your discussion with the CEO,
just in case?
What if the company were structured differently?

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Case 13.5 Professional accountability

Should Eager be held accountable for the

employees actions? What lessons can be
learned?
Questions
How could this problem have been avoided?
Do you think Complacent should be held responsible,
rather than Eager?
When does it become necessary to go around your
direct superior?

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Case 13.6 Student plagiarism

Should Oliver submit the work report
written by a former student?
Questions
What are the potential consequences?
Does the boss face repercussions?
Where should the line be drawn regarding plagiarism?

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Discussion Question 1
As project manager, you must make
cost and time estimates for a new
project.
Estimates are high, so project may
be discontinued some employees
may be laid off
Older engineers encourage
reduction in estimate

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Discussion Question 2
Engineers often create intellectual
property in their work
Most employees sign a waiver of IP
rights, so owner retains rights
What are the ethical aspects of this
requirement?

Unfair infringement on engineers rights?

What if invented on evenings/weekends?
What if in different area than employment?
How could such a conflict be avoided?