Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Responsibility of Engineers

“Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession.”  Great statement from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers which contains a code of ethics showing how to be an ethical mechanical engineer.  A few of the important parts that are on the list which stuck out to me were:

  • using your knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare
  • being honest and impartial
  • serving with fidelity their clients (including their employers) and the public
  • engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties
  • engineers shall consider environmental impact and sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.  This code of ethics should be an inherent way of thinking in today's society considering how precious human life is and the repercussions of not being thorough when inspecting project development. 
In the article, The Importance of Understanding Engineering Ethics, “Mechanical engineer Roger Boisjoly was the engineer who advised delaying the launch of the space shuttle Challenger because of a design flaw in the rocket boosters that made it dangerous to launch at low temperatures.  Even told about this issue the management team responsible for approving the launch of the shuttle Challenger resulted in the loss of the Challenger and her seven crew members.”  This history of how power dynamics control the workforce is so common it becomes a part of life and a normal occurrence which shouldn't even be present.  A quick answer tends to lead to more problems later down the line and in this instance, it cost seven individuals their lives at the cost of just taking a step back and reevaluating the situation in a more humane way.  It may be cost-effective to just bypass any protocols put in place to get the results, but it should be an obligation of putting people over money in the advancement of the human race.

The position I might have at my work of employment is that of a leadership role within the engineering department.  Some responsibilities that could come with this position are:

  • maintaining relations within the organization making sure everyone is treated equally and respectfully
  • handling external issues from other companies in a respectable manner
  • to uphold the corporation's code of conduct to the best of my ability.
The ethical responsibilities of my fellow employees are:
  • to make sure the work environment is a safe and comfortable place to work as well as making sure all employees are well mannered when talking to customers
  • making the corporation more conscientious about their impact on the environment.
  • being honest to help make well-informed decisions
  • putting in effort in their work which could stem from being happy to work with the company
 Branching off from how the responsibility of employees should act at work is how to help the environment.  One One way might be by making the corporation use a more efficient way to becoming renewable such as using rainwater to water the plants or using recyclable waste products to leave a smaller carbon footprint.  Overall ethics is a subjective viewpoint considering everyone has their own set of morals they live by, but a general guideline is followed as to what is considered right and wrong.


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3 comments:

  1. (It would be better if you made this essay into a blog format to make your lists easier to read. In this list you have a list within a list so it can get confusing making bullet points would make it so much easier to read.) A few important parts from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ list were: (bullet points) using your knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare, being honest and impartial, serving with fidelity to their clients (including their employers) and the public, and engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties, engineers shall consider environmental impact and sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.
    In the article, The Importance of Understanding Engineering Ethics, it explains how…
    Some responsibilities that could come with this position are maintaining relations within the organization by: (make bullet points) making sure everyone is treated equally and respectfully, handling external issues from other companies in a respectable manner, and upholding the corporations code of conduct to the best of my ability.
    The ethical responsibilities of my fellow employees are: (bullet points) to make sure the work environment is a safe and comfortable place to work, to make sure all employees are (there was an extra “are” in this sentence) well-mannered when talking to customers, and to care for the environment
    (you can also add some examples for the other bullet points above) One way to take care of the environment might be to make the corporation use rain water to water the plants or using recyclable waste products to live (did you mean to write leave?) a smaller carbon footprint. Overall ethics is a subjective viewpoint considering everyone has their own set of morals they live by, but (there is) a general guideline to follow showing what is considered right and wrong.

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    2. Thank you for the advice on revising the blog into more of a format that breaks down the information in a easier way to interpret. I think the revisions to the article has helped it become a more step by step way of how employees and their employers should be ethically responsibility on behalf of the company.

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