Human Values and Ethics

L 2 C 2

Teachers Continuous Evaluation: 100 marks. This is an NUES paper — there is no end term university examination; the concerned teacher evaluates it.

Course outcomes

• Demonstrate ethical values, professional integrity, and responsible behavior in personal and professional life. [K2, K3]
• Analyze engineering ethics, professional responsibilities, and ethical dilemmas in engineering practice using ethical principles. [K2, K3]
• Evaluate safety, risk, and professional responsibilities to support ethical decision-making in engineering practice. [K4, K5]
• Evaluate ethical, environmental, and professional issues in global engineering practice and leadership. [K5]

Unit I (5 lectures)

Human Values: Morals, Values, Ethics, Integrity, Work ethics, Service learning, Virtues, Respect for others, Living peacefully, Caring, Sharing, Honesty, Courage, Valuing time, Cooperation, Commitment, Empathy, Self-confidence, Challenges in the workplace, Spirituality.

Unit II (5 lectures)

Engineering Ethics: Senses of engineering ethics, Variety of moral issues, Types of inquiries, Moral dilemma, Moral autonomy, Moral development (theories), Consensus and controversy, Profession, Models of professional roles, Responsibility, Theories about right action (Ethical theories), Self-control, Self-interest, Customs, Religion, Self-respect, Case study: Choice of the theory Engineering as experimentation, Engineers as responsible experimenters, Codes of ethics, Industrial standards, ‘A balanced outlook on law, Case study: The challenger.

Unit III (5 lectures)

Professional Safety, Risk Management, and Engineering Responsibility: Safety definition, Safety and risk, Risk analysis, Assessment of safety and risk, Safe exit, Risk-benefit analysis Safety lessons from ‘the challenger’, Case study: Power plants, Collegiality and loyalty, Collective bargaining, Confidentiality, Conflict of interests, Occupational crime, Human rights, Employee rights, Whistle blowing, Intellectual property rights.

Unit IV (5 lectures)

Globalization, Professional Ethics, and Ethical Leadership: Globalization, Multinational corporations, Environmental ethics, Computer ethics, Weapons development, Engineers as managers, Consulting engineers, Engineers as expert witness, Engineers as advisors in planning and policy making, Moral leadership, Codes of ethics, Engineering council of India, Codes of ethics in Business Organizations.

Textbooks

• Naagarazan, R. S. (2006). A textbook on professional ethics and human values. New Age International.
• Harris, C. E., Pritchard, M. S., & Rabins, M. J. (2012). Engineering ethics (5th ed.). Cengage Learning.

References

• Martin, M. W., & Schinzinger, R. (2017). Ethics in engineering (4th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
• Fleddermann, C. B. (2014). Engineering ethics (4th ed.). Pearson.
• Martin, M. W., & Schinzinger, R. (2010). Introduction to engineering ethics. McGraw-Hill.
• Harris, C. E., Pritchard, M. S., & Rabins, M. J. (2009). Engineering ethics: Concepts and cases (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Whitbeck, C. (2007). Ethics in engineering practice and research. Cambridge University Press.