Module 1 ethics 2019

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SRI RAMAKRISHNA ENGINEERING COLLEGE
[Educational Service: SNR Sons Charitable Trust]
[Autonomous Institution, Accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grade]
[Approved by AICTE and Permanently Affiliated to Anna University, Chennai]
[ISO 9001:2015 Certified and all eligible programmes Accredited by NBA]
Vattamalaipalayam, N.G.G.O. Colony Post, Coimbatore – 641 022.
Course Instructors:
Dr. C.S. Ravichandran, PROF/EEE and
Mrs. M.EZHILARASI, AP/EEE No. of Credits: 3
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
16EE215 – Organizational Behaviour and Ethics

Course Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will
be able to
CO1: Demonstrate the concepts of human values and
engineering ethics.
CO2: Illustrate the responsibilities of engineers for safety
and work place rights.
CO3: Explain the role of engineers as managers and social
experimenters.
CO4: Categorize the importance of global issues.

Module I – Human Ethics, values and
Engineering
Morals, Values and Ethics - Integrity - Work Ethics -
Service Learning - Civic Virtue - Respect for others -
Living Peacefully - Caring - Sharing - Honesty - Courage -
Valuing Time - Co-operation - Commitment - Empathy -
Self - Confidence - Respect for authority - Confidentiality
- Conflict of interest - Character - Spirituality - Variety of
moral issues - Types of inquiry moral dilemmas - Moral
Autonomy - Kohlberg's theory - Gilligan's theory -
Impediments to Responsible Action - The Challenger
case study.

Ethics
• Ethics (நீதி நநறி): Set of Principles or standards
of human conduct which governs the behavior of
individuals or organization which was given by
religion, laws, influence and guidelines.
The branch of knowledge that deals with moral
principles.

Morals
• Morals: Concerned with the principles of right
and wrong behavior and the goodness or
badness of human character.
• Moral are the worthy ideals or principles that
one follows to distinguish the right from the
wrong. These ideals or virtues are considered
worthy in building up the character of an
individual.

Moral Values
• Moral Value refers to the good virtues such as
honesty, integrity, truthfulness, compassion,
helpfulness, love, respectfulness, hard-work, etc .
• Morality is concerned with principles and
practices of morals such as:
What ought or ought not to be done in a given
situation?
What is right or wrong about the handling of a
situation?
What is good or bad about the people, policies,
and ideals involved?

The Real value:
Where you find the real value of any one or
anything??

Definitions
• Values are individual in nature.
• Values are comprised of personal concepts
of responsibility, entitlement and respect.
• Values are shaped by personal experience,
may change over the span of a lifetime and
may be influenced by lessons learned.
• Values may vary according to an
individual’s cultural, ethnic and/or faith-
based background.

VALUES
• Humans have the unique ability to define their
identity, choose their values and establish their
beliefs. All three of these directly influence a
person’s behavior.
• A value is defined as a principle that
promotes well-being or prevents harm.
• Another definition is:- Values are our
guidelines for our success or our paradigm
about what is acceptable.

Personal values
• Personal values are defined as:- Emotional
beliefs in principles regarded as
particularly favorable or important for the
individual.
• Our values associate emotions to our
experiences and guide our choices,
decisions and actions.

Types of Values
1. Values related to Right Conduct are:
a) Self-help Skills: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene,
modesty, posture, self reliance, and tidy appearance .
b) Social Skills: Good behavior, good manners, good
relationships, helpfulness, No wastage, and good
environment.
c) Ethical Skills: Code of conduct, courage,
dependability, duty, efficiency ingenuity, initiative,
perseverance, punctuality, resourcefulness, respect
for all, and responsibility.

Types of Values
2. Values related to PEACE are:
• Attention, calmness, concentration, contentment,
dignity, discipline, equality, equanimity,
faithfulness, focus, gratitude, happiness, harmony,
humility, inner silence, optimism, patience,
reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-
confidence, self-control, self-discipline, self-esteem,
self-respect, sense control, tolerance, and
understanding.

Types of Values
3. Values related to Truth are:
• Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness,
honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and deed),
intuition, justice, optimism, purity, quest for knowledge,
reason, self-analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, synthesis,
trust, truthfulness, and determination.
4. Values related to Love are:
• Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration,
dedication, devotion, empathy, forbearance, forgiveness,
friendship, generosity, gentleness, humanness,
interdependence, kindness, patience, patriotism, reverence,
sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing, sympathy,
thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust

Types of Values
5. Values related to Non-violence are:
• (a) Psychological:
Benevolence, compassion, concern for others,
consideration, forbearance, forgiveness, manners,
happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love.
• (b) Social:
Appreciation of other cultures and religions,
brotherhood, care of environment, citizenship,
equality, harmlessness, national awareness,
perseverance, respect for property, and social
justice.

INTEGRITY
• Integrity is defined as the unity of thought, word and deed
(honesty) and open mindedness. It includes the capacity to
communicate the factual information so that others can make
well- informed decisions.
• It is one of the self-direction virtues. It enthuse people not
only to execute a job well but to achieve excellence in
performance.
• It helps them to own the responsibility and earn self-respect
and recognition by doing the job.
• Integrity comes in many forms, but honesty and
dependability are two traits that are expected in most
workplace situations.

EXAMPLES OF INTEGRITY AT WORKPLACE
• The biggest workplace challenge is said to be
the employee’s work ethics
showing up to work every day (interest in
work and attendance)
showing up to work on time (punctuality)
taking pride in the quality of their work
commitment to the job
getting along with others
• This situation demands inculcation of good
character in the workplace by employees.

Service Learning
• Service-learning seeks to engage individuals in
activities that combine both community service and
academic learning.
• Service-learning programs are typically rooted in
formal courses (core academic, elective, or vocational),
the service activities are usually based on particular
curricular concepts that are being taught.
• It focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic
responsibility.
• Service-learning programs involve students in
organized community service that addresses local
needs, while developing their academic skills, sense of
civic responsibility, and commitment to the community.

Service Learning
• The service learning is a methodology falling
under the category of experiential education.
• It is one of the forms of experiential learning
and community service opportunities.
• The engineering student analyzing and
executing a socially-relevant project is
another example of service learning.

SERVICE-LEARNING BENEFITS
• Service-Learning benefits students by:
 Linking theory to practice.
 Deepening understanding of course materials.
 Enhancing the sense of civic responsibility through
civic engagement.
 Allowing students to explore possible career paths.
 Stressing the importance of improving the human
condition.
 Developing relevant career-related skills.
 Providing experience in group work and interpersonal
communication.
 Promoting interaction with people from diverse
backgrounds.
 Instilling a sense of empowerment that enhances self-
esteem.

SERVICE-LEARNING BENEFITS
• Service-Learning benefits faculty by:
 Providing exciting new ways to teach familiar material.
 Offering professional development challenges.
 Engaging faculty in meaningful interactions with the
community at large.
 Encouraging faculty to form close, interactive, mentoring
relationships with students.
 Reminding faculty of the direct consequences of their
teaching for society.
 Connecting faculty across academic disciplines through a
shared approach to teaching and learning process.

CIVIC VIRTUE
• Civic virtues are the moral duties and
rights, as a citizen of the village or the
country or an integral part of the
society and environment.
• An individual may exhibit civic virtues
by voting, volunteering, and organizing
welfare groups and meetings.

The duties are
• To pay taxes to the local government and state, in time.
• To keep the surroundings clean and green.
• Not to pollute the water, land, and air by following
hygiene and proper garbage disposal. For example,
not to burn wood, tyres, plastic materials, spit in
the open, even not to smoke in the open, and not to
cause nuisance to the public, are some of the civic
(duties) virtues.
• To follow the road safety rules.

On the other hand, the rights are
• To vote the local or state government.
• To contest in the elections to the local or state government.
• To seek a public welfare facility such as a school, hospital or a
community hall or transport or communication facility, for
the residents.
• To establish a green and safe environment, pollution free,
corruption free, and to follow ethical principles. People are
said to have the right to breathe in fresh air, by not allowing
smoking in public.
• People have right to accept or reject a project in their area.
One has the right to seek legal remedy, in this respect,
through public interest petition
• Civic virtues as indispensable for a self-governing
administration.

Categories of virtues
• Civic Knowledge:
Citizens must understand what the Constitution says about
how the government is working and We must understand
the basis of our responsibilities as citizens, besides duties
and rights.
• Self-Restraint:
For citizens to live in a free society with limited
government each citizen must be able to control or
restrain himself; otherwise need a police state.
• Self-Assertion:
It means citizens must be proud of their rights, and have
the courage to stand up in public and defend their rights.
• Self-Reliance:
Self-reliant citizens are free citizens in the sense that they
are not dependent on others for their basic needs.

RESPECT FOR OTHERS
• This is a basic requirement for nurturing friendship and
team work.
• The principles behind this is
 Recognize and accept the existence of other persons as
human beings, because they have a right to live, just as
you have.
 Respect others ideas (decisions), words and labor
(actions).
 One need not accept or approve or award them, but
shall listen to them first.
 One can correct or warn, if they commit mistakes.
 Appreciate colleagues and subordinates on their
positive actions.
 Show goodwill on others. Love others. Allow others to
grow.

Living Peacefully
• To live peacefully, one should start install
peace within (self).
• Then one can spread peace to family,
organization where one works, and then to
the world, including the environment.

Living Peacefully
If you can live in
Harmony with all lives
surrounding you, there
is peaceful living
Disorder of Sound: Noise
Harmony of Sound: Music

To live peacefully
• Get
 Order in one’s life (self-regulation, discipline, and duty).
 Pure thoughts in one’s soul (loving others, blessing others,
friendly, and not criticizing or hurting others by thought, word
or deed).
 Creativity in one’s head (useful and constructive).
 Beauty in one’s heart (love, service, happiness, and peace).
 Good health / body (Physical strength for service to enjoy the
academic environment in the institution).
• Act
 Help the needy with head, heart and hands (charity). Service to
the poor is considered holier than the service to God.
 Not hurting and torturing others physically, verbally, or
mentally.

• The following are the factors that promote
living, with internal and external peace
• Conducive (good for) environment (safe,
ventilated, illuminated and comfortable).
• Secured job and motivated with recognition
and reward.
• Absence of threat or tension by pressure due to
limitations of money or time.
• Absence of unnecessary interference or
disturbance, except as guidelines.
• Healthy labor relations and family situations.
• Service to the needy (physically and mentally-
challenged) with love and sympathy.

Caring
• It is a process which exhibits the interest in, and support
for, the welfare of others with fairness, impartiality and
justice in all activities, among the employees, in the
context of professional ethics.
• It includes showing respect to the feelings of others, and
also respecting and preserving the interests of all others
concerned.
• Caring is reflected in activities such as friendship,
membership in social clubs and professional societies,
and through various transactions in the family, fraternity,
community, country and in international councils.

Caring: Showing respect to the feelings of
others, and also respecting and preserving the
interests of all others concerned

SHARING
• Primarily, Caring influences sharing.
• Sharing is a process that describes the transfer of knowledge
(teaching, learning, and information), experience (training),
commodities (material possession) and facilities with
others.
• The transfer should be genuine, legal, positive, voluntary,
and without any expectation in return.
• Sharing is voluntary and it can’t be driven by force.
• For the humanity, sharing is a culture. The happiness and
wealth are multiplied and the crimes and sufferings are
reduced, by sharing.
• Sharing maximizes the happiness for all the human beings.

HONESTY
• Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two aspects namely,
 Truthfulness
 Trustworthiness
• Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities upon telling truth.
• One should keep one’s word or promise. By admitting one’s
mistake committed (one needs courage to do that!), it is easy
to fix them.
• The reflections of truthfulness are
 Reliable engineering judgment
 Maintenance of truth
 Defending the truth,
 Communicating the truth
• People abide by law and live by mutual trust.

Honesty is mirrored in many ways.
The common reflections are:
Beliefs (intellectual honesty)
Communication (writing and speech)
Decisions (ideas, discretion)
Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals)
Intended and unintended results achieved

As against this, some of the actions of an engineer that leads to
dishonesty are:
• Lying: An engineer may communicate wrong or distorted test
results intentionally or otherwise. It is giving wrong
information to the right people.
• Deliberate deception: An engineer may judge or decide on
matters one is not familiar or with insufficient data or proof, to
impress upon the customers or employers.
• Withholding the information: It means hiding the facts
during communication to one’s superior or subordinate,
intentionally or otherwise.
• Not seeking the truth: Some engineers accept the information
or data, without applying their mind and seeking the truth.
• Not maintaining confidentiality: It is giving right information
to wrong people.
• Giving professional judgment under the influence of
extraneous factors such as personal benefits and prejudice.
The laws, experience, social welfare, and even conscience are
given a go-bye by such actions. Certainly this is a higher-order
crime.

• Courage is when you to face danger or pain
whether you are afraid or not.
• Courage is the tendency to accept and face
risks and difficult tasks in rational ways.
• Self- confidence is the basic requirement to
nurture courage.
• Courage is classified into three types:
 Physical courage
 Social courage
 Intellectual courage
COURAGE

• Courage is the
mental muscle that
conquers fear. Like
all muscles, the more
you use them the
stronger they
become.
 Courage is not something you are born
with, it must be developed.
 Individuals, who fail to develop courage,
remain confined in mental prisons and
face each day as mental lightweights.

Who has Courage?
• Anyone can have
courage.
• Some people show
courage at work.
• Some people show
courage when they are
having fun.

To succeed you must approach
challenges with hard work,
determination and courage.

Valuing Time
• A first step in good time
management is to understand the
value of your time.
• If you are employed by someone else,
you need to understand how much
your employer is paying for your
time, and how much profit he or she
expects to make from you.

Valuing Time
• If you are working for yourself, you should have an idea of how
much income you want to bring in after tax. By working these
figures back to an hourly rate, this gives you an idea of the value
of your time.
• By knowing the value of your time, you should be able to tell what
tasks areworthwhile to perform, and which tasks give a poor return.
This helps you cut away the low value jobs, or argue for help with
them.

Cooperation
 Cooperation is the process of groups of
organisms working or acting together for
common or mutual benefit, as opposed to
working in competition for selfish benefit.
Many animal and plant species cooperate
both with other members of their own
species and with members of other species.

Commitment
 Commitment is willingness to give your time and
energy to something that you believe in, or a
promise or firm decision to do something.
 Commitment means acceptance of the
responsibilities and duties and cooperation means
help and assistance.
 By developing team commitment and cooperation
in a work team you are assisting the team to meet its
goals and objectives. Work teams that are committed
and cooperative are more likely to achieve the goals
the business has set.

Empathy
• Sensing what others feel about, without their
open talk, is the essence of empathy.
• Empathy begins with showing concern, and then
obtaining and understanding the feelings of
others, from others‘ point of view.
• It includes the imaginative projection into other‘s
feelings and understanding of other‘s background
such as parentage, physical and mental state,
economic situation, and association.
• This is an essential ingredient for good human
relations and transactions.

SELF-CONFIDENCE
• Certainty in one’s own capabilities, values, and
goals, is self-confidence.
• These people are usually positive thinking,
flexible and willing to change.
• They respect others so much as they respect
themselves.
• They are not influenced by threats or challenges
and are prepared to face them and the natural or
unexpected consequences.

The people with self-confidence have the
following characteristics:
A self-assured standing
Willing to listen
 To learn from others and adopt (flexibility),
Frank to speak the truth
Respect others‘ efforts and give due credit.
SELF-CONFIDENCE

CHARACTER
• It is a characteristic property that defines the
behavior of an individual.
• Character includes attributes that determine a
person‘s moral and ethical actions and responses.
• People are divided into several categories,
according to common tendencies such as ruthless,
aggressiveness, and ambition, constricting
selfishness, stinginess, or cheerfulness, generosity
and goodwill.
• Individuals vary not only in the type of their
character but also in the degree.

CHARACTER
• Following types of characters should be
followed by the engineers.
Active (great and the mediocre)
Apathetic (Concern)
Intelligent

Education and Character
• The aim of education is not only the
cultivation of the intellect but also the
formation of moral character.
• Increased intelligence or physical skill may
as easily be employed.
• It is the function of ethics to determine the
ideals of human character.

SPIRITUALITY
• Spirituality is a way of living that emphasizes
the constant awareness and recognition of
the spiritual dimension (mind and its
development).
• spirituality includes the faith or belief in
supernatural power/ God, regarding the
worldly events.
• Spirituality includes creativity,
communication, recognition of the individual
as human being, respect to others,
acceptance, vision and partnership.

• Spirituality is motivation as it encourages the
colleagues to perform better.
• Spirituality is also energy: Be energetic and
flexible to adapt to challenging and changing
situations.
• Tolerance and empathy are the reflections of
spirituality.
• Blue and saffron colors are said to be
associated with spirituality.
SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality in the Workplace
• Spirituality is promoted in the workplace by adhering to the
following activities:
1. Verbally respect the individuals as humans and recognize
their values in all decisions and actions.
2. Get to know the people with whom you work and know
what is important to them. Know their goals, desires, and
dreams too.
3. State your personal ethics and your beliefs clearly in all
your actions.
4. Support causes outside the business.
5. Encourage leaders to use value-based discretion in
making decisions.
6. Demonstrate your own self-knowledge and spirituality

Spirituality for Corporate Excellence
• The spiritual traits to be developed for excellence
in corporate activities are listed as follows:
1. Self-awareness
2. Alertness
3. Being visionary and value based
4. Holism
5. Compassion
6. Respect for diversity
7. Moral Autonomy
8. Creative thinking and constant reasoning
9. Ability to analyze and synthesize
10.Positive views of adversity
11.Humility
12.Sense of vocation

VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
• There are so many engineering disasters which
are greater / heavier than the level of
acceptable or tolerable risk.
• Finding and avoiding such cases such as nuclear
plant accident at Chernobyl (Russia), Chemical
plant at Bhopal (India) where a big disaster of
gas leakage occurred in 1980, which caused
many fatal accidents.

Cases for Engineering Disasters
• Oil spills from some oil extraction plants
• Hazardous waste
• Pollution and other related services
• Natural disasters like floods, earthquake
• Danger from using asbestos and plastics

• These fields should be given awareness of engineering ethics.
• It is essential for engineers to get awareness on the above said
disasters.
• They should also know the importance of the system of
engineering.
• When malfunction of the system is a rapid one, the disaster
will be in greater extent and can be noticed immediately.
• When it is slow and unobserved, the impact is delayed. So, the
engineers should not ignore about the functions of these
systems.
• These cases also explain and make the engineers to be
familiar with the outline of the case in future and also about
their related ethical issues.
VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES

TYPES OF INQUIRY
• Inquiry means an investigation.
• Like general ethics, Engineering ethics also
involves investigations into values, meaning
and facts.
• These inquiries in the field of Engineering
ethics are of three types.
Normative Inquiries
Conceptual Inquiries
Factual or Descriptive Inquiries

Normative Inquiries
• How do the obligations of engineers protect the public safety
in given situations?
• When should an engineer have to alarm their employers on
dangerous practices?
• Where are the laws and organizational procedures that affect
engineering practice on moral issues?
• Where are the moral rights essential for engineers to fulfill
their professional obligations? From these questions, it is
clear that normative inquiries also have the theoretical goal
of justifying moral judgments.
• What are the reasons on which the engineers show their
obligations to their employees or clients or the public ?

Conceptual Inquiries
• It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or
ideas or principles that are expressed by words or
by questions and statements.
• For e.g.,
What is the safety and how it is related to risk?
What does it mean when codes of ethics say
engineers should protect the safety, health and
welfare of the public?
What is a bribe?
What is a profession and professional?
• Describing the meaning of concepts, principles,
and issues related to Engineering Ethics.

Factual or Descriptive Inquiries
• These help to provide facts for
understanding and finding solutions to value
based issues.
• The engineer has to conduct factual
inquiries by using scientific techniques.
• These help to provide information regarding
the business realities such as engineering
practice, history of engineering profession,
the effectiveness of professional societies in
imposing moral conduct.

MORAL DILEMMAS
• Dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons
come into conflict, or in which the application of
moral values are problems, and one is not clear of
the immediate choice or solution of the problems.
• Moral reasons could be rights, duties, goods or
obligations.
• These situations do not mean that things had gone
wrong, but they only indicate the presence of
moral complexity.
• This makes the decision making complex.

MORAL DILEMMAS
• For example,
• A person promised to meet a friend and dine,
but he has to help his uncle who is involved in
an accident — one has to fix the priority.

MORAL DILEMMAS
• There are some difficulties in arriving at
the solution to the problems, in dilemma.
• The three complex situations leading to
moral dilemmas are:
The problem of vagueness
The problem of conflicting reasons
The problem of disagreement

The problem of vagueness:
• One is unable to distinguish between
good and bad (right or wrong) principle.
Good means an action that is obligatory.
• For example, code of ethics specifies that
one should obey the laws and follow
standards. Refuse bribe or accept the gift,
and maintain confidentiality

The problem of conflicting reasons:
• One is unable to choose between two good
moral

The problem of disagreement:
• There may be two or more solutions and none
of them mandatory.
• These solutions may be better or worse in
some respects but not in all aspects.
• One has to interpret, apply different morally
reasons, and analyze and rank the decisions.
• Select the best suitable, under the existing and
the most probable conditions.

Steps to Solve Dilemma
• Identification of the moral factors and reasons.
• Collection of all information, data, and facts (factual
inquiry) relevant to the situation.
• Rank the moral options i.e., priority in application through
value system, and also as obligatory, all right, acceptable,
not acceptable, damaging, and most damaging etc.
• Generate alternate courses of action to resolve the dilemma.
Write down the main options and sub-options as a matrix
or decision tree to ensure that all options are included.
• Discuss with colleagues and obtain their perspectives,
priorities, and suggestions on various alternatives.
• Decide upon a final course of action, based on priority fixed
or assumed. If there is no ideal solution, we arrive at a
partially satisfactory solution

MORAL AUTONOMY
• Moral autonomy is defined as, decisions
and actions exercised on the basis of moral
concern for other people and recognition of
good moral reasons.
• Moral autonomy means self-determinant or
independent.
• Moral autonomy may also be defined as a
skill and habit of thinking rationally about
the ethical issues, on the basis of moral
concern.

The engineering skills related to
moral autonomy is listed as follows:
• Proficiency in recognizing moral problems in engineering and
ability to distinguish as well as relate them to problems in law,
economics and religion
• Skill in comprehending, clarifying and critically-assessing
arguments on different aspects of moral issues
• Ability to form consistent and comprehensive view points
based on facts
• Awareness of alternate responses to the issues and creative
solutions for practical difficulties
• Sensitivity to genuine difficulties and subtleties, including
willingness to undergo and tolerate some uncertainty while
making decisions, Using rational dialogue in resolving moral
conflicts and developing tolerance of different perspectives
among morally reasonable people, Maintaining moral
integrity.

MORAL AUTONOMY
• Autonomy which is the independence in
making decisions and actions is different
from authority.
• Authority provides freedom for action,
specified within limits, depending on the
situation.
• Moral autonomy and respect for
authority can coexist.

Moral Autonomy – Skills Needed
• Ability to relate the problems with the
problems of law, economics and religious
principles
• Skill to process, clarify and understand the
arguments against the moral issues
• Ability to suggest the solutions to moral
issues on the basis of facts
• Must have the imaginative skill to view the
problems from all the viewpoints
• Tolerance while giving moral judgment,
which may cause trouble

Kohlberg’s Theory
• It was developed by Lawrence Kohlberg.
• He was a professor at Harvard University
during the early 1970s.
• He was famous for his works on
developmental psychology.
• He proposed a theory on moral
development which is popularly known
as Kohlberg’s theory.

KOHLBERG’S THEORY
• Moral Autonomy is based on the
psychology of moral development.
• The first psychological theory was
developed by Jean Piaget
• On the basis of Piaget’s theory,
Lawrence Kohlberg developed three main
levels of moral development
• Which is based on the kinds of reasoning
and motivation adopted by individuals with
regard to moral questions.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory
• Kohlberg proposed that people progress
in moral reasoning based on their ethical
behavior.
• He postulated this theory based on the
thinking of younger children throughout
their growing period as adults.
• He conveyed that younger children make
judgment based on the consequences that
might occur and the older children make
judgment based on their intuitions.

There are six stages of moral development
which are further classified into three levels.
The process being discussed here is about the
judgment made by the thinker about
the protagonist (the leading character) in a given
situation. The steps of the thinking process show the
moral development of the thinker.

Pre-conventional Level
• This can be understood as the first level of
moral thinking, which is generally found at
Elementary school level. The thinker at this
stage tends to think and behave based on
the direct consequences that might occur.

Avoid Punishments
• A thinker at this stage generally thinks and
believes that the judgment are to be made
as per the socially acceptable norms as
they are said so by some higher official (a
teacher or a parent).
• This is a child-like obedience, in order to
avoid punishments.
• These thoughts are based on the idea that
the protagonist should obey the law or
rules.

Self–interest
• A thinker at this stage, shows interest in
making decisions according to the rewards
they get in exchange.
• This second stage is characterized by a
view that right behavior means acting in
one's own best interests.
• In this stage, they tend to follow the rules of
authority because they believe that this is
necessary to ensure positive relationships
and societal order.

Conventional Level
• This can be understood as the second level of
moral thinking, which is generally found at the
primary and high school level. The thinker at
this stage tends to think and behave based on
the want to please others.

Getting people to like them
• At this stage, the ideas of the society are
considered.
• This level can be that where the protagonist
behaves on account of the moral grounds
which people decide for decision making.
• This decision may or may not support the law.
• Whatever the result is, the thinking process is
based on how to impress others or society
and on how to please the people around.

Maintain functioning in society
• A thinker at this stage, considers to follow the
rules for the good of the society.
• The moral grounds on how people in the
society, because the thinker believes that a
social order is maintained by abiding by the
rules.
• Hence a thinker sticks to the idea that the
protagonist should follow the moral values.
• The thinker’s behavior is driven by the
authority while his thinking conforms to the
social order.

Post-Conventional Level
• This can be understood as the third level of Moral
thinking, which is generally found after the high
school level. The thinker at this stage tends to think
and behave based on a sense of justice.

Reject rigidity of laws
• In this level, the thinker uses his moral
thinking skills at a commendable pace.
• He starts to feel for the protagonist based
on moral grounds.
• He also might have an opinion that the
rules have to be changed according to
humanitarian values.
• The thinker rejects the rigidity of the
existing laws and rules at this stage.

Sense of Justice
• This is the pinnacle stage of Moral
development where the thinker feels a
sense of justice for the protagonist.
• The thinker has great moral values that he
keeps himself free from the external
factors that might influence his thinking
process.

Heinz’s Dilemma.
 Lawrence Kohlberg quoted an example for his
Moral development theory. This example is
popularly called the Heinz’s Dilemma.

Story of Heinz
• A story of a middle-aged ordinary middle-class man, called
Heinz is considered as an example. Heinz is an ordinary man
having a wife. His wife suffers from a dreadful disease.
Doctors believe that a special drug which was invented recently
and is available at the BIG pharmacy store, can only save his
wife.
• When Heinz went to buy the drug, the drug-seller costed it
around $2,000 dollars, while the actual manufacturing cost of
the drug is $20 dollars. Heinz borrowed the money from friends
and lenders and could finally collect only $1,000 dollars.
Though Heinz pleaded a lot, the greedy drug-seller refused to
sell the drug at low cost.
• Now, Heinz had no other option but to steal the drug from the
shop to save the life of his wife. Is this a better option to do?
What is your judgment?

Options for the Thinker
• Heinz should not steal the drug because it
is the disobedience of law.
• Heinz can steal the drug, but should be
punished by the law.
• Heinz can steal the drug and no law
should punish him.

Heinz should not steal the drug
because it is the disobedience of law.
• This decision makes it impossible for Heinz to
save his wife. His wife dies and the rich drug-
seller becomes richer. Though the law was
obeyed, no moral justice was done. This is a
pre-conventional level of moral thinking.

Heinz can steal the drug, but
should be punished by the law.
• This decision helps Heinz save his wife,
but Heinz will be kept in prison. Though
Heinz took a moral decision, he had to
undergo the punishment. This is a
Conventional level of moral thinking.

Heinz can steal the drug and no
law should punish him.
• This decision lets Heinz save his wife and
both of them can live happily.
• This thinking is based on the thought that
the rigidity in law should be rejected and
justice should be done on moral grounds.
This is a post-conventional level of moral
thinking.

Example
• For example, if a child reasoning at a ‘pre-
conventional’ level might say that it is not right to
steal because it is against law and someone
might see you.
• At a ‘conventional’ level, an individual might
argue that it is not right to steal because it is
against law and laws are necessary for society to
function.
• At a ‘post-conventional’ level, one may argue that
stealing is wrong because is against law and it is
immoral.

Criticisms on Kohlberg’s Theory
• The dilemmas are artificial
Kohlberg’s subjects were aged between 10 and 16.
They have never been married, and never been placed in a situation
remotely like the one in the story.
How should they know whether Heinz should steal the drug?
• The sample is biased
According to Gilligan (1977), because Kohlberg’s theory was based
on an all-male sample, the stages reflect a male definition of morality
Mens' morality is based on abstract principles of law and justice,
while womens' is based on principles of compassion and care.
• The dilemmas are hypothetical (i.e. they are not real)
In a real situation, what course of action a person takes will have real
consequences – and sometimes very unpleasant ones for
themselves.
Would subjects reason in the same way if they were placed in a real
situation? We just don’t know.
• Poor research design
119

Carol Gilligan
• This is an advancement of Kohlberg’s theory.
• It had been observed that Kohlberg’s theory was
proposed based on the moral thinking of privileged
white men and boys.
• Hence this theory was popularized by taking both
male and female thinking capabilities into account.
• Carol Gilligan, a psychological theorist was born on
Nov 28, 1936 in the New York city.
• She pursued her doctorate degree in Social
Psychology from the Harvard University.
• Gilligan was a research assistant for Lawrence
Kohlberg, but she eventually became independent
and criticized some of his theories.

Gilligan’s Theory
• Carol Gilligan says that Kohlberg’s theories
are biased upon the male thinking process.
• According to Gilligan, Kohlberg seemed to
have studied only privileged men and boys.
• She believed that women face a lot of
psychological challenges and they are not
moral widgets.
• The women’s point of view on moral
development involves caring which shows its
effect on human relationships.
• Hence she proposed a theory which has the
same three stages of Kohlberg but with
different stages of moral development.

The moral development in Gilligan’s theory are
based on pro-social behaviors such as Altruism
(unselfishness), caring and helping and the traits
such as honesty, fairness and respect.

Pre-conventional Level
• A person in this stage cares for oneself to
ensure survival.
• Though the person’s attitude is selfish,
this is the transition phase, where the
person finds the connection between
oneself and others.

Conventional Level
• In this stage, the person feels responsible
and shows care towards other people.
• Carol Gilligan believes that this moral
thinking can be identified in the role of a
mother and a wife. This sometimes leads
to the ignorance of the self.

Post-conventional Level
• This is the stage, where the principle of
care for self as well as others, is accepted.
• However, a section of people may never
reach this level.

• According to the Carol Gilligan’s theory of
moral development, changes occur due to
the change of self rather than the critical
thinking.
• It was stated that the post-conventional
level of Kohlberg is not attained by
women.
• But Carol Gilligan researched and found that
the post-conventional level of thinking is
not being easy for women to go through
because they care for the relationships.
Gilligan’s Theory

Levels of Thinking
• Carol Gilligan states that the post-conventional
level of moral thinking can be dealt based on
the two types of thinking.
• Gilligan’s theory is based on the two main ideas,
 Care-based morality (usually found in women)
Justice-based morality (usually found in men)

Care-based Morality
• Care-based morality is the kind of thinking found
in women. This is based on the following
principles.
More emphasis is given to inter-connected
relationships and universality.
Acting justly focuses on avoidance of violence.
Women with this are usually interested in
helping others.
More common in girls because of their
connections to their mothers.
Because girls remain connected to their mothers,
they are less inclined to worry about issues of
fairness.

Justice-based Morality
• Justice-based morality is the kind of thinking found in
men. This is based on the following principles.
They view the world as being composed of
autonomous individuals who interact with one
another.
Acting justly means avoiding inequality.
Individuals with this are usually interested in
protecting individuality.
Thought to be more common among boys because of
their need to differentiate between themselves and
their mothers.
Because they are separated from their mothers, boys
become more concerned with the concept of
inequality.

Example of Gilligan’s Theory
• In order to understand Gilligan’s theory, a
popular example is usually considered.
• A group of moles give shelter to a porcupine.
But they are being continuously stabbed by
the porcupine’s quills. Now, what should
they do?

Pre-conventional level of thinking
• The Pre-conventional level of thinking
states that to think for the good of
oneself, either the moles or the porcupine
only can live there.
• The other has to leave the place.

Conventional level of thinking
• According to the Conventional level of
thinking, which brings a transition, from
self to the good of others and which might
even lead to sacrifice, either the moles or
the porcupine has to sacrifice.
• Again this leads to a stage where only
moles or the porcupine can live.

Post-conventional level of thinking
• According to the Post-conventional level
of thinking, which states that the good of
both the parties has to be considered,
both the moles and the porcupine come to
an agreement that both will have separate
places in the same burrow, where they
limit to behave themselves and will not
cause any trouble to other.
• This helps both of them to live in the same
place with peace.

• The researchers found that the solution to
this scenario is different with different
individuals; gender also plays an important
role.
• The thinkers were observed viewing the
problem in two different perspectives
Care-based
Justice-based

Justice-based perspective
• The solution to the problem is viewed as a
conflict between two individual groups.
• Only one of them can have the property.
• Either moles or the porcupine will get the
place in the burrow.
• Hence the solution to the dilemma, is not a
resolution of the conflict, it is a verdict.

Care-based perspective
• This approach differs.
• The problem is viewed as a difficult situation
faced by both the parties together, rather than
a fight between both of them.
• Hence the solution is sought in a way around
the problem or to remove the problem
completely.
• The solution may sound compromising but
not damaging.
• The relationship will still be the same, after
the resolution.

• Researchers found that Justice-based
perspective is pre-dominant among males
while Care-based prospective is among
females.

Consensus and Controversy
• The moral judgment may lead to
conflicts if they are not delivered
properly without hurting the feelings of
the persons involved.
• There are two stages after the judgment.
Consensus
Controversy

Consensus
• This is that state where people come into
agreement with the judgment given by
getting convinced with the moral
reasons.
• This will leave the persons with a feel
that justice has been done, the verdict
may favor any party.

Controversy
• This is that state where the persons
involved in an issue are not satisfied by
the verdict and might feel that it was
decided on partial interests.
• This will leave the people with a sense of
dissatisfaction that justice was not done,
which might lead to another conflict

Failed Challenger
case study
141

Challenger Delays
• Liftoff Initially Scheduled for 15:43 EST on Jan. 22, 1986
• Delays in 61-C mission pushed liftoff to Jan. 23, then Jan.
24
• Reset to Jan. 25 due to weather
• Postponed another day due to launch processing problems
• Rescheduled for 9:37 EST Jan. 27 due to weather
• Delayed again due to equipment failure for 24 hours
• Final 2 hour delay due to hardware interface module
problems
Liftoff: 11:38 EST January 28, 1986

The Incident
January 28, 1986
Launch About 73 seconds after Launch
143

The Challenger Disaster
80 Seconds After Liftoff
144

Space Shuttle Challenger
• On 27 January 1986, NASA engineers held a conference to
decide whether the next day’s launch should proceed The
joints, where the stages of the Solid Fuel Rocket Booster
(SFRB) were mated, featured two quarter inch (5mm) rubber
o-rings – around 14 feet (3m) in diameter.
• When the fuel was ignited, stress was developed in the
structure tending to make the joint “rotate”. The joint-sealing
putty was often dislodged during take off, allowing fuel as far
as the first O-ring.
• Two O-rings were provided as there were doubts about joint
integrity and some redundancy was thought prudent.
• During this brief interval of ignition (fractions of a second), it
was important that the rubber in the O-rings maintained the
seal.
• There were concerns that at low temperatures, the rubber
hardened making its response slower and failing to seal for a
critical few milliseconds.

• Engineers observed “blow-by” where burning
fuel had clearly escaped the primary O-ring on
a number of recovered units.
• “Blow-by” of fuel past the primary O-ring had
been observed on 7 of the 24 space-shuttle
flights.
• Doubts had arisen about the ability of rubber
O-rings to seal in rocket fuel at low
temperatures.
• The forecast temperature for the next day’s
launch was 31 F.

• O-rings were known to harden at low
temperatures and to seal more slowly.
• There was a suspicion from data that there were
more incidents at low temperatures Actual data
suggests a temperature effect.
• When this data was presented to NASA engineers
at the eve-of-launch conference, all the zeros
(incident-free launches) were omitted and only
the flights were there had been an incident
featured.
• NASA engineers were sceptical of any evidence
(signal) that temperature had an effect on risk of
“blow-by”.

What Went Wrong??
• Failure of an “O-ring”
seal in the solid-fuel
rocket on the Space
Shuttle Challenger's
right side
• Flames cut into main
liquid fuel tank
151

In less than 1 second, smoke
appeared at the ring joint,
indicating that the rings are
burnt and failed to seal.
First Damage

First Damage: Post Effects
The leak lasted only about 2 seconds then the shuttle rose. In less then a minute
of ignition when Challenger was 6 miles up – thick flames start evolving.

Last Damage
Shuttle exploded and broke up in 75 seconds.
Rockets crisscrossed and continued flying wildly.

The Investigation
Why the Challenger Blew UP
Engineers had all the data they needed.
They knew cold O-Rings were likely to fail.
Engineering management believed them
and told NASA not to launch.
NASA asked for the supporting data
and engineers presented the data poorly,
NASA was unconvinced.
Engineering and management reversed their
position and approved the launch.
155

Data as presented to NASA engineers

Chart by Rogers Commission
Showing all launches
Temperature at
Challenger Launch, 32ºF

• However, when the data is presented in full with
the events where there were no “blow-by”s,
there is a strong feeling that the problemfree
launches only occurred at higher temperatures.
The way the data is presented has a strong effect
on its interpretation.

O-Rings
They are Fuel Tank joint but too sensitive in winter.
Mid1985:
Scorching becomes noticeable
Analysis shows worse on colder days
Engineer Roger Boisjoly warns superiors
“WE COULD LOSE A FLIGHT”
August 1985:
NASA Meeting
No changes please.

Night Before Launch
“too cold, delay launch!” Until 53ºF and it was 29ºF
Every single launch in cold temperatures showed damage
Competition with Russians to be
the first to observe Halley’s comet.

Result
The cold O-Rings failed, system exploded and the crew died.
R.I.P.

Some Impediments to Responsibility
• Some Impediments (obstruction) to Responsibility
Self-interest
Fear
Self-deception
Ignorance
Egocentric tendencies
Microscopic vision
Uncritical acceptance of authority
Groupthink

Impediments to Responsibility
• Self-interest – an exclusive concern to satisfy one’s own interest, even at the possible
expense to others.
• Fear – fear of acknowledging our mistakes, of losing our jobs, or of some sort of
punishment or other bad consequences.
• Self-deception – Golden Rule reasoning. Resisting the temptations of self-interest to
confront ourselves honestly.
• Ignorance – of vital information, not realizing the design poses a safety problem.
• Egocentric Tendencies – tendency to interpret situations from very limited
perspective (subjective viewpoint).
• Microscopic Vision – inaccurate, limited perspective, failing to understand the
perspective of others.
• Uncritical Acceptance of Authority – most engineers are not their own bosses, and
they are expected to defer to authority in their organizations.
• Groupthink – an engineer will often participate in group decision making rather than
function as an individual decision maker.
164

1. Self interest
• Engineers are, like others, people with
personal hopes and ambitions not restricted
to professional ideals. e.g. money, fame, glory,
etc…
• Sometimes our concern for our own interests
temps us to act contrary to the interests of
others, even contrary to what others expect
of us as professionals

1. Self interest
• Taken to extreme, concern for self-interest is
a form of egoism--an exclusive concern to
satisfy one’s own interests, even at the
possible expense of others.
• Popularly characterized by “looking out for
number 1”

2. Fear
• Many potential fears
Fear of acknowledging mistakes
Fear of losing one’s job
Fear of punishment
Fear of the fate of whistleblowers
Fear of being unable to find alternative
employment

3. Self-Deception
• Definition: An intentional avoidance of truths we
would find it painful to confront self- consciously
• We deceive ourselves into believing something is OK
by some rationalization
I’m not really doing this just for myself
Everyone takes shortcuts once in a while, etc.
• Example: bribing a city council to get a project in
order to save the jobs of your employees

4. Ignorance
• An obvious barrier to responsible action is
ignorance of vital information
• Sometimes engineers take on design
problems in areas in which they are not
sufficiently competent and avoidable
problems can result
– An engineer put an aluminum liner in the Texas
A&M nuclear reactor when most Civil engineers
would know that concrete and aluminum are not
compatible materials

5. Egocentric Tendencies
• Failure to view actions or projects from
alternative viewpoints
• It is a special form of ignorance
• Example from India--we may think what a
community needs is a new water or wastewater
system. The people may be perfectly happy with
water from a nearby ditch, but what they really
want is a school or health care.
• Product developer vs. user problems

6. Microscopic Vision
• Can’t see the forest for the trees
• Shoemaker example--knows a lot about
shoes but may be ignorant as to how they
are going to used in different
circumstances

7. Uncritical acceptance of authority
• Engineers are do exercise independent,
objective judgment in performing their
duties
• Engineers also have a duty of fidelity to
their employers and clients
• Most engineers are not their own bosses,
and they are expected to defer to authority
in their organizations
• These responsibilities can conflict

8. Groupthink
• Groupthink: a situation in which groups
come to an agreement at the expense of
critical thinking
• Engineers tend to work and to deliberate in
groups and can be vulnerable to groupthink

Module 1 ethics 2019

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