The Six Pillars of Character

• Trustworthiness
• Be honest – don’t deceive, cheat or steal
• Be reliable – do what you say you’ll do
• Have the courage to do the right thing
• Build a good reputation
• Be loyal – stand by your family, friends, and country
• Respect
• Treat others with respect; follow The Golden Rule
• Be tolerant of differences
• Use good manners, not bad language
• Be considerate of the feelings of others
• Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone
• Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements
The Six Pillars of Character
• Responsibility
• Do what you are supposed to do
• Persevere – keep on trying!
• Always do your best
• Use self-control
• Be accountable for your choice​s
• Fairness
• Play by the rules
• Take turns and share
• Be open-minded; listen to others
• Don’t take advantage of others
• Don’t blame others carelessly
The Six Pillars of Character
• Caring
• Be kind
• Be compassionate and show you care
• Express gratitude
• Forgive others
• Help people in need
• Citizenship
• Do your share to make your school and community better
• Cooperate
• Get involved in community affairs
• Stay informed; vote
• Be a good neighbor
• Obey laws and rules, respect authority
• Protect the environment
Illustrative Cases
• An inspector discovered faulty construction equipment and applied a violation tag, preventing its
continued use. The inspector’s supervisor, a construction manager, viewed the case as a minor
violation of safety regulations and ordered the tag to be removed so the project would not be
delayed. The inspector objected and was threatened with disciplinary action. The continued use
of the equipment led to the death of a worker on a tunnel project.

• An electric utility company applied for a permit to operate a nuclear power plant. The licensing
agency was interested in knowing what emergency measures had been established for human
safety in case of reactor break down. The utility engineers described the alarm system and
arrangements with local hospitals for treatment. They did not emphasize that these measures
applied to plant personnel only and that they had no plans for the surrounding population. “That
is someone else’s responsibility, but we don’t know whose,” they answered upon being
questioned about this.

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• A chemical plant dumped wastes in a landfill. dangerous substances found their way into the
underground water table. The plant’s engineers were aware of the situation but did not
change the disposal method because their competitors did it the same cheap way, and no law
explicitly forbade the practice. Plant supervisors told the engineers it was the responsibility of
the local government to identify any problems.

• The ABC Company began selling its latest high-tech product before it had been fully checked
out in beta tests that are, used on real applications by a group of knowledgeable users. It was
not really ready for distribution, but clients were already tempted to this product by glossy
advertising designed to win the market by being first to capture clients’ attention.

• These examples show how ethical problems arise most often when there are differences of
judgment or expectations as to what constitutes the true state of affairs or a proper course of
action.

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 Professional
Why is ethics an integral part of professional life, and in particular the life of an engineering professional? The importance of ethics in the professions can be
understood through thinking about what a professional is. The word ‘professional’ is hard to define, even for traditional professions such as medicine, law,
accountancy and engineering. However broadly speaking there is agreement on
common characteristics shared by all professions. Thus a professional: • has specialised skills and knowledge
• has acquired such knowledge and skills through a long period of training and study, and continues to maintain and update them through professional life
• has, as a result of this specialised expertise, significant power to affect individual clients and wider society
• belongs to a professional body which regulates their practice
• and as part of that self regulation adheres to ethical principles which the professional body oversees.
The expertise of professionals, and the domains over which they exercise that expertise, give them power to improve people’s wellbeing, or to cause significant
harm. This is perhaps most obvious in the case of doctors, whose actions can save lives or cause death, and affect quality of life in many more subtle ways. A
patient needs to know that a medical professional is not just technically competent, but will exercise ethically informed judgement in treating them, acting only
with consent, maintaining confidentiality, pursuing their best interests, and so on.
While the actions of a medical professional typically affect individual patients directly, the decisions of engineering professionals have the potential to impact on
the wellbeing of many hundreds or thousands of people. As a result of the power their skills bring, society places great trust in professionals to exercise those
skills wisely.
Thus common to all professions is a commitment to use expertise in pursuit of the public good. This creates a critical role for ethics, as the professional’s
adherence to ethical principles is a central part of the exercise of good professional judgement. Through this the professional both earns the trust of the public,
and provides good reason for such trust to be continued.
In short, being a professional brings with it significant privileges in terms of affects on others, whether that be access to information about them, or capacity to
affect their needs and interests. Those privileges bring with them important responsibilities, so professions and professional bodies need continually to earn the
right to be entrusted with such responsibilities by showing that they exercise them in an ethical way.
Engineers invent the future and their work affects the lives of millions of people, for better or worse. That raises enormous ethical issues in every branch
of engineering, from computing through biotechnology and energy to civil and aeronautical.
 What is ethics?
• Ethics are the moral codes or principles that
guide behaviour
• Ethical behavior is conduct that is beyond reproach and is in accordance to the laid down
standards of a society, institution or organization. The standards of conduct may not always
be written and adopted formally by the institution or organization. They also change as
organizations and institutions evolve, underscoring the need for regular education about
acceptable conduct in the profession and the organization.
• “Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to
do.”- Potter Stewart
• Fundamentally, ethics is about choices that people make about ordinary (as well as
extraordinary) decisions in day-to-day life. The choice to act one way vs. another has an
impact on the outcomes and the method adopted to get to those outcomes.
 What is ethics?
• Applied ethics
• The application of ethical theories to help choose the
most appropriate action given a specific ethical
problem in a specific field
• E.g. environmental ethics, clinical ethics, business
ethics, professional ethics
What is professional ethics?
• The ethical values and principles used to make
decisions within a professional organisation

• Governs relationships with and responsibilities to

colleagues and anyone who uses one's professional
services or who these services might affect
Professional Ethics
• The word ethics has several distinct meanings.
• Engineering ethics is the study of the moral values, issues, and decisions
involved in engineering practice.
• Engineers are frequently involved in decisions that have a reflective (deep)
effect on society.
• The design of particular devices almost always involves the safety of the user.
• The design and location of a factory affect the community and its citizens.
• The design of a management system greatly affects the individuals working for
the organization – their comfort, their sense of worth, their financial status,
and so on.
• The engineering profession enjoys a very favorable status regarding its
devotion to professional ethics.

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 Ethics in the workplace
• Ethical behaviour in the workplace will
mean:
• Providing objective and constructive help or
information to all people, regardless of your
personal feelings

• Helping the public understand how they can

help achieving objective and ethical behaviour
in the workplace
 Ethics in the workplace
• Ethical behaviour in the workplace will
mean:
• Acting in a way that shows your belief in the
basic values of ethical behaviour

• Conducting your daily activities objectively,

uninfluenced by your emotions or personal
prejudices
Why is ethics important?
Increases
credibility of
organisation

Improves
Creates
Importan decision
mutual trust
ce of making
throughout
ethics throughout
organisation
organisation

Improves
financial
performance
Reasons for Unethical Behavior
• The process of promoting an ethical culture needs to start with understanding what causes unethical behavior.
Better policies and procedures can then be designed to prevent unethical decisions and mitigate their adverse
impacts on the organization and/or the community.
• Unethical behavior can result from the following, singularly or in combination:
• • Pressure to perform (unrealistic business/organization goals, deadlines, etc.)
• • Pressure from peers
• • Lack of understanding of consequences for one’s actions
• • Uncharted territory
• • Personal loyalties
• • Lack of long term perspective or failure to see it at the time
• • Personal costs for doing the right thing may be too high
• • Poor judgment
• • Lack of clear understanding of expected organizational/professional code of conduct
• • Improper and/or inadequate training
While many of the above reasons may be beyond the span of control of leadership, every effort should be made by
leaders and top executives to address the last two – they need to clearly establish guidelines for professional conduct
in an organization (whether formally laid out or otherwise understood) and provide adequate training.
 Promoting Ethical Behavior

• Ethical behavior needs to be promoted from the top and supported with policies and adequate resources
that enable employees and peers to make ethical decisions. Organizational leadership needs to be a model
of ethical decision making in order to reinforce the importance of ethical behavior throughout the
organization. They need to lead by example. An established code of ethics, education and training, and a
defined process for reviewing violations are all tools that help support an ethical culture in an organization
• An ethical culture should start from the top and cascade down. Organizations should provide ethics
education programs for all employees. These programs should:
1. explain the underlying ethical principles
2. clarify proper ethical behavior
3. difference between ethical behavior and legal/illegal actions
4. present practical ways of carrying out procedural guidelines
This can be broken down into three components:
5. Code of conduct
6. Ethics education
7. Performance assessment
 Code of ethics
• Guidelines for behaviour during difficult
situations
• General and non-specific
• Members make independent judgements
about most appropriate behaviour in a given
situation
• Aspirational standards of behaviour
• Not necessarily easily measured
 Code of ethics
Importance of a code of ethics:
• Promotes reputation
• Encourages and provides guidance for ethical decision-making
• Makes social integration easier
• Legitimises ethics
• Ensures that all the stakeholders are aware of exactly what is expected of them
• Protects all the stakeholders involved in the organisation and enhances trust
• Ensures standard behaviour throughout the organisation
A key reason behind producing a Statement of Ethical Principles for the engineering
profession was that many professional engineers may face organizational challenges in
thinking through ethical issues. Engineers almost always work for and with others –
clients, employers and contractors – and may face conflict between their professional
values and the demands made on them by others. There may often be external pressures to
stray from professional obligations, so it is helpful to have clarity on what those
obligations are.
 Code of conduct
• Can be used as a legal agreement
• Outlines specific behaviours required or prohibited
by the organisation
• Clearly defined and specific
• No independent judgement of members
 Mandatory set of standards
• Failure to comply can result in disciplinary
action
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Beneficence
The principle of beneficence guides the decision maker to do what is right and good. This priority to “do good” makes an ethical perspective and
possible solution to an ethical dilemma acceptable. This principle is also related to the principle of utility, which states that we should attempt to
generate the largest ratio of good over evil possible in the world. This principle stipulates that ethical theories should strive to achieve the greatest
amount of good because people benefit from the most good. This principle is mainly associated with the utilitarian ethical theory discussed later in this
set of notes.
Least Harm
Similar to beneficence, least harm deals with situations in which no choice appears beneficial. In such cases, decision makers seek to choose to do the
least harm possible and to do harm to the fewest people. Students might argue that people have a greater responsibility to “do no harm” than to take
steps to benefit others. For example, a student has a larger responsibility to simply walk past a teacher in the hallway rather than to make derogatory
remarks about that teacher as he/she walks past even though the student had failed that teacher’s class.
Respect for Autonomy
This principle states that decision making should focus on allowing people to be autonomous— to be able to make decisions that apply to their lives.
Thus, people should have control over their lives as much as possible because they are the only people who completely understand their chosen type of
lifestyle. Ask students if they agree. Are there limits to autonomy? Each individual deserves respect because only he/she has had those exact life
experiences and understands his emotions, motivations, and physical capabilities in such an intimate manner. In essence, this ethical principle is an
extension of the ethical principle of beneficence because a person who is independent usually prefers to have control over his life experiences in order
to obtain the lifestyle that he/she enjoys.
Justice
The justice ethical principle states that decision makers should focus on actions that are fair to those involved. This means that ethical decisions should
be consistent with the ethical theory unless extenuating circumstances that can be justified exist in the case. This also means that cases with extenuating
circumstances must contain a significant and vital difference from similar cases that justify the inconsistent decision. What would be what extenuating
circumstances might be.
Ethical Analysis Tools
When faced with questions and ethical decisions, the following tests and questions may
help you determine how you should address it.
n Harm Test: Does this option do less harm than the alternatives?
n Publicity Test: Would I want my choice of this option published in the
newspaper? Would I want my Grandma to know?
n Defensibility Test: Could I defend this choice of option before a committee of
peers, or a Congressional committee, without appearing self-serving?
n Reversibility Test: Would I still think this choice of option was good if it were
applied to me instead of others, especially if some of the effects are adverse?
n Colleague Test: What might my profession’s governing board or ethics
committee say about this option?
n Organization Test: What does my organization’s ethics officer or legal counsel
say about this?
n Virtue Test: Would a virtuous person do this? What kind of person does this?
What kind of person would I become if I did this kind of thing all the time?
-- from “A Format for Ethical Decision Making” (2010), Michael Davis, Center for
Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
 n Is it honorable?
n Is there anyone from whom you would like to hide the action?
n Is it honest?
n Does it violate any agreement, actual or implied, or otherwise betray a trust?
n Does it avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest? Are there other considerations
that might bias your judgment?
n Is it within your area of competence?
n Is it possible that your best effort will not be adequate?
n Is it fair?
n Is it detrimental to the legitimate interest of others?
n Is it considerate?
n Will it violate confidentiality or privacy, or otherwise harm anyone or anything?
n Is it conservative?
n Does it unnecessarily squander time or other valuable resources?
• -- from John McLeod, P.E., in Ethical Conflicts in Information and Computer Science,
• Technology, and Business, Parker, et al; QED Information Sciences,1990
• Ethics can be as simple as “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” “do what is right,”
• and “live an honorable life.” It is the application of these simple concepts that makes ethics seem
• so complicated. These simple concepts do not take into account all the different scenarios that
can
• occur and all the issues associated with a particular situation. The more complicated your life, the
• more complicated it will be to apply the basic tenets and fundamental principles. There is value in
• simplicity.
• Being a professional will bring complexity to your life. But being an engineer also means that you
• are trained in problem solving. The ability to understand complex issues and the ability to
problem
• solve will help you apply ethics to your personal and professional life.