Q1:

Importance of ethical and legal dimensions of

Engineering.
We could say society shape people & people shape society it goes both ways.
So, we could say that our actions have an impact on other individuals as well.
The importance of ethics in our society is very necessary because it has a large influence on
today, as well as the future. We need to learn about good ethics because they guide our decisions,
make us who we are, and determine our future.
The role of ethics in our society is very important because it is the basic beliefs and standards
that make everything run smoothly. Ethics are involved in all organizations and institutions
around us whether it be political, medical, lawful, religious, or social. Ethics are what gives us
comfort knowing that we live in a country where we are able to choose. Because we believe our
doctors are ethical, we feel certain we can trust their diagnoses. If ethics did not apply to
medicine, some doctors may knowingly misdiagnose their patients just for the sake of money
rather than for the persons' health and well-being. Ethics give us comfort that the business deal
will not fall through. In today's society, laws and contracts are enforced to make sure that the
business deals are fair and that the both people will hold up their end of the deal.
Same goes for the engineers! Just imagine mechanical engineers working just for the sake of
money wont bother to take the time to plan a well structured machine which might fail killing
innocents.Without ethics even the term innocents wont be there in the society.Without any
application of ethics, our society would be one of dishonesty and uncertainty. Even if we do not
have a perfect society, the ethics in our country is what something we could still could rely on.
Ethics influence the choices that individuals make and will eventually determine their lives and
who they become later in life. Our environment shapes our sense of judgement (i.e. of right or
wrong) which in turn shapes our personalities, beliefs or morals & standards.

practices that are viewed by our society as correct behaviour. As an Engineer, you should
acknowledge the fundamental importance of the following values both for Engineers and the
community of engineers.
1. Quality of life - people being satisfied with their whole life experience;
2. Health, human potential, empowerment, growth and excellence - people being
healthy, aware of the fullness of their potential, recognizing their power to bring that
potential into being, growing into it, living it, and, generally, doing the best they can
with it, individually and collectively;
3. Freedom and responsibility - people being free and responsible in choosing how
they will live their lives;
4. Justice - people living lives whose results are fair and right for everyone;
5. Dignity, integrity, worth and fundamental rights of individuals, organizations,
communities, societies, and other human systems;
6. All-win attitudes and cooperation - people caring about one another and about
working together to achieve results that work for everyone, individually and
collectively;
7. Authenticity and openness in relationships;
8. Effectiveness, efficiency and alignment - people achieving the maximum of
desired results, at minimum cost, in ways that coordinate their individual energies and
purposes with those of the system-as-a-whole, the subsystems of which they are
parts, and the larger system of which their system is a part;
9. Holistic, systemic view and affected parties’ orientation - understanding human
behaviour from the perspective of whole system(s) that influence and are influenced
by that behaviour; recognizing the interests that different people have in the system's
results and valuing those interests fairly and justly;
10. Wide participation in system affairs, confrontation of issues leading to effective
Q2:
Define the following terms:
a) Practical Reasoning:
Practical reasoning is something that each of us sometimes engages in when we are figuring out
what to do. When we think explicitly about what to do in light of the reasons, we take ourselves
to have, we are engaging in practical reasoning. Of course, we often exercise complex practical
skills without engaging in explicit thinking about what to do. Examples might include a soldier
picking his way through an enemy village or a florist putting together a bouquet. To call these
skilful actions exercises of “practical reasoning” would be to stretch that term so far as to lose
contact with the main body of philosophical thinking about practical reasoning, which takes it to
be an explicit mode of thinking.
b) Ethical Reasoning
The process of sorting out the principles that help determine what is ethical when faced with an
ethical dilemma
Most human behaviour has consequences for the welfare of others, even for society as a whole.
Individuals are able to act in such as way as to enhance or decrease the quality of the lives of
others, and generally know the difference between helping and harming.
Ethical reasoning holds two roles in life:
 Highlighting acts that enhance the well-being of other people.
 Highlighting acts that harm the well-being of other people.
c) Social Responsibility.
Social responsibility is an ethical theory in which individuals are accountable for fulfilling their
civic duty, and the actions of an individual must benefit the whole of society. In this way, there
must be a balance between economic growth and the welfare of society and the environment. If
this equilibrium is maintained, then social responsibility is accomplished.
d) Environmental Responsibility:
The environmental aspect of CSR has been debated over the past few decades, as stakeholders
increasingly require organizations to become more environmentally aware and socially
responsible.[2] In the traditional business model, environmental protection was considered only
in relation to the "public interest". Hitherto, governments had maintained principal responsibility
for ensuring environmental management and conservation.
Q4:
importance of ethical and professional codes in enabling safe
and proficient engineering in the 21st century.
A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and
with integrity. A code of ethics document may outline the mission and values of the business or
organization, how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on
the organization's core values, and the standards to which the professional is held. Business ethics
refers to how ethical principles guide a business's operations. Common issues that fall under the
umbrella of business ethics include employer-employee relations, discrimination, environmental
issues, bribery and insider trading, and social responsibility. While many laws exist to set basic
ethical standards within the business community, it is largely dependent upon a business's leadership
to develop a code of ethics.
Both businesses and trade organizations typically have some sort of code of ethics that their
employees or members are supposed to follow. Breaking the code of ethics can result in termination
or dismissal from the organization. A code of ethics is important because it clearly lays out the rules
for behaviour and provides the groundwork for a pre-emptive warning.
Regardless of size, businesses count on their management staff to set a standard of ethical conduct
for other employees to follow. When administrators adhere to the code of ethics, it sends a message
that universal compliance is expected of every employee.
For all businesses, laws regulate issues such as hiring and safety standards. Compliance-based codes
of ethics not only set guidelines for conduct but also determine penalties for violations.
In some industries, including banking, specific laws govern business conduct. These industries
formulate compliance-based codes of ethics to enforce laws and regulations. Employees usually
undergo formal training to learn the rules of conduct. Because noncompliance can create legal issues
for the company as a whole, individual workers within a firm may face penalties for failing to follow
guidelines.
To ensure that the aims and principles of the code of ethics are followed, some companies appoint a
compliance officer. This individual is tasked with keeping up to date on changes in regulation codes
and monitoring employee conduct to encourage conformity.
This type of code of ethics is based on clear-cut rules and well-defined consequences rather than
individual monitoring of personal behaviour. Despite strict adherence to the law, some compliance-
based codes of conduct do not thus promote a climate of moral responsibility within the company.