SET-1

1.a. What is Self Exploration? What is its purpose?

It is the process of finding out what is valuable to me by investigating within myself.

Exploration = Observing Outside
Self-Exploration = Observing Inside
Purpose of Self-Exploration:
❖ It is a process of dialogue between ‘what you are’ and ‘what you really want to be’.
❖ It is a process of self evolution through self-investigation.
❖ It is a process of knowing oneself and through that, knowing the entire existence.
❖ It is a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit in existence and fulfilling
it.
❖ It is a process of knowing human conduct, human character and living accordingly.
❖ It is a process of being in harmony with oneself and in harmony with entire existence.
❖ It is a process of identifying our innateness(Svatva) and moving towards Self-
Organization(Swantantrata) and Self-Expression(Swarajya).

1.b. Critically examine the need for Engineering Standards.

“Engineering ethics is the field of system of moral principles that apply to the practice of
engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients,
and to the profession.”

Furthermore, in engineering practice, there are several reasons why engineering ethics is so crucial.

Maintaining safety, honesty, and integrity are just a few of them.

1. Maintaining Public Safety

One of the key reasons why engineering ethics is so important is because engineers are responsible

for maintaining public safety. If they do not abide by the engineering code of ethics, they could

potentially put people’s lives at risk.

Engineers who adhere to a professional code of ethics promise that when performing their task,

they will put the safety of society members first. It implies that engineers will employ standard

and approved materials, as well as standard engineering methods throughout their careers.

2. Integrity and Honesty

Honesty and integrity are two of the most important values that engineers must uphold. The

engineering code of professional ethics demands that engineers be honest in all their dealings, both

with the clients and employers, as well as the public.

Engineers must follow an ethical code of conduct to ensure that they are honest in all their

transactions. And they must also maintain the integrity of the engineering profession by not

engaging in any fraudulent or deceptive activities.

When engineers keep to the code of ethics, even when faced with a problem or other distractions

in their work, they will remain honest.

3. Promotes Public Confidence and Trust in the Profession

Engineering ethics codes of conduct should be acknowledged as a significant component of the

engineering field since they assist to build public confidence in engineers by demonstrating that

they are ethical individuals who will do what is right even if no one is watching.

It also allows others in related industries, such as construction, manufacturing, software

development, and so on, to know that they have someone on their side when it comes to safety or

quality standards.

Without these standards in place, each engineer would have to create his or her own set of

standards, which might lead to issues such as not knowing what is considered acceptable behavior

and how significant design specifications should be determined without first consulting relevant

stakeholders.

4. Protects Clients and Employers from Harm

The engineering codes of ethics want engineers to protect the privacy of their clients and ensure

that personal information is kept secure. They should not reveal any information about the client,

such as their name, age, gender, or location as well as information regarding the project.

Similarly, the engineer should not discuss their employer’s information unless specifically

permitted to do so.

5. Promotes Ethical Decision-making in Circumstances of Uncertainty

Engineers, like all individuals, face challenges, dilemmas, and moral issues in their line of duty.

Engineers are guided in their difficult judgments by a code of ethics, which ensures that they select

what is morally correct. They layout a bright line for what decision is moral and promotes social

welfare rather than self-interest to protect moral values.

2.a Suggest any two programs that you can undertake to improve the health of
your body?
The self has the responsibility for nurturing, protection and right utilization of the body. For this
self has to follow some programs. We need to work to understand the self organization of the body
and ensure health of the body.
i) Nurturing of the Body:
Posana / Poshan involves providing proper food (Ahar), air, water etc. to the body.

The selection of food (Ahar) should be such that it gives required nutrients and energy to the body
following the program below:
Ingestion: This involves taking the food into the mouth and chewing it well for easy digestion.
Digestion: Digestion starts after swallowing the food. Digestion also depends on proper rest and
exercise of the body. Food consumed should be at proper intervals and with proper posture and
right quantity.
Excretion: After digestion, the necessary nutrients are absorbed by the body and the unnecessary
or undigested part needs to be thrown out or excreted.
If any of the above three activities are not performed properly, it affects the body adversely and
causes several health problems.

ii) Protection of the Body:

This involves the selection of proper clothes and shelter for protecting the body from
extreme climatic conditions and to provide the right amount of exposure of the body to air, water,
sunlight etc. to ensure proper functioning of the body.

To ensure the health of the Body, we need to take care of the following:

Ahara – Vihara (Food – Upkeep)

The selection of food (Ahar) should be such that it gives required nutrients and energy to the body.

For proper upkeep of the body, the body should be given rest from time to time. We must ensure

proper time, posture and ways to work and to rest. And provide hygienic working conditions to

upkeep our body.

Shrama – Vyayama (Physical labor – Exercise)

Requisite amounts of physical labour and exercise are essential to keep the body fit and healthy.

Asana – Pranayama ( Yogasana – Pranayam)

Yogasanas are well designed exercises involving specific postures to keep the body healthy and

Pranayama involves exercises involving regulation of breathing. Together they ensure the synergy

between the Self and the Body.

Ausadhi – Chikitsa (Medicine – Treatment)

Whenever the body gets hurt or experiences any kind of disorder, we should remember that the

body has a tendency heal itself and come back to normal state. We can attend to such problems by

simple ways like going without food for some time or having a restricted diet etc. if the body needs

further treatment, then the ailment should be properly interpreted and attended to. The medicines

used for treatment should not give rise to other complications in future.
iii) Right Utilization of the Body (Sadupayoga)

❖ It is normally believed that our body is an instrument for sensory enjoyment. This is a
wrong notion. We also use our body to exploit others and to exploit Nature as well.
❖ For e.g.: fighting, sealing, quarrelling etc.

❖ Human Body should be used only for the right behaviour and right work. Otherwise it leads
to disharmony in the Self which has adverse affects on the Body.

❖ We should arrange for appropriate equipments/ physical facilities which help the right
utilization of the body and avoid excess physical labour.

2.b In what way we can say that the human body is a Self Organization?

The human body is a self organized and highly sophisticated mechanism. The body is made up of
several organs and glands and the different parts of the body keep working in a close co-ordination.
All the activities keep the body fit for the use of ‘I’ (self or jivana) so that ‘I’ and the body may
work in synergy as a human being.

The silent aspects of this harmony b/w ‘I’ and the body are:-
❖ The body acts according to the needs of I.
❖ There is harmony among the parts of the body.
❖ What our body follow only by the permission of I.
❖ There is a strong coupling b/w I and the body. If I am in disharmony e.g. in anger or stress
or despair. It immediately starts affecting the body adversely.
❖ There are many diseases of the body that are caused or accentuated due to disharmony in
I. These are called psychosomatic diseases such as asthma, migraine, hyper-tension etc. On
the other hand, when there is a strong disturbance in the body manifesting in the form of
severe pain, it distracts I from its normal functions.
❖ I have the feeling of sanyama for the body and the body has swasthya. Sanyama is basic to
swasthya.
4.a Differentiate between Units and Space. How are units self-organized in
space?

We define unit as something that is limited in size. Like a small blade of human hair to the
biggest planets we know of, they are all limited in size, i.e. bounded on six sides. So, all the ‘things’
we have been studying so far: the human beings, animals, lumps of matter as well as various atoms
and molecules, are all ‘units’. We can recognize them as such, they are countable.

But there is another ‘reality’ called ‘space’. We normally don’t pay attention to this ‘reality’,
because it’s not a ‘unit’. We can’t ‘touch it’, smell it. We normally just ‘see through it’. But the
fact is because we can’t ‘touch it’ or ‘see it’ as we would see a unit like our body, our friends, or
a piece of rock, doesn’t mean it does not exist. Space exists everywhere.

When we look at the existence around, the first thing we see is space. And then we see the units
in space. Between every two units there is a space. The units exist in space. If we were to define
this, we would say that there are two kinds of realities in existence and these are: space and units
(in space). So we say,

Existence = space + units (in space)

Since nature consists of the four orders we have been discussing, we can say,

“Existence = Nature submerged in space”.

Nature = Four orders (Material, Plant/Bio or Pranic, Animal and Human Order)
4.b What are the levels of existence in human beings?

6.a Discuss the positive and negative faces of Engineering Ethics?

6.b What are the issues faced by MNC when operating in different countries?
A multinational company (MNC) is an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in

more than one country. There are some challenges faced by MNC’s that transact business in

international markets which can hinder its competitiveness hence its controversies and these are

as follows;

Economic Conditions

International companies operating in foreign countries face some challenges that stem for
economic conditions in the host county. As it is, economic conditions keep changing from time to
time due to various factors but are chiefly influenced by macroeconomics and microeconomics
aspects including inflation, exchange rates, fiscal policies and so on. Since economic conditions
keep changing from one season to another according to the business cycles, the companies could
try to cushion itself by having some reserves and operating on lean budgets.

Cultural Differences and Communication Issues

Because global businesses have their origins in other countries, most of the time, the top
management will face cultural differences and communication barriers when dealing with locals.
These affect the smooth running of the company . However, the companies can hire some locals
and put efforts to understand local cultures to overcome these problems.

Competition

These businesses face competition from other multinationals and even local companies.
Unfortunately, the local companies have the upper hand in understanding the target market and
enjoy the home advantage. The intense competition could see the international companies make
some losses due to low sales, high costs and so on. However, global companies can manage to
withstand the competition by understanding all the local markets they operate in and tailoring their
products and service to suit the demands.

Political Instability
Many multinational enterprises face the challenge of political instability when doing business in
international markets. This kind of problem mostly occurs when there is an absence of a reliable
government authority. When this happens, it adds to business costs, increase risks of doing
business and sometimes reduces manager’s ability to forecast business trends. Political instability
is also associated with corruption and weak legal frameworks that discourage foreign investments.

Regulatory Changes

Global businesses find themselves always facing changes in regulations and even a growing
number of regulatory inspections. The pressure that comes from the regulators significantly affects
the multinationals in their operations and even lead to an increase in costs of doing business.
Luckily, the companies can work around these challenges by anticipating the various changes, and
evaluating changes in the business surroundings. The businesses can then list the different
emerging risks, and try to sort them based on importance and urgency.

Currency rates

While price setting and payment methods are major considerations, currency rate fluctuation is
one of the most challenging international business problems to navigate. Monitoring exchange
rates must therefore be a central part of the strategy for all international businesses. However,
global economic volatility can make forecasting profit especially difficult, particularly when rates
fluctuate at unpredictable levels.

8.a What is your present vision of a happy and prosperous life?

We are trying to achieve happiness and prosperity by maximizing accumulation and consumption
of physical facilities. It is becoming anti-ecological and anti-people, and threatening the human
survival itself. Some of the consequences of such trend are summarized below:

At the level of individual – rising problems of depression, psychological disorders, suicides,

stress, insecurity, etc.
At the level of family – breaking of joint families, mistrust, and conflict between older and
younger generations, insecurity in relationships, divorce, dowry tortures, etc.

At the level of society – growing incidence of terrorism and naxalism, rising communalism,
spreading casteism, racial and ethnic struggle, wars between nations, etc.

At the level of nature – global warming, water, air, soil, noise etc. pollution, resource depletion
of minerals and mineral oils, etc.

All the problems are a direct outcome of an incorrect understanding, our wrong notion about
happiness and prosperity and their continuity – this is an issue for serious exploration.

8.b “Professional conduct should be in alignment with ethical standards.”

Comment.

Ethical standards are a set of principles established by the founders of the organization to
communicate its underlying moral values. This code provides a framework that can be used as a
reference for decision making processes.

Ethical standards are a set of principles established by the founders of the organization to
communicate its underlying moral values. This code provides a framework that can be used as a
reference for decision making processes.

The importance of ethics in professional life can be evidenced by a number o f instances

showing failure of businesses and several scandals. It may be rightly said that the situations
would not have been so worsened had there been observance of ethical standards.
Therefore, maintaining ethical standards is must for the prosperity o f an organization as
well as the development of one’s personality. Good ethics will lead us to maintain our
honest image. It will enable us to refrain from such activities that may discredit to our
profession. Thus, adhesion to good ethics is to let our conscience be our guide at all times.
Albert Schweitzer says, “Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner
perfection of his own personality.”
Regardless of profession or the field of work one belongs to, ethics is an important part of work.
The success or the expected results depend on how the workers deal with the situations. Whether
ethically or unethically. If they are dealt ethically, the chances are positive for growth and
development.

Good Ethics is a fundamental requirement of any profession. It is integral to the success of

the business as well. Ethics is a system of moral principles governing the appropriate
conduct of a person or a group. Maintaining good ethics is being consistent with the
principles of correct moral conduct constantly.