School of Engineering

Department of Industrial Engineering

ENGG450 – Engineering Ethics & Professional Practice

Midterm Exam

Fall 2019-2020
Monday, December 9th, 2019, 17:00-18:15

Student Name

Student ID

Question Grade Weight

1 10
2 30
3 20
4 20
5 20
100

Instructions
Closed book/notes
Answer all questions
The booklet contains 6 pages (including cover)
Mobile phones/devices are to be turned off and stowed away
 Department of Industrial Engineering

Question 1 (10 points):

Circle the correct statements as either TRUE or FALSE. If you change your answer, scratch
previous one and clearly re-write the new one. Questions with a confusing answer will
automatically get a zero mark. Wrong answers do not penalize correct ones. The weight for each
question is 1 point.

1. Engineering is not considered as a profession all over the world.

Answer: True False

2. The business model gains monopoly over certain services to increase the protection to
the public, while professional model seeks monopoly to increase profit.
Answer: True False

3. In its broadest sense, a utilitarian approach in addressing moral problems requires us

to focus on the idea of bringing about ‘‘the greatest good for the greatest number’’.
Answer: True False

4. Disagreement about the moral matters is often more a matter of disagreement about
the moral values than facts.
Answer: True False

5. Features of human life such as interdependency, vulnerability, and autonomy are

examples of general moral beliefs that humans share.
Answer: True False

6. Rule utilitarianism differs from act utilitarianism in holding that moral rules are most
important.
Answer: True False

7. Cost-benefit analysis is not frequently used in engineering analysis, especially when

trying to determine whether a project makes sense.
Answer: True False

8. Self-deception results from the desires of engineers to pursue their personal hopes and
ambitions.
Answer: True False

9. The study of engineering ethics strengthens one’s ability to reason clearly and
carefully about moral questions.
Answer: True False

10. A responsible mechanical engineer follows the required design procedure in designing
certain machine without considering his own judgment.
Answer: True False

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 Department of Industrial Engineering

Question 2 (30 points)

Choose the most correct answer. Only one answer may be marked. Questions with more
than one answer will automatically get a zero mark. Wrong answers do not penalize
correct ones. The weight for each question is 3 points.

1. Which of these statements is true regarding professions and occupations:

a. All professions are occupations.
b. Some occupations are professions.
c. In most countries, engineering is not only an occupation, but also a profession.
d. All of the above.

2. The first and foremost obligation of professional engineers is:

a. The public welfare.
b. The government.
c. The employer.
d. The engineering profession.

3. When engineering standards state that the services provided by engineers require
honesty, impartiality, fairness and must be dedicated to the protection of the public
health, safety and welfare, this means engineers need to have:
a. Professional judgment.
b. Individual judgment.
c. Legal judgment.
d. Social judgment.

4. When a manager make a decision based on insufficient knowledge due to organization

hierarchy, then this is:
a. Ignorance.
b. Self-interest.
c. Self-deception.
d. Uncritical acceptance of authority.

5. Which of the following is not a step of cost-benefit analysis approach?

a. Assessment of the available options.

b. Assessment of the cost and the benefit of each option.
c. Look for the nature of the action.
d. Selection of the option that is likely to result in the greatest benefit relative to
cost.

6. Bernard Gert formulated a list of 10 ‘‘moral rules’’ that he believes capture the basic
elements of common morality. Which of the following is NOT one of Gert’s rules?

a. Don’t kill.
b. Don’t cause pain.
c. Don’t learn.
d. Don’t deprive of freedom.

7. Viewing oneself as both agent and recipient is a requirement of:

a. The golden rule approach.
b. The cost-benefit utilitarian approach.

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 Department of Industrial Engineering

c. The act utilitarian approach.

d. The rule approach.

8. All of the following are considered as impediments to responsible action except:

a. Egocentric tendencies.
b. Uncritical acceptance of authority.
c. Fear.
d. Liability.

9. “The “standard of care” means :

a. Positive responsibility.
b. Negative responsibility.
c. High–performing standards.
d. Blame-responsibility.

10. Using the line drawing technique, ethical cases may be classified as all of the
following:
a. Functional paradigms.
b. Operational paradigms.
c. Positive paradigms.
d. Occupational paradigms.

Question 3 (20 points):

Applying universalizability requires us to be consistent in our thinking. Explain the two
general ways of thinking about moral issues that make use of the idea of universalizability,
and discuss only one approach of the two general ways supported by an example.

Question 3 Solution

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 Department of Industrial Engineering

Question 4 (20 points):

A sales engineer works for a company that sells software product (a CAD/CAM system). He
was told to tell potential customers that the company was stable and would be there to help
them for years in the future. But the company was actually in the process of going out of
business. They just wanted to get as much money as they could before they shut down the
company. The engineer felt that he could not simply lie to the customers, so he got a new job.

What is your stand regarding this case? Justify your answer.

Question 4 Solution

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 Department of Industrial Engineering

Question 5 (20 points)

An electrical engineer is designing a new building for a client. He works under the
supervision of a senior experienced manager. The building has a lot of new systems like
building management, automated lighting, etc.… He follows the standards and the electrical
codes he has access to from the design firm’s library. When checking the final design with his
manager, the manager asks him to apply more safety to some systems. The fresh engineer
argues he has followed the codes.

What concept is being discussed here? Explain.

Question 5 Solution

ENGG450 Fall 2019 Midterm Exam Page 6