HUMAN VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS-II

(ETHS-402)
B. Tech. – VIII Semester

Dr. Shalini Mishra

Assistant Professor
Department of Applied Science
Kanpur Institute of Technology,
Kanpur.

E-mail: shalinimishra@mait.ac.in
 HUMAN VALUES AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS-II
(ETHS-402)
B. Tech. – IV YEAR

1. Understanding the need, basic guidelines, content and process for Value
Education
2. Self Exploration–what is it? - its content and process; ‘Natural Acceptance’
and Experiential Validation- as the mechanism for self exploration
3. Continuous Happiness and Prosperity- A look at basic Human Aspirations
4. Right understanding, Relationship and Physical Facilities- the basic
requirements for fulfillment of aspirations of every human being with their
correct priority
5. Understanding Happiness and Prosperity correctly- A critical appraisal of the
current scenario
6. Method to fulfill the above human aspirations: understanding and living in
harmony at various levels

Understanding Value Education:

Value education may seem a vague term to many of us even though we may be
hearing about it frequently. In this course, we are going to clarify certain fundamental
issues which are important to all of us in our life- issues which directly relate to our
happiness, our welfare, our aspirations, goals and success in life. In a sense, value
education deals with what is universally valuable to all of us, what is conducive to our
individual and collective happiness and prosperity in a sustainable way? It enables us
to be in harmony within ourselves, with other human beings and with nature at large.
Need for Value Education
All of us consider something or the other to be valuable. We set our goals, our aims on
this basis, and then set out achieving them. While the need for determining what is
valuable to us may seem evident, let us investigate into this a little more to understand
the need for value education.

a- Correct identification of our aspirations: You need to identify your basic

aspiration based on the correct identification of this basic aspiration; you can frame
your goals and sub-goals.

b- Understanding universal human values to fulfill our aspirations in

continuity:
Just identifying the aspiration is not enough. We need to know how do we fulfill
our aspirations, how we go about actualizing our goals. When we live with the
correct understanding of values, we are happy in continuity, otherwise we feel
deprived, frustrated and unhappy. What are the values that you hold worthy in your
life? Have you verified them? What if we discover that human values can be
universal too? If so, then we can be assured of a happy human society.

c- Complementarity of values and skills:

In the endeavour to fulfil our aspirations, two things are essential:
a) First and foremost, one has to know what really is conducive to human
happiness, i.e., happiness for one and for all and happiness at all times. This is what
becomes universally valuable to human beings.
b) Secondly, it becomes essential to learn methods and practices to actualize this
goal, to develop the techniques to make this happen in real life, in various
dimensions of human endeavour. This is the domain of ‘skills’.

d- Evaluation of our beliefs:

In absence of a correct understanding of universal human values, we are driven by our
‘ad-hoc’ values and beliefs. If we look deep into ourselves, we find that each one of us
believes in certain things and we base our ‘values’ on these beliefs, be it false or true.
Living our lives based only on beliefs will not ensure happiness for us. This is very
important for us to understand. Do we want to live with such shaky beliefs? Or do we
want to know things for sure, for ourselves? We can either blindly follow our beliefs
and assumed values, towards making our choices or we can base our choices upon
values which are based on understanding of reality.

e- Technology and Human Values:

Technology is only a means to achieve what is considered “valuable” for a human
being in an effective and efficient manner. It is not within the scope of technology
to decide what is valuable. This decision lies outside its scope. It thus becomes
important to know correctly what is valuable. Without this decision, technology
can be aimless, directionless and can therefore be put to any use, either constructive
or destructive.
It is thus with the understanding of values that we can decide for technology and its
application. On one hand the shape of technology is decided by values and on the
other, the use of technology is also decided by values. For example: if we value the
relationship with the environment, we will work to create environment friendly
technologies (the shape of technology) and also put it to right use (use of
technology) say, for the enrichment of environment, replenishment of natural
resources etc . Conversely, if the relationship with the environment is something
we do not value, things could be the other way round.
As students of technology, we will be studying, creating and implementing
technologies. Getting trained on technology without deciding what is valuable,
could even prove counter productive as our technical skills are likely to be
misused. Therefore it is essential that we understand how technology relates to us
as individuals and to human society and nature at large before we attempt to put it
into practice.
Thus, there is a need to supplement technical education with value education, that
enables a human being to decide what is ‘valuable’, what is of ‘value’ to him.
To conclude, Value Education enables us to understand our needs and visualize our
goals correctly and also indicate the direction for their fulfillment. It also helps to
remove our confusions and contradictions and to rightly utilize the technological
innovations.
Value Education is a crucial missing link in the present education system which must
be adequately replenished. The present course is an effort in this direction.

Basic guidelines for value education:

Given below are broad guidelines to decide on what would qualify as a course on
value education:

Universal:
Whatever we study as value education has to be universally applicable to all human
beings and be true at all times and all places. In addition, it does not depend on sect,
creed, nationality and gender etc. . So it has to deal with universal human values.

Rational:
It has to be amenable to reasoning and not based on dogmas or blind beliefs. It can not
be a set of sermons or Do’s and Don’ts.

Natural and Verifiable:

We want to study something that is natural to us. Being natural means, it has to be
acceptable in a natural manner. When we live on the basis of such values that are
natural to us, it leads to fulfilment, leads to our happiness and also be conducive to
other people we interact with, as well as with nature.

All encompassing:
Value education is not merely an academic exercise. It is aimed at transforming our
consciousness and living. Hence, it has to permeate into all dimensions of our living,
namely, thought, behaviour, work and understanding/realization; as well as all levels
namely individual, family, society and nature.
Leading to harmony:
Finally, value education has to enable us to be in harmony within and in harmony with
others. Hence, when we live on the basis of these values, we start understanding that it
will lead to harmony in us and harmony in our interactions with other humans and the
rest of nature.

The content of Value Education:

To understand human values, we need to study human being along with all that is
there in the existence, and the role of human being in the relationship with each and
every unit in the existence.

Scope of study
As mentioned above, any course on value education must include
• All dimensions- thought, behaviour, work & realization, and
• All levels- individual, family, society, nature and existence of human living.
Accordingly, the content of Value Education will be to understand myself, my
aspirations, my happiness, understand the goal of human life comprehensively,
understand the other entities in nature, the innate inter-connectedness, the co-existence
in the nature/existence and finally the role of human being in this nature/existence.
Hence, it has to encompass understanding of harmony at various levels, namely,
individual, family, society, nature and existence, and finally, learning to live in
accordance with this understanding by being vigilant to one’s thought, behaviour and
work.

The Process of Value Education:

The process of value education has to be ascertained before we proceed. In this course
various aspects facilitating the understanding of human values will be presented as
proposals. You need to verify these proposals for yourselves. Let us see how we can
verify these proposals.
􀁺We will verify these proposals through self-exploration. We shall investigate into
these proposals and try to verify within us.
 􀁺This self-exploration will be done on the basis of whether the proposals are
acceptable to us in a natural manner – i.e. they need to be naturally acceptable to
us. We shall explore this concept further in the next chapter.
􀁺The self-exploration will also include verifying the proposals through experiential
validation, i.e. by living according to them. Experiential validation will ascertain
that when we go to live on the basis of this education, our living will be fulfilling
to us as well our surroundings.
􀁺Since the process is of self-exploration, and not of giving sermons or prescribing
dos and don’ts, you need not agree to all that is said, but only investigate into
them sincerely. We don't want to just theorize and impose stated truths.
􀁺This process of self-exploration has to be in the form of a dialogue, a dialogue
between the presenter [teachers] and the receiver [students] to begin with; and
slowly to translate into a dialogue within the receiver [students/the reader]
himself/herself. Each one of us can conduct this verification within myself.
􀁺This process is expected to initiate a transformation in our understanding, in our
consciousness and our living.
This process of self-verification needs to be applied to all the proposals. In this way,
we will proceed forward, one proposal at a time. Life is a laboratory and we will work
on the proposals and verify their truthfulness in ourselves and in our living.
Thus to conclude, whatever is said in the course is to be taken as a proposal to be
investigated and verified. This course is not about giving sermons or prescribing dos
and don’ts, but facilitating the student to be able to be authentic about himself/ herself
through self-exploration.

Summary:
􀂃Value education is required to correctly identify our basic aspiration, understand
the values that enable us to fulfil our basic aspiration, ensure complementarity of
values and skills, properly evaluate our beliefs that we tend to form due to lack of
right understanding of values and rightly develop or utilize technology to play its
role in our life.
􀂃Any course content on value education needs to be universal , rational, natural,
verifiable, all- encompassing and leading to harmony.

􀂃Value of any unit in this existence is its participation in the larger order of which it
is a part.

􀂃The content of value education will include all dimensions of a human being and
all dimensions of one’s living.

􀂃The process of value education is self-exploration which includes two things:

verification at the level of natural acceptance and experiential validation in living.

Understanding Harmony in the Human Being- Harmony in

Myself
7. Understanding human being as a co-existence of the sentient ‘I’ and the material
‘Body’
8. Understanding the needs of Self (‘I’) and ‘Body’ - Sukh and Suvidha
9. Understanding the Body as an instrument of ‘I’ (I being the doer, seer and enjoyer)
10. Understanding the characteristics and activities of ‘I’ and harmony in ‘I’
11. Understanding the harmony of I with the Body: Sanyam and Swasthya; correct
appraisal of Physical needs, meaning of Prosperity in detail
12. Programs to ensure Sanyam and Swasthya
- Practice Exercises and Case Studies will be taken up in Practice Sessions.

Understanding Harmony in the Family and Society- Harmony in

Human-Human Relationship

13. Understanding harmony in the Family- the basic unit of human interaction
14. Understanding values in human-human relationship; meaning of Nyaya and
program for its fulfillment to ensure Ubhay-tripti; Trust (Vishwas) and Respect
(Samman) as the foundational values of relationship
15. Understanding the meaning of Vishwas; Difference between intention and
competence
16. Understanding the meaning of Samman, Difference between respect and
differentiation; the other salient values in relationship
17. Understanding the harmony in the society (society being an extension of family):
Samadhan, Samridhi, Abhay, Sah-astitva as comprehensive Human Goals
18. Visualizing a universal harmonious order in society- Undivided Society (Akhand
Samaj), Universal Order (Sarvabhaum Vyawastha )- from family to world family!
Practice Exercises and Case Studies will be taken up in Practice Sessions

Implications of the above Holistic Understanding of Harmony on

Professional Ethics

23. Natural acceptance of human values

24. Definitiveness of Ethical Human Conduct
25. Basis for Humanistic Education, Humanistic Constitution and Humanistic
Universal Order
26. Competence in professional ethics:
a) Ability to utilize the professional competence for augmenting universal
human order,
b) Ability to identify the scope and characteristics of people-friendly and ecofriendly
production systems,
c) Ability to identify and develop appropriate technologies and management
patterns for above production systems.
27. Case studies of typical holistic technologies, management models and production
systems
28. Strategy for transition from the present state to Universal Human Order:
a) At the level of individual: as socially and ecologically responsible engineers,
technologists and managers
b) At the level of society: as mutually enriching institutions and organizations

Values in Work-Life
The highest reward for a person’s work is not what he gets from it; but what he
becomes by it.
-Thomas Carlyle
The overall quality of life in the contemporary world is very much affected by
the values associated with the work-life, i.e. the field of work from which we earn out
livelihood. This is truer for the fast expanding group of modern professional. For most
of them work-life is all the life they have. It shapes their attitudes, aspirations, life-
goals, priorities and values; in short, their whole of person forming the work group,
particularly by the organizational values fostered by the leaders of the organization.
Many a times there are conflicts between the personal values of an individual and the
values of the work-life. These conflicts are a major source of tensions and stresses in
the modern life. We shall explore here some of the value dimensions of work-life by
discussing themes like attitudes to work, Work ethics, organizational values, and
pursuit of excellence.
1- Attitudes to work
2- Work ethics and Quality of work life
3- Organizational values
4- Pursuit of Excellence
5- Some Encouraging trends
1- ATTITUDES TO WORK
This theme is centered on two basic questions, why do we work? And why should we
work? The answer could be put at different levels. At the most basic level, we work
out of necessity to earn a livelihood so that we can support ourselves and our family.
We seek the kind of employment which enables us to fulfill our social obligations,
helps us live in comfort, and fulfill our economic ambition. These include not only
material needs and economic security but also our desire for comforts and enjoyments.

2- WORK ETHICS AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE

This term is primarily used for ethical attitude to work done in the context of
employment. Every employer, be it an individual or an organization, expects efficient
and diligent performance of duties assigned to the employees. This is a rightful
expectation, and therefore meeting this expectation is a moral demand on the
employees.
3- ORGANISATION VALUES
Right attitude to work, principal conduct in work related activities, and pursuit of
values by the individual persons forming a work group are essential for uplifting the
quality of work life. But in addition to these personal values, the value climate at the
work place is very much shaped by the values pursued and promoted by the as a
whole.
4- PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE
Pursuit of excellence in the context of work –life would mean attainment of exception
achievement or success in some area of work –life. One could become an excellent
worker, excellent manager, excellent engineer, and so on. However in a more general
way, it should mean getting excellent result from life as a whole.
5- SOME ENCOURAGING TRENDS
In the past it was generally thought that realm of ethics and human values is the
personal life of an individual. It was here that one was expected to cultivate virtues
and to show attitudes of love, kindness and compassion in inter –personal relationship,
work life, professional life, business life, public life etc. were the areas where the rules
of conduct were expected to be entirely different.
Professional Ethics
 While deriving its inspiration form the general ethical principles, professional
ethics addresses itself to the problems of conduct in professional life. The modern
society needs services of a large number of distinct specialist groups. They range from
plumbers, bakers, salespersons, clerks, to managers, engineers and university
professor. They have varying degrees of social recognition and status. Some
professional groups, like those of lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers,
command grater respect and authority. They have been called the ‘higher professions’
or the ‘learned professions’. This is because to practice them one needs a university
degree, and higher levels of intellectual and professional skills. They are better
organized and are more conscious of their professional belongingness, professional
image and professional duties. Also, ethical issues arising in the practice of these
professions have been well articulated and commented upon. These higher professions
have also evolved their separate codes of professional ethics, and some mechanisms to
seek adherence to these codes by individual members. Therefore, in this discussion on
professional ethics the word profession is used to designate these learned professions
only.
Four centuries ago Francis bacon said knowledge is power. This is much truer
of specialized, professional knowledge of the modern times. Like other forms of
power it has great potential for advancing human well-being. But if misutilised in an
irresponsible or exploitative way it can also cause grievous harm. Wily lawyers,
corrupt judges, greedy doctors, irresponsible engineers and insincere teachers are
scourge on society. Because of the technicalities and complexities involved in their
work, the general public has little knowledge of their professional immorality or
incompetence till the actual damage is done: innocents get sentenced; patients die, and
bridges collapse. Therefore it is necessary to regulate these professions to safeguard
the interests of the society. One form of this regulation is through legislative and legal
processes. For example, medical practice is now included under the provisions on
consumer’s protection act similarly there are a number of environmental industrial and
labour laws to regulate engineering activities. But these can at best check only some of
the grossest valuation of professional authority a better way is voluntary self
regulation by professional themselves particularly societies. These bodies lay down
the rules regarding standards of professional practice and professional conduct. Some
of them, like the medical council and the bar council, also have legal powers to take
disciplinary or punitive actions against erring members. However, the foundations of
professional ethics, like those of ethics in general, are much deeper than the externally
imposed laws, rules and norms of professional practice. They reside in the moral
sensitivity and moral will of the individual. Being conscious of their collective, social
and moral responsibility as organized socials institutions, the profession have also
evolved distinct ethos are common to all the higher professions. The concepts of
professional ethics flow out of this professional ethos. To bring out this ethos we first
ask and answer the question, what is a profession?
1- What is a profession?
2- Professional Ethos
3- Code of Professional ethics
4- Practicing the code
5- Beyond whistle blowing
6- Concluding comments
1- WHAT IS A PROFESSION?
The terms profession and professional are used in many different senses. Some of
them are not relevant in the present context. For example, one meaning of the word
professional is a person who engages in sporting, artistic or some other leisurely
activity for earning money rather than for merely enjoining it as a hobby.
a- Systematic body of theory
Every profession has a distinct body of organized theoretical knowledge and certain
practical skills associated with it. The practical skills also flow out of the theory.
Therefore, to master them one has first to learn the theory though adequate academic
training. This is one major difference between professional skills like those of
surgeons and non-professional skills like that of brick lying. Acquiring theoretical
knowledge is intellectually more demanding than learning operational procedures and
practical skills of a trade. For example, it is more difficult to learn the theory of
rotating electrical machines than to learn how to repair an electric motor. That is why
admission standards for entry into professional courses at the university level are so
rigorous.
Theoretical knowledge of professional subjects is developed through academic study
and researches each other to advance professional knowledge. This advancement
creates newer areas of specialization and super-specialization to continuously update
levels of academic training. Professionals have to continuously update their
knowledge and skills to maintain their competence and effectiveness.
b- Professional Authority
Because of their specialized knowledge, kills and experience professionals acquire a
kind of authority over the clients, patients and others who seek their professional
services. As lay persons the clients have little knowledge as to what would be the best
remedy for their problem. They cannot evaluate the implications and consequences of
adopting different courses of actions, and have to depend upon the professional to take
these decisions. Thus the client has to have trust and faith in the professional.
Honoring this trust by safeguarding the interests of the client and rendering him the
best professional service is a moral obligation on the professional. Using the
professional authority and trust to exploit the client for personal gains is the worst kind
of professional immorality.
c- Sanction of the Community
All professions are social constructs. Their operation, growth, and importance depend
upon community sanction. This sanction is given because the professions serve the
society and satisfy some indispensable social need. They help realize certain values
which are cherished by the society. Legal profession helps establishment of justice in
the society. Medical profession serves by relieving us of suffering from diseases and
by promoting good health. Engineering profession works for material prosperity,
conveniences and comforts. This service motivation is a key element of the
professional ethos. It is on this account that professionals are treated with greater
respect, accorded a higher status, and are better paid autonomy to regulate and to
manage their professions. For example, professional bodies have a large say in
deciding the entrance requirements and educational standards. Some like the medical
Council and the Bar Council grant licenses without which one cannot practice. These
licenses have legal validity.
d- Regulative Code of Ethics
 Many a time’s considerations of personal gain, of expediency, make individual
profession lose sight of the professional ideals and values. They may misutilise their
professional authority and privileges to the detriment of their clients, or of the society
at large. Such unscrupulous acts lower the prestige of the profession. Concerned with
such acts all higher professions have evolved codes of ethics to regulate professional
practice and conduct of their numbers. The codes enunciate the ethical principles and
norms of the profession and provide guidance for ethical conduct in professional
situations. They are reminders to the members of their professional duties and
obligations. The provisions of the code also give guidelines for resolving situations of
moral conflicts through these functions the codes of professional ideals.
e- The Professional Culture
Every profession develops a special kind of group culture which plays an important
role in professional life. One component of this professional culture concerns views on
the value and importance of the professions. Professional feel that they are providing
some very valuable service to the society, without which the quality of life would be
very much poorer. They have a sense of belonging, together with the sense of
professional power, provides a strong cohesive force to the members of the profession.
This cohesiveness is further strengthened by professional societies. They serve a
number of functions: as a platform for sharing technical advances in the field; for
discussing matters of common interest to the profession; for raising collective voice to
influence government policies; for resolving intra-professional conflicts; for deciding
norms of professional service, and for formulating and enforcing code of professional
ethics.
2- PROFESSIONAL ETHOS
One main pillar of professional ethos is the striving for excellence. Professional
excellence requires mastery of the theoretical knowledge as well as practical skills of
the profession and their continuous up gradation to keep abreast of the latest
developments in one’s field. Of even greater importance is the enthusiasm for
applying this knowledge to find innovative solution to a challenging problem at hand.
True professional feel exhilarated when they find optimal solution to a tricky problem.
They are fired more by the impulse to excel, to perform maximally, than to seek
maximum personal gain out of a professional transaction. The second pillar of
professionalism is the motivation of service. When a person approaches a professional,
say with a medical or a legal problem, the professional’s primary concern ought to be,
how I can help the person with the best possible remedy. Similarly, when entrusted
with designing or executing a project an engineer should find the best engineering
solution, while safeguarding the interest of the workers, the community, the natural
environment and ecology. That would be the right professional attitude for advancing
the ideals of the profession and for redeeming its promise to serve the society. Instead,
if the professional approaches the task with the primary motivation of ‘how much
money I can make out of the transaction’, or ‘how can I advance my personal gains’, it
would be against the professional ethos. Such an attitude may be called a commercial
attitude which is the antithesis of professional attitude. In fact commercialization of
professional is one of the important problems sought to be counteracted by the concept
of professional ethics.
3- CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
The primary purpose of a written code of professional ethics is to encourage and
inspire individual members to practice the professional in an ethical manner. The code
articulated professional ideals, and the duties and obligations of the members of the
professional. It also gives general guidelines for deciding the right conduct in
professional situations. It will be best to discuss the aims, scope and significance of
such codes by a specific example. We shall select the code of professional ethics of
engineers for this purpose.
* Evolution of the Code of Ethics
The code discussed above was adopted by the IEEE in 1990. But it has a long
history. Its evolution reflects the changing perception of professional ethics, both
within the profession and in the society at large. The first code of ethics was proposed
in 1907 by a committee of the then American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE).
But it was not accepted on the ground that,
The engineer was the servant of his employer, and not code of ethics can be enforced
which conflicts with the will of the employer.
4- PRACTICINE THE CODE
Considerable efforts have been made in recent decades to develop and to refine the
code of professional ethics for engineers. However, it would be difficult to say that
these efforts have made engineers more ethical. There are several reasons for the
limited impact of the code on actual professional behaviour. A majority of Indian
engineers are not even aware of the contents of the code. Many do not even know that
such codes exist. Nowhere in their education or training are they exposed to the ideals
of the profession, its ethos and its code of professional ethics [8]. The situation in the
western countries appears to be only somewhat better. Even those who know the
provisions of the code find them to be of little practical use in resolving ethical issues
arising in the practice of the professional.
a- The Pinto Case, where whistle was not blown
In response to the Japanese competition, Ford Company of USA introduced a
subcompact car, called Pinto, in 1971. In their hurry to market the car quickly and at a
low enough price, the safety of the car was not given sufficient attention. Its rear
mounted gas tank had the tendency to explode when hit from behind at even a low
speed of 20 miles per hour. Engineers designing the car were conscious of this fact.
They suggested addition of a shield costing less than ten dollars, which would have
increased the safety considerably. However, this engineering judgment was overruled
by the higher management. They did not want to make any design changes till the new
safety standards, which they were legally obliged to follow, were laid down by the
state. Their cost-benefit analysis indicated that it would be cheaper to pay damages for
estimated number of accidents, injuries and deaths than to incur expenses on
improving safety. This was a foolish decision even on purely financial basis. By 1977
Ford ended up paying more than 50 million dollars in litigation, whereas the changed
design would have cost them only 20million dollars. In 1977 when new safety
standards came into force, the car failed the test and Ford had to recall 1.9 million
pintos. By that time more than twenty fiery deaths had occurred due to this design
defect.
b- The BART Case; where whistle was not blown
This has become a famous case in area of professional ethics, perhaps the very first
recorded case of whistle blowing. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a modern rail
transportation system in California, USA. It was built over the period 1966 to1971.
Three engineers working on the system were dissatisfied with the unprofessional
manner in which the control and communication system, particularly the Automatic
Train Control (ATC) system, was being developed and installed by the contractors and
subcontractors. They wrote memos to their supervisors pointing out the danger to train
safety. They did not get any satisfactory response. Instead, they were warned not to
become troublemakers. They then reported the matter to one of the members of the
Board of Directors. In February’ 72 a public hearing was held at which presentations
were made by a consulting engineer on behalf of the three engineers, as well as by the
contractors. By a majority vote the Board rejected the engineers’ concerns. Within a
week the BART management fired the three engineers without giving any reason for
dismissal. The IEEE, whose code of ethics the engineers were following, tried to
intervene but to no avail. An independent investigation by IEEE confirmed the
engineers’ apprehensions. The report was submitted to the California State Senate.
Further investigations by the Legislature and a special panel of distinguished engineers
also concurred with the engineer’s concerns. A more dramatic confirmation came
within three week’s of starting the service for commuters. A BART train overran a
station in 1972 due to ATC failure, INJURING SEVERAL PASSENGERS. The ATC
was stopped and the trains operated manually. It required major changes in the
system, and expenditure of several hundred million dollars to rectify the defects.
5- BEYOND WHISTLE BLOWING
Since the BART case there have been a number of cases of whistle blowing where
courageous engineers have brought into open the wrongdoings of their employers.
And in every case they had to suffer retaliation from their organizations. Such
conscientious engineers are caught up in a tragic conflict between their loyalty to the
organization and their wider responsibility to protest public interest as professionals.
The situation has been called a conflict between the ‘career and the conscience’.
Putting engineers in such agonizing quandaries is hardly the right way to promote
professional eithics amongst them.
6- CONCLUDING COMMENTS
Serious examination of the ethical dimensions of engineering profession has started
only about three decades back. Ideas on professional ethics, social responsibilities of
professionals, and on code of professional ethics have been advanced by a small group
of sensitive engineers. These ideas have not yet taken firm hold on the value temper of
the majority of professionals. This is particularly so in our country. Large number of
bright young persons is being attracted to engineering, management, medical and other
professional courses. The main reason for this attraction is the promise of handsome
income, and the prestige and power attached to these professions. For the sake of
these material rewards professionals are ready to offer their services, knowledge and
skills to the highest bidder, without asking questions about the moral and social worth
of their professional work, or of their employer.
Human Values in Management
Management is the process of arranging and supervising work- activities in
organization so that their goals are achieved ‘efficiently’ and effectively’. Modern
organization is of different kinds: government departments, educational institutions
charitable or not-for profit organizations, industrial, commercial and other types of
business organizations. They have different structures, different ways of working and
different goals. Yet there are certain management functions, like planning, organizing,
leading, controlling, which are common to all organizations. Management science is
the academic discipline which provides conceptual tools for performing this function
systematically and efficiently. The maximum emphasis in management literature,
however, is on the problem related to business organization.
The goals of a business organization are defined in purely economic terms;
maximizing profit, increasing market share and turn over, gaining strategic and
competitive advantages, etc. The dominant attitude is summed up in the often quoted
phrase that ‘the purpose of business is to make money’. Examination of the moral
worth of this goal, and the social, human and environmental costs of pursuing it, are
not a part of management science. Nor is it a part of the value temper of the corporate
world which uses this science, and the management trained on the basis of this
science, for increasing its power and prosperity. The management science takes the
business goals as valid and given. It then works out the best ways to achieve it on the
basis of scientific, i.e. rational and empirical, analysis. Such scientific methodology is
by definition non-normative and hence amoral or value –neutral. Therefore,
consideration of social, ethical and human values is generally absent from mainstream
management thought and management practice.
This typical attitude of value-neutrality stems from the belief that commercial and
business activities should be carried out strictly according to economic laws. They
should not be fettered by ethical and human values. Submitting to the demands of
these values will impose unwarranted cost on business, reducing its economic
efficiency. The guiding economic laws were developed to suite the ideology of
capitalism. The main components of this ideology are: recognition of the profit
principal as the main (perhaps the sole) motivator of economic activities, the spirit of
free enterprise and self-seeking individualism, free trade and open competition. The
ideology believes that the regulating function for business activity should be left to the
market mechanism of balance between supply and demand. Social and governmental
control of business should be minimal and should operate through public laws and
perhaps the ordinary human decencies of not lying or cheating, businesses have no
other social, moral or human responsibility. This classical view of capitalism is
succinctly expressed in the modern times in the following assertion of the Nobel
laureate economist, Milton Friedman:
“There is one and only one responsibility of business: to use its resources and
energy in activities designed to increase its profits as long as it stays within the rules
of the game ……(and) engages in open and free competition, without deception and
fraud’’.
The Moral and human devastation caused by this attitude of value-neutrality
was intensified in practice because even the small constraining clause ‘without
deception and fraud’ was mostly given a go by under the pressures of cut-throat
competition in the single minded pursuit of increasing profits. Often, it merely meant
taking care not to break any laws overtly, or being clever enough not to get caught in
the act. It is not necessary to elaborate on these ‘moral horrors’. They blow up
regularly as various kinds of scams and frauds, both nationally and internationally.
One suspects that these detected cases are only a small part of the much larger iceberg
of corporate immorality.
Friedman’s views echoes the attitude of the older ‘hard core capitalism’.
It is now considered an extreme view. Times have changed. Today there is greater
social pressure on businesses globally to give a better account of their social and
ethical performance. But why was this pernicious attitude of value –neutrality on the
part of corporations, and denial of social and moral responsibilities of their economic
pursuits, tolerated by the society for so long? The answer to this question perhaps lies
in an angularity of the post-Renaissance western intellectual tradition. It was accepted
that the tenets of ethics and morality should not apply to ‘secular’ pursuits like
politics, economics, science and technology. Their continued and accelerated growth
was considered to be of ‘vital necessity’ to the society. In a way they were made
absolute and unconditional values, i.e. ends in themselves, to be pursued for their own
sake, irrespective of their conflict with other human values. Another argument was
that the rules of morality are applicable are only to the conduct of human persons.
Corporation is merely legal and mechanical structures, created for economic pursuits.
They can not be expected to have moral sensibility; and hence the laws of ethics do
not apply to them. This erroneous and misleading view holds some force even today.
A contemporary moral philosopher writes:
“…………………a corporation is logically incapable of having moral attitude
and its conduct can only be understood in relation to the aims of the corporation”.
Similarly, pursuit of politics, state-craft, diplomacy, etc. was taken out of the
purview of morality. All kinds of skullduggery, warmongering, domination and
exploitation of the weaker nations, were condoned on the ground of being of ‘vital
necessity’ for maintaining sovereignty of the state.
If we examine this western attitude from the perspective of Indian value
tradition, it would mean that the pursuit of artha (economics and politics) was made
independent of the binding regulatory force of dharma (ethics, virtue, human values).
Not only that, artha was given a priority over dharma. In the Indian view this is a
value perversion of the highest order. This skewing of value priorities is reflected even
in the attitude towards personal life. Individual success in business, politics or other
professions, i.e. attainment of wealth, power and social status, were considered more
important than practice of virtues. This distorted attitude has gained respectability in
the value temper of the modern Indian also. Perhaps now it is more dominant here
than in the modern West.
It is the nature of human spirit that it does not countenance for long practices
contrary to civilized moral and human sensibilities. Social, ethical and human critiques
of the modern technologies, industrial and commercial culture gained strong
momentum by the middle of the last century. It found forceful expression in the
writings of Mumford, Ellul and Schumacher. The most vocal Indian critic of this
aspect of Western civilization was Mahatma Gandhi. As a corollary to these changing
thought currents, social started exerting greater pressure on business corporations to
mend their mercenary and cavalier ways. As a result the value-attitudes of business, its
relationship and obligations to society and social problems, started changing
significantly. This change is reflected both in the modern management theory and
management practice. One such concept, which is now widely accepted in the
business world, is that of ‘corporate social responsibility’. We examine it in the next
section.
1- Corporate social responsibility
2- Shift to ethics
3- The larger domain of Human Values
4- Institutionalizing Ethics and Human values
1- CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
To appreciate the significance of this concept it will be instructive to look at the
historical evolution of the modern economic and political thought. The traditional way
of organizing business, based on capitalist view of economy, and with a narrowly
defined goal of profit maximization without moral and social constrains, may be
called the purely economic model of business. Its theoretical foundations were laid by
Adam Smith in the eighteenth century. This model was readily adopted by the rising
class of traders, bankers, manufacturers and industrialist of the period as it very much
suited their interests. Its efficiency and dynamism brought new wealth to the rich
class.
2- Shift to Ethics
a- Rationale for the Shift
Why should companies submit themselves to the demands of ethics? The straight
answer to this question is that because the society wants them to do so. In today’s
democratic times no one can survive and grow by going against the collective social
expectation and the ‘social will’. This changed social expectation is not merely a
passing change in the ideological temper. It has solid reasons for it. Today, business
corporations have become much more powerful than in the past. Every aspect of
modern life is affected by their activities, attitudes and values they largely determine
the quality of modern life. No civilized society can permit such a powerful social
force to operate amorally. Human society globally has learnt the hard way the sad
lesson of permitting such value neutral attitudes in business.
b- Corporate Ethical Conduct
To be moral actors corporations should have moral sensibility and moral intelligence.
Their conduct should also be governed by the ethical values we discussed in chapter
seven. That means they must practice moral virtues, particularly those of integrity,
fairness, and concern for others. At a lower level of moral sensibility they must ‘do
no harm’. At a higher level, they should seek out ways to ‘do good’. Furthermore,
they must be socially and morally responsible i.e. must practice the ‘ethics of
responsibility’. These ethical virtues and principles are the same as those applicable to
individuals. However, there is a major difference between the application of ethics to
individuals and to the corporations.
c- Ethics and Economics
As noted earlier there are several economic advantages in being ethical. Many
empirical studies confirm that ethical companies do better economically compared to
their peers. But that does not mean ethics and economics are always congruent. A
course of action which is ethically upright may be economically disastrous, and vice-
versa. The relationship between ethics and economics is quite complex and depends
on a number of external factors, like the pressure of competition, the urgency of
company’s financial needs, the corruption level of the governmental agencies, and the
value temper of the society. Of crucial significance is the company’s own level of
moral sensibility and commitment to ethical values. Therefore, it will be too
simplistic to assume that ethics always pays or that it pays enough. As in other areas of
life, taking an ethical stance is often a tough decision. It may mean foregoing business
opportunities, or accepting lesser profits for the sake of upholding ethical principles.
In extreme cases it may even be a choice between staying in business or going out of
it. That is the implication of being a moral actor.
3- THE LARGER DOMAIN OF HUMAN VALUES
The discussion in the previous sections shows an evolutionary change in business
philosophy. Earlier, business organizations were looked upon as purely profit
maximizing economic entities. This economic model was improved upon by
accepting social responsibility as an integral part of business activity. The next step in
this process of value refinement was the moralizing of corporations where they are
considered moral actors, guided by ethical values. Although by no means universal,
this view is being embraced by many leading organizations, with varying degree of
enthusiasm and effectiveness. Most business leaders however do seem to agree that
long term sustainable growth cannot be achieved by ignoring ethical demands on
corporate conduct. These perceptions have resulted in the growth of ‘business ethics’
as a body of knowledge expressed in a reasonably systematic conceptual framework.
Most business schools in the western countries do teach a course on business ethics to
their management students. The trend is fast growing in India also.
4- INSTITUTIONALISING ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES
The ascending growth of the value consciousness of organizations- from
“socialization” to “humanization” is a difficult journey. This is because the process
requires a change in the collective value temper of the organization. Such a change is
more difficult to achieve than change in the value temper of individuals, it needs
changing the whole of organizational culture by weaving ethics and human values into
the very fabric of the organization. These values are then reflected in all the activities
of the organization: in its plans and politics, treatment of employees and other
stakeholders, its interactions with the external environment, the attitudes and beliefs of
its members, its handing of external and internal crises etc. that is, ethics and human
values becomes the very dharma of the organization, the internal law of being and its
working. This is what ought to be the goal of efforts for institutionalizing ethics and
human values. The path for achieving this goal is by no means clear and well laid out.
A few business organization are showing the right way through their corporate
activism. But it will need a lot more creative thinking, visionary zeal and unflinching
will power to secure the path towards values on firm foundations. In the section we
discuss some of the steps being taken in this directions, and the possibility of taking
many more.
a- Vision and Values Statement
An effective and necessary step towards institutionalizing ethics and human
values is to articulate clearly the vision and the values of the organization. The vision
statement is a conceptualization of some better state of existence for all the
stakeholders which the organization wishes to achieve. It indicates the meaning or the
purpose for which the company exists, the cause it seeks to serve, the contribution it
wants to make and the ultimate goal it wishes to achieve, besides creating wealth and
advancing its techno- economic interests.
b- Management by values
To be effective the mission statement should be used for guidance in all the
fields of management: planning, organizing, leading and controlling. The plans,
politics, procedures, work- rules, etc. should all be in consonance with the stated
principles and values. Every decision, whether technical, economic or administrative,
should be checked against the mission statement to ensure that it is not violative of the
guiding principles. That is, the mission statement should have the same sanctity and
importance as the constitution has for the government of the country.

c- Value- education for managers

for management by values to succeed it is necessary that manager be educated
about social, moral and human values. One objective of this value education will be to
clarify the abstract value concepts. Such conceptual clarify can be brought about by
proper examination of the meaning, scope, interrelationship, and significance of
different kinds of values. Many think that this kind of academic or philosophical
discussion is superfluous for working managers who already have good university
education and sufficient experience of life and its problems. This is simply not true.
Experience in conducting such programmes indicates that most of us, even in the later
year of life, show glaring blind spots in our understanding of value concepts. Perhaps
pride comes into the way of accepting our ignorance, and we continue to delude
ourselves that we already know what ethics and human values are. This ignorance is
no fault of managers. In the process of growing up, going through formal educational
programmes, and in the course of their professional training, they have had no
opportunity to engage in a systematic enquiry into the nature of different values.
d- Value audit of organizations
Institutionalizing any new idea is a slow and a difficult process. This is equally
true for institutionalizing ethics and human values in the modern industrial and
business organizations. The process acquires momentum and greater effectiveness if
the impact of efforts being made is monitored, evaluated and audited. The term ‘value
audit’ would mean monitoring and evaluating at regular intervals the social,
environmental, human and the ethical performance. It would do same thing for the
values performance what financial audit does for the economic performance of the
organization. The audit would point our how for the sentiments expressed in the vision
and values statement are being actually translated into practice. It would bring to light
problems areas where greater efforts are needed for seeking better alignment between
professed values and actual practices. It may also point out the need for modifying
some of the politics and practices for better values performance of the organizations.
For example, if the value statement emphasizes team working but the reward system
focuses only on individual performance there would be a misalignment problem. The
audit may indicate that the values are being wrongly interpreted in some quarters. This
may call for more effective measures for training managers in values.