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Module1: Professionalism, Values and Ethics in

Profession (6hrs)
Professionalism: Professional characteristics, professional education, professional development in
Industry. Values and Ethics in Profession- Value system- goodness, means and ends; Ethics-ethical
premises, expectation, conflicts and practices; Moral and ego, Ethics and morality Right, virtue
ethics and justice, utility and justice, privacy, challenges to privacy, privacy on the Internet.
Professional Ethics–Definition of Ethics, Professional Ethics, Business Ethics, Corporate Ethics,
Engineering Ethics, Personal Ethics; Code of Ethics as defined in the website of Institution of
Engineers(India); Profession, Professionalism, Professional Responsibility, professional Ethics;
Conflict of Interest, Gift Vs Bribery, Environmental breaches, Negligence, Deficiencies in state-of-the-
art; Vigil , Whistle blowing, protected disclosures.

Premise of ethics: Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what
humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific
virtues.

Dimensions of Ethics
Ethics seeks to resolve challenges of human morality by defining
certain themes such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and
vice, justice and crime. Moral philosophy is connected to the
sciences of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory as
a subject of intellectual investigation. Moral philosophy also called
‘Ethics’, includes systemizing, defending and promoting conceptions
of good and bad conduct in our society.

The notions of good and bad are a matter of perspective and are
prone to alter regularly. It is the study conducted by ethics that
attempts to develop a common viewpoint that determines what is
deemed right and wrong. Questions of human morality concerning
good and evil, virtues and vices, fairness and injustice and other
related issues are addressed by four primary facets of ethics,
which are called the Dimensions of Ethics.

Four Facets of Ethics

The many dimensions of studying ethics enable arriving at ethical
conclusions in difficult situations. These many approaches to ethics
investigate how ethical conduct is determined in a given context.
Humans are presented with circumstances in which their actions
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may result in opposing and maybe equally disagreeable alternatives.

There are four major dimensions of ethics:

 Normative or Prescriptive Ethics

 Descriptive Ethics
 Meta-ethics
 Applied Ethics
Let us take each in detail one by one:

Meta-Ethics
Meta-ethics is concerned with the problems that determine whether
a given subject or item is morally right or morally wrong. It inquires
about our comprehension– how we perceive whether a decision,
action, or purpose is good or negative.

 It focuses on the meaning of ethical concepts in general,

rather than the applied question of ‘what should be done in a
specific situation?’ It is not concerned with whether an action
is right or wrong; rather, it is concerned with the fairness and
evilness of morality itself. Naturalism, non-naturalism, and
prescriptivism are the three main theories in meta-ethics.
 Philosophers have been attempting to provide a precise
account of meta-ethics since antiquity. For
example, Aristotle proposed that our judgement of good and
evil is founded on our grasp of other subjects and the relative
ethical wisdom that we passively obtain from it.
 Aristotle also stated that acculturation has a significant
impact on our thoughts and conceptions about a subject.
When two or more cultures coexist in a geographical location,
the diverse characteristics of each culture are absorbed into
their everyday lives, broadening their knowledge span and
influencing their understanding of good and evil.
 Modern philosophers are divided on meta-ethics. There are two
schools of thought:

 Non- Cognitivism– This abstract ideology believes that

when we label anything as right or wrong based on our
moral knowledge, our judgement is neither true nor
untrue. Non-cognitivists are non-realists because they
do not believe that a specific ontology is required for
meta-ethics
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 Cognitivism– This school of thought emphasises the role

of facts and numbers in determining moral good
and wrong. Cognitivist are realists because they explain
what kinds of properties or states are relevant to this
subject, what values they possess and why they guide and
motivate one’s decisions and actions.

Normative or Prescriptive Ethics

It is the study of ethical beliefs that govern how individuals
should act and behave in society. Furthermore, it investigates
norms for the righteousness and wrongfulness of the conduct. If
someone violates set norms, there are grounds for punishment as
well as an explanation for doing so. The following are some of the
dimensions of normative ethics:

1. Deontology Ethics: It contends that the ideal ethical action

protects and respects the moral rights of those
impacted. The fundamental assumption is that persons have
dignity as a result of their human nature or free choice. Based
on such dignity, people have the right to be recognised as goals
in themselves, rather than just as means to other objectives. As
a result, means are more essential than aims. The following are
some deontological theories:

 Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative:

Universality and Principle of reciprocity– By
universality, Kant means that a moral rule must be
applied to all individuals (for example, Liberty, Basic
Human Rights of Life and Property), and by reciprocity, he
meant “do as you would be done by” (for example, aid
someone in need if you wish to be helped in the event of
hardship).
 Moral absolutism– According to this viewpoint, there
exist absolute standards against which moral questions
may be examined to establish the rightness and
wrongness of actions regardless of circumstances. For
example, if telling a lie is immoral, then the idea of an
Ethical lie is irrelevant in terms of moral constraints.

 Contractarianism- According to this viewpoint, moral rules

are those that are acceptable to all members of society,
but they must be objective when analysing their moral
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value. For instance, consider John Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance and

Thomas Hobbes’ Social Contract.
 Natural rights theory- This viewpoint believes in
the existence of absolute inherent rights that are
bestowed upon humans just by their humanity. John Locke and
Thomas Aquinas (natural right theory) are two examples (Life,
liberty and property rights being unalienable).
 Divine Command theory- It claims that behaviour is justified
if God has ordained that it is right. According to this idea, the
rightness of any action is determined by the fact that it is
undertaken as it is a responsibility, not out of any potential
benefits resulting from that activity.

Virtue Ethics:
Ethical behaviours should be compatible with certain ideal virtues
that allow for the complete development of our humanity. These
virtues are dispositions and habits that enable us to behave
in accordance with our highest potential and on behalf of
attribute values such as truth, honesty, bravery, compassion, and
so on. Plato, who defined justice and other virtues as soul
harmony, established the groundwork for it.
According to Plato, a brave man can be brave even if he is never
given the opportunity to demonstrate it. Aristotle defines virtue as
the middle ground between two vices, thus generosity between
miserliness and prodigality. Furthermore, he claims for virtue is a
habit, implying that someone who lacks the right virtue but has
internal dispositions can acquire it gradually via practice. The key
proponents of virtue ethics were Plato, Aristotle, and Thomas
Aquinas.

1. Egalitarianism Approach- (Approach to Fairness, Justice, and

Equality)- Egalitarianism asserts that all advantages and
obligations should be divided using the following: “Every
person should be assigned a precisely equal share of
society’s benefits and burdens.” Today, we utilise this
concept to support affirmative action, such as India’s
reservation system for disadvantaged sectors of society.

 Teleological Ethics- As per this viewpoint, the morality of

an act is determined by the consequence of that action.
It indicates that morally right activity will result in a good
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outcome, whereas morally wrong conduct will result in a

terrible end. In this viewpoint, the results are more essential
than the methods (process) and hence “ends justify the
means“. They can be:
 Altruism– It is good to live for others rather than for oneself.
 Asceticism– It entails abstaining from egoistic pleasures to
pursue a spiritual aim.
 Egoism– The best action/decision is one that maximises one’s
own good.
 Consequentialist Libertarianism- Liberty should be
maximised.
 Hedonism- It states that the best action/decision is one that
maximises pleasure.
 Intellectualism– The ideal action/decision advances
knowledge the most.
 Welfarism– The ideal action/decision enhances economic well-
being the most.
 Utilitarianism- The best action/decision is one that results in
the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number of
people.
 Situation Ethics- The best action/decision is the one that
results in the greatest amount of love.

Descriptive Ethics
This dimension of ethics is on the less intellectual end of the ethical
spectrum. It gathers knowledge on how people live, observes
patterns of events that arise in their surroundings, and draws broad
judgments based on these observations.

 It is an empirical study of people’s moral ideas based on

law and conventions. It investigates the history and evolution
of Ethics and provides documentation of particular taboos,
norms, or conventions. Descriptive Ethics may be seen
in Kohlberg’s idea of moral awareness.
 By providing a value-free viewpoint on ethics, descriptive ethics
distinguishes itself as a part of social science rather than
human morality. Descriptive ethics does not begin with
preconceived theories and assumptions but rather prefers to
extensively study the subject’s existing facts and
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examples, making observations of actual decisions made by

moral actors in a practical world.
 The study of descriptive ethics encompasses a wide range of
examinations, including ethical codes that establish rules
and regulations for society, informal theories on etiquette, legal
and arbitration practices, and finally, observing choices made
by ordinary people without the support or advice of a specialist.

Applied Ethics
This is the theme of ethics that is used in everyday life in a variety of
domains of work and living. It is concerned with the philosophical
investigation of specific moral dilemmas in private and public life
including moral judgements. It uses the conceptual tools of meta-
ethics and normative ethics to investigate specific difficult subjects
such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns,
homosexuality, capital punishment, nuclear weapons and so on.

 Engineering ethics, bioethics, geoethics, military ethics, public

services ethics, and corporate ethics are some frequent topics
of specialised applied ethics. Several particular concerns have
been raised within this area that demands a philosophical
perspective rather than technical interpretation to satisfy the
morality of human nature.
 Normative Principles in Applied Ethics – These are the
most widely utilised principles in the field of applied ethics.
Here are a few examples:

 Social benefit– recognises the extent to which activity

has a positive impact on society.
 Personal benefit– recognise the amount to which activity
has a positive impact on the individual in the issue.
 Principle of paternalism– assisting others in achieving
their best interests when they are unable to do it
themselves.
 Principle of harm– do not cause harm to others.
 Principles of benevolence– help families in need.
 Principle of lawfulness– one should not break the law.
 Principle of honesty– do not deceive people
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 Principle of justice– recognise a person’s right to due

process, fair compensation for damage done and equitable
sharing of benefits.
 Principle of autonomy– recognises a person’s freedom
over his activities or physical body.
 Rights- Recognise a person’s rights to life, information,
privacy, freedom of speech and safety.
The first two principles – personal advantage and societal benefit –
are consequentiality in the sense that they are concerned with the
results of an action, whereas the principles of kindness, paternalism
and damage are duty-based. Moral rights underpin the ideals of
autonomy, fairness, and diverse rights.

The type of reaction that an ordinary human being may give to the
stimulus of a scenario or a job assigned is strongly related to the set
of ideas that resides in their thoughts. And ideologies are nothing
more than the dissemination of our ethical principles. Regardless of
how far we have progressed, our grasp of ethics and its dimensions
remains hazy. Because of the abstract nature of this subject, it is
difficult to analyse or assign a specific definition. A curious mind, on
the other hand, is constantly eager to answer questions that are
posed to it.

Expectation, conflicts and practices:

Expectations are beliefs or assumptions about what is likely to
happen in the future and are based on personal experiences, cultural
norms, desires, or explicit agreements about what someone is going
to do.

Purpose of expectations
Expectations give us simple habits and a professional code of
conduct. Good expectations should also help us reach those goals —
in the right way. Think of a goal like the finish line. Expectations are
the daily actions, attitudes, practices that help you get there.

Expectation theory teaches us

One of the key insights of Expectation Theory is that we often put
our ability to feel better or create change outside of ourselves. We
blame external factors such as our relationships, work, or
circumstances for our unhappiness or lack of progress.

Conflict
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An active disagreement between people with opposing opinions or

principles: conflict between There was a lot of conflict between him
and his father. It was an unpopular policy and caused a number of
conflicts within the party.

Intrapersonal Conflict
Intrapersonal conflict arises within a person. In the workplace, this is
often the result of competing motivations or roles. We often hear about
someone who has an approach-avoidance conflict; that is, they are both
attracted to and repelled by the same object. Similarly, a person can be
attracted to two equally appealing alternatives, such as two good job offers
(approach-approach conflict) or repelled by two equally unpleasant alternatives,
such as the threat of being fired if one fails to identify a coworker guilty of
breaking company rules (avoidance-avoidance conflict). Intrapersonal conflict
can arise because of differences in roles.

A role conflict occurs when there are competing demands on our time,
energy, and other resources. For example, a conflict may arise if you’re the
head of one team but also a member of another team. We can also have conflict
between our roles at work and those roles that we hold in our personal lives.

Another type of intrapersonal conflict involves role ambiguity. Perhaps

you’ve been given the task of finding a trainer for a company’s business writing
training program. You may feel unsure about what kind of person to hire—a
well-known but expensive trainer or a local, unknown but low-priced trainer. If
you haven’t been given guidelines about what’s expected, you may be wrestling
with several options.

Interpersonal Conflict
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Interpersonal conflict is among individuals such as coworkers, a manager

and an employee, or CEOs and their staff. Many companies suffer because of
interpersonal conflicts as it results in loss of productivity and employee
turnover. According to one estimate, 31.9 percent of CEOs resigned from their
jobs because they had conflict with the board of directors (Whitehouse, 2008).

Such conflicts often tend to get highly personal because only two parties are
involved and each person embodies the opposing position in the conflict. Hence,
it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the opponent’s position and the
person. Keeping conflicts centered around ideas rather than individual
differences is important in avoiding a conflict escalation. Throughout the book,
we will learn more about strategies for dealing with interpersonal conflicts.
Intergroup Conflict
Intergroup conflict is conflict that takes place among different
groups and often involves disagreement over goals, values, or
resources. Types of groups may include different departments,
employee unions, or management in a company or competing
companies that supply the same customers. Departments may
conflict over budget allocations, unions and management may
disagree over work rules, and suppliers may conflict with each other
on the quality of parts.

Merging two groups together can lead to friction between the groups
—especially if there are scarce resources to be divided among the
group. For example, in what has been called “the most difficult and
hard-fought labor issue in an airline merger,” Canadian Air and Air
Canada pilots were locked into years of personal and legal conflict
when the two airlines’ seniority lists were combined following the
merger (Stoykewch, 2003). Seniority is a valuable and scarce
resource for pilots, because it helps to determine who flies the
newest and biggest planes, who receives the best flight routes, and
who is paid the most. In response to the loss of seniority, former
Canadian Air pilots picketed at shareholder meetings, threatened to
call in sick, and had ongoing conflicts with pilots from Air Canada.
The history of past conflicts among organizations and employees
makes new deals challenging. Intergroup conflict can be the most
complicated form of conflict because of the number of individuals
involved. Coalitions can form and result in an “us-against-them”
mentality. Here, too, is an opportunity for groups to form insulated
ways of thinking and problems solving, thus allowing groupthink to
develop and thrive.
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Interorganizational Conflict

Finally, we can see interorganizational conflict in disputes

between two companies in the same industry (for example, a
disagreement between computer manufactures over computer
standards), between two companies in different industries or
economic sectors (for example, a conflict between real estate
interests and environmentalists over land use planning), and even
between two or more countries (for example, a trade dispute
between the United States and Russia). In each case, both parties
inevitably feel the pursuit of their goals is being frustrated by the
other party.

Power Differentials in Conflict

The traditional levels of conflict (intrapersonal, interpersonal,
intergroup, and intraorganizational) all represent potentially and/or
relatively equal entities in terms of power and status. This model can
be useful in naming and understanding some common levels of
conflict. However, it does not fully capture the complexity, nuance,
and power dynamics of some workplace conflict situations. For
instance, what happens where there is a conflict between individuals
and/or other entities (e.g. organizations) who differ in power, status,
and/or authority?

Gladwell (2013) discusses the classic example of conflict despite

unequal power differentials in David and Goliath. Nonetheless,
conflict—including bullying, harassment, and violence—can be
present within the typical hierarchical structures present in most
workplaces. For example, conflict can occur between supervisor and
subordinate (see section 9.3 on Problem Bosses). This poses unique
challenges given the varying degrees of authority and power.
Indeed, as Ahmed (2021) puts it, “hierarchies can make handling
harassment hard, which is how hierarchies enable harassment” (p.
120).
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Types of Conflict
If we are to try to understand conflict, we need to know what type of
conflict is present. At least four types of conflict can be identified:

1. Goal conflict can occur when one person or group desires a

different outcome than others do. This is simply a clash over whose
goals are going to be pursued.
2. Cognitive conflict can result when one person or group holds ideas
or opinions that are inconsistent with those of others. Often
cognitive conflicts are rooted in differences in attitudes, beliefs,
values, and worldviews, and ideas maybe tied to deeply held culture,
politics, and religion. This type of conflict emerges when one
person’s or group’s feelings or emotions (attitudes) are incompatible
with those of others.
3. Affective conflict is seen in situations where two individuals simply
don’t get along with each other.
4. Behavioral conflict exists when one person or group does
something (i.e., behaves in a certain way) that is unacceptable to
others. Dressing for work in a way that “offends” others and using
profane language are examples of behavioral conflict.

Each of these types of conflict is usually triggered by different

factors, and each can lead to very different responses by the
individual or group. It is important to note that there are many types
of conflict and that not all researchers use this same four-type
classification. For example, Dr. Amy Gallo (2015) has characterized
conflict as being rooted in relationships, tasks (what to do), process
(how to do things), or status. Regardless, when we find ourselves in
a conflict situation, it can be helpful to try and take a step back and
identify what type of conflict it is. It can also be helpful to
acknowledge that what may look like a goal conflict may actually
also have components of affective or cognitive conflict.

Practices are actions or activities that are repeatable, regular, and

recognizable in a given cultural context. In everyday language,
practice is often contrasted with theory, ideas, or mental processes:
what is done as opposed to what is thought, the pragmatic as
opposed to the ideational.

Morals: Morals are the welfare principles enunciated by the wise

people, based on their experience and wisdom. They were edited,
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changed or modified or evolved to suit the geography of the region,

rulers (dynasty), and in accordance with development of knowledge
in science and technology and with time.

Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals such

as:

(a) What ought or ought not to be done in a given situation?

(b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a situation? And
(c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals
involved?

Morality is different from Ethics in the following ways:

As against morals and ethics, laws are norms, formally approved

by state, power or national or international political bodies.
Breaking the norms is called crime, and invites specific
punishment.
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Ego
Someone's ego is their sense of their own worth. For example, if
someone has a large ego, they think they are very important and
valuable. He had a massive ego; never would he admit he was
wrong.

Ethical/moral theories to help us understand ethical cases and

ethical problems that often face engineers. A Moral theory defines
terms in uniform ways and links ideas and problems together in
consistent ways.
Ethical Theories:
1. Virtue Ethics
2. Duty Ethics
3. Right Ethics
4. Utilitarianism Virtue

Virtue Ethics:
Assumes ethical behavior follows from characteristics/traits that
people acquire. People will do the right thing because they have
developed virtuous habits. Considered wisdom and good judgment
the most important virtues

Virtue ethics focus on words such as responsibility, honesty,

competence, and loyalty Vices are dishonesty, disloyalty and
irresponsibility.

This emphasizes on the character rather than the rights or duties.

The character is the pattern of virtues (morally-desirable features).
The theory advocated by Aristotle, stressed on the tendency to act
at proper balance between extremes of conduct, emotion, desire,
attitudes to find the golden mean between the extremes of ‘excess’
or ‘deficiency’. The examples shown below illustrate the theory:
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Duty Ethics
Moral duties are fundamental Ethical (right) actions can be written
down as a list of duties (be good, be honest etc.) may not be good
for all. Duty ethical actions express respect for Individuals. Once
one’s duties are recognized, then the ethically correct actions are
obvious.

A.The duty ethics theory, proposed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

states, that actions are consequences of performance of one’s
duties such as, ‘being honest’, ‘not cause suffering of others’,
‘being fair to others including the meek and week’, ‘being
grateful’, ‘keeping promises’ etc. The stress is on the universal
principle of respect for autonomy i.e., respect and rationality of
persons.
As per Kant we have duties to ourselves, as we are rational and
autonomous beings. We have a duty not to commit suicide; a duty to
develop our talents and a duty to avoid harmful drugs.

Kant insisted that moral duties are categorical imperatives. They are
commands that we impose on ourselves as well as other rational
beings.

For example, we should be honest because honesty is required by

duty. A businessman is to be honest because honesty pays — in
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terms of profits from customers and from avoiding jail for

dishonesty.

B. On the other hand, the DUTY ethics theory, as enunciated by John

Rawl, gave importance to the actions that would be voluntarily
agreed upon by all persons concerned, assuming impartiality. His
view emphasized the autonomy each person exercises in forming
agreements with other rational people. Rawl proposed two basic
moral principles;

1. Each person is entitled to the most extensive amount of liberty

compatible with an equal amount for others, and
2. Differences in social power and economic benefits are justified
only when they are likely to benefit everyone, including members of
the most disadvantaged groups.

The first principle is of prime importance and should be satisfied

first. Without basic liberties other economic or social benefits cannot
be sustained for long.

The second principle insists that to allow some people with great
wealth and power is justified only when all other groups are
benefited. In the business scenario, for example, the free enterprise
is permissible so far it provides the capital needed to invest and
prosper, thereby making job opportunities to the public and taxes to
fund the government spending on the welfare schemes on the poor
people.

c.C.W.D. Ross, the British philosopher introduced the term prima

facie duties, which means duties might have justified exceptions.
In fact, most duties are prima facie ones; some may have
obligatory or permissible exceptions.

Ross assumed that the prima facie duties are intuitively obvious
(self- evident), while fixing priorities among duties. He noted that the
principles such as ‘Do not kill’ and ‘protect innocent life’ involve high
respect for persons than other principles such as, ‘Do not lie’ (less
harmful). This theory is criticized on the fact, that the intuitions do
not provide sufficient guideline for moral duty.

He has listed various aspects of Duty Ethics that reflect our moral
convictions, namely:
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Right Ethics
Rights are entitlement to act or to have another individual act in a
certain way. Minimally, rights serve as a protective barrier, shielding
individuals from unjustified infringement of their moral agency by
others. For every right, we have a corresponding duty of non-
interference.

A. The RIGHTS approach to ethics has its roots in the 18th century
philosopher Immanuel Kant, who focused on the individual’s right to
choose for oneself. According him, what makes human beings
different from mere things is, that people have dignity based on
their ability to choose freely what they will do with their lives, and
they have a fundamental moral right to have these choices
respected. People are not objects to be manipulated; it is a violation
of human dignity to use people in ways they do not freely choose.
Other rights he advocated are:
1. The right to access the truth: We have a right to be told the truth
and to be informed about matters that significantly affect our
choices.
2. The right of privacy: We have the right to do, believe, and say
whatever we choose in our personal lives so long as we do not
violate the rights of others.
3. The right not to be injured: We have the right not to be harmed or
injured unless we freely and knowingly do something to deserve
punishment or we freely and knowingly choose to risk such injuries.
4. The right to what is agreed: We have a right to what has been
promised by those with whom we have freely entered into a contract
or agreement.

B.In deciding whether an action is moral or immoral, we must ask,

does the action respect the moral rights of everyone? Actions are
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wrong to the extent that they violate the rights of individuals; the
more serious is the violation, the more wrongful is the action.

The RIGHTS theory as promoted by John Locke states that the

actions are right, if they respect human rights of every one affected.
He proposed the three basic human rights, namely life, liberty, and
property. His views were reflected in the modern American society,
when Jefferson declared the basic rights as life, liberty, and pursuit
of happiness.

C. As per A.I. Melden’s theory based on rights, nature mandates

that we should not harm others’ life, health, liberty or property.
Melden allowed welfare rights also for living a decent human life.
He highlighted that the rights should be based on the social
welfare system.

D. Human rights:
Human rights are explained in two forms, namely liberty rights and
welfare rights. Liberty rights are rights to exercise one’s liberty
and stresses duties on other people not to interfere with one’s
freedom.

The four features of liberty rights (also called moral rights), which lay
the base for Government Administration, are:
1. Rights are natural in so far as they are not invented or created by
government.
2. They are universal, as they do not change from country to country.
3. They are equal since the rights are the same for all people,
irrespective of caste, race, creed or sex.
4. They are inalienable i.e., one cannot hand over his rights to
another person such as selling oneself to slavery.

The Welfare Rights are the rights to benefit the needy for a decent
human life, when one cannot earn those benefits and when those
benefits are available in the society.

Economic rights: In the free-market economy, the very purpose of

the existence of the manufacturer, the sellers and the service
providers is to serve the consumer. The consumer is eligible to
exercise some rights.
The consumers’ six basic rights are:
a. Right to Information,
b. Right to Safety,
c. Right to Choice,
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d. Right to be Heard,
e. Right to Redressal, and
f. Right to Consumer Education.

A few rights are absolute, i.e., unlimited and have no justifiable

exceptions. For example, rights ethicists view that the rights have
not been violated if the people purchase a (technological product)
hang glider and they get injured by flying them carelessly or under
bad weather conditions. But human rights imply that one not to be
poisoned or killed by technological products, whose dangers are not
obvious or wantonly hidden. They imply a right to be informed, when
the purchase was made, of the possible dangers during use or
service (obtaining informed consent).
Rights ethics is distinctive in that it makes human rights the ultimate
appeal — the moral bottom line. Human rights constitute a moral
authority to make legitimate moral demands on others to respect
our choices, recognizing that others can make similar claims on us.
Thus, we see that the rights ethics provides a powerful foundation
for the special ethical requirements in engineering and other
professions.

Utilitarianism
Based on maximizing "goodness", produce the most good for the
most people given equal consideration to all affected. Tries to
establish a balance of good over bad consequences Focused on
society versus individual. The term Utilitarianism was conceived in
the 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill to help
legislators determine which laws were morally best. They suggested
that the standard of right conduct is maximization of good
consequences. Good consequences mean either ‘utilities’ or the
‘balance of good over evil’. This approach weighs the costs and
benefits. Right actions are the ones that produce the greatest
satisfaction of the preferences of the affected persons.

In analyzing an issue in this approach, we have to:

a) Identify the various courses of action available to us.
b) Ask who will be affected by each action and what benefits or
harms will be derived from each.
c) Choose the action that will produce the greatest benefits and the
least harm. The ethical action is the one that provides the greatest
good for the greatest number.

The ACT UTILITARIAN theory proposed by J.S. Mill (1806-73)

focuses on actions, rather than on general rules. An action is right, if
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it generates the most overall good for the most people involved. The
RULE UTILITARIAN theory, developed by Richard Brandt (1910-97),
stressed on the rules, such as ‘do not steal’, ‘do no harm others’, ‘do
not bribe’, as of primary importance. He suggested that individual
actions are right when they are required by set of rules which
maximizes the public good.

The act utilitarian theory permitted a few immoral actions. Hence,

there was need to develop rule utilitarian theory to establish
morality and justice, in the transactions. For example, stealing an old
computer from the employer will benefit the employee more than
the loss to the employer. As per Act, utilitarian this action is right.
But rule utilitarian observes this as wrong, because the employee
should act as ‘faithful agent or trustee of the employees’. In another
example, some undisciplined engineers are terminated with the
blame for the mistakes they have not committed.

The process is unfair although this results in promotion of overall

good.
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Human right ethics and its classifications

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