Codes of Conduct 63 12 Look for a corporate code of an engineering company. In what respects are the responsi bilities of engineers that are articulated in this code different from the responsibilities articulated in professional codes (like the code of the NSPE) Is this code conflicting at certain points with, for example, the professional code of the NSPE? If there is a conflict what code should, in your view, take precedence and why? 13 Do you agree that engineers have a responsibility for human rights as some global codes of conduct suggest? Is this responsibility restricted to not engaging in violations of human rights or do engineers also have a responsibility to enhance human rights through their engineering projects! 14 Draft a code of conduct to cover e-communications (email, Web use and so on). Explain and justify your proposed code. 15 One of the principles for a global code of conduct for engineers mentioned by Luegenbichl is the principle of scientific-founded judgment. What do you think that Luegenbichl means with extraneous factors? Would considerations of safety or human welfare count as extrane- ous factors that should not influence engineering decisions! 16 The US government allows employees of aircraft manufacturers like Boeing to serve as inspectors for the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that is responsible for regulating the aircraft industry and doing safety and quality inspections. What would be the reasons for the US government to allow this Is this a conflict of interest Would it be unethical for an engineer employed by Boeing also to act as inspector for the FAA? Discussion Questions 1 If you were to give ethical training to engineers, would you stress knowing the law, company rules and codes of conduct, or would you instead focus, on explaining the principles behind these rules. Are there any common principles behind these rules? Which ones! 2 Loyalty or integrity: which should be the most important to engineers! 3 What do you see as the main ethical issues arising from globalization 4 Cases like Shell in Nigeria and Google in China that were discussed in this chapter seem to suggest that codes of conduct are a dead letter when it comes to moral decision-making in practice. Discuss whether codes of conduct are indeed just window.dressing in cases like this or whether they have any positive effect. Can you think of ways to bridge the gap between what companies like Shell and Google say in their codes and what they do in practice! Should multinational companies maybe avoid undemocratic countries like Nigeria and China to avoid tough ethical decisions? 5 Choose any Fortune 500 company. Locate the company's code of ethics published on the company's Web page. Evaluate the code in terms of the United Nations Global Compact Principles Ale questions Codes of Conduct 63 12 Look for a corporate code of an engineering company. In what respects are the responsi bilities of engineers that are articulated in this code different from the responsibilities articulated in professional codes (like the code of the NSPE) Is this code conflicting at certain points with, for example, the professional code of the NSPE? If there is a conflict what code should, in your view, take precedence and why? 13 Do you agree that engineers have a responsibility for human rights as some global codes of conduct suggest? Is this responsibility restricted to not engaging in violations of human rights or do engineers also have a responsibility to enhance human rights through their engineering projects! 14 Draft a code of conduct to cover e-communications (email, Web use and so on). Explain and justify your proposed code. 15 One of the principles for a global code of conduct for engineers mentioned by Luegenbichl is the principle of scientific-founded judgment. What do you think that Luegenbichl means with extraneous factors? Would considerations of safety or human welfare count as extrane- ous factors that should not influence engineering decisions! 16 The US government allows employees of aircraft manufacturers like Boeing to serve as inspectors for the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) that is responsible for regulating the aircraft industry and doing safety and quality inspections. What would be the reasons for the US government to allow this Is this a conflict of interest Would it be unethical for an engineer employed by Boeing also to act as inspector for the FAA? Discussion Questions 1 If you were to give ethical training to engineers, would you stress knowing the law, company rules and codes of conduct, or would you instead focus, on explaining the principles behind these rules. Are there any common principles behind these rules? Which ones! 2 Loyalty or integrity: which should be the most important to engineers! 3 What do you see as the main ethical issues arising from globalization 4 Cases like Shell in Nigeria and Google in China that were discussed in this chapter seem to suggest that codes of conduct are a dead letter when it comes to moral decision-making in practice. Discuss whether codes of conduct are indeed just window.dressing in cases like this or whether they have any positive effect. Can you think of ways to bridge the gap between what companies like Shell and Google say in their codes and what they do in practice! Should multinational companies maybe avoid undemocratic countries like Nigeria and China to avoid tough ethical decisions? 5 Choose any Fortune 500 company. Locate the company's code of ethics published on the company's Web page. Evaluate the code in terms of the United Nations Global Compact Principles Ale questions