Ethics & Leadership. Central New York Chapter Engineering Expo November 12, Presented by: Donald P. Nims, Jr., PE

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1 Central New York Chapter Engineering Expo November 12, 2018 Ethics & Leadership Presented by: Donald P. Nims, Jr., PE

2 Agenda Introduce NSPE Code of Ethics Fundamental Canons Example Situations Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public Perform services only in the areas of their competence. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees. Avoid deceptive acts. Act honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully. What is Ethics & Why is it Important Leadership Applications

3 Interactive Polling

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5 NSPE Code of Ethics

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7 1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.

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9 2. Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.

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13 3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.

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16 4. Engineers shall act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.

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18 I am a civil engineer in charge of a highway construction project. I need to design the road including what path the road will follow and what materials will be used etc. I want to design the road using selfhealing concrete, but I have not assigned the contract to a concrete vendor yet. Three companies have made competitive bids for the contract. One of those companies, Company Z, offered me personally 10,000 dollars to give them the contract. While this may come off immediately as unethical to accept the bribe, it is not obvious what to do next.

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20 If I don t take the bribe why isn t it acceptable to offer Company Z the contract? Would appear to influence judgment or the quality of services Would put reputations at risk Company Z cannot be trusted Company Z could make threats Could lead to legal action NSPE Code of Ethics Engineers shall act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees Engineers shall disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts. Engineers shall not offer, give, solicit, or receive, a contribution to influence the award of a contract by public authority, or which may be reasonably construed by the public as having the effect or intent of influencing the awarding of a contract.

21 5. Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts.

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23 Engineer A is seeking employment with Employer Y. As an employee for Employer X, Engineer A was a staff engineer along with five other staff engineers of equal rank. This team of six was responsible for the design of certain products. While working for Employer X, Engineer A along with five other engineers on his team participated in and was credited with the design of a series of patented products. Engineer A submits his resume to Employer Y and on it implies that he personally was responsible for the design of products which were actually designed through a joint effort of the members of the team.

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26 What is Ethics?

27 What is Ethics? It is tempting to reduce ethics to simplistic choices Good or Bad Right or Wrong More or Less Pleasant or Painful

28 What Purpose do Codes of Ethics Serve? Do not provide "answers" or "solutions" to ethical dilemmas faced by engineers; Provide guideposts that can be helpful in evaluating the circumstances that are encountered; and Provide possible approaches that may be taken in addressing an ethical situation.

29 Ethics The Mob has values and a code of conduct. No organization can last for long without ethics. The Mob s version of ethics is just as legitimate as any other except for one fundamental thing that it is missing: the GOOD What is the GOOD? We have to know what constitutes the real, authentic and greater GOOD in each situation if we hope to Get it Right AND Get Along as professionals.

30 Ethics Some may tend to think ethics is about good and bad, which leads to good or bad choices. Making the right choices can be hard. Consider reality and principles. A choice that is out of touch with reality is also out of touch with the principles that make for a harmonious professional career and life.

31 Ethics Real good over Fake good Authentic good over Seductive good Greater good over Lesser good Moral good over physical good Common good over Individual good and so on and on

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33 As engineers skilled at problem solving it is tempting to use our skills to choose an approach for the best outcome. However, leaders face many obstacles to achieving good results in a good way.

34 Objective & Truthful Public Statements Honesty and candor is needed to solve problems. Honesty reinforces integrity. Honesty and integrity lead to trust.

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38 What is Ethics? In reality, people are chiefly praised and blamed on the basis of their choices and the actions that follow. Ethics is the science of finding and choosing the good. What kind of goods? Answer: the real, authentic and greater good in each and every situation. The only object we can choose is action. And in choosing your own actions, you are choosing the way that you are relating to things. Strictly speaking, you are choosing relationships. Getting it Right AND Getting Along reflect choices we make on how we are going to relate to ourselves and others. So, ACTION or CONDUCT is the primary subject of ethics.

39 Why is Ethics important? Safety Competence Truthfulness Faithfulness Obligation Lawfulness

40 Leadership Applications of Ethics.

41 Environmental Stewardship The environmental impact of the car and the associated parts of the entire transportation sector is devastating, yet the buying public wants something sleek, stylish, fast, and cost-effective.

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47 Stewardship Engineers are bound to safeguard public welfare with a concern for sustainability, and they have a social responsibility to take action.

48 Stewardship The future will be different than today. Change is inevitable and even mandatory : The pace of development in other countries, which often use the U.S. as a model, is very rapid. Did they learn from our mistakes? Are they copying our bad habits with excessive use of energy and environmental degradation? The U.S. is very dependent on foreign energy supplies. We transfer enormous wealth to these supplier countries. In return we are subject to their very different values, or maybe they are subject to ours? Our appetite for energy continues to increase at a faster rate than efficiency improvements.

49 Stewardship With 5% of world population, the U.S. accounts for approximately a quarter of world energy use. If we are the model for others to follow, how do we serve as a better example? This ethical responsibility starts with engineers.

50 Safety vs Stewardship Fundamentally, which has a higher priority the safety of the passengers or reducing emissions when designing a car? On a grander scale, what is a better approach?

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52 Avoid Deceptive Acts VW engineers designed software installed in their diesel vehicles that was able to sense when emissions testing was in progress based on the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, the duration of the engine's operation and barometric pressure. Once the software picked up on these inputs, it went into a type of "test mode" when the front wheels of the car were on a dynamometer. This allowed emissions controls to run full-tilt during official testing, but emitted 10 to 40 times the legal amount while on the road. To whom is a VW engineer obligated?

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54 Obligation to Client/Customer What compromises were made? What should the engineers at VW have done?

55 Responsible & Lawful Conduct Did the engineers act responsibly? What are the repercussions? VW has lost 1/3 of its value.

56 Questions???

57 Thank you!