Ethical Behavior

A systems engineer’s knowledge and skills provide necessary competency. Acting ethically, within a moral framework of right and wrong, is clearly an additional obligation of the professional systems engineer. This section discusses some of the elements of such conduct. Ethical standards expected of individuals can also be applied at the organizational level.

Common definitions of ethics include:

1. A system of moral principles. (Dictionary.com)
2. The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture, etc.: e.g. medical ethics; Christian ethics; [engineering ethics]. (Dictionary.com)
3. Moral principles, as of an individual: e.g. His ethics forbade betrayal of a confidence. (Dictionary.com)
4. The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

The word moral, in turn, is commonly defined as (Merriam Webster Dictionary)

1. Of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.
2. Conforming to a standard of right behavior.

Ethics and Morals in Engineering

The difference between ethics and morals can seem somewhat obscure, and most books on ethics start by clarifying the differences between these; e.g., Whitbeck (2007). Morals are defined by personal character, the result of upbringing, family influence and other environmental influences. Ethics stress the application of those morals within a social system. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the group to which an individual belongs. This may be framed as professional, company, social, or even family ethics. While a person’s moral code is usually considered to be unchanging, the ethics he or she practices can be more broadly-based and be dependent on one's profession or role in life.

Behaving ethically can involve tensions between what an engineer's responsibility is to his or her society, customer, employer, or even family. This tension, then, may be an important aspect of the environment within which and individual's morals affect his or her choices.

There is no shortage of discussion on ethics or ethical codes, which are promulgated by various organizations and professions. Professions here refer to occupations that require learning and advanced knowledge and which safeguard or promote the well being of others and of society as a whole. Systems engineers have two additional ethical responsibilities that differ from those of most other engineering professions:

1. Like other engineers, systems engineers generally apply their professional skills to the realization of customer desires. However, because systems engineering (SE) deals significantly with determining customers' desires or needs through the definition and management of requirements for the work, there is an added level of obligation to ensure that the problem or program definition phase is governed by the needs of the customer or user and that the interests of the systems engineer or his firm are not allowed to influence the nature of the problem definition. This element of integrity is generally not found to the same degree in other engineering fields.
2. More than in most other engineering disciplines, systems engineers are typically charged with the integration and oversight of the work of others whose field of knowledge is different from the SEs. The obligation to widen one’s understanding and to seek competent advice from other professionals is more acute in the SE profession.

Caroline Whitbeck's Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research provides a useful discussion of the numerous aspects of ethical behavior for engineering professionals (Whitbeck 2007). Some specific issues of concern in the engineering of modern systems are outlined in the sections below.

Data Confidentiality and Security, Surveillance, and Privacy

Issues related to privacy, confidentiality, and the security of individual information place special responsibility on the systems engineers who develop products that deal with such issues.

Contracts and Liability, Intellectual Property, Freedom of Information

Systems are typically developed in a society that has laws concerning contracts, intellectual property (copyrights, trademarks, and patents), freedom of information, and employment. Systems engineers must be aware of such laws, will be governed in their practice by the requirements and restraints of those laws, and must consider the implications of those laws in their partnerships. Typically, system requirements include legal and regulatory requirements that may not be stated in the system requirements document or provided by the customer. It is the systems engineer's responsibility to know and apply these laws and regulations, recognizing the proprietary interests of others by safeguarding trade secrets, patents, trademarks, and copyrights that belong to them. Engineers also have a responsibility to give credit for work performed or innovations made to the individual(s) who deserves that credit.

Cultural Issues

Since systems engineers develop and maintain products used by humans, it is important that they understand the historical and cultural aspects of their profession and the related context in which their products will be used. System engineers need to be aware of societal diversity and act without prejudice or discrimination.

Ethical Considerations in the Systems Engineering Method

There is clearly a need for integrating SE ethics as a natural consideration in SE approaches to meeting needs.

Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct

The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Code of Ethics (INCOSE 2006) addresses fundamental principles in ethics, such as honesty, impartiality, integrity, keeping abreast of knowledge, striving to increase competence, and supporting educational and professional organizations. From these principles, a set of fundamental duties to society and the public are drawn for systems engineers, namely to (INCOSE 2006)

• guard the public interest and protect the environment, safety, and welfare of those affected by engineering activities and technological artifacts;
• accept responsibility for one's actions and engineering results, including being open to ethical scrutiny and assessment;
• proactively mitigate unsafe practice;
• manage risk using knowledge granted by a whole system viewpoint and the understanding of systemic interfaces; and
• promote the understanding, implementation, and acceptance of prudent SE measures.

Rules of practice then stem from these duties. The full INCOSE Code is available at (INCOSE 2006). In addition, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) also has a code of ethics which is of interest as well (NSPE 2007).

Enforcement of Ethical Rules

Many organizations have practices to enforce ethical rules within their organization. The primary rule is that the enforcement policies should be observable and enforceable. Typical enforcement rules include the following:

• There should be no conflict of interest between the organization and other related organizations, such as suppliers, customers, or regulatory agencies. Conflict of interest is defined as having no financial or organizational ties with these organizations.
• There should be no exchange of favors, either financial or otherwise between the organization and other related organizations. These favors can include money, travel reimbursement, entertainment expenses, inappropriate job offers, or other financially equivalent items.
• Product information, for example, test data, should be reported accurately and completely to the contracting agency.

Enforcement punishment can include termination or other disciplinary actions.

The ethical standards expected of individuals can also be applied to teams, organizations, and enterprises. Internal audit functions and external regulatory agencies may enforce ethical rules at these levels.

Responsibilities to Society

Engineers who create products and services for use in society have an obligation to serve the public good. Because of the criticality and scope of many systems, systems engineers have special responsibility. Poorly designed systems or services can have calamitous effects on society. The INCOSE Code of Ethics asserts the responsibility of systems engineers to “Guard the public interest and protect the environment, safety, and welfare of those affected by engineering activities and technological artifacts.” (INCOSE 2006)

References

Works Cited

Dictionary.com, online edition, s.v. "Ethics". Accessed September 8, 2011. Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics.

INCOSE. 2006. INCOSE Code of Ethics. in International Council on Systems Engineering [database online]. Accessed on September 15, 2011. Available at http://www.incose.org/about/ethics.aspx.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary, online edition, s.v. "Ethics". Accessed September 8, 2011. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics.

NSPE. 2007. NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers. Alexandria, VA, USA: National Society of Professional Engineers. NSPE publication #1102. Accessed on September 15, 2011. Available at: http://www.nspe.org/resources/pdfs/Ethics/CodeofEthics/Code-2007-July.pdf.

Whitbeck, C. 2007. Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Primary References

Whitbeck, C. 2007. Ethics in Engineering Practice and Research. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Additional References

National Institute for Ethics in Engineering. "National Institute for Engineering Ethics." In the Murdough Center for for Engineering Professionalism. Hosted by Texas Technical University. Accessed on September 15, 2011. Available at http://www.murdough.ttu.edu/pd.cfm?pt=NIEE.

OnlineEthics.org. "Online Ethics Center (OEC)." Accessed September 8, 2011. Available at: http://www.onlineethics.org/.

Martin, M. and R. Schinzinger. 2004. Ethics in Engineering, 4th ed. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.

Penn State. "Ethics: Books." In Penn State College of Engineering. Accessed September 8, 2011. Available at: http://www.engr.psu.edu/ethics/books.asp.

Smith, J.H. (ed). 2008. Engineering Ethics – Concepts, Viewpoint, Cases and Codes. National Institute for Engineering Ethics, Texas Technical University.

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