Professional Ethics and Human Values

Book excerpt: Today, more and more organizations are realizing the importance of practising ethics in their business dealings. And the engineering profession is no exception to this. For, any policy or practice that gives a go-by to professional ethics—which essentially entails fair and transparent dealings based on sound moral principles—cannot enjoy the confidence of the customer for long. It is in this context that a book on Professional Ethics is very significant. This systematically organized text opens with an introduction to Human Values and discusses, with great skill and expertise, the various approaches to the study of ethical behaviour, ethical theories, value-based ethics and the engineers’ responsibility for safety and risk, collegiality and loyalty. Besides, the responsibilities of engineers in organizational setting, and global issues such as environmental ethics, computer ethics, and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are also covered in this text. The Case Studies lend a practical orientation to the book, and the Review Questions sharpen the analytical skills of the students. This is a must have book for the students of engineering and management.