Institutionalizing Ethics: Historical Debates surrounding IEEE's 1974 Code of Ethics

摘要

Consider this case. Three engineers work for a governmental department which oversees the construction of a large-scale public transit system. Having participated in the project for a number of years, they find serious problems in the management and deployment of the engineering work, which have led to a waste of public funds and pose a threat to the safety of commuters. After reporting their concerns to their direct managers, they receive only vague responses and witness no action to address the problems. Should the engineers reach out to a higher level of management and/or speak out publicly about the problems and hazards associated with the project? The answer to this question might seem obvious: Particularly because public safety is at issue, the engineers should continue reporting the problems up the chain until they are properly addressed. Not to do so would be a violation of the codes of ethics of several professional engineering societies.1 Cases similar to this one have been assigned to students in numerous engineering ethics classes over recent decades, and the appropriate response to the ethical question is often guided by direct reference to professional ethics codes.