Ethics Essay

   Being able to indicate, analyze, and resolve ethical issues is an important part of our careers as engineers. To assist in this, we can use the IEEE Code of Ethics, the Virtue of Ethics, the 5 P’s of Ethics, as well as the company’s personal code of ethics. These resources can be a useful tool to evaluate an ethical issue that comes up, so that we may solve the issue in an ethical and efficient way.   The purpose of a code of ethics is to be a resource for people to use to avoid finding themselves in an unethical situation. Unethical situations are often complicated, and it can be easy to find yourself in an internal battle of what is right and wrong. Being able to reference a code of ethics can help you navigate a difficult situation and present an ethical outcome. When I am faced with an ethical decision, I would refer to these resources as well as my company’s code of ethics. I also think about what I believe is right and how this decision can affect others as well. It’s also not a bad idea to talk to someone you trust about the situation, if possible, to see what insight they can give you. 

 

In class, we discussed multiple different ethical issues. Some of these ethical issues include the Volkswagen issue, the Ford Pinto issue, the Amazon Echo issue, and the Big Data issue. The Volkswagen issue had to do with Volkswagen covering up that their cars were creating more emissions than allowed. The Ford Pinto issue was concerned with the Ford Pinto, which would combust in accidents due to an inferior gas tank design. The Amazon Echo issue was a conflict between being able to use an Amazon Echo’s information to help solve a crime. Allowing this would set a precedent that the Echo could save what it hears and be sued against you, but it could also help solve a criminal case. The Big Data issue has to do with a software developer making the decision to use personal data for his algorithm as his employer asked, even though he knew it was unethical. 

 

Each of my group members decided to analyze different issues, this allowed us to reflect on every issue based off the summary our group members provided. For the Volkswagen issue, the group shared much of the same feelings. The key factor that we agreed on was the fact that lying about your product is wrong and that Volkswagen should have been truthful about their product and find ways to meet the requirements. For the Ford Pinto issue, once again, the group agreed on the fact that Ford should have fixed the issue in the Pinto the moment they learned of it. It was Ford’s responsibility to address the issue. Lastly, for the Big Data issue, the whole group once again came to the same ethical conclusion on the problem. The developer should have taken responsibility for the ethical violation instead of putting it on his supervisor. 

 

The issue I chose to write about was the Big Data issue. I believe that integrity, responsibility, and self-discipline are the three virtues from the Virtues of Ethics that are most related to this issue. Integrity is holding oneself to your moral standards and not caving to unethical requests of others. Responsibility is taking ownership of your mistakes and knowing that your decisions are on you. Self-discipline is being able to follow your own code of ethics, even if it means taking a hard stance and a harder path. I believe that they are relevant because the developer in this issue needed to use all three of these in order to make an ethical decision. Instead, the developer did not have integrity and did the unethical task his supervisor asked. He also did not have responsibility for his actions and blamed the decision on his supervisor. Lastly, he did not have self-discipline, he knew it was unethical to use the personal data, but because he did not want to risk an uncomfortable conversation with his supervisor, he did it anyway. I think these three virtues perfectly describe the ethical components of the Big Data issue. 

 

Overall, this class has taught us the importance of ethics. It has helped us to understand why we have ethical codes and why we follow them. We are now more equipped to resolve ethical situations that we may encounter in our careers.