Guidance for Engineering‐Design‐Class Lectures on Ethics

Abstract

Engineering students can be introduced to the subject of ethics through required enrollment in a philosophy course, a specifically designed engineering course, or through lectures in engineering‐design classes. The advantages of these alternatives are discussed, with the latter the preferred approach. Guidance for developing individual lectures for engineering‐design classes is given. Actual case studies are recounted along with a series of questions that can be used to shape the class discussions. The case studies address the issues of falsifying time sheets, an employer's conduct of inflating the employee's resume when submitting a contract proposal, sexual bias and harassment, and receiving an offer of a bribe for approving plans that did not meet the local fire codes. Issues such as gratuities and computer ethics are discussed. Case studies related to technical details of design can also be developed. The case‐study approach has been used effectively to develop an awareness of the ethical pressures faced by engineers in practice and how to solve such dilemmas.