Engineers usually have to design products and help in the implementation of these designs. In the course of doing their work engineers face situations that are tough to decide on in relation to their ethics. It is wrong for an engineer to go against their codes of conduct but at times they are forced to. In other situations, they are usually confused on what decision to make and this is what constitutes the engineer’s dilemma.
Recently in the Kenyan media there was a situation in which a road engineer had been approached by the government to aid in the design and construction of a road in the Langata area. He was expected to do it on a piece of land on which some investors had constructed business buildings and apartments.
The pros of constructing the road include enhancing the transportation of goods thus improving the economy of the country and easing traffic which will lead to reduced time spent on traffic jams and development for road users in the area. The cons, on the other hand, included the demolition of buildings that had been constructed with a lot of money and were running profitable business, and the destruction of peoples’ homes.
My view on this situation is that the engineer should go ahead and construct the road. The buildings should be brought down and the owners transferred to other parcels of land. The government should help them construct other business buildings in those new parcels of land. This way the traffic jams along the area will be eased and at the same time the investors will comfortably carry on with their businesses.
Personal ethical statement by (customer’s name)
Cost saving should not be a priority when human life is involved. Engineers should spend more when saving human life. A mechanical engineer was asked by his client to use thinner construction metals in bringing up a tall building in a certain town although the engineer knew very well that this could cause the building to collapse at any time thus endangering human life.
On the other hand, he was so willing to help his client save on the cost of construction. Both sides of the engineer’s decision are attractive thus he is in a dilemma. It is a tough situation but he had to try and make the right decision.
Ethics and team work
It is expected that people coordinate and consult among themselves when working as a team. Trying to do anything alone without consulting with your team members is unethical and should be avoided at all cost. Derailing other people’s effort is also unethical, however, it is ethical to try and work in the direction of your team mates.
Work effort can be doubled when all the team members work hand in hand with each other. Coordination is a key factor in a team that has success as its major aim. Work submittal is also expected to strengthen the team work. Every member of the team should work with all their effort to ensure they achieve their goal as a team.
Personal interaction is another important factor that should be taken into consideration when handling any team work. The team members need to develop good communication skills and ethical interpersonal relations if they are expected to work in a team. A potential adversarial interaction can see the team fail terribly. Enmity and competition within the group will cause demotivation and reduce the cooperation levels and this will negatively impact the success of the team.