ETHICS CASES IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Abstract

This forum is a continuation of a regular series of columns on engineering ethics based on the Applied Ethics Case of the Month program, sponsored by the National Institute for Engineering Ethics (NIEE), Texas Tech University. The Case-of-the-Month program consists of applied ethics cases taken from actual professional practice and presented in narrative format on the NIEE’s interactive Web site, with the names of the participants and the locations altered to preserve anonymity. Each case is linked to a series of suggested solutions, not all of which are necessarily ethical but which represent reactions commonly found in professional practice. Web site visitors are given the opportunity to vote on their preferred course of action for the dilemma, as well as to offer commentary. Results are tabulated at the end of the voting period and the statistical responses are reported, along with commentary and in some cases, the actual solution for the case. Actual real-life situations are the central notion upon which the program is founded. Such ethics cases stimulate greater attention to ethical issues, and they allow readers the opportunity to avoid similar pitfalls in their own careers. In addition to individual review and reflection, the case histories may also provide a convenient focus for informal brown-bag discussions in forms and agencies. Those interested in the program are encouraged to visit the NIEE’s Case-of-the-Month Web site at the following Internet address: http://www.niee.org/Case-of-the-Month/. Results and discussion appear on the Web site and also appear in this forum section of the Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. A more detailed description of this program appeared in the January 1998 issue of this journal.