Mir Aamid Ahbab

Tina Prouty
EE 394
5 May 2017
Ethics in Engineering
Volkswagen was a respected name in the automobile industry up until

recently, when they were caught for cheating emission detector tests. These tests

determined how much carbon monoxide was released into the air, and Volkswagen

tampered with the system so as to give much lower results than what they would

have originally received. This case was discussed in the second EE 394 faculty

meeting with Dr. Jones. Our group analyzed the situation and used this example as a

learning opportunity so as to understand the obligations associated with our major,

formulate a systematic way of making ethical decisions, and finally applying our

knowledge to the Volkswagen situation in how we would have handled the issue.
As an electrical engineer, our products and services will be used by a wide

range of people. Our actions while dealing with our work can affect their lives in

different ways from creating a positive experience to causing damage to property.

That is why we have an obligation towards ethical practices. Among our obligations

are the virtue ethics, which are the core underlying ethics that most others are built

off of. The three discussed for our meeting, as well as relating to the case study

were integrity, honesty, and responsibility. In the case of integrity, we all have a

duty to uphold and exercise our morals and values. As engineers, we must be able

to decide between what is right and what is wrong. In the case of Volkswagen, the

company was not able to make a moral decision in choosing to cheat the emission

detectors. Honesty comes in play by being truthful and open. Honesty is the

backbone of most of our relationships with other humans and so is particularly

important in the corporate world, where good client relationships are valuable. In

the case of Volkswagen, they were dishonest to their customers and investors by
lying about their emissions ratings. This came back to bite them when they came

under scrutiny from the public eye. Lastly we discussed responsibility. We as

engineers are responsible for our actions and the fulfillment of our duties. We must

adhere to guidelines so that people and property are protected. In the case of

Volkswagen, their line of cars have left a lot of pollution behind, damaging the

environment. They ignored their responsibility to ensure protection of people and

the environment in which they live in. As engineers, when we practice in our field,

we are obligated to adhere to these ethics so as to prevent negative outcomes from

occurring, whether from financial setbacks, or from physical damages.

After our talking about core ethics, Dr. Jones then led our group into a

discussion about making ethical discussions. In situations involving ethical decision

making, we can always describe the situation using the 5ps of ethics: pressure,

pleasure, power, pride, and priorities. Each of these ps are an indicator of ethical

compromises. When encountering an ethical dilemma, a person must ask if the

decision he is making are a result of influences form each category. One must ask

what the decision will compromise. For instance, Volkswagen pressures their

employees to design a mechanism to cheat the detectors so as to save money. This

method also just so happens to be more pleasurable in that its easier to do than go

back to the drawing boards to design a better model. The company has prioritized

money over their product and that is the compromise being made. The

consequences of such a decision has cost the company power in the form of

influence and credibility as well as pride in the form of customer perspective of the

company. Most people will think twice or avoid Volkswagen products for quite a

while because the company has obtained a poor reputation. From this we see that

the 5 Ps are important in the decision making process. As an engineer, we must

always keep track of where we stand in the 5 Ps so that we do not end up in a

situation like Volkswagen.

Finally, we finished our faculty meeting by discussing what we would have

done if we were Volkswagen. Seeing the costs of Volkswagens decisions, made us

realize that going the extra miles to meet our responsibilities and obligations to our

ethical code would be a much better alternative than the fines and negative public

image. As an employee, we would have tried to bring attention to someone in the

organization who we trusted can report suspicious activity. Ideally, this person

would be someone higher up in the company. In the position of someone who is

higher up, whether as an executive or high level manager, we would have put a

stop to cheating the detectors. Instead, we would have focused on our values of

responsibility and integrity to design a better product. Even though the short term

costs would be high, they are only short term compared to the long term costs that

Volkswagen must now face.

Our faculty meeting with Dr. Jones was an enlightening experience. The

discussions were well facilitated and provided an optimal learning environment for

ethics. During the course of the meeting, we highlighted the importance and our

obligations towards following an ethical code and the consequences of not doing so.

We analyzed the case study with Volkswagen and used this as an opportunity to

apply what we learned through our discussions by observing how ethical codes were

breached and the resulting consequences. In the end, our group walked away with

valuable knowledge that will help shape our careers.