In this case, engineering ethics application would have determined at some point that the company had a duty to respect the rights of individuals and to behave in a manner upholding that duty (Fleddermann, 2008, p. 46).
In the Aberdeen Three, three civilian managers were prosecuted for violating the RCRA in allowing the unsafe storage of hazardous chemicals that posed a health risk to workers, civilians, and the natural environment. The managers claimed they were unaware of the companies storage practices. Yet in law, negligence is not an excuse for culpability, and the managers were given jail time and fines. The issue here is that a company existed which did not comply with the laws that were meant to protect people, and managers at the company enabled that moral laxity by not reporting it, not doing anything it, and hence endangering many people with their negligence. Engineering ethics application would have looked at the relevant factors (legal, ethical, moral, social) and shored up the company's chemical storage practices (Fleddermann, 2008, p. 47).
Summary
Understanding...
The history of ethics arises from religious and legal frameworks, yet can be applied to personal and other non-secular situations. The main moral theories discussed herein are utilitarianism, duty ethics, rights ethics, and virtue ethics. The project engineer can utilize their knowledge of moral theory to assemble a menu of possible perspectives to apply in solving a problem. Corporations should likewise be held accountable as individuals for the morality and ethicality of their actions.
Bibliography
Fleddermann, C. (2008). Engineering Ethics. Ann Arbor: Prentice Hall.
Kligyte, V., Marcy, R., Waples, E., Sevier, S., Godfrey, E., Mumford, M., et al. (2008). Application of a Sensemaking Approach to Ethics Training in the Physical Sciences and Engineering. Science and Engineering Ethics, 251-278.
Palmer, J., Smith, T., Willetts, J., & Mitchell, C. (2007). Creativity, Ethics, and Transformation. Systemic Development: Local Solutions in a Global Environment (p. 10).…
