This student module has been developed to help students in the practical and professional areas become aware of the ethical issues that often arise in the pursuit of employment. The point of departure is the "Guidelines to Professional Employment for Engineers and Scientists" set forth by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and republished by Stephen Unger in his book, Controlling Technology: Ethics and the Responsible Engineer, 2nd Ed. Each intermediate moral concept set forth in the guidelines is challenged by a case. Students from past professional and occupational classes at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez have provided the cases. While realistic, these cases are not necessarily representative of actual historical events since in some occasions confidentiality concerns have led to the altering and generalizing of some facts. To add another dimension to this module, each case requires a decision as well as the application of concepts to realistic situations. This student module is being developed as part of an NSF-funded project, "Collaborative Development of Ethics Across the Curriculum Resources and Sharing of Best Practices," NSF SES 0551779.
Module introduction
Chances are that you are either actively involved in an effort to find work or soon will be. Based on stories that come from the job-hunting experiences of UPRM students in Practical and Professional ethics classes, this module presents the employment guidelines put out by the IEEE, challenges these guidelines with realistic cases and scenarios, and provides you with decision-making tools to tackle these ethical complexities. This module was developed for and recently presented in Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design courses. It forms a part of the EAC Toolkit funded by the National Science Foundation, SES 0551779.
The details of the IEEE Professional Employment Guidelines for Engineers and Scientists have been reprinted by Stephen Unger in his book, Controlling Technology: Ethics and the Responsible Engineer, 2nd Ed. NY, NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: 315-329. We condense these guidelines to a few concepts. Each concept will be presented and followed by one or more cases designed to test the concept in its application.
Sincere interest
- Job candidates are obliged to apply only for those positions in which they are sincerely and seriously interested.
- "Sincere interest" has several meanings but two stand out here. First, they should not agree to an interview after having accepted a job offer from another company. Second, they should be qualified according to the requirements listed in the job application.
- The following scenarios test this concept in different ways. "Bring Your Friends" raises the issue of whether not being seriously interested in a job is ok if the interviewer knows this and initiates the interview for other reasons. "Working for Mega Weapons" asks whether moral or conscience-based conflicts cancel out "sincere interest."
1. bring your friends:
Maria, a talented student in mechanical engineering has accepted an offer to work for a prestigious firm. Then she receives a call for an interview with firm X. She tells them that she has already accepted an offer from Y, but the caller says that doesn’t matter. “We want to interview you anyway so that we can document affirmative action compliance. In fact, if you have any friends who are similarly situated [i.e., women who come from minority groups] please give us their names. We will fly all of you to our central headquarters for interviews at our expense. It will be a good vacation.
