Engineering Ethics: Whistleblowing - Coursework Example

Ethics Report Name Name of Institution Ethics Report A professional engineering body like yours has tremendous responsibilities to its members and society in general. Davis (1991) claims that once an occupation evolves to become a profession, a code of ethics usually appears. In the case of the engineering profession, Davis (1991) maintains that most major societies have fundamental principles that require members to use their expertise to promote human welfare. He argues that the fundamental principles also require engineers to be honest and impartial to the public, employers, and clients (Davis 1991). It is evident that when an engineer discovers a moral issue that might harm the public, he/she will have a difficult time deciding what to do. One option would be to remain silent in order to satisfy employers and clients. The engineer can also decide to protect the safety of society through whistleblowing. Even if the engineer thinks about whistleblowing, he/she will have to learn the proper way to go about it. Thus, professional organizations that develop codes of ethic should also provide advice to engineers thinking about whistleblowing. This report recommends the advice that a professional body like yours should offer to those thinking about whistleblowing. In order for your professional body to be in a position to offer advice on whistleblowing to its members, the body needs to understand whistleblowing. According to Martin and Schinzinger (2010, p. 161) whistleblowing defines a situation where a current or former employee transmits information about a moral issue to somebody in a position to resolve the issue. It is worth noting that this transmission of information occurs outside normal organizational channels and without the approval relevant superiors. Based on this definition, it is notable that whistleblowing has four major elements. These elements are the disclosure through outside channels, the topic that has a moral problem, the person disclosing the information, and the person or organization receiving the information in order to take action (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 161). An additional fact about whistleblowing is that it can be done internally or externally. For instance, an engineer can disregard pressure from immediate supervisors and disclose faulty designs to top management in order to avert a future disaster. In the same way, the engineer can go to the media or professional bodies in cases where the firm ignores warnings about the faulty design. The first piece of advice that your professional body should offer to a person thinking about whistleblowing is for the person to ascertain that there is a moral issue or problem. As stated, the first element of whistleblowing is the presence of criminal conduct, a serious threat to the public or other employees, injustices to other employees, or unethical practices (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 161). Any profession requires its members to have a degree of respect for the work carried out by other professionals. It would be unfair for an engineer to accuse other engineers of wrongdoing falsely. Thus, it is essential for the person thinking of whistleblowing to confirm the presence of the issue in order to ensure that he/she retains the loyalty and trust of other members of the profession. Secondly, your professional body should advise potential whistle-blowers to report confirmed issues with a high degree of accuracy. As stated, the first step that the whistle-blower should take is to ascertain that there is a moral issue as quickly as possible. Once completed, the whistle-blower should communicate the identified issues in a factual manner. The engineer thinking of whistleblowing should focus on the issues and not the people who have created the problem. This is required to ensure that the whistleblowing does not become a personal attack on other engineers. For instance, a whistle-blower might discover an unintentional error or mistake that might harm the public or other employees in the firm. In such an instance, it would be appropriate to report the issue and not focus on the person who did the mistake. This will allow the recipient of the information to confirm that the issue exists, followed by identifying the responsible parties. The logic behind this proposition is that there is a need to maintain loyalty towards other members of the profession. Reporting issues and not individuals also allow a higher degree of accuracy as personal relationships will not influence the identification and accurate reporting of problems. Most organizations require their members to work towards a common goal. As such, these organizations have clear organizational structures and chains of command to make the realization of the common goal possible. Thus, it is essential for engineers to have respect for authority, even in cases where they work under managers from other professions. This also applies to whistleblowing. Your professional body should advise those thinking about whistleblowing to start the reporting of issues through normal organizational channels (Martin and Schinzinger 2010, p. 166). Martin & Schinzinger also claim that most organizations have official and unofficial guidelines that cover the reporting of issues within the organization. It is recommended that you advise members to follow these guidelines in order to cultivate respect for authority. However, the professional body should stress that there are circumstances that require urgency. For instance, if an engineer discovers a leak in a nuclear facility, he/she will be expected to report the issue to management as well as other emergency bodies in the shortest time possible. It is worth noting that such a circumstance is extremely rare. Thus, the advice to potential whistle-blowers should emphasize respect for authority and adherence to official and unofficial guidelines. According to Martin & Schinzinger (2010, p. 166) most of the people who have undertaken whistleblowing have had unfortunate outcomes. Many lose their jobs, families, and reputations as a result of whistleblowing. Additionally, the efforts of whistle-blowers are rarely rewarded, and most of them risk exclusion from their professional bodies. This is despite the fact that whistleblowing is a crucial service aimed at protecting the public. The realization of the dangers associated with whistleblowing has led to the enactment of laws designed to protect individuals who report unethical practices (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 165). However, companies have also found ways to avoid enforcing these laws to the detriment of whistle-blowers. Therefore, your professional body is obligated to offer advice on how whistle-blowers can protect themselves. The professional body should advise those thinking about whistleblowing to share their concerns with trusted colleagues for their own protection. Martin & Schinzinger (2010, p. 159) provide a case where three engineers contacted members of BART’s board of directors about the inadequacies of a new rail system. One of the directors promised to protect the whistle-blowers, but later sent their memos to local media. The three engineers lost their jobs as a result of sharing information with a person they did not trust (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 160). This example provides justification for the need to advise potential whistle-blowers to be careful when it comes to sharing identified problems. The professional body should encourage all engineers to develop trusting work relationships whenever possible in order mitigate the risk of being reported when they share concerns about moral issues. Another way in which the professional body can assist in the protection of potential whistle-blowers is advising them to consult lawyers. As stated, there are many laws that have been enacted with the sole aim of protecting and encouraging whistle-blowers. Thus, potential whistle-blowers should get qualified legal opinion from legal professionals. They should be advised to get a clear picture of the consequences of proper whistleblowing procedures. The handling of documents is an example of legal advice that the professional body should advise potential whistle-blowers to get. In many cases, it is illegal for whistle-blowers to keep and share organizational data. On the other hand, proving that there is a moral issue often requires such documents. This conflict illustrates why it is necessary for the professional body to advise individuals thinking about whistleblowing to consult lawyers. Finally, the professional body should advise individuals thinking about whistleblowing to do it anonymously for their own protection. However, this should be done in cases where using organizational channels will be impossible. Additionally, the whistle-blower should ensure that there are many people who have witnessed or are privy to malpractices in order to reduce the chance of being found out. Resigning is another piece of advice that the professional body should offer to engineers thinking about whistleblowing. Resigning offers whistle-blowers the chance to protect themselves from victimization. Martin & Schinzinger (2010, p. 167) also claim that resigning can give an individual the freedom to protest, debate, and lecture about the moral issue. It is worth noting that these actions will also lead to the protection of society. Therefore, the professional body should advise potential whistle-blowers that resignation is a viable option. Professional bodies like yours should go beyond offering advice to those thinking about whistleblowing. The body should schedule regular seminars on whistleblowing. These seminars should cover the entire nation in order to ensure that all engineers know what to do when they find themselves in circumstances that require whistleblowing. Furthermore, the seminars should include senior managers in different organizations in order to ensure that these firms have open-door policies when it comes to whistleblowing. In addition to seminars, the professional body should maintain ethics committees that hold secret meetings with potential whistle-blowers. These committees should also monitor current laws and lobby for the enactment of additional laws to protect whistle-blowers. As stated, professional bodies are often tasked with drafting a code of ethics for the occupation. Thus, the professional body should ensure that its code of ethics has provisions for whistleblowing. The body should support whistle-blowers in order to mitigate the risks associated with reporting malpractices at work. Finally, the body should retain the services of lawyers whose sole duty will be to advise those thinking about whistleblowing. References Davis, M 1991, Thinking like an engineer, Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 20. No. 2. Viewed 10 January, 2015 < http://ethics.iit.edu/publication/md_te.html> Martin, MW & Schinzinger, R 2010, Introduction to engineering ethics, second edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Viewed 10 January, 2015 Read More

The first piece of advice that your professional body should offer to a person thinking about whistleblowing is for the person to ascertain that there is a moral issue or problem. As stated, the first element of whistleblowing is the presence of criminal conduct, a serious threat to the public or other employees, injustices to other employees, or unethical practices (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 161). Any profession requires its members to have a degree of respect for the work carried out by other professionals.

It would be unfair for an engineer to accuse other engineers of wrongdoing falsely. Thus, it is essential for the person thinking of whistleblowing to confirm the presence of the issue in order to ensure that he/she retains the loyalty and trust of other members of the profession. Secondly, your professional body should advise potential whistle-blowers to report confirmed issues with a high degree of accuracy. As stated, the first step that the whistle-blower should take is to ascertain that there is a moral issue as quickly as possible.

Once completed, the whistle-blower should communicate the identified issues in a factual manner. The engineer thinking of whistleblowing should focus on the issues and not the people who have created the problem. This is required to ensure that the whistleblowing does not become a personal attack on other engineers. For instance, a whistle-blower might discover an unintentional error or mistake that might harm the public or other employees in the firm. In such an instance, it would be appropriate to report the issue and not focus on the person who did the mistake.

This will allow the recipient of the information to confirm that the issue exists, followed by identifying the responsible parties. The logic behind this proposition is that there is a need to maintain loyalty towards other members of the profession. Reporting issues and not individuals also allow a higher degree of accuracy as personal relationships will not influence the identification and accurate reporting of problems. Most organizations require their members to work towards a common goal.

As such, these organizations have clear organizational structures and chains of command to make the realization of the common goal possible. Thus, it is essential for engineers to have respect for authority, even in cases where they work under managers from other professions. This also applies to whistleblowing. Your professional body should advise those thinking about whistleblowing to start the reporting of issues through normal organizational channels (Martin and Schinzinger 2010, p. 166).

Martin & Schinzinger also claim that most organizations have official and unofficial guidelines that cover the reporting of issues within the organization. It is recommended that you advise members to follow these guidelines in order to cultivate respect for authority. However, the professional body should stress that there are circumstances that require urgency. For instance, if an engineer discovers a leak in a nuclear facility, he/she will be expected to report the issue to management as well as other emergency bodies in the shortest time possible.

It is worth noting that such a circumstance is extremely rare. Thus, the advice to potential whistle-blowers should emphasize respect for authority and adherence to official and unofficial guidelines. According to Martin & Schinzinger (2010, p. 166) most of the people who have undertaken whistleblowing have had unfortunate outcomes. Many lose their jobs, families, and reputations as a result of whistleblowing. Additionally, the efforts of whistle-blowers are rarely rewarded, and most of them risk exclusion from their professional bodies.

This is despite the fact that whistleblowing is a crucial service aimed at protecting the public. The realization of the dangers associated with whistleblowing has led to the enactment of laws designed to protect individuals who report unethical practices (Martin & Schinzinger 2010, p. 165).

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