Ethical Issues Related to Science and Technology With Relation to Aviation - Research Paper Example

Ethical Issues Related to Science and Technology With Relation to Aviation Ethical issues related to Science and Technology with relation to Aviation/Aerospace In every business setting, ethics form part of the major components of the company. Ethics ensure that you work according to a certain type and everyone believes in a similar fashion, appropriate to the social conditions of a certain company. When there is a code of ethics defined, both the employers and the employees work in a particular designated manner, which makes them live up to expectations and meet certain goals. Moreover, ethics ensure that you do not take advantage of other people, and you do not harm other people because of your activities. Therefore, ethics make sure that any particular individual fulfills all responsibilities, either towards the company, or towards the public (Essay tree, n.d). Ethics guarantee that the needs of different segments of different populations are considered, for example different ethnic populations and people belonging to different sexes. In this way, ethics make certain that equality is ensured and that the work is carried out in the best way possible. Companies or organizations when designed code of ethics carries this endeavor to make certain that their aims and goals do not hurt other people. Science and technology has emerged since centuries and have benefitted the entire world in various ways. However, throughout history, it has come under observation that science and technology has both good and bad sides, attached to it. This technology provided people mobility because of the invention of automobiles. Science ensured that the world we live in now is a modern place. However, it is the same science and technology, which advanced the progress of atom bombs and nuclear weapons, which are weapons of mass destruction. Science and technology carried out the huge bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War, which destroyed the lives of millions of people then. Therefore, this fact can be established that Science and technology has certain ethical issues (Tittle, 2000). Hence, different ethical issues are raised within the different fields of Science and Technology. In biotechnology, there are ethical problems related to the issue of genetics. There are certain issues in engineering, as well. However, the paper shall examine the ethical issues, with regard to a particular branch of Science and Technology, which includes Aviation industry. The paper shall explain different ethical issues such as racial, gender discrimination, and environmental impacts. Moreover, it gives an example of an organization, which largely became the focus of the headlines because of its ethical issues. In contemporary times, there is a growing awareness in the field of applied ethics and there has been widespread ethical training in various organizations. It is important to discuss the emergence of the concept of ethics, before the paper moves towards explaining ethical issues in the aviation industry. The concept originated in the 1980s when Oxford University Press published the groundbreaking book in medicine by the name of “Principles of Biomedical Ethics”. Eventually, business ethics books appeared in the market, and then engineering ethics came into focus during the 1990s. One thing important to remember about the aviation industry is that it is complex and has a wide range of issues surrounding it. Historically, in many countries the aviation industry has been regulated by the government, however, deep deregulation has occurred in the recent decades. Moreover, the aviation industry takes into account the public largely. A code of ethics already exists in the aviation industry (Hoppe, 2011). Aviation industry is largely commercial sensitive. Video and audio recorders are not allowed on airplanes, unless permission is taken (Shahin, 2002). However, a number of ethical issues have taken root in the recent decades. Many huge companies, which might feel that they are living up to ethical standards of a particular industry may get astonished at the fact that their ethical ranking might be very low, in the eyes of the public. Such is the case with Boeing, a European airline, which provides high quality service to its customers. It is one of the largest companies in the world and even then, it made the headlines for ethical elapses. Even though, there is an ethics manual, a number of problems were found within the organization. Some ethical issues included the bribery of government officials, involvement with the CIA to capture and torture a terrorist, and theft of some documents. With large companies, which are usually in the case of aviation companies, it is obvious that control is very difficult to maintain. However, with reputation comes responsibility. Eventually, a proper code of ethics was maintained by each employee, enforced by the CEO of the company, which took four years to be implemented. Therefore, it goes to show how difficult it is to maintain ethics in the aviation industry (Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report, n.d). A number of ethical issues are present in the form of environmental impacts of aviation to the society. The government regards the issue of environmental effects by the aviation industry to be included in the code of ethics. This demands that the aviation industry pays the cost of environmental effects it has on the society. Some of the environmental impacts include global warming, noise, air pollution and impact on water quality. In UK alone, the aviation industry contributed to around $1.4b of carbon emissions, thus leading to global warming (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, 2007). Safety always has been a concern for the aviation industry because the public is greatly affected by the workings of the industry. A safe environment is required in the aviation industry for both employers and customers. Therefore, all sorts of fatal plane crashes, no matter how rare, will always guarantee news headlines. Hence, this becomes one of the vital ethical issues that the airlines are unsafe. Another ethical issue, which surrounds the aviation industry, is to maintain the well-being of the employees. The safety of the flight cannot be ensured unless it is known that the humans operating the airplane are in the perfect health condition. Pilot errors account for a number of airline incidents; therefore, it is important to ensure that such accidents do not occur because of human error. This in itself is an ethical issue, surrounding aviation industry (Lapp, Meadors, Hunt, Ruiz, Brunsman, n.d). Privacy is one of the vital issues, which surrounds the aviation industry. The medical records of the employees are highly sensitive, and therefore should be regarded with extreme care. Any leakage of these sensitive records can be regarded as an ethical issue. The industry may become victim of legal action, if careful attention is not paid to the privacy of the employees (Lapp et al, n.d). As mentioned in the beginning of the paper, ethics are present in any organization to ensure that all sorts of employees within the industry feel entirely comfortable with their environment. In the aviation industry, African-American people may face problems with regard to race and gender. While on training to become pilots, African American women have faced barriers concerning training, absence of role models and lack of aviation career information. This in whole creates an unwelcoming climate in the aviation industry, which undoubtedly is against the code of ethics for any industry in these contemporary times. Moreover, many of these women have to bear excessive costs, when it concerns training. Therefore, the aviation industry becomes alienating for people belonging to a particular race and a gender, which is against the code of ethics (Hoppe, 2011). Ethical issues also surround the debate of moral issues. According to the policy of the aviation industry, new pilots can be hired at the recommendation of old pilots. However, historically, in many countries, particularly the United States, there has been an issue of sexism and racism. This denotes that many of the old pilots tend to be white and male. Therefore, the question arises whether people hired based on recommendations may count as favoritism. A moral ground can also be established. Is it morally right to disadvantage those people who might be Black and female? In this regard, racism and sexism is against the ethical codes of many organizations (Hoppe, 2011). As mentioned above in the paper, the aviation industry is complex. Ethical issues do not only surround the airline industry, but the customers of the airline industry, as well. Exploiting “hidden city” discounts is considered an unethical issue. Many people take advantage of low fares offered in certain cities, without the intention of travelling to another particular city. Many people lie about the age of their parents; people get a number of “bereavement fares”, which are reserved only for people who have lost family members. Some people also deceive by giving fake medical certificates to get refund on non-refundable tickets. Moreover, quite many people would do anything to secure a free ticket. Therefore, the methods can become extremely deceptive, so ethical issues can get extreme in the case of aviation industry. In many cases, the companies can claim from customers, but it is still hard to do so (Hoppe, 2011). Ethical issues also encompass conflict of interest. In the aviation industry, when the airline staff receives gifts from customers, the airline staff cannot receive them because they may feel obligated to respond to the particular needs of the customer. Sometimes, employees may pursue their personal financial interest at the cost of the good name of the company. This again comes under conflict of interest. Therefore, these ethical issues are also important in the aviation industry. (Ethics Airline, n.d). Different companies have violated ethical standards of the aviation industry. To ensure the correct working of the aircrafts, regular check-ups are required. However, Southwest Airlines, which is one of the leading companies in the United States was found out not to be conducting these check-ups. The company did not meet ethical standards of the air, which violated their code of ethics. The airplanes of these companies had not been checked for almost one year, yet they were still allowed to fly. Therefore, they were putting the lives of thousands of people at risk. This case is the perfect example to illustrate that the dangers that these airline companies can present to the public (Ethics Airline, n.d). Therefore, the complexity of the aviation industry means that ethics become a great cause of concern, for both employers and employees alike. Moreover, even customers are affected by code of ethics. In addition, aviation industry causes many social costs, which affect the public. Therefore, just as every technology and innovation has its pros and cons, aviation industry may create some cons, which may come under ethical and moral issues. Aviation companies tend to be large organizations, encompassing huge areas, and employing hundreds of thousands of employees. This means that the companies cannot keep track of the conduct of all the employees. However, regular check-ups should be carefully done, because the media gets a field day, if the aviation companies show neglect in the slightest form. The media cannot be blamed either. The aviation industry provides the form of transport that has completely revolutionized the world of transport and communication. Distances are covered within a few hours and many people rely on these companies for the safe arrival to their destinations. Therefore, aviation industry has a huge corporate responsibility. The roles of the aviation industry are dynamic. Many governments have also proposed the aviation companies to pay off the damage they cost to the environment. In a way, ethical issues are bad for business, as well. Customers do not use the services of those airlines they believe are not safe. Therefore, the business gets adversely affected. Therefore, including safety in the code of ethics has a direct impact on the moral bottom line of the company. Therefore, the paper has analyzed the reasons why ethics are extremely important for any industry. It also outlines the development of the code of ethics in the society. Finally, it arrives at the main component of the research paper, which is the ethical issues surrounding the aviation industry. The paper concludes that for any industry to boom and to get positive media coverage, ethical issues are also very important. References Boeing Management Planning - Research Paper. Print version essay. (n.d.). Free Essays, Term Papers, Research Paper, and Book Report. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://essays24.com/print/Boeing-Management-Planning/27492.html Essay or TermPaper about ethical or social responsibility issue related to the aviation, aerospace, or airport industries. on our essays and termpapers collection Essay Tree. (n.d.). Essay Tree. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://essaytree.com/ethics/ethical-or-social-responsibility-issue-related-to-the-aviation-aerospace-or-airport-industries/ Ethics Airline - AviationMechanicInfo.com. (n.d.).AviationMechanicInfo.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011, from http://aviationmechanicinfo.com/ethics-airline/ Hoppe, E. (2011). Chapter 4 and 5. Ethical Issues in Aviation (pp. 40, 60). Franharn: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Lapp, E., Meadson, T., Hunt, A., & Brunsman, J. (n.d). Ethical responsibilities, obligations and agency. Navy Essay (pp. 2-4). Airline Pilots Association. Shahin, T. (2002). Ethical Issues. Computer-based design: Engineering Design Conference 200 (p. 632). Chippenham: Professional Engineering Publishing. Tittle, P. (2000). Section III.Ethical issues in business: inquiries, cases, and readings(p. 462). Canada: Broadview Press Limited. Read More