Abstract
This paper aims at studying the role of engineers in the society and the industry. It also focuses on appraising the role that engineers play to change human lives and the world. A general definition of the engineering profession helps in understanding them better. The research aims at assessing the ethical and social responsibility that engineers are bound with. This is achieved by studying the education and training criteria set by the governing and accreditation bodies pertaining to the engineering disciplines. With the help of case studies, the paper seeks to explore the sort of ethical and social responsibilities. This paper aims at identifying the pros and cons of the engineering profession. There is a certain level of respect that is found in the eyes of the general population for the professional engineers due to the work they do and the role they play for the improvement of the society. The professional engineers are exemplary leaders, managers, and prominent personalities in the society.
Introduction
This paper aims at assessing the role of professional engineers in the industry and society with regards to the codes and ethics which govern their activities and decides their line of action in varying situations. This objective will be achieved by shedding light on the engineering profession as a whole, with a focus on the role that engineers play in addressing the needs of the society and the industry. An acquaintance with the educational and training background of engineers, along with the morals, ethics, and codes of conduct that they are instilled with, will also help the cause. The role will also be clarified by gaining an insight into the leadership methodologies, the management of resources and the communication strategies employed by professional engineers. Another way of appraising the role of engineers, or any other members of the society for that matter, is to identify and analyze their principles and priorities. Therefore, this paper will also focus on the principles and priorities, in regard to the industry and society, of professional engineers. Generally, this paper will seek to evaluate the roles and responsibilities of professional engineers in the context of the norms for society and industry by identifying and analyzing the methodology of their approach to different problems, and in general, and their solutions.
Defining the Engineering Profession
The term “engineering” refers to a vast area of study that covers a large number of engineering disciplines. However, there are certain commonalities in all the disciplines of engineering. Engineers are “problem solvers”, i.e. engineers are at the forefront of leading studies in response to a problem, be it at the workplace or in the society. There are varying definitions, that are available, for the profession of engineering, some of which are defined here. William A. Wulf, the president of the national academy of engineering, defines engineering as being omnipresent. He explains that everything from consumer goods to the network highways, from air and ground travel to the internet, from pharmaceutical products to advanced medical commodities, like artificial heart valves is the result of engineering. In a nutshell, life today is not possible without the marvels that engineering has provided with us over the course of history. Count Rumford defines engineering as the application of science to the common purpose of life. This definition focuses on the relevance of engineering in everyday life and points in the direction of its implications in the society. Theodore van Karman, a mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist, defines engineers as the creators of the world that did not exist before. This definition emphasizes on the role that engineers play in addressing the needs of the world by formulating new solutions to problems that did not exist before (Abd Kader, 2004). Professional engineers are people who study and obtain training in the various disciplines of engineering before serving in the industry. Engineers, in most cases, become the managers of different organizations pertaining to their field of study and act as consultants, at the time of need, in their respective areas of expertise. Many engineers go on to become successful managers at key positions in different organizations implementing and shouldering the decision-making processes. To sum up, it could be said that engineers have the capability to reach key positions in the industry and society with the ability to provide leadership and management in crucial situations.
The Focus of Engineering Profession and Social Responsibility
An engineer works by combining the scientific knowledge, that he has earned in the educational period, with the needs of the society. Engineers are the ones that work for the betterment of society by working on different projects. These projects include but are not in any way limited to construction projects, product development projects, engineering services, problem solving projects, and many others. One of the interesting factor in the line of work of engineers is their duty to the society. Engineers have to bear in mind, at all times, the ethical considerations pertaining to the society that their product or service will be used in. For instance, if an engineer is designing a bridge, or a building, he has to keep in mind that the safety of thousands of people will depend on the design that the engineer compiles or approves. Therefore, the engineer has to be extremely cautious in designing or even approving that structure. Sometimes, it is observed that some of the engineers approve designs that are, although safe, but compromise on a few design aspects in order to save cost. Such practices may well be within the legal obligations, but ethically these will need to be reviewed and rectified accordingly.
A study on the professional responsibility of engineers places engineering to be at the merging point of societal need and scientific knowledge (Nichols & Weldon, 1997). The authors argue that scientific knowledge, over the course of time, shows that part of the knowledge is directly related to the societal needs. The authors present the overlapping of scientific knowledge and societal need to be the domain of engineering, endorsing the loyalty of engineers to the ethical considerations pertaining to the society.
The modern world demands products and services at a lower cost and a faster pace. Due to these high demanding situations, and the accompanying requirement to maintain a high level of quality and safety, the engineers are often under pressure. However, these complications do not justify the acceptance of consumer risk above the specified level. This is the link in the chain that keeps the engineers connected to the society and it has to be a strong one. These situations also present challenges such as the collision of societal and organizational interests. The organization wants to cut down on the cost of the product, but it may endanger the consumer with an increased risk level. In such a situation, an engineer is supposed to optimize the solution so as to ensure that the interests of both the society and the organization are met. This will ensure that the organization does not spend a fortune on the product and at the same time, it will ensure that the risk level for the consumer is brought down to an acceptable level. Optimization is part of the engineering curriculum, to enable the engineer to formulate a solution keeping multiple constraints under considerations, which comes handy in situations such as these (Israelsson, n.d.).
A contrasting view is that the general engineering curricula lack the study of ethics in transferring “necessary knowledge for social responsibility” to engineers in their education (Zandvoort, 2007). The author identifies the procedures for collective decision making and legal systems to be the examples of necessary knowledge for social responsibility. Zandvoort refers to the analysis of the transfer of necessary knowledge for social responsibility to engineers as “discomforting”. He presents the analysis of two widely used textbooks, in engineering curricula, on engineering ethics. He states that these two particular books are inadequate in regard to the transfer of necessary knowledge.
Another study on the teaching of social responsibility in engineering curricula concluded that more attention should be paid to the inclusion of the study social responsibility in the courses that are taught in engineering (Hattum-Janssen, Sanchez Fernandez, Caires, & Kahn, 2012). The authors found out that the study of social responsibility was “hardly present” in the degree program and the extra-curricular activities. The study was, however, completed with a particular group of students from universities in a limited number of countries and a limited number of engineering disciplines.
Professionalism
Professionalism in the engineering profession is instilled into the engineers by means of the education and trainings that a future engineer undergoes during his educational and subsequent training period.
A study focuses on the history of engineering qualifications in New Zealand claiming that the system of engineering qualifications in New Zealand has closely trailed the English system (Blakeley, 2016). The engineering profession started around 1840 with the founding of Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical engineering institutions. The courses were available from the British engineering institutions in the late 1800s prior to which young engineers used to work under experienced engineers. Later in 1897, different institutions developed examinations for the different disciplines of engineering. The engineers, at that time, had to pass these examinations with an experience of several years and then pass an interview to become an associate member of the engineering institutions. These examinations grew tougher and tougher to pass over time. Any person is absolutely eligible to be called an engineer if he is qualified to work on solving engineering problems independently. The engineering problems are divided into three classes according to their level of complexity. These classes are complex engineering problems, broadly-defined engineering problems, and well-defined engineering problems. Therefore, any person qualified enough to solve any of these three classes of problems independently can be called a professionally qualified engineer. The body responsible for the governing of accreditation rules for engineering curricula, in New Zealand, is the Institute of Professional Engineers in New Zealand (IPENZ).
A study defined seven core skills that were proposed, in 2000, that will become the engineers’ requirement in the changing world. These skills are independent, interdependent and lifetime skills, problem-solving, critical thinking and creative-thinking skills, interpersonal and teamwork skills, communication skills, self-assessment skills, integrative and global-thinking skills, and change management skills (Kozinski & Evans, n.d.). A similar definition of the “global engineer” was found to be having the skills including superior communication skills and understanding across different cultures and languages, a facility for multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary work, a well-developed sense of social responsibility and ethics, entrepreneurial skills, and an ability to deal with complex problems and systematic thinking. These are the qualifications and skills that are required in order to be an engineer in the modern times.
Another study investigates the required qualifications of engineers in the 21st century and found that multi-disciplinary education is the future of engineering education. This will be a mix-up of the different disciplines of engineering such as civil, mechanical, electrical and process engineering. The needs of the 21st century will be catered by the engineers who study a multi-disciplinary curriculum because they will be able to address complex problems from the viewpoint of multiple engineers of single disciplines (Foley & Leahy, 2010).
Engineers are supposed to be responsible for the safety of the consumers, that consume their products or services designed by them. A certain level of trust exists in the general consumer in the capabilities of the person who designs or manufactures the products that they use. If the engineers do not fulfill their responsibilities, mishaps may happen and the trust of the consumer is broken. One such incident took place in a mine near Pike river in New Zealand on November 19, 2010. The incident took the lives of 29 men working in the mine. There were several issued identified in the report on Pike river mine incident. One issue was the location of the main fan underground. Since, coal mines are filled with methane, the positioning of the fan underground posed electrical fire threats and the inaccessibility of the fan, in case of fire, was also an issue. These minor issues caused the deaths of 29 people which conferred as a loss to the society. This case is a prime example of how engineers are responsible for the overall goodness, safety, and well-being of the society (Shanks & Meares, 2013).
Another such incident happened when the Canterbury Television collapsed on February 22, 2011 during an earthquake. As a result of the collapse of the 6 storey building, 115 people died. There was an issue in the design and construction phase of the building that may have led to the collapse. The construction joints were not roughened where the precast beams met the in-situ concrete of circular columns. This was not detailed in the construction drawings, nor was it implemented at the time of the construction. Another issue identified in the report was that the beam bars were bent back instead of being embedded into the wall. A few other issues were also identified in the report that may have gone on to cause the collapse of the building. All these causes point in the direction of mistakes caused by the construction or drawing engineers. The ethical duty of engineers to the society is once again under scrutiny in this case. These cases emphasize on the importance of the social responsibility of engineers.
The study of such cases promotes the need for incorporation of ethics into the engineering profession. The institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) provides a list or code of ethics for professional members of the institution. One rule of the rules of IPENZ states, “Each member shall so conduct himself as to uphold the dignity, standing and reputation of the institution and of the profession”. The code also presents a detailed list of ethics for the engineering professionals and the members of the institution (Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Incorporated, 1986).
Leadership and Management
Leadership and management is one of the core competencies of the engineering profession. Engineers grow in their respective organizations and roles to become exemplary leaders and managers and leadership and management skills are crucial to the success of engineers. There are ten models of leadership discussed in the book “Leadership Models” (Newton, 2011). These models include Mintzberg’s management roles, Lencioni’s five dysfunctions of a team, Birkinshaw’s four dimensions of management, Waldroop and Butler’s six problem behaviors, Cog’s ladder, leader-member exchange model, Belbin’s team roles, Benne and Sheat’s group roles, Margerison-McCann team management profile and the JD-R model. Implementation of leadership and management models is necessary for engineers in order to grow as a professional and complete the challenging tasks that they encounter during their careers.
Communication
Communication is another key competency required by the engineering profession. The lack of communication skills renders a professional engineer paralyzed. The importance of communication cannot be overstated in today’s world. Courses on communication, such as business communications, are part of most of the engineering curricula.
Engineering Principles and Priorities
The principles on which the profession of engineering is governed are based on the theoretical, practical, and ethical considerations. It is the primary focus of any professional engineer to abide by the principles laid down by the engineering profession. The professional engineers make it part of their priorities to act on these principles. These principles and priorities describe the conduct and behavior of engineers in the industry and the society.
Evaluation of Professional Engineers
The professional engineers of the 21st century enjoy a respectable position amongst the other trades of the society. The monetary as well as moral status of engineers is high in the society. The engineering principles governed by the educational and training background guide the professional engineers on the right paths in their careers and enable them to become exemplary craftsmen of their profession.
Despite of the high self-esteem of engineers and an overall appreciation of the profession in the society, a growing concern is found regarding the ethical practices of the profession. This concern needs to be answered at the quickest notice. Other aspects of the profession, however, seem to be well in line with the scope and a high projection in the industry and the society.
Engineers are problem-solvers who work to solve the everyday problems of the industry as well as the society. Engineers keep the ethical considerations in mind to ensure the delivery of the best possible products and services to the consumer. Engineers provide cost-effective ways to organizations to cater their growing demands.
Overall, it could be said to sum up, that engineering is a respectable profession pursued by many in the modern age and has its foundations well set to become one of the leading professions in the society. Engineers are respected by the masses and they are well set to thrive in the society as good humans and the industry as successful leaders and managers.
Conclusion
It could be concluded from the study that the role of engineers is an imperative one in the industry and the society. Although there are some aspects which need to be addressed, but the overall image of engineers in the eyes of the general population is a positive one.
References
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