Paper Example on Engineering Ethics: Professionalism

Introduction

Engineering is an expansive and important, learned profession. Members of this profession that is the Engineers have to display full high standards of integrity and honesty when discharging their duties. This is because engineering poses a direct and crucial effect on the kind of life that all people in the universe lead. From the nature of the services that the engineers provide, there is a need that they should practice diligence, impartiality, honesty, equality, and fairness in their line of duty. If observed, these ethical practices enhance the protection of the general welfare of the public, especially public safety and welfare. However, to achieve the observance of these ethical standards which are part of professionalism in engineering, the Engineers must be guided under a standard of professional behavior which requires that all Engineers adhere to their best of ability to the ethical conduct.

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Professionalism in Engineering

Engineers are at often required to hold positions of responsibility or power, to carry out negotiations, to manage other Engineers, ensure that the public safety around their work is maintained. At times, Engineers may also be required to make important decisions regarding their work, write reports about how their work is fairing and also minimize the risks to the environment. Each of these crucial roles requires that the Engineer be well versed with the ethics governing the profession as well as having a standard atonement to the professionalism of the practice (Ghosh, Sreejita, et al. 2015).

This paper will explore professionalism in the field of ethics in the expansive Engineering profession. Professionalism in Engineering is all about how Engineers conduct themselves not only in their work but also in the society and when taking part in matters that concern their employers or the society in general. The notion of Professionalism in Engineering just like in any other professions come with the aspect of ethics and honesty.

Professionalism in Engineering entails various aspects such as Professional and Personal Integrity. This is whereby an Engineer is expected to conduct themselves with the utmost honesty and complete integrity in dealing with their employer, the public, and their fellow Engineers. This is especially so because in Engineering, an individual has to keep on making various crucial decisions and statements, most of which are on a daily basis and upon which other people can depend on without the need for reservation. If Engineers do not adhere to professional and personal integrity, things such as public health and safety, their company's or employer's success and also to a large extent the success of the projects they are working on could be highly jeopardized (Jorgensen, Ulrik, 2016).

Problem-solving as an aspect of professionalism in Engineering: Any Engineer that desires to be successful in their career should have the ability, passion and self-drive to face problems and search out for solutions to that particular problem. Engineering is all about creating solutions to problems in the society. A well professional engineer should have the capacity to look for solutions to problems on their own, even if presented with inadequate information. Professionalism in Engineering is about being a self-motivated problem-solver which is essential in creating an impact in the Engineering world. Engineers should not expect everything to be done by other people because professionalism in Engineering demands that Engineers should be hands-on, to create solutions to existing or upcoming challenges. While hiring new Engineers, Engineering companies will often look at the trait of problem-solving in their potential employees as one of the aspects of professionalism in that particular employee.

Professionalism in Engineering also entails another crucial factor, which is effective communication. For an Engineer to be considered a competent professional, they must possess skills of effective communication. Engineers who are effective or professional communicators have better chances of succeeding in the profession (Moh, Za-Chieh, 2016). Professionalism in Engineering requires that Engineers take extra care when communicating and make it professional. Proper grammar should be applied in professional communication as part of professionalism in Engineering. Also, professionalism in Engineering requires that Engineers should take charge of their social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, by being fair and well objective in their opinions. Professionalism dictates that profanity in communication should not be acceptable under any circumstances.

Proper relations with other people: In Engineering, just as in other professions, having proper relations with other people such as the employers, managers, supervisors, and colleagues are considered as part of professionalism. It is prudent that engineers relate with other people including their colleagues at work in the best manner possible. Engineers interact with various people from all walks of life with different ethnic backgrounds, educational backgrounds, occupations, race, and gender among other differences. For this reason, Professionalism in Engineering requires that Engineers respect all people, without holding prejudice against them or pre-judgments foe the best standard of interaction (Lagesen, 2016). In respect to Professionalism and proper engineering ethics, Engineers should not judge other people from their external appearances.

Accepting responsibility: Professionalism in Engineering means that an Engineer should accept responsibility for their actions or failure to act in a certain situation. Also, Engineers should strive to deliver their mandate within the required deadlines.

Engineering firms highly value professionalism and proper ethics in their Engineers. There are several aspects of professionalism in Engineering. For instance, Professionalism in Engineering requires that Engineers should always strive for excellence in their endeavors. This helps Engineers to achieve greatness in their area of expertise and also to stand out among their colleagues.

Engineers, as part of their professionalism, should also ensure that they are trustworthy. Exhibiting trustworthiness is a fast track to professionalism. In Engineering, trustworthiness is about completing tasks and projects within the allocated time frames and avoiding to let down expectations. As part of proper professionalism in Engineering, Engineers should be competent and display a will to improve gradually. This is because continuous self-development is a pre-requisite in displaying professionalism.

Professionalism in Engineering also urges Engineers always to remain honorable and act with utmost integrity such that they display nobility of soul and magnanimity. This stems from personal integrity and virtuous conduct and goes a long way into complementing the individual's professionalism. Professionalism as part of ethics in Engineering also entails the setting of good examples to aspiring engineers by displaying the profession as a noble one. Confidentiality is also essential as part of professionalism in Engineering. This is an aspect whereby the Engineer keeps information about their clients or employers as confidential as possible.

Conclusion

Professionalism and Ethics in Engineering are essential aspects that guide engineers to conduct themselves in their best of ability. This ensures that Engineering remains a great practice. Engineers should strive to maintain professionalism and observe ethics at all times for the common good of the society.

Works Cited

Ghosh, Sreejita, et al. "Enhancing professionalism among engineering students through involvements in technical societies." EMBC. 2015.

Jorgensen, Ulrik, and Sosser Brodersen, eds. Engineering Professionalism: Engineering Practices in Work and Education. Springer, 2016.

Lagesen, Vivian Anette. "Gender and professional practices in software engineering." Engineering Professionalism. SensePublishers, Rotterdam, 2016. 233-253.

Moh, Za-Chieh. "Professionalism and Ethics of Engineering." GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING 47.4 (2016): 1-3.