Humanistic Values and Ethics in Engineering
INCORPORATION OF HUMANISTIC, SOCIAL / ETHICAL VALUES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION – SOME OBSTACLES
Dr. R. SRINIVASAN
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ABSTRACT
An Engineer’s job today presents a greater degree of challenge than ever before. The engineering organizations are often exposed to an endless stream of problems that arise from the changes in the attitudes and beliefs of the interest group (which includes customers also), cross border transaction and its impact on the domestic business culture. In this context, it becomes necessary for the engineers to understand the magnitude of the problems and obstacles that make them ignore the ethical and value dimensions of human life. According to a French proverb, a child learns social values not from its parents but from the bed stories of grand parents. Learning social values needs a sort of intimacy between the parties concerned and such intimacy cannot be developed among students and teachers within a short span of time in educational institutions. Any decision to teach social values to students pursuing technical education need not be processed through structural programmes alone. Exposure methods can also be practiced to this end. Co-curricular activities, cultural programmes, and extra curricular activities can be designed in such a manner as to effectively expose social values to the student population.
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INTRODUCTION
The word ‘ethics’ refers to principles of behaviour that distinguish between good and bad; right and wrong. It is a person’s own attitude and beliefs concerning good behaviour. Ethics reside within individuals and as such are defined separately by each individual in his own way. What may be ethical behaviour to ‘X’ may be unethical to ‘Y’.
It is
Dr. R. SRINIVASAN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABSTRACT
An Engineer’s job today presents a greater degree of challenge than ever before. The engineering organizations are often exposed to an endless stream of problems that arise from the changes in the attitudes and beliefs of the interest group (which includes customers also), cross border transaction and its impact on the domestic business culture. In this context, it becomes necessary for the engineers to understand the magnitude of the problems and obstacles that make them ignore the ethical and value dimensions of human life. According to a French proverb, a child learns social values not from its parents but from the bed stories of grand parents. Learning social values needs a sort of intimacy between the parties concerned and such intimacy cannot be developed among students and teachers within a short span of time in educational institutions. Any decision to teach social values to students pursuing technical education need not be processed through structural programmes alone. Exposure methods can also be practiced to this end. Co-curricular activities, cultural programmes, and extra curricular activities can be designed in such a manner as to effectively expose social values to the student population.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION
The word ‘ethics’ refers to principles of behaviour that distinguish between good and bad; right and wrong. It is a person’s own attitude and beliefs concerning good behaviour. Ethics reside within individuals and as such are defined separately by each individual in his own way. What may be ethical behaviour to ‘X’ may be unethical to ‘Y’.
It is
References: 1. Heinz Weihrich and Harold Koontz, “Management A Global Perspective”, Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi, 2001. 2. Rushworth M. Kidder, “Universal Human Values”, The Futurist, 1994. 3. R. Srinivasan, “A study on student Leaders in Coimbatore District”, Unpublished Thesis, 1995. 4. S. S. Iyer, “Managing for value”, New Age International Publishers, 2003. 5. Sapna Parashar et.al, “Perception of Values: A Study of Future Professionals”, Journal of Human Values 10:2, 2004. 6. Thomas Donaldson, “Values in Tension”, Harvard Business Review, 1996. 7. V. S. P. Rao and V. Hari Krishna, “Management – Text and Cases”, Excel books, New Delhi, 2002.