Ethical Issues of a Technological Product

Ethics Report Choose JUST ONE of the following: a real product or service related to your degree that you think has ethical problems associated with it, but which also does some good (i.e. it’s not a product you would want to eliminate entirely) a small/medium company that specialises in a narrow set of similar products or services where you think that there are ethical problems a division of a larger company with a similarly narrow focus where you think there are ethical problems If a specific example of a product, service, company or division does not come immediately to mind, we recommend that you try using UCL Engineering Inspiration to find recent news stories that may help you. Do not choose an example given in the lectures or assigned readings. As a consultant: Write up an ethics report for the the company that delivers the product or service or more generally for the company/division. 1. Choose the three most relevant categories to the product from the list below (or you may choose another issue that is unlisted if you think it is sufficiently important): Treatment of workers employed directly Supply chain issues (ethics of suppliers of materials used) Environmental impact of manufacture/use/disposal Health and safety related to manufacture or use of product Privacy concerns Honesty and fair dealing and perform an audit (based on publicly-available sources) of how well the company does (or appears to do) in these areas. Go through individual issues, decisions that you can find related to the company or service, and explain whether each represents an ethical decision or not. This section should make up about 50% of the report. 2. Choose the three worst breaches of ethics that you identified in your audit. Explain why they are particularly bad, and make recommendations on what could be done to to rectify the situation. Try to write this section in such a way that those who don’t care about ethics may still want to do as you suggest. For instance, you might point out false economies, unnecessary risk of legal action, public relations/marketing issues that could arise by not doing a better job ethically. This section should make up about 30-40% of the report. 3. Discuss any issues that may have lead to poor decisions made in the first place. For instance, if the responsibility for making certain types of decision is sub-contracted to other groups. Make recommendations, if you have any, for changes to the decision-making process that might improve the situation. This section should make up no more than 10% of the report. 4. Don’t forget to conclude by briefly summarising how well the company is doing ethically, your main recommendations and the benefits of fixing the ethical problems you identified. This section should make up no more than 10% of the report. ***Before you start writing, please make sure to review all the resources given as prep for the Research Report. You should also make sure to read the Royal Academy of Engineering’s document on Engineering Ethics in Practice.*** Report Specifications The report may be no more than 1500 words long and we recommend that it be no less than 1200 words. References are not included in the word count, but citations (the pointers to the references) are. This report should not include figures (images/diagrams). It may include up to three tables if necessary. Table text and captions are included in the word count. We recommend that you do not use bullet points and have a maximum of five subheadings. The title should include the name of the product or service and, ideally, one of the main recommendations of the report. We recommend you submit your report as a PDF and in at least 10-point font size. If you submit another format and your marker cannot open it, it may reduce your grade. Marking Criteria You will be marked using the Ethics Report Mark Sheet. We strongly recommend that you leave yourself time to mark yourself and then do a final editing step before you submit. Frequently Asked Questions Does it have to be an engineering-related company? It must be a company that is in some way involved with engineering, and it should be a branch of engineering related to your degree. Can I do XYZ topic? If it fits the brief, go ahead and do whatever you like. I won’t be able to help you make the choice. Just remember you have to talk about three different ethical issues. Do we really have to talk about three ethical issues? Yes. That’s not to say that the company has to be terrible in all three areas, however. Even in good companies, or area where the company is doing well, there may be room for improvement.