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Zachariah Brase

EE/CPRE 394
Ethics Reflection
04/29/2016

One major ethical obligation for Computer Engineers is the responsibility to adhere to Federal
and State laws. The obligation applies to professional action in that a core requirement of professional
action is to remain law abiding. If the law is broken, most of the professionalism of a person is
diminished. One example a professional of a professional activity where the ethical obligation of
adhering to Federal law is the VW scandal in which VW engineers and high ranking employees
deliberately broke the law and wrote code that cheated EPA emissions tests. Other examples include
creating documents which provide accurate data in order to not false advertise and remaining true to
others patents.
The issue to be analyzed is Computer Engineers adhering to Federal and State laws. The issue
requires a systematic ethical framework to keep all morals in check. The professional duties which apply
to the issue are the duties of rejecting bribery from any and all potential bribers and remain honest and
realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available to oneself, ones employer, and all
stakeholders as they apply to codes 3 and 4 of the IEEE Code Ethics. A conflict among the applicable
duties would be bribery from superiors in the workplace. It is possible that a manager or any superior
could bribe an engineer to commit acts he might not normally commit. Another conflict would be to
falsify claims in order to receive a greater compensation, whether it be a bonus, promotion, etc. Both of
these conflicts can be resolved by remaining consistent and true to the IEEE Code of Ethics. The
appropriate stance on the issue is the same as how it is resolved: Remaining true to the IEEE Code of
Ethics.

A complex situation involving multiple conflicting ethical interests or principles to support an


appropriate course of action is the VW-EPA scandal. VW cheated emissions tests conducted by the EPA
on vehicles containing specific diesel engines. The computer system contained a segment of code that
was able to recognize the unique parameters of an EPA emissions test and the engine changed the way
it operated. While under an EPA emissions test, the engine adhered to all of the emission standards that
are Federal law. While running outside of an EPA emissions test, the engine produces almost 40 times
the emissions that are allowed under Federal law. Competing interests would be to follow the Code of
Ethics, but to also follow the orders of superiors. Using the ethical framework described above, the
disputes are resolved by staying true to the Federal and State Laws, the IEEE Code of Ethics, and
personal morals. If a superior instructs an engineer to write code the breaks any parts of the ethical
framework, the engineer must decline the instructions. There is always a route to follow if a superior is
to threaten the engineer for now following instructions that break the ethical framework. An
appropriate course of action would be to contact the companys HR department and any pertinent
agencies, the EPA in this case. This is the best course of action among the available alternatives because
there is almost more of a punishment for breaking laws than sticking true to ethics and declining an
unlawful instruction from a superior.

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