Guidelines for Facilitating Solutions to Ethical Dilemmas in Professional Practice
- Determine the facts in the situation by obtaining all of the unbiased facts possible.
- Define the stakeholders, or those with a vested interest in the outcome.
- Assess the motivations of the stakeholders by using effective communication techniques and personality assessment.
- Formulate alternative solutions based on most complete information available, using basic ethical core values as guide.
- Evaluate proposed alternatives: short-list ethical solutions only; may be a potential choice between/among two or more totally ethical solutions.
- Seek additional assistance, as appropriate. Turn to engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, even prayer if necessary.
- Select the best course of action, one that which satisfies the highest core ethical values.
- Implement the selected solution, and take action as warranted.
- Monitor and assess the outcome. Always note how to improve the next time.
Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism
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Address
Texas Tech University, Whitacre College of Engineering, Box 41023, Lubbock, TX 79409-1023 -
Phone
806.742.3525 -
Email
engineering.ethics@ttu.edu