TEACHING ETHICS TO INDUSTRIAL
TECHNOLOGISTS
...BY Dr. SAMUEL C. OBI
INTRODUCTION
Society is increasingly faced with
issues of ethics (principles of moral values) in the sundry activities that
help to carve and provide its progress. There have been moves in American
higher education to pursue studies in ethics to counteract ethical problems in
the country. Science, technology, and society (STS), for example, is a rapidly
growing field of study in the United States generated by the environmental
movement and the critique of technology in the 1960s and 1970s (Waks, 1989).
Similarly, there is also the case of corporate ethical conduct which has become
a growing concern in recent years, leading to more and more companies
instituting ethics programs (Edwards, 1986). This trend has largely been
brought about by lack of ethical values in decision making processes in the
governments, industrial enterprises, educational institutions and such likes.
To help combat dishonest practices
in the country, the United States Government created the House Ethics Committee
to look into the ethical issues of the society. Similarly, the
However, very little effort is made
to teach students the fundamental values which will help mold them into
becoming moral decision makers in the workplace. Shrader (1984), for instance,
found that:
Engineering [and
technology] ethics is lacking in two ways: 1. there are, for the most part,
neither clear ethical directives for what is ethically permissible for
engineers to develop, nor explicit normative codes for how particular technologies
should be used. 2. It has been hampered by inadequate conceptions of the goal of
ethical inquiry on the part of professors who teach college courses for
engineers in the relatively new area of study known as Science, Technology, and
Society. It is questionable whether knowledge of an engineering code alone
enables an engineer to behave ethically. (Shrader, 1984, abstract)
Zeidler (1987) argued that programs
that did not recognize these fundamental values inhibit moral development of
students and hinder the link which makes science-technology-society programs
effective ones. A few institutions of higher learning (especially in the
professional schools) are now offering courses of study designed to inculcate
moral values into their students. The Harvard Business school, for example, in
an effort to tackle this problem, was reportedly not only trying to change its
student body but has also refused to accept graduate management admission tests
(GMAT) results in selecting students. It is also deemphasizing financial
aspects of management and instilling business ethics in the students (Naussbaum
& Beam, 1986).
This article, based on the responses
of administrators in Industrial Technology colleges and universities in the
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was
sufficient support from Industrial Technology Administrators for students of
Industrial Technology programs to study ethics before graduation. Teaching
ethics to these students could help mold them into becoming more conscious
about principles of moral values in their daily decision making at home and in
the workplace. The result could mean a better society for every stake holder.
Methodology
several
methods were employed in conducting this study. Notable ones included the
selection and construction of the instrument, and selection of the population.
The Instrument
It was decided that mail questionnaires
were most appropriate for this study because, they:
can
be sent to persons in widely scattered locations covering a large geographic
area. Prospective respondents can be reached at relatively low cost.... Mail questionnaires
can be answered more carefully than personal or telephone questionnaires
because more time can be allowed for thinking through the answers. (Clover & Balsley, 1984, p. 125).
Because
the subjects were scattered in most of the states (43 states), mail
questionnaires, constructed with critiques and input from professors at
The Population
The population for the study
consisted of administrators of all Industrial Technology programs of study in
the
Because of the apparently low number
of program administrators nationwide, no sampling of the population was
undertaken for the study. Inferences on the results were made based on
percentages.
Research Questions
Three major research questions were
identified for the study. The first served to identify the proportion of
Industrial Technology programs within the nation that required their students
to enroll in an ethics course before graduation. The second research question
helped to determine the opinions of the administrators regarding the idea of including
an ethics courses in Industrial Technology programs. The third question was
used to determine the opinions of the administrators (positive or negative) on
whether teaching ethics to Industrial Technology students could have a
beneficial impact on society. The three research questions are:
Question No. 1: What proportion of undergraduate Industrial Technology
programs include an "ethics" course in the
Question No. 2: What are the opinions of Industrial Technology
administrators on the idea of including an ethics course in their undergraduate
Industrial Technology programs?
Question No. 3: What are the opinions of Industrial Technology
administrators on the impacts it will have on society if undergraduate
Industrial Technology students study ethics?
Questionnaires containing pertinent
items addressing the three research questions were mailed to the 167
administrators in the spring of 1990. To ensure that enough questionnaires were
returned, a copy of the results was promised each administrator who would
complete and return the instrument.
Findings
A total of 109 (65.3%) administrators
completed and returned the instruments. This proportion, which reportedly
served a total of 35,635 undergraduate Industrial Technology students nationwide,
was considered to be adequate enough to provide necessary feedback for the
study (Clover & Balsley, 1984). The following sections contain their
responses to the three research questions.
Question No. 1:
The responses of the administrators
showed that most of the programs (80.7%) did not in any way contain an ethics
course. Fourteen respondents (12.8%) indicated that ethics has been implemented
as an integral part of every subject within their programs. Six administrators
(5.5%) indicated that their programs contained a singular ethics course.
Question No. 2:
The opinions of the administrators
on whether an ethics course should be included in their Industrial Technology
programs were determined by this research question. Their responses showed that
44.9% answered "yes" to this question, while 46.7% indicated
otherwise. Nine respondents (8.3%) were uncertain.
A deluge of comments was received
from 60 of the 109 respondents relative to this research question. These
comments were collated into four categories of opinions. Most of
these comments (34 or 56.7%) indicated that ethics should be taught as an
integral part of every course in the programs. A major and most common reason
given by this group of administrators was that their existing programs had no
room for the inclusion of an ethics course. Thirteen (21.7%) administrators
indicated that ethics should be taught as a separate subject, or at least as a
part of one subject within the programs of Industrial Technology, although a few
of them indicated that there was no room in their existing programs in which to
add the course. Others indicated that the subject could be taken through the
general education programs.
Question No. 3:
Figure 3 showed the opinions of the
administrators on whether teaching ethics to Industrial Technology students
could in some way benefit society. Most of the respondents (94.5%) indicated in
the affirmative. Table 1 contains a categorized listing of opinionative
comments from Sixty-two administrators who commented on the benefits to society
if students study ethic.
Table 1
Benefits of Ethics to
Society.
__________________________________________________________________
Benefit Frequency
__________________________________________________________________
Better
people/workers/society/environment
37
Better
understanding of society's moral values
23
Knowledge
of ethical basis for decision making
17
Better
ethical representation of the profession
14
Better
manager-subordinate-customer relationship
12
Improved
success/quality/productivity
11
Improved
responsibility/accountability
10
Stronger
commitment from industry to society 9
Learn
to treat others fairly
5
Learn
to show good examples 5
____________________________________________________________________
Implications for
Industrial Technology
Several facts appear to be apparent
from this study relative to the many professions of Industrial Technology
programs, the students, workplace and society. These truths are as follows:
1. An
almost unanimous agreement that society could benefit in some way if Industrial
Technology students learn principles of moral values.
2.
That principles of moral values could be taught to Industrial Technology
students either as a separate subject or integrated into other subjects.
3.
That relatively few Industrial Technology programs currently contain an ethics
course as a separate subject within the programs, or as an integral part of the
programs. These three areas of concern are briefly discussed in the following
sections.
Benefits to Society
The question now is not whether
ethics should be taught but why. Society is currently witnessing a downward
spiral in many of its values. This is evidenced and epitomized by the many
criminal indictments associated with some individuals in both past and present
United States Administrations. The news media are filled with cases of criminal
acts by individuals of every caliber, including graduates of Industrial
Technology programs. In industry where decisions are made by these graduates on
a daily basis, management is faced with the dilemma of how to clean up its
personnel, many of whom are, according to Carrol (1989), made up of immoral,
amoral or moral managers. Daily, society is tainted with instances of corporate
fraud, insider trading, lies, cheating, murder, drug abuse and so forth in the
governments, industry and educational institutions. Many of these problems
could be minimized or replaced by the benefits listed in Table 1 if the
offenders' moral foundation had been grounded on ethics.
Ethics should be taught to students
of Industrial Technology to help clean up the morally declining society.
Graduates of Industrial Technology programs should be able to provide a moral
leadership in their workplaces and, by so doing, provide a proper role modeling
for their subordinates. Thayer (1986) reported that those who are in a position
to explain things to others are, either intentionally or not, those who must
influence the world. They should learn to become better parents by caring and
providing for their families which are the basic structure of society. Lack of
moral qualities results in divorce, unfaithfulness and such likes which are
common occurrences in many homes today. In dealing with their families, employees
and students (if they teach), they should learn to exercise care which Kolb
(1988) indicated is expressed in three ways in advanced professional work: (a)
through careful work (b) through moral leadership, and (c) through caring
relationship.
Society will benefit if students in
Industrial Technology programs learn principles of moral values which will help
to strengthen their moral foundation. students will graduate from the programs
more equipped to face the problems and challenges facing them in their public
and private lives. The reward of such an awareness to society will come in many
ways: deficit reduction, cleaner air, less
pollution, more reliable leaders, more peace of mind and even better
quality products (Dolecheck, 1989).
Could Ethics be Taught?
The answer is a resounding yes!
Research studies and experience have proved that ethics cannot only be taught
in a well-structured curriculum but that it is being taught across the country
today in many institutions (Arterton, 1988; Kolb, 1988; Mentkowski, 1988;
Zeidler, 1987; Nussbaum & Beam, 1986). What needs to be determined is the
method of teaching the principles to the students.
While research studies indicate that
some industrial organizations are now making some effort to educate their employees
on ethical matters, the sole responsibility of this aspect of training rests on
educators in general, since their job is to produce fully-functioning
individuals (
Both methods have their advantages
and disadvantages. One major advantage of the former is that it ensures that
every student in the program gets a deeper theoretical understanding of ethical
principles if the subject is required in the program. A major disadvantage is
that it may not be possible to incorporate such a subject into existing
programs which some administrators indicated are already filled to capacity.
The latter has a major advantage of being available to the students as long as
they are in the programs. Its disadvantage is that some instructors may
themselves lack a knowledge of the proper ethical principles to teach (Queenan,
1988; Shradder, 1984). For instructors in this category, Johnson's (1982) book
Ethics, literature, technology: A writing intensive cross-disciplinary course
may be handy. At any rate, the decision on which method to incorporate rests on
the administrators and faculties of each individual program.
Too Few Teachers of Ethics
A very legitimate question that
needs to be asked now is: why is it then that most Industrial Technology
programs have not fully implemented ethics in the numerous curricula on which
the programs are built? This is in spite of growing public awareness of
increasing immorality in the workplace. According to Training magazine (cited
in Feuer, 1987), employers are getting more involved in the personal habits of
their workers... Perhaps, more importance has been placed on objectives that
promise immediate results than those that carry later results.
This study has revealed that very
few programs have any recognizable vehicle of teaching ethical principles to
Industrial Technology students. The situation needs to be addressed in an era
when the public is yearning for fairness from industry. In
Conclusion
There is currently a great need to
study ethics in the classrooms and students of industrial Technology programs
are no exceptional. Society benefits when its members learn principles of moral
values that help to change it for the better. Industrial Technology educators
should consider implementing ethics either as a separate subject required in
the program, or as an integral part of the subjects within the programs.
Teaching ethics to industrial Technology students is a moral obligation for the
professions.
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