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  This is a glossary of terms used in several of the discussions on engineering ethics. It is not meant to offer complete definitions of the words or concepts, but rather to provide usable interpretations. For a more compete discussion of these terms, see any of the texts in the reference to this module.

Act Utilitarianism - Act utilitarianism focus on the consequences of an action, rather than the moral rules involved in the action. That is, actions should be judged based on whether the most good was produced in a given situation, and rules should be broken if doing so will lead to the most good. (Fleddermann, pg 35)

Actual Conflict of Interest - An actual conflict of interest occurs when a professional, acting in a professional role, is subject to influences that tend to make the professional's judgment less likely to benefit the customer or client than the customer or client can reasonably expect. (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 138) This is the normal interpretation of conflict of interest. Consider this simple example. John is working for a design firm, and he will be responsible for developing specifications for the 100,000 bolts needed for the project and for choosing the vendor that will supply the bolts. John has strong family ties to a firm that manufactures bolts. John has an actual conflict of interest, as he could specify the bolts in such a way that they would have to be purchased from his family's firm. (After Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 139)

Apparent Conflict of Interest - An apparent conflict of interest is also called a perceived conflict of interest. In this situation, a third party perceives that the decision-maker's ability to make a proper judgment is subject to influences that will bias his judgment. Consider this simple example. John is developing the specifications for 100,000 bolts needed for a major design project. His wife's family owns a bolt manufacturing business, but, for a variety of reasons, she has long since sold her interest in the family business and has been estranged from her family for some time. A third party, not knowing all the facts of the situation, might conclude that John will be biased in his development of the bolt's specification to favor his wife's family business. However no such conflict exists on John's part.

Business Model - A description of professional organizations that suggests they exist primarily to further their members' economic advantage. According to this view, professional organization are labor unions for the elite, controlling the numbers of members, setting working conditions, and artificially inflating members' wages. (Fleddermann, pg 20)

Common Morality - The stock of common moral beliefs, analogous to "common sense". Just as most of us share a common body of beliefs about the world and what we must do to survive -- a body of beliefs that we call common sense --- so we share a common stock of basic beliefs about moral standards, rules, and principles we believe should guide our lives. (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 32)

Conflict of Interest - "A person has a conflict of interest if a) he is in a relationship with another requiring him to exercise judgment in that other's service and b) he has an interest tending to interfere with the proper exercise of judgment in that relationship." (Davis, 1982. Davis considered this definition too rough to be final, but it is sufficient to be useful.) Note that judgment is critical to have a conflict. If a decision is made according to a set of rules, then there is no conflict of interest even though there may be competing claims on the part of the person making the decision. Conflict of interest is divided into three subcategories: Actual, Potential, and Apparent.

Due-Care Model - A model of engineering practice in which the engineer is expected to take reasonable precautions or care in the practice of his profession. The model strives to prevent harm, and it appeals to a "standard of reasonableness as seen by a normal, prudent nonprofessional." (Curd & May, as quoted in Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 103)

Ethics & Morality - Ethics and morality are often used interchangeably. Dictionaries provide separate meanings, but neither textbooks nor ordinary language show any clear, consistent differences in meaning between these terms. (Harris, Pritchard , Rabins, pg. xix)

Good Works Model - A model of engineering practice in which engineers go beyond the basics of what is required by standards and codes and do what they "ought" to do to improve product safety, social health or social well-being. See Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 104-6.

Malpractice Model - This is a minimalist model in which the professional is concerned only with meeting standards and requirements of the profession and any other laws or codes that apply. This model looks to find fault when problems or accidents arise from someone's failure to meet a requirement.

Moral Theory - Defines terms in uniform ways and links ideas and problems together in consistent ways. A moral theory performs much like a scientific theory. (Fleddermann, pg 34)

Potential Conflict of Interest - A potential conflict of interest exists when a situation is such that a reasonably foreseeable change in circumstances will create an actual conflict of interest. Consider this simple example. John is working for design firm and will be responsible for developing specifications for the 100,000 bolts needed for the project as well as for choosing the vendor that will supply the bolts. John is engaged to Veronica, whose family owns a bolt-manufacturing firm. If John marries Veronica, he will become a stockholder in the firm. John has a potential conflict of interest because he will be in a position, when he marries Veronica, to benefit from specifying the bolts. (It can be argued that he is already subject to a conflict of interest, since his engagement to Veronica affects his ability to write impartial bolt specifications.)

Respect for Persons - In this moral model, humans are considered to have certain rights and duties. John Locke said people have the right to life, liberty, and property, and Immanuel Kant said it is the duty of a moral person is to respect the rights of others. It is interesting to note that Thomas Jefferson is claimed to have substituted "pursuit of happiness" for "property" in the United States' Declaration of Independence to avoid the issue of slaves as "humans" or "property." (Gunn and Vesilind)

Reversibility - This principle postulates that a moral course of action in a particular situation would also be the moral course of action if the roles of the participants were reversed. It is based on the Golden Rule, a principle found in the religious and ethical writings of most cultures, which advises: treat others as you would have them treat you. (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 37)

Rule Utilitarianism - From a rule-utilitarian point of view, actions are justified if they serve utilitarian ends and abide by rules or practices that apply to the situation at hand. (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, pg 83)

Social Contract Model - A description of professional organizations that suggests they exist to enhance the public good. Society grants the members of the organization special privileges, such as high wages and self-regulation, in return for the services rendered by the profession and its members. (Fleddermann, pg 20)

Universalizability - A moral concept that whatever is right or wrong in one situation is right or wrong in any relevantly-similar situations. (Harris, Pritchard and Rabins, Pg 37)

Utilitarianism - A moral theory commonly associated with John Stuart Mill that holds that those actions are good which serve to maximize human well-being. The focus is on society as a whole, not the individual. Utilitarianism is closely associated with cost-benefit analysis and risk-benefit analysis. There are two main "flavors" of utilitarianism -- act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism.

Whistle Blower - A person who takes a concern (such as a concern about safety, financial fraud, or mistreatment of research animals) outside of the organization in which the abuse or suspected abuse is occurring and with which the whistle-blower is affiliated. Not all whistle-blowing is equally adversarial to the affected organization, even though it is at least an embarrassment to the organization. There are many regulatory agencies such as OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Organization) to which whistle-blowers can go anonymously. This is usually seen as much less adversarial than, for example, going to the media. Some people have used the term "whistler-blower" to describe those who raise an issue within their organization, but the more general term for a person who raises an issue inside or outside an organization is "complainant."