Various Views on Unethical Behavior

From the beginning of humanity, some form of principles about morals, right and wrong, professionalism, etc. has been established. In most cases these rules or codes were never officially recorded in earlier times, but they were naturally understood laws that governed human behavior. These laws have been transformed and molded through past centuries by the brilliant minds of philosophers such as Plato into a code of conduct that is categorized into what we now call ethics. Ethics has everything to do with the golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated and the natural rights granted to everyday people. Humans have the right to life, physical integrity, and mental health; they have the right to maintain one’s level of purposeful fulfillment (ex. the right not to be deceived cheated, robbed, or defamed); and they have the right to increase one’s level of purposeful fulfillment (ex. the right to self-respect, non-discrimination, and to acquire property). Not everybody accepts ethical behavior, but in today’s society respectful, decent citizens are expected to make ethical decisions. The people who consider ethics a vital part of the decision-making process are considered professionals such as doctors, engineers, teachers, and the list goes on. I am on a fast track to getting a degree in electrical and computer engineering, and in my first year of college I have already learned that from the day someone takes the first step to becoming an engineer, they have sworn to become a professional in their field and to follow the rules set forth by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). This outstanding society has provided engineers of today with twelve fundamental cannons/guidelines that every engineer shou...

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...vior individuals carry out day to day. I truly think that cheating in school when a student is young causes them to create bad habits, and essentially, it causes them to “cheat” at their jobs. Kids like to cheat because it is the easy way out and not enough stands are made to defer cheating. These are awful values one must overcome on their way to becoming a respected ethical engineering professional.

Works Cited

Holtzapple, Mark T., and W. D. Reece. Concepts in Engineering. Second ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 57-84. Print.

Koch, Kathy. “Cheating in schools.” 10. 32 22 Sep 2000. CQ Researcher. Database. 8 Feb 2011. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2000092200&type=hitlist&num=0.

“Disaster Warning over Race for Subways.” People Forum. N.p., 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 8 Feb. 2011. http://www.peopleforum.cn/viewthread.php?tid=55828