EE 394 Ethics Essay
By Brandon Baxter
Before typing this essay, I had always thought that ethics were in line with the law for the most part. To my surprise, after I began to actually think about what happens in the industry, not everything that happens is to what I would consider being ethical. This started to spur my thought process on what the purpose of having a Code of Ethics is. To me, the purpose of having an ethical code allows fair competition in a professional setting as well as help promote competition in a capitalistic economy like the one the United States participates in. If I was ever faced with a tough ethical situation, I would take some time to consult my own inner thoughts as well as some of my most trusted colleagues before coming up with a solution to the situation. Some factors that I would have to think over would be who all would be affected and if my own reputation would be put up on the line.
We had a very nice discussion with Dr. Geiger about ethics in the professional work place. We didn’t talk about the case studies like we were supposed to, but we did talk about different situations that some group members and even Dr. Geiger was exposed to. One situation he chatted about was some questionable work practices done by a company that was held to pretty high standards. They had been making masks of semiconductor devices of competitor’s products and re-releasing these products with their own code. This to me is extremely unethical but back when this occurred, there was no laws against this at the time. Since then, the laws have been changed, but it still doesn’t stop people from using other people’s work without documentation.
Lastly we are asked to choose three of the six virtues of ethics that relate to our conversations we had as a group. The three that most related to our topics of conversation was integrity, responsibility and self-discipline. I chose these three because as an individual, I want to show my good code of ethics through my integrity and responsibility to not steal someone else’s work. I will at times be tempted as I have for years here at Iowa State been tempted to cheat on a homework assignment or even on an exam. I didn’t for the sake that I have the self-discipline to stop myself and ask myself if I’m really getting ahead if I decide to lie and cheat my way to better grades. Although all six are good, I must say that charity did not come up in the topic of conversation as we mostly talked about how people break the integrity of their own company as well as their honesty and fidelity by stealing ideas from others.
By Brandon Baxter
Before typing this essay, I had always thought that ethics were in line with the law for the most part. To my surprise, after I began to actually think about what happens in the industry, not everything that happens is to what I would consider being ethical. This started to spur my thought process on what the purpose of having a Code of Ethics is. To me, the purpose of having an ethical code allows fair competition in a professional setting as well as help promote competition in a capitalistic economy like the one the United States participates in. If I was ever faced with a tough ethical situation, I would take some time to consult my own inner thoughts as well as some of my most trusted colleagues before coming up with a solution to the situation. Some factors that I would have to think over would be who all would be affected and if my own reputation would be put up on the line.
We had a very nice discussion with Dr. Geiger about ethics in the professional work place. We didn’t talk about the case studies like we were supposed to, but we did talk about different situations that some group members and even Dr. Geiger was exposed to. One situation he chatted about was some questionable work practices done by a company that was held to pretty high standards. They had been making masks of semiconductor devices of competitor’s products and re-releasing these products with their own code. This to me is extremely unethical but back when this occurred, there was no laws against this at the time. Since then, the laws have been changed, but it still doesn’t stop people from using other people’s work without documentation.
Lastly we are asked to choose three of the six virtues of ethics that relate to our conversations we had as a group. The three that most related to our topics of conversation was integrity, responsibility and self-discipline. I chose these three because as an individual, I want to show my good code of ethics through my integrity and responsibility to not steal someone else’s work. I will at times be tempted as I have for years here at Iowa State been tempted to cheat on a homework assignment or even on an exam. I didn’t for the sake that I have the self-discipline to stop myself and ask myself if I’m really getting ahead if I decide to lie and cheat my way to better grades. Although all six are good, I must say that charity did not come up in the topic of conversation as we mostly talked about how people break the integrity of their own company as well as their honesty and fidelity by stealing ideas from others.