Code of Ethics: Putting it into Context of Society

Almost every profession has a code of ethics it must abide by. A few individuals seem to think they are an exception. One of these individuals is Volkswagen. Volkswagen created a verity of cars stating that it could take diesel and at the same time meet the emission testing requirements. They were seen as a revolutionizing car that had all four factor an engine needs performance, emissions, durability, and fuel economy. Those were false claims made by Volkswagen to cover up the violations of the code of the ethics.

The code of ethics for my major of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the same as many of the other engineering code of ethics. It is called IEEE Code of Ethics and it has a few codes to abide by. Starting with putting public safety first, to comply with the ethics code put into place and have the ability to maintain a balance when development continuous, and to make known any factor that may endanger the public. Second to avoid existing or to become aware of situations that can be used for personal gain, and to make it known to those who are involved. Third be truthful and practical about information being distributed. Fourth no bribery. Fifth improve the communities understanding and capabilities of newly coming technology. Sixth improve our abilities and to take other jobs out of our jurisdiction only if qualified or if limitations are made known. Seventh honestly reviews others, work and to make errors known and to credit those who contributed. Eighth treat all people equally and avoid racism. Ninth avoid harming others in any way possible. Finally, to assist colleagues and co-workers with their jobs and to help them maintain the code of ethics. Volkswagen broke many of these codes of ethics, but most importantly they released false claims.

Volkswagen wanted to get themselves ahead of the game by creating a car that could convert diesel and still meet with the emission testing. They lied. To create a good engine four components are needed performance, emissions, durability, and fuel economy. Volkswagen sacrificed the emission portion to produce high spec engines. They cheated emission testing by writing a few lines of code into the car's computer. These lines of code will tell the car when it is being tested and it will display fake data. That is how Volkswagen covered up its violations.

The code of ethics was created for a reason and it should always be there. The code of ethics is needed in the engineering field, including Electrical and Computer Engineering, because there are many ways to go wrong. People will start to develop things only for their personal gain not knowing what some of the consequences may be. Others may use their knowledge to put people's lives in danger. Some may even cheat the system to get what they want. That is exactly what Volkswagen did. They broke the code of ethics and a few laws just to get their way.

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