SEMESTER 2 2015/2016 COEB422 -ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY GROUP PROJECT PDF

Preview

Summary

SEMESTER 2 2015/2016 COEB422 - ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY GROUP PROJECT A. INTRODUCTION The main purpose of the group project is to manifest professionalism of the students as a future engineer in Malaysia. The group project assignment in this course will be based on questions 1- 8 as listed in this docum...

Description

SEMESTER 2 2015/2016 COEB422 - ENGINEERS IN SOCIETY GROUP PROJECT A. INTRODUCTION The main purpose of the group project is to manifest professionalism of the students as a future engineer in Malaysia. The group project assignment in this course will be based on questions 1- 8 as listed in this document. These cases are meant to expose students on issues related in the work-environment as well as decisions engineers will face. Working in groups also lends a 'real-world' flavor to the project, since most engineering decisions are made as part of a team.

Question 1 “Should a company reveal/replace defective products even if customers won’t recognize the defect?” Do a survey and discuss this statement based on what are the ethical actions that need to be carried out by a company that faces with this dilemma. Consider the responsibilities of engineers in finding product that have defects before the product being sold, after the product being sold and when the flaw becomes apparent after being sold. Provide examples of case studies. Question 2 “Address the dilemma of an engineer that is faced with competitors who are willing to resort to bribery. What measures can an engineer take to secure projects without bribery in order to safeguard the good image of the engineering profession.” Do a survey of how rampant is bribery in the engineering profession in Malaysia. Discuss the statement and propose the necessary measures to overcome bribery in Malaysia. Question 3 Most of the time the boundary between legitimate gifts and bribe is subtle. Gifts of nominal value, such as coffee mugs, pens, calendars with a vendor’s logo are categorized as advertising tools. However, when gifts from vested parties become expensive, i.e. a car, computer, trips overseas, companion, etc., the possibility of abuse becomes high. Conduct a survey on the rampantness of bribery in Malaysia. Discuss on examples of bribery indicted in Malaysia. How would an engineer discriminate between a gift and a bribe at the work place?

Question 4 “While safety programs are considered necessary to meet OSHA requirements and product and plant sustainability challenges are required to be addressed in companies by many, safety and sustainability implementations actually may lead to higher and better returns. Thus, it’s not necessarily an added burden to the company as suggested by some-- it's an investment. For example, a number of years ago, DuPont did a study that found that for every dollar they invested in safety, they received between $2 to $4 in return.” Referring to the above statement, provide relevant examples of case studies to identify how health, safety and sustainability initiatives in companies can help them get good return of their investments in the initiatives. Make a survey of how the incorporation of health, safety and sustainability of products and plants to companies are being perceived by the public. Analyze the case studies and provide observations made in terms of good sales return, besides observations from the legal, ethical and moral point of view. Question 5 Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Graduate engineers and Professional engineers are expected to work within the boundaries of high integrity in their role and often face moral and ethics challenges to play their role in sustainable development, overcoming global challenges, such as depletion of resources, environmental pollution, rapid population growth and damage to ecosystems. Perform an assessment of the current situation on challenges faced by engineering profession in Malaysia in making choices to uphold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards by providing relevant statistics, legislation, and behavioral aspects, and discuss how professional bodies such IEM/BEM, the government and the public could play a more effective role in achieving a high standard of integrity among the engineers Question 6 Consider the Five Practices of leadership which are; Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. How do these Five Practices of Leadership relate to your behavior as a leader? Using your own group leader as an example, observe how his/her personalities influence his/her leadership style in carrying out his/her responsibility as a leader in preparing for the seminar and completing this assignment. Does your group leader apply any or all the Five Practices of leadership? Based on the group observation, identify the three most prominent practices of your group leader and state how the group members came to that conclusion.

Question 7 “Frequently, and in many different countries, the engineering professionals are criticized for a number of occurrences that took place and which adversely affected people or the environment. Everything that engineers do affects the society and its development and, occasionally, the consequences of these actions are not fully thought out, not anticipated, or not fully understood, but the results are undesirable just the same. In order to meet the challenges of the time engineers must be properly prepared to face the moral, legal and ethical ramifications of their actions. Thus, to meet their responsibilities to society at large and the global community, engineers must be equipped with the knowledge and ability to fully and cogently explain their actions as well as the methods to be used to implement their decisions.” Referring to the above statement, provide relevant case studies detailing occurrences and accidents that took place with regard to the engineer that faced violations of safety, health and welfare of the public with respect to local authorities regulations in his work. Address the dilemma that the engineer has with his employer if he were to condone violations and his duties as a Professional Engineer that is governed by the Code of Professional Conduct. Carry out a survey on how the engineering profession is perceived in terms of handling incriminating situations like as mentioned above. Question 8 “Intellectual property is becoming more and more valuable and protecting intellectual property rights is becoming more important—and more difficult—as time goes by. The rise of the Internet is a major force behind the increase in intellectual property disputes. One of the famous intellectual property disputes is the Amazon's 1-Click Patent. Amazon was granted a patent for 1-click technology on September 28, 1999. Also known as oneclick buying, the technology allows customers to make an online purchase in a single click—without having to manually input billing and shipping information every time they purchase a product. Instead, 1-click uses a billing address and credit card or other payment info that is kept on file in the user's account. There have been several patent disputes surrounding 1-click technology, including a patent infringement lawsuit filed against Barnes & Noble in 1999—only a month after Amazon's patent was issued. Barnes & Noble offered a checkout option called "Express Lane," which also enabled shoppers to make a purchase with one click. The lawsuit was settled in 2002; however, the terms were not disclosed.” Referring to the above statement, provide relevant case studies detailing Intellectual Property Right infringements that took place especially in the engineering discipline, explanations on how they were resolved and evolving legislation around the infringements, etc. Consider and discuss the responsibilities of engineers in ensuring that Intellectual Property Rights are not infringed in their work or in their involvement of other products that belong to others. Provide real examples of case studies involving these issues and provide recommended actions that should or did take place. Conduct a survey on how the engineering profession is perceived and can benefit in terms of Intellectual Property Right.

B. REQUIREMENTS 1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

6. 7.

8.

9.

A group project that involves case studies based on the questions above shall be performed by groups of 3 to 5 students. Each group will be responsible for planning and leading a final oral presentation and report. Each group shall elect one project leader. Each group needs to register their group to the class lecturer by end of week 2 of the semester. For each question, the group must relate to case studies. Case studies must be original i.e. not case studies that have been done before by your seniors in UNITEN. Students can research for case studies from the newspapers, magazine, books, Internet, interviews, etc. Anonymous names of persons, place, companies, etc. must be used to respect and maintain confidentiality where required. The groups should demonstrate the following in their work: (a) That he has thought sufficiently about the role of the engineer in the society vis-àvis his professional Code of Ethics/Code of Professional Conducts. (b) That he can relate real case study in Malaysia/World to the question (c) Able to communicate and able to develop management skills especially in human relations, decision making, to lead and be a team advisor or coordinator (d) Able to advocate and to champion the conclusions reached by his/her professional competence through writing and to show by examples that ethics and high integrity are fundamental in professional service. (e) Address the relevant safety, sustainability, intellectual rights issues that arises in the scope of the project. Surveys can be conducted through questionnaires in getting views on the related issues. Surveys also can be done through a thorough literature search and collecting evidences on the ethical issues. The assignment shall be concluded based on the analysis made. Recommendations that correspond to the conclusions shall also be made. These shall be in the form of actions that must be taken to rectify the problem(s), further investigations into the case, etc. Students are responsible for developing a group project report and group oral presentation which engages the case, but are free to do so in creative ways. Students are encouraged to be creative in their approach. Groups are to include a minimum of three minutes of meeting in the project report. The minutes of meeting should be verified and signed by the group leader and should illustrate the conduct of the leader and team in assigning and delivering the project. The last minute of meeting should close all outstanding matters.

C. GROUP PROJECT MARKS Report: 20% Item Content Public Interest and Societal Impact Exploring sustainability topic in report Exploring Health & Safety issues in report Team management (Minutes of Meeting) Content, flow and references TOTAL

Marks 40 30 10 10 5 5 100

Presentation: 20% Item Visual Appeal Comprehension Presentation Skills Content Preparedness/Participation/Group Dynamics TOTAL

Marks 40 15 15 15 15 100

IMPORTANT!!! Group Project requires the involvement of every member of the group. Any member that is deemed to be non-participating can be dropped from the group. Anyone whose name have been deleted from the final project report list or and during presentation is deemed to have dropped from the group and no mark will be allocated to him/her....