Professional and Career Topics

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

We need a lot less Toxicity in our cities.  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

Given that Ethics is a branch of philosophy it is nearly impossible to force people to behave "ethically." Laws are a good deterrent for some people, but others maybe not. That brings us to the two type of motivation, punishment and reward. What type of rewards can we possibly provide that can outweigh financial gain? How can we further exercise punishment?

I believe the FBPE Disciplinary Actions Filings are effective deterrents to unethical behavior, publishing and distributing more of those rather than award winning projects could incentivize the industry to behave ethically.

As far as rewards go, I'm not sure... Money makes the world go round. 

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

Thanks for your thoughts. I can appreciate the way you are thinking about this in terms of either punishment and reward. 

Given that Ethics is a branch of philosophy it is nearly impossible to force people to behave "ethically." Laws are a good deterrent for some people, but others maybe not. That brings us to the two type of motivation, punishment and reward. What type of rewards can we possibly provide that can outweigh financial gain? How can we further exercise punishment?

I believe the FBPE Disciplinary Actions Filings are effective deterrents to unethical behavior, publishing and distributing more of those rather than award winning projects could incentivize the industry to behave ethically.

As far as rewards go, I'm not sure... Money makes the world go round. 

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

Given that Ethics is a branch of philosophy it is nearly impossible to force people to behave "ethically." Laws are a good deterrent for some people, but others maybe not. That brings us to the two type of motivation, punishment and reward. What type of rewards can we possibly provide that can outweigh financial gain? How can we further exercise punishment?

I believe the FBPE Disciplinary Actions Filings are effective deterrents to unethical behavior, publishing and distributing more of those rather than award winning projects could incentivize the industry to behave ethically.

As far as rewards go, I'm not sure... Money makes the world go round. 

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?  

This is a great thread! I just want to chime in on the ethics definition and say that what I think we really need as engineers is to understand empathy with our clients and how to incorporate that into our work. That's why I started the consulting firm I started! And it's also why I shifted away from traditional consulting firms. 

I recently finished reading Down with the System, written by Serj Tankian, lead vocalist of System of a Down.

This might seem like an odd place to draw inspiration for a discussion on engineering, but in Chapter 13 Tankian recounts the major struggles faced by Armenia during the devastation caused by the 1988 Spitak earthquake. This disaster revealed deep-rooted flaws in the country's infrastructure. 

Much of the failure in infrastructure was attributed to corruption and negligence in both construction and design. Tankian explains how some technical professionals, including engineers, had paid bribes to receive their certifications, which in turn contributed to substandard construction practices.

This brings me to the question: What can we do to continue to incentivize the industry to behave ethically? Alternately, are there existing practices that you believe effectively facilitate this?