Industrial Engineering: The Virtues Of An Industrial Engineer

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The Virtues of an Industrial Engineer
Virtue ethics is a normative ethical theory focused on development of moral character and intellect. Virtue ethics was created by Aristotle and hinges upon three key concepts: arête, eudaimonia, and telos. Although there are wide discrepancies as to which virtues are considered important, virtue ethics is a ubiquitous theory that applies to all people. Since virtue ethics can be considered universal to rational beings, it can be applied to an industrial engineer. This paper will discuss Aristotle’s virtue ethics and what specific virtues industrial engineers should concentrate on to be successful. Virtues such as courage, techne, episteme, and patience are critical for an industrial engineer to possess because they promote continuous moral improvement. Arête, the Greek word for virtue, is the base for Aristotle’s theory of virtue ethics. In order to be happy and flourish, a person must exercise and develop their virtues because it brings satisfaction to their lives. It is in the definition of arête that Aristotle makes the distinction between …show more content…

An industrial engineer must develop their techne, meaning skill, in order to evaluate a process and determine how to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. This can only come through experience such as projects or full time employment. Episteme, defined as understanding or knowledge, is a critical virtue for an industrial engineer to develop because they must have the fundamental knowledge from the industrial engineering curriculum in order to perform their function. For example, an industrial engineer must know what a bottleneck in a process is and how to identify one in a manufacturing setting. The study and development of these intellectual virtues is a lifelong process that must be pursued in order to reach

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