When talking about “values” or “human values” in engineering, we might be talking about different but complementary concepts. One concept can be referred to the big ideals that guide the practice of engineering such as freedom, justice, truth, wisdom, peace, beauty, security or autonomy.

Another can make reference to mainstays that support the professional ethic: serve to other people and priorize their security, work for the committments made, respect others, meet social rules where we live or develop professional activities regarding environment...

Furthermore, they can be referred to the group of qualities that enhance the human quality of engineering professionals which are a key factor in their work such as participation, coherence, involvement, predisposition to analysis and mistake solution, critical reflection, motivation towards learning, the power of decision, capacity for adaptation, identification of cultural elements that do not belong to tecnoscientific world, comprehension of social framework, respect of the rules for working organisation, acceptance of the differences among its members or free and constructive debate about its operation, among others.

The individual values can converge simultaneously with the company’s values and with the human values of its members. There are companies with a jerarquized, pyramidal structure. There are others much more horizontal. The type of company, its priorities and the type of workers can fix a stronger tune with some values or others. This occurs with people, but something similar may be said of companies.

The values in the exercise of engineering, understood from a personal aspect, can be framed in different areas and can be combined with the company’s cultures and values. Organizations that work in what is known as “social economy” –at its peak in our society- turn values into a standard: internal democracy, solidarity, participation, interest for quality of life, coordination between economical and social magnitudes, search of alternatives... Other companies, out of this economical context, are proud of values.

Engineers encourage behaviour models in search for the welfare of mankind. This role is quite accepted socially, either in a tacit or explicit way. Society maintains current necessities and adds new ones. They all generate new requests and demands to be attended and that will determine one way or the other (preserving or modifying) the engineers’ work and attitude.