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Ethics - Standards of
Professional Conduct
Tomas Orihuela, P.E.
Overview
Many organizations, particularly smaller businesses, do not have a written set
of standards to provide guidance to their employees on ethical matters related
to their job duties. While each job title, company and industry deals with
unique circumstances, there are some standards of professional conduct for
engineers that are considered the norm across a broad range of job titles,
companies and even industries. In matters such as conflicts of interest,
use and protection of employer's assets, and disclosure of proprietary
information, there are universal standards of accepted conduct for engineers
working for employers based in developed countries (although the detailed
policies may vary between companies).
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has
developed a document titled "Standards of Professional Conduct" for its members.
In addition to the aforementioned examples of ethical issues, the ASCE's
standards cover issues such as maintaining accurate and complete records,
outside employment/activities, acceptance of bribes or kickbacks and whistle
blowing. The ASCE's standards serve as an excellent model for companies
seeking to provide guidance to engineers on ethical matters related to their
position and the performance of their work tasks. It also provides a
universal set of principles to guide individual engineers on ethical matters in
the absence of an employer policy.
In this course, the student will be directed to
ASCE's website to review the ASCE document titled "Standards of Professional
Conduct".
The student must take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of fifteen questions at
the end of this course to earn PDH credits.
Specific Knowledge or Skill Attained
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and
skills:
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Dealing with conflicts of
interest
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An engineer's obligation
to ensure legal compliance, maintain workplace and public safety and and
provide a productive work environment.
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Use and protection of an
employer's assets, including computers and the internet.
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The importance of
maintaining accurate and complete records.
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Policies regarding the
giving and acceptance of gifts, meals, services, entertainment, bribes and
kickbacks.
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Preserving an employers
confidential or proprietary information.
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Policies regarding outside
employment/activities.
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Guidance on purchases of
goods and services.
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Guidance on relationships
with clients, consultants and competitors
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The importance of
environmental compliance
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The protections afforded
by (and the limitations of) whistle blowing laws.
Course
Click on the following link to ASCE's website
to review the ASCE document titled "Standards of Professional Conduct".
"Standards
of Professional Conduct" - PDF version
Having Trouble Downloading the PDF File?
Right click on the link. Select "Save Target As..."
Then save on your desktop. To view the file, double click the icon on your
desktop and return to this page to take the quiz.
You may need Acrobat Reader if
you choose to view the PDF version of the document.
Click on the link below to download a free copy of Acrobat Reader.
To obtain PDH credits for this course, you will need to take a quiz for
credit. Click on the link below.
(To take the quiz,
your web browser must be set to accept cookies. See how to
check your cookie settings.)
 
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Related Books
Engineering Ethics: Concepts and
Cases
Engineering Ethics, Second Edition
Ethics in Engineering Practice and
Research
Engineering Ethics
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