PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

PROFESSIONALISM

CODE OF ETHICS OF ENGINEERS

Given the purpose of this treatise, a mere

attempt to define or simply to conduct an

examination of design professionalism

would, I believe, be inadequate. In order to

responsibly define design professionalism we

must first fundamentally understand what a

profession is and what conditions are

required for it to exist.

WHAT IS A PROFESSION?

THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

OF A PROFESSION:

GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

ACCOUNTABILITY

BASED ON SPECIALIZED, THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE

INSTITUTIONAL PREPARATION

AUTONOMY

CLIENTS RATHER THAN CUSTOMERS

DIRECT WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

ETHICAL CONSTRAINTS

MERIT-BASED

CAPITALIST MORALITY

The short definition is that professionalism means behaving

in an ethical manner while assuming and fulfilling yourrightful responsibilities in every situation every time, without

fail. To get a bit more granular, one can say that it means,in part, conducting your affairs in such a way as to

engender trust and confidence in every aspect of yourwork. It means having the requisite ability to be worthy of

the confidence others place in you. It means havingalready made the right choices so that you attract the right

sort of client and work under good circumstances ratherthan having to continually make the best of bad

circumstances and take whatever is tossed your way,regardless of its quality.

PROFESSIONALISM

Perhaps most importantly, professionalism

means, in every situation, willfully gatheringresponsibility rather than avoiding it. Doing so is

important because if you don't acknowledgeand assume the onus of responsibility in every

aspect of your work you will seldom if evermake the right choice to do what is necessary

to achieve consistent success for youremployer, your employees, your clients, or

yourself. Quite simply, if the buck doesn't stopwith you, you're not a professional.

“This is silly, you're making this all too complicated. I'm not the CEO of a

corporation, I'm just a designer. As a design professional, my job is to createbeautiful designs for my clients. It's not my choice who the sales guy gets us as

clients so it's not my fault that half of them don't trust my designs and want tofiddle with them too much. It's not my fault if the owner of my agency always

changes my designs before we show the client. It's not my fault if the projectmanager gives me a ridiculously short deadline or if the client didn't explain

her business to me well enough so that I could understand what she reallyneeds. I do the best I can with what I have and all I really need to know is how

to design really well.”

Business or professional ethics are standards or codes of

conduct set by people in a specific profession. A code ofethics is a part of the expectations of those involved in many

different types of professions. People in a profession don'twant to condone bad, dishonest or irresponsible behavior if it

does occur by someone in their field. By setting out expectedbehaviors in the form of professional ethics, professionals work

together to try to uphold a good reputation. Professionalethics are commonly known as ethical business practices.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Respect and honesty are the two main components of

professional ethics. All employees are expected to representa business ethically as they are a part of it. This is why

businesspeople traditionally speak of "we" or "us" rather thanthe more personal "I" for the most part. For instance, if an

employee must mention company policy to a customer, heor she may say "I'm sorry, but this is our company policy in

these situations." Policies are another type of preferredstandards in how business is done, and everyone in a

company is expected to represent them.

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Engineering, journalism, religious organizations and many other

professions have professional ethics. These ethical codes or rules mustnever go against laws, but rather often coordinate with them as in the

case of medical record confidentiality. In general, professional ethicsalways include upholding honesty and respect in the profession over

personal needs, conflicts or biases. A bias is a personal belief such asprejudice toward a certain group of people.

CODE OF ETHICS OF ENGINEERS

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor

and dignity of the engineering profession by:

Using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of

human welfare; being honest and impartial, andservicing with fidelity the public, their employers and

clients striving to increase the competence and prestigeof the engineering profession; and supporting the

professional and technical societies of their disciplines.

THE FUNDAMENTAL CANONS

1.-Engineers shall hold paramount the safety,

health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professionalduties.

2.-Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.

3.-Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and

truthful manner.

4.-Engineers shall act in professional maters

for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoidconflicts of interest.

THE FUNDAMENTAL CANONS

5.- Engineers shall build their professional

reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.

6.- Engineers shall act in such a manner as to

uphold and enhance the honor, integrity and dignity of the profession.

7.- Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide

opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.