CE 306 Professional Ethics

Week#11

Dr. M. Mazhar Saleem

Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
1
Confidentiality

2
Confidentiality
Three general areas of confidentiality:
1. Employee and applicant’s information
⚫ Employees files

⚫ Annual Confidential Report (ACR)

⚫ Absence records

⚫ Termination records

⚫ Compensation data

⚫ Performance reviews

⚫ Hiring Documents

3
Confidentiality
2. Legal issues and sensitive data
⚫ Workplace complaints
⚫ Conduct or disciplinary issues
⚫ Drug testing
⚫ Employees medical issues
3. Strategic decisions and actions
⚫ Company layoffs
⚫ Expansion
⚫ Restructuring
⚫ Future strategies 4
Confidentiality
How to maintain confidentiality
⚫ Get employees’ and contractors’ explicit
permission to process their personal data.
Include a clause in the service contract.
⚫ No unauthorized parties like marketing partners
should have access to the employees' personal
data.
⚫ If third party is involved in data processing, its
clause should be added in the contract.

5
Confidentiality
⚫ Do not store unnecessary information.
⚫ Keep electronic data in password protected files
and folders or in the cloud software that encrypt
all the data.

If confidentiality is breached it results in:

⚫ Lawsuits

⚫ Identity theft

⚫ Undermine credibility of HR Department

6
Teamwork

7
Teamwork
Teamwork is a joint effort of a number
of people to achieve common goal.

8
Teamwork
“Teamwork divides the task and
multiplies the success”

Qualities of a good team player

⚫ Act flexibly
⚫ Cooperate with team mates and leader
⚫ Motivator and appreciator
⚫ Respect all team members
⚫ Committed
9
Teamwork
Key areas for team improvements

Goals Roles Procedures

Relationships Leadership 10
Whistle blowing

11
Whistle Blowing
Whistle blowing means exposing an
employer’s wrongdoing to outsiders such as
the media or government regulatory
authorities.

Issues that can be reported through whistle

blowing:
⚫ If someone’s health and safety is in danger.

⚫ If any activity is causing damage to the

environment
12
Whistle Blowing
⚫ A criminal offence
⚫ The company isn’t obeying the law.

Characteristics of Whistle blowing:

⚫ Matters that are of substantial importance to
public interest.
⚫ Whistle blowing can be done only by a current
or former member of an organization.
⚫ Whistle blowing is done voluntarily.

13
Whistle Blowing
Types of Whistle blowing

⚫ Individual Whistle Blowing: When the charges

are not against an organization or the entire
system but against one individual.

⚫ Government Whistle Blowing: It refers to the

disclosure made about wrongdoings of
government officials.

14
Whistle Blowing
⚫ Corporate Whistle Blowing: It refers to the
disclosure made about wrongdoings of some
business.
⚫ Anonymous Whistle Blowing: When the
identity of the whistle blower is not revealed.
Consequences of Whistle blowing:
Negative Consequences
⚫ Termination

⚫ Stress

⚫ Mistrust
15
Whistle Blowing
⚫ Ostracism
⚫ Damage to the company or employer

Positive Consequences
⚫ Helps companies to improve policies

⚫ Helps to promote ethical practices in the

society.

16
17
Conflict of interest

“A situation that has the possibility of

clash between a person’s self interest and his
duties.”
Types of Conflict of Interest:
⚫ Actual conflict of interest

⚫ Potential conflict of interest

⚫ Perceived conflict of interest

18
Concluded

19