National Society of Professional Eingeers Code of ethics

Preamble
Engineering is an important and learned profession. As members of this profession, engineers are
expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital
impact on the quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require
honesty, impartiality, fairness and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health,
safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires
adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.

I. Fundamental Canons
Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall:
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.
2. Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5. Avoid deceptive acts.
6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance
the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.
II. Rules of Practice
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
a. If engineers' judgment is overruled under circumstances that endanger life or property, they shall
notify their employer or client and such other authority as may be appropriate.
b. Engineers shall approve only those engineering documents that are in conformity with applicable
standards.
c. Engineers shall not reveal facts, data or information without the prior consent of the client or
employer except as authorized or required by law or this Code.
d. Engineers shall not permit the use of their name or associate in business ventures with any person
or firm that they believe are engaged in fraudulent or dishonest enterprise.
e. Engineers having knowledge of any alleged violation of this Code shall report thereon to
appropriate professional bodies and, when relevant, also to public authorities, and cooperate with the
proper authorities in furnishing such information or assistance as may be required.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.
a. Engineers shall undertake assignments only when qualified by education or experience in the
specific technical fields involved.
b. Engineers shall not affix their signatures to any plans or documents dealing with subject matter in
which they lack competence, nor to any plan or document not prepared under their direction and
control.
c. Engineers may accept assignments and assume responsibility for coordination of an entire project
and sign and seal the engineering documents for the entire project, provided that each technical
segment is signed and sealed only by the qualified engineers who prepared the segment.
3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
a. Engineers shall be objective and truthful in professional reports, statements, or testimony. They
shall include all relevant and pertinent information in such reports, statements, or testimony, which
should bear the date indicating when it was current.
b. Engineers may express publicly technical opinions that are founded upon knowledge of the facts
and competence in the subject matter.
c. Engineers shall issue no statements, criticisms, or arguments on technical matters that are inspired
or paid for by interested parties, unless they have prefaced their comments by explicitly identifying
the interested parties on whose behalf they are speaking, and by revealing the existence of any interest
the engineers may have in the matters.
4. Engineers shall act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
a. Engineers shall disclose all known or potential conflicts of interest that could influence or appear to
influence their judgment or the quality of their services.
b. Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for
services on the same project, or for services pertaining to the same project, unless the circumstances
are fully disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties.
c. Engineers shall not solicit or accept financial or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly,
from outside agents in connection with the work for which they are responsible.
d. Engineers in public service as members, advisors, or employees of a governmental or quasi-
governmental body or department shall not participate in decisions with respect to services solicited
or provided by them or their organizations in private or public engineering practice.
e. Engineers shall not solicit or accept a contract from a governmental body on which a principal or
officer of their organization serves as a member.
5. Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts.
a. Engineers shall not falsify their qualifications or permit misrepresentation of their or their
associates' qualifications. They shall not misrepresent or exaggerate their responsibility in or for the
subject matter of prior assignments. Brochures or other presentations incident to the solicitation of
employment shall not misrepresent pertinent facts concerning employers, employees, associates, joint
venturers, or past accomplishments.
b. Engineers shall not offer, give, solicit or receive, either directly or indirectly, any contribution to
influence the award of a contract by public authority, or which may be reasonably construed by the
public as having the effect of intent to influencing the awarding of a contract. They shall not offer any
gift or other valuable consideration in order to secure work. They shall not pay a commission,
percentage, or brokerage fee in order to secure work, except to a bona fide employee or bona fide
established commercial or marketing agencies retained by them.
III. Professional Obligations
1. Engineers shall be guided in all their relations by the highest standards of honesty and
integrity.
a. Engineers shall acknowledge their errors and shall not distort or alter the facts.
b. Engineers shall advise their clients or employers when they believe a project will not be successful.
c. Engineers shall not accept outside employment to the detriment of their regular work or interest.
Before accepting any outside engineering employment they will notify their employers.
d. Engineers shall not attempt to attract an engineer from another employer by false or misleading
pretenses.
e. Engineers shall not actively participate in strikes, picket lines, or other collective coercive action.
f. Engineers shall not promote their own interest at the expense of the dignity and integrity of the
profession.
2. Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest.
a. Engineers shall seek opportunities to participate in civic affairs; career guidance for youths; and
work for the advancement of the safety, health and well-being of their community.
b. Engineers shall not complete, sign, or seal plans and/or specifications that are not in conformity
with applicable engineering standards. If the client or employer insists on such unprofessional
conduct, they shall notify the proper authorities and withdraw from further service on the project.
c. Engineers shall endeavor to extend public knowledge and appreciation of engineering and its
achievements.
3. Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice that deceives the public.
a. Engineers shall avoid the use of statements containing a material misrepresentation of fact or
omitting a material fact.
b. Consistent with the foregoing, Engineers may advertise for recruitment of personnel.
c. Consistent with the foregoing, Engineers may prepare articles for the lay or technical press, but
such articles shall not imply credit to the author for work performed by others.
4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent, confidential information concerning the
business affairs or technical processes of any present or former client or employer, or public
body on which they serve.
a. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, promote or arrange for new
employment or practice in connection with a specific project for which the Engineer has gained
particular and specialized knowledge.
b. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested parties, participate in or represent an
adversary interest in connection with a specific project or proceeding in which the Engineer has
gained particular specialized knowledge on behalf of a former client or employer.
5. Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting interests.
a. Engineers shall not accept financial or other considerations, including free engineering designs,
from material or equipment suppliers for specifying their product.
b. Engineers shall not accept commissions or allowances, directly or indirectly, from contractors or
other parties dealing with clients or employers of the Engineer in connection with work for which the
Engineer is responsible.
6. Engineers shall not attempt to obtain employment or advancement or professional
engagements by untruthfully criticizing other engineers, or by other improper or questionable
methods.
a. Engineers shall not request, propose, or accept a commission on a contingent basis under
circumstances in which their judgment may be compromised.
b. Engineers in salaried positions shall accept part-time engineering work only to the extent consistent
with policies of the employer and in accordance with ethical considerations.
c. Engineers shall not, without consent, use equipment, supplies, laboratory, or office facilities of an
employer to carry on outside private practice.
7. Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the
professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of other engineers. Engineers who
believe others are guilty of unethical or illegal practice shall present such information to the
proper authority for action.
a. Engineers in private practice shall not review the work of another engineer for the same client,
except with the knowledge of such engineer, or unless the connection of such engineer with the work
has been terminated.
b. Engineers in governmental, industrial, or educational employ are entitled to review and evaluate the
work of other engineers when so required by their employment duties.
c. Engineers in sales or industrial employ are entitled to make engineering comparisons of represented
products with products of other suppliers.
8. Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for their professional activities, provided,
however, that Engineers may seek indemnification for services arising out of their practice for
other than gross negligence, where the Engineer's interests cannot otherwise be protected.
a. Engineers shall conform with state registration laws in the practice of engineering.
b. Engineers shall not use association with a nonengineer, a corporation, or partnership as a "cloak"
for unethical acts.
9. Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is due, and will
recognize the proprietary interests of others.
a. Engineers shall, whenever possible, name the person or persons who may be individually
responsible for designs, inventions, writings, or other accomplishments.
b. Engineers using designs supplied by a client recognize that the designs remain the property of the
client and may not be duplicated by the Engineer for others without express permission.
c. Engineers, before undertaking work for others in connection with which the Engineer may make
improvements, plans, designs, inventions, or other records that may justify copyrights or patents,
should enter into a positive agreement regarding ownership.
d. Engineers' designs, data, records, and notes referring exclusively to an employer's work are the
employer's property. Employer should indemnify the Engineer for use of the information for any
purpose other than the original purpose.
As Revised July 1996
"By order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, former Section 11(c) of the
NSPE Code of Ethics prohibiting competitive bidding, and all policy statements, opinions, rulings or
other guidelines interpreting its scope, have been rescinded as unlawfully interfering with the legal
right of engineers, protected under the antitrust laws, to provide price information to prospective
clients; accordingly, nothing contained in the NSPE Code of Ethics, policy statements, opinions,
rulings or other guidelines prohibits the submission of price quotations or competitive bids for
engineering services at any time or in any amount."
Statement by NSPE Executive Committee
In order to correct misunderstandings which have been indicated in some instances since the issuance
of the Supreme Court decision and the entry of the Final Judgment, it is noted that in its decision of
April 25, 1978, the Supreme Court of the United States declared: "The Sherman Act does not require
competitive bidding."
It is further noted that as made clear in the Supreme Court decision:
1. Engineers and firms may individually refuse to bid for engineering services.
2. Clients are not required to seek bids for engineering services.
3. Federal, state, and local laws governing procedures to procure engineering services are not
affected, and remain in full force and effect.
4. State societies and local chapters are free to actively and aggressively seek legislation for
professional selection and negotiation procedures by public agencies.
5. State registration board rules of professional conduct, including rules prohibiting competitive
bidding for engineering services, are not affected and remain in full force and effect. State
registration boards with authority to adopt rules of professional conduct may adopt rules
governing procedures to obtain engineering services.
6. As noted by the Supreme Court, "nothing in the judgment prevents NSPE and its members
from attempting to influence governmental action . . ."
NOTE: In regard to the question of application of the Code to corporations vis-à-vis real persons,
business form or type should not negate nor influence conformance of individuals to the Code. The
Code deals with professional services, which services must be performed by real persons. Real
persons in turn establish and implement policies within business structures. The Code is clearly
written to apply to the Engineer and items incumbent on members of NSPE to endeavor to live up to
its provisions. This applies to all pertinent sections of the Code.

Engineering is the process of developing an efficient mechanism which quickens and eases the work
using limited resources, with the help of technology. Ethics are the principles accepted by the society,
which also equate to the moral standards of human beings. An engineer with ethics, can help the
society in a better way.
Hence the study of Engineering ethics, where such ethics are implemented in engineering by the
engineers, is necessary for the good of the society. Engineering Ethics is the study of decisions,
policies and values that are morally desirable in engineering practice and research.
Morals
The word “Morality” originates from the Latin word “mos” meaning “custom”. Morals are the
principles or habits with respect to right or wrong of one’s own conduct. They are not imposed by
anyone. Morals are what you think is good and bad personally.
Though morals are not imposed, they can be understood as the preaching of our inner self.
Depending on a few factors, our mind filters things as good or bad. These are the ideas that help
frame our personality so that we can distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.
A moral is the code of conduct that you develop over time and set for yourself to follow, just like
 Being good to everyone
 Speaking only the truth
 Going against what you know is wrong
 Having chastity
 Avoid cheating
 Being a nice human being etc.
Morals are always defined by one’s own personality. Morals can be changed according to one’s
beliefs as they are completely dependent on one’s perception towards the ethical values.
Ethics
The word “Ethics” originates from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “character”. Ethics are a set of
rules or principles that are generally considered as standards or good and bad or right and wrong,
which are usually imposed by an external group or a society or a profession or so.
Ethics can be understood as the rules of conduct proposed by a society or recognized with respect to
a particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture. Ethics are dependent on others
definition. They may or may not vary from context to context.
A person who strictly follows a set of ethical principles, may not have any moral at all while a
person who violates ethical principles at times, may maintain a high moral integrity. The ethical
theories include duty ethics, right ethics, virtue ethics and so on. A best example that can explain
ethics is utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism is the philosophy which explains that the happiness or pleasure of a greatest number
of people in the society is considered as the greatest good. According to this philosophy, an action is
morally right if its consequences leads to happiness of the people and wrong if the action leads to
their unhappiness. This theory moves beyond the scope of one’s own interests and takes into account
the interests of others.
Ethics in Engineering
Ethics are principles followed depending upon the moral responsibility that a person feels. The study
of related questions about moral ideals, character, policies and relationships of people and
organizations involved in technological activity, can be termed as Engineering ethics.
An engineer whether he works individually or works for a company, has to go through some ethical
issues, mostly under the conditions such as, conceptualization of a product, issues arising in design
and testing departments, or may be on the issues involving the manufacturing, sales and services.
Questions related to morality also arise during supervision and team works.
The ethical decisions and moral values of an engineer need to be considered because the decisions of
an engineer have an impact the products and services - how safe they are to use, the company and its
shareholders who believe in the goodwill of the company, the public and the society who trusts the
company regarding the benefits of the people, the law which cares about how legislation affects the
profession and industry, the job and his moral responsibilities and about how the environment gets
affected, etc.
Not only an engineer, but everyone has to follow a set of morals in order to keep away from getting
morally degraded. Our behavior should include the following −
 Respecting others and ourselves.
 Respecting the rights of others.
 Keeping promises.
 Avoiding unnecessary problems to others.
 Avoiding cheating and dishonesty.
 Showing gratitude towards others and encourage them to work.
Morality commands respect for persons, both others and ourselves. It involves being fair and just,
meeting obligations and respecting rights and not causing unnecessary harm by dishonesty and
cruelty or by hubris.
Steps to Deal with Issues
Whenever there occurs an issue, one should possess a few skills in order to sort out the problem. The
issues that engineers face, have to be dealt with patience and few moral goals have to be kept in
mind while dealing with such issues. They are as follows −
 Moral Awareness − One should be able to recognize the moral problems and issues that
occur in Engineering. The analysis on the problem is necessary in order to differentiate and
judge according to ethics or according to the rules to follow.
 Cogent Moral Reasoning − In order to come to a conclusion on an issue, the argument has
to be assessed and comprehended. The argument on both sides has to be considered with all
the probabilities and the nature of the argument should be logical and moral.
 Moral Coherence − After having gone through all the logical and moral facts, consistent and
comprehensive view points are to be formed based upon a consideration of relevant facts.
 Moral Imagination − The moral issues and the practical issues have to be dealt separately.
Alternative responses are to be found out for dealing with moral issues while creative
solutions should be found out for practical difficulties.
 Moral Communication − The language to communicate about one’s moral views should be
so precise and clear, that the expression or words should not alter the original meaning.
 Though one has all these moral goals, the ethical reasoning for achieving moral conduct with
responsibility and commitment is obtained by a few skills that are described below.
Important Skills for Ethical Reasoning
Let us now discuss the important skills for ethical reasoning −
 Moral Reasonableness − The ability and willingness to be morally reasonable that one
should have while dealing such issues. Unless one is willing and improve such ability,
justice cannot be done.
 Respect for Persons − The persons involved in the issue, should be treated with genuine
concern by one. Such concern should also be there with oneself along with being there for
others.
 Tolerance of diversity − One should have a broader perspective towards ethnic and religious
differences that the people have. Every person differs with another when compared on
grounds of moral reasoning. The acceptance of those differences is really important.
 Moral hope − The moral conflicts can be resolved by using better communication and
having rational dialogue which is evident-based and open-ended which is acceptable and
appreciable by both the parties.
 Integrity − The moral integrity has to be maintained. Being honest and having strong moral
principles helps one to resolve an issue in an efficient manner. An individual also needs to
consider other’s professional life and personal convictions while solving a problem.
A moral issue can be understood as an issue to be resolved not only by considering the technical
stuff but also by keeping moral values in mind. To be more precise, let us consider the definition in
general.
“Moral issue is a working definition of an issue of moral concern is presented as any issue with the
potential to help or harm anyone, including oneself.”
Types of Moral Issues
There are mainly two types of Moral issues that we mostly come across while keeping the ethical
aspects in mind to respond. They are −
Micro-ethics
This approach stresses more on the problems that occur on a daily basis in the field of engineering
and its practice by engineers.
Macro-ethics
This approach deals with social problems which are unknown. However, these problems may
unexpectedly face the heat at both regional and national levels.
Types of Inquiries
The issues can be resolved by following an investigation procedure, step by step in order to have a
clear understanding towards the issue. Here we have three different types of inquiries.
Judging the issues has to be followed by a systematic procedure to avoid any flaws. Engineering
ethics involves investigations into values, meanings and facts. Following are the different types of
inquiries made for this.
 Normative inquiries
 Conceptual inquiries
 Factual or descriptive inquiries

Normative Inquiries
 Normative Inquiry refers to the description that describes what one ought to do under a specific
circumstance. This is the expected ideal response, which might differ from what one believes to be
right or wrong.
This list identifies and justifies the morally desirable nature for guiding individuals or groups. This
includes the responsibility of engineers to protect the public safety and how they should respond
under such dangerous practices. Normative inquiries also quote the laws and procedures that affect
the engineering practice on moral grounds. They refer to the thought process where the moral rights
are to be implemented in order to fulfill their professional obligations.
Conceptual Inquiries
Conceptual Inquiry refers to the description of the meaning of concepts, principles and issues related
to engineering ethics. The ethics that an engineer should possess to protect the safety, health and
welfare of the public, etc. are described under conceptual inquiries.
It describes what safety is and mentions the marginal issues of safety along with the precautions an
engineer should take to avoid risk. Conceptual inquiries mention the moral aspects of bribery and
how its effects, along with the professional ethics and professionalism.
Factual and Descriptive Inquiries
Factual Inquiry or the descriptive inquiry help to provide the facts for understanding and finding
solutions to the value based issues. The engineer has to conduct factual inquiries by using scientific
techniques.
This helps in providing the information regarding the business realities such as engineering practice,
history of engineering profession, the effectiveness of professional societies, the procedures to be
adopted when assessing risks and psychological profiles of engineers.
Let us now go through the concept of Moral dilemma that a person faces when confronted with a
situation.
At times, the situations occur where one cannot make immediate decisions as the moral reasons
come into conflict. The moral reasons can be rights, duties, goods or obligations, which make the
decision making complex.
Types of Complexities
The difficulties in arriving to a solution, when segregated, can be divided into the following three
sections.
Vagueness
This refers to the condition where the doubt lies in whether the action refers to good or bad. This is
just like having a thought that following the rules is mandatory. This sometimes includes the
unwritten rules like being loyal, having respect, maintaining confidentiality, etc.
Conflicting reasons
When you know about the solutions you have, the making of better choice among the ones you have,
will be the internal conflict. Fixing the priorities depends upon the knowledge and the moral values
one has. The reason why the particular choice is being made, makes sense.
Disagreement
When there are two or more solutions and none among them is mandatory, the final solution selected
should be best suitable under existing and the most probable conditions. The interpretation regarding
the moral reasons behind the choice and analysis should be made keeping in mind whether this is the
better or the worse solution in the probable aspects.
Steps in Facing Moral Dilemmas
Whenever a person is faced with a moral dilemma, the issue is to be solved with a stepwise approach
as this will generate a better output. The steps include the following −
Identification
The step of identification involves the following −
 The issue has to be thoroughly understood.
 The duties and the responsibilities of the persons involved are to be clearly known.
 The moral factors related to the issue are to be understood.
 The conflicting responsibilities, the competing rights and the clashing ideas involved are to
be identified.
Ranking
 The considerations in the issue are to be listed down. Then they have to be ranked according to the
priorities. The moral aspect has to be considered to rank the issues. The advantages of a single
person should never be given any importance unless any moral reason is there behind it. No partiality
is allowed.
Inquiries
The inquiry of details involved in the issue is to be completely made. All the facts related to the issue
are brought into light. Considering the alternative courses of action for resolving and tracing, full
implications are also needed.
Discussions
Discussions are to be made with other members, as different minds look at the issue in different
views to give different solutions. The complete analysis of a problem gives chances to different
viewpoints, perspectives and opinions from which a better solution can be drawn.
Final Solution
After analyzing different perspectives and considering the facts and reasons on the basis of truths and
understanding the flaws which lead to the issue, a final solution has to be drawn out. This solution
will add value to the whole analysis, in all aspects.
Moral Autonomy is the philosophy which is self-governing or self-determining, i.e., acting
independently without the influence or distortion of others. The moral autonomy relates to the
individual ideas whether right or wrong conduct which is independent of ethical issues. The concept
of moral autonomy helps in improving self-determination.
Moral Autonomy is concerned with independent attitude of a person related to moral/ethical issues.
This concept is found in moral, ethical and even in political philosophy.
Moral Autonomy – Skills Needed
In this section, let us discuss the skills needed for moral autonomy.
 Ability to relate the problems with the problems of law, economics and religious
principles − It is essential to have the ability to analyze a problem and finding the relation
with the existing law or the topic of issue with the existing principles on that topic. The
ability to distinguish between both of them and finding the moral reasons.
 Skill to process, clarify and understand the arguments against the moral issues − If the
issue is against some moral values or the ethical values to be followed in the society, then
clarity should be maintained about the differences and similarities. Both of these differences
and similarities are to be judged based on why they are a matter of concern and in what
aspect.
 Ability to suggest the solutions to moral issues on the basis of facts − If the moral issues
are not fulfilling and needs to be, then the solutions are to be suggested according to the
moral issues based on the facts and truths of the issue. These suggestions must be consistent
and must include all the aspects of the problem. No partiality is to be allowed in any such
aspect.
 Must have the imaginative skill to view the problems from all the viewpoints − After
having known about the facts and illusions of the issue, a clear understanding is attained in
viewing the problem in all kinds of viewpoints. This enables one to be able to suggest a
proper alternative solution.
 Tolerance while giving moral judgment, which may cause trouble − When the whole
analysis is made considering all the viewpoints of the issue, the final output might be or
might not be pleasing to the persons involved. Hence while declaring the judgment or the
decisions taken, a detailed description of the actions done should be given, while the actions
ought to be done should be presented in a better way, to ensure others that the decisions have
been taken without any partialities towards any party.
 Tolerance while giving moral judgment, which may cause trouble − When the whole
analysis is made considering all the viewpoints of the issue, the final output might be or
might not be pleasing to the persons involved. Hence while declaring the judgment or the
decisions taken, a detailed description of the actions done should be given, while the actions
ought to be done should be presented in a better way, to ensure others that the decisions have
been taken without any partialities towards any party.
Skills for Improving Moral Autonomy
Moral autonomy reflects the concept of individuality. This relates to the idea of building one’s self
with the moral values one has while developing psychologically.
To have moral autonomy in all the aspects, one should have a lot of patience and interest. One
should adhere to the basic principles of humanity and should be strict with the Don’ts he has in mind
and liberal with his Do’s. The kindness towards his fellow beings is also an important concept to be
kept in mind. Inculcation of all these important qualities, enhances the skills of Moral autonomy in a
person.
A Person must have adequate knowledge and understanding about the use of ethical language so as
to defend or support his views with others. He must have better knowledge in understanding the
importance of suggestions and better solutions while resolving moral problems and also about the
importance of tolerance on some critical situations.
Above all, one must understand the importance of maintaining moral honesty and should be liberal
to understand the human behavior under certain circumstances.
Loyalty to corporations, respect for authority, collegiality and other teamwork are a few important
virtues in the field of Engineering. Professionalism in engineering would be threatened at every turn
in a corporation driven with powerful egos. Robert Jackall, a Sociologist criticizes professionalism
saying, “what is right in the corporation is what the guy above you wants from you. That’s what
morality is in the corporation.”
In order to understand how good the ethical factors in a corporate world should be, let us consider
the following points −
 Ethical values in their full complexity are widely acknowledged and appreciated by managers
and employees alike.
 In an ethical corporate climate, the use of ethical language is honestly applied and recognized
as a legitimate part of corporate dialogue.
 Top management sets a moral tone in words, in policies and by personal example.
 The procedures should be followed for conflict resolution.
RESPONSIBILITY OF ENGINEERS
Loyalty
Loyalty is the faithful adherence to an organization and the employer. Loyalty to an employer can be
either of the two types −
 Agency-loyalty − Agency-loyalty is acting to fulfil one’s contractual duties to an employer.
This is entirely a matter of actions, such as doing one’s job and not stealing from one’s
employer, irrespective of the motive behind it.
 Attitude-loyalty − Attitude-loyalty has a lot to do with attitudes, emotions and a sense of
personal identity as it does with actions. It can be understood that people who work
grudgingly and spitefully are not loyal; in spite of the fact they may adequately perform all
their work responsibilities and hence manifest agencyloyalty.
Collegiality
Collegiality is the term that describes a work environment where responsibility and authority are
shared among the colleagues. When Engineering codes of ethics mention collegiality, they generally
cite acts that constitute disloyalty. The disloyalty of professionals towards an organization, reflects
the attitude they have towards the work environment for the salaries they are paid and the trust the
company has for them.
The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code, for example, states that “Engineers
shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation,
prospects, practice or employment of other engineers. Engineers who believe others are guilty of
unethical or illegal practice shall present such information to the proper authority for action”.
The main factors that help in maintain harmony among members at a workplace are −
 Respect
 Commitment
 Connectedness
In detail, the colleagues are to be respected for their work and contribution towards the
organizational goals and should be valued for their professional expertise and their dedication
towards the social goods promoted by the profession. Commitment observed in the sense of sharing
a devotion to the moral ideals inherent in one’s profession. The coordination among all the members
at a workplace or the awareness of participating in cooperative projects based on shared
commitments and mutual support, also encourages the quality of the work.
Respect for Authority
In order to meet the organizational goals, the professionals should possess respect for authority. The
levels of authority maintained by the organization provides a means for identifying areas of personal
responsibility and accountability.
Following are the major types of authority −
 Executive Authority − The corporate or institutional right given to a person to exercise
power based on the resources of an organization.
 Expert Authority − This is the possession of special knowledge, skill or competence to
perform a particular task or to give sound advice.
According to the goals of the company, the hierarchical authority is distributed. A service oriented or
engineer-oriented company concentrates on the quality of the products which are decided by the
engineers as they are the subject matter experts. Whereas a company when it is customer-oriented
company, focuses primarily on the satisfaction of the customers. Hence the goal of the company
decides the power between a General Manager and a Technical Manager or an Engineer.
Collective Bargaining
It is the responsibility of an organization to look into the welfare of the section of people working in
it. Their issues need to be discussed. When we discuss issues, there can be issues which need to be
discussed among the employees themselves and resolutions can be found for the same. However,
there can be issues which might require the intervention of the management. In order to deal with
such complex situations, an Employee Union is formed wherein, each employee becomes a member
and a leader is elected to represent the group whenever needed.
At the time of conflicts or arguments, there will arise the need for negotiation between the parties.
Conflicting situations which call for negotiation might occur on areas related to pay scales, working
hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, rights in work places or
company affairs, etc. The process of voluntary negotiations between the employers and a group of
employees to resolve the conflicts is called Collective Bargaining.
The parties often refer to the result of the negotiation as a Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA) or as a Collective Employment Agreement (CEA).
The underlying idea of collective bargaining is that the employer and employee relations should not
be decided unilaterally or with the intervention of any third party. Both the parties must reconcile
their differences voluntarily through negotiations, yielding some concessions and making sacrifices
in the process. Both should bargain from a position of strength. There should be no attempt to exploit
the weaknesses or vulnerability of one party.
With such an awareness, the necessity of formation of Unions was observed in all the organizations
and the idea was strengthened to form larger labor unions. Both parties have, more or less, realized
the importance of peaceful co-existence for mutual benefit and continued progress.
Types of Collective Bargaining
Let us now discuss the types of collective bargaining. There are four main types of collective
bargaining −
 Distributive Bargaining − In this, one party’s gain is another party’s loss. Example −
Wages
 Integrative bargaining − In this, both the parties may gain or none of the parties may face a
loss. Example − Better training programs
 Attitudinal Structuring − When there is backlog of bitterness between both the parties then
attitudinal structuring is required to make smooth industrial relations.
 Intra-organizational Bargaining − There can be conflicting groups in both management
and unions also. So, there is need to achieve consensus in these groups.
The other important responsibility of an employee or an engineer is to maintain the confidentiality of
the organization or the employer. To understand confidentiality, we need to understand what is
Intellectual Property.
Intellectual Property
This term is often used in the world of business. Intellectual property refers to creations of mind
such as inventions; literary and artistic works, designs; and symbols, names and images used in
commerce.
The ideas and formulations in one’s mind are put in action or may not be done so, but that idea is the
result of one’s intelligence and it cannot be stolen. Such problems are mostly encountered by
scientists, engineers, business people or the upcoming entrepreneurs, and such. Intellectual Property,
i.e., IP is protected by the law; patents, trademarks and copyrights enable people to earn
recognition from what they invent or create.
While being associated with an organization, an engineer is expected to follow a few moral rules and
avoid affecting the intellectual properties of anyone. These when adopted by an organization,
through some agreement, it becomes the responsibility of every employee to maintain the
confidentiality throughout that project.
Confidentiality
When the word confidential is added to any information, it means that it should not be shared with
one and all. It is mostly a trade secret. Maintaining confidentiality and avoiding harmful conflicts of
interest are especially important aspects of teamwork and trustworthiness.
Confidentiality is that practice which helps to keep secret all information deemed desirable to keep
secret. The maintenance of secrecy refers to the unrevealing of any data concerning the company’s
business or technical processes that are not already in public knowledge. Every company has some
knowledge and can identify the individuals and groups that might have access to a particular set of
information. The members of such groups share the responsibility of maintaining confidentiality.
Types of information
The confidential information can be understood as Privileged Information and Proprietary
information. Privileged information means “available only on the basis of special privilege” such as
a privilege accorded an employee working on a special assignment. Proprietary information is the
information that a company owns or is the proprietor of, and hence is a term carefully defined by
property law. It is simply called trade secret.
Changing jobs
The obligation to protect confidential information does not cease when employees change jobs. The
former employees are bound by moral rules and are not supposed to indulge in revealing or selling
such information to the new employers. An employee may change his job for his personal financial
or career-oriented growth. But that should never effect the old company, which he used to work for.
An engineer’s knowledge base generates an intuitive sense of what designs will work and will not
work, and trade secrets form part of this knowledge base. It is usually considered a better deal, if the
employee is not allowed to change the job until the project finishes; this helps in avoiding
unnecessary revelation of information.
Management Policies
To protect the personal interest and rights of engineers and other employees while recognizing the
rights of employers, employment contracts with a few restrictions imposed, helps. Usually, those
restrictions centered on the geographical location of future employers, the length of time after
leaving the present employer before one can engage in certain kinds of work and the type of work it
is permissible to do for future employers.
But such contracts threaten the right of individuals to pursue their careers freely and hence courts
tend not to recognize them as binding. The employers might try different plans such as an agreement
not to work for similar project for few years or to be an outside consultant for the same project until
it finishes so as to make them abide morally. Other tactics like restricting trade secrets to employees
where absolutely essential might result in lessening the knowledge base of engineers involved in
research and development.
One potential solution for employers might be generating a sense of professional responsibility
among the staff that reaches beyond merely obeying the directives of current employers.
Justification
The primary justification is to respect the autonomy (freedom, self-determination) of individuals
and corporations and to recognize their legitimate control over some private information concerning
 themselves. The rights and duties of autonomy along with its utilities are to be observed. The trust
and trustworthiness can grow once confidentiality is maintained properly.
Conflicts of Interest
A person may have different types of interests. Such interests can be pursued according to the will,
convenience and the laws prevailing. A person working in an organization might have multiple
interests related to the job he is doing; if he does some side business which means he might be a
competitor or he might work with a competitor, it might pose a problem for the employer. Such an
employee is usually fired from the organization.
Thus, we can refine our definition of conflicts of interest by saying that they typically arise when
the following two conditions are met −
 The professional is in a relationship or role that requires exercising good judgment on behalf
of the interests of an employer or client.
 The professional has some additional or side interest that could threaten good judgement in
serving the interests of the employer or client.
Dilemma
There occurs a usual dilemma between conflicts of interest and conflicting interests. To get a clear
understanding between both, let us consider two examples.
Example 1
Let us consider a girl who needs to choose from among her interests in order to fit in her timetable.
She wants to attend the exam in college, to attend the music class, to go out for a movie, to deliver a
seminar and also go visit her friend. As she is falling short of time, it is her interest to choose what to
do and what not. The term used to mention this can be “Conflicting interests” and this cannot be
morally wrong.
Example 2
If another instance is considered where a man works for a company, being in some crucial position
where he has access to all the confidential information and if he works as an unofficial adviser to his
wife’s company, it would be morally wrong, where a moral conflict definitely arises. This can be
termed as “Conflict in interests”.
Hence, the two concepts are different.
There arise very subtle situations with various conflicts of interests. Let us see the most common
ones −
Gifts, bribes and kickbacks
The following definitions will help us understand this −
 A bribe is a substantial amount of money or goods offered beyond a stated business contract
with the aim of winning an advantage in gaining or keeping the contract and where the
advantage is unfair or otherwise unethical.
 Gifts can be small gratuities offered in the normal conduct of business.
 Prearranged payments made by contractors to companies or their representatives in exchange
for contracts actually granted are called Kickbacks.
At times, if the money or gifts offered are substantial enough to threaten the fairness of competitive
situations, then such gifts turn out to be bribes. They cannot be accepted as simple gratuities. Hence
there is a thumb rule stating such condition as, “If the offer or acceptance of a particular gift could
have embarrassing consequences for your company if made public, then do not accept the gift”.
Interest in other companies
An Employee while working in his company, if supports another company, during his leisure time to
earn more or for some other career aspects, can be understood as committing an immoral act. Such
an act is called Moonlighting which usually creates conflicts of interests. Instances creating such
conflicts can be working for competitors, suppliers or customers.
The want of additional income or the need for personal and professional growth might foster one to
pursue such ideas, which usually creates problems. A special kind of conflict of interest arises,
however, when moonlighting leaves one exhausted and thereby harms the job performance.
Insider information
The insider information might concern one’s own company or another company with which one does
business. Leakage of the information for the interest of some other benefits is like digging one’s own
pit. The interest in other’s companies makes a person morally low and lets him to go beyond moral
boundaries and this might create an impact on the confidentiality for the reception of special
privileges. When a person crosses his moral grounds, even the beneficiaries stop trusting him further.
Employee conflicts of interest occur when employees have interests that if pursued can keep them
from meeting their obligations to serve the interests of the employer or client for whom they work.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY:

Corporate Social Responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and
environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is
generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic,
environmental and social imperatives (“Triple-Bottom-Line- Approach”), while at the same time
addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders. In this sense it is important to draw a
distinction between CSR, which can be a strategic business management concept, and charity,
sponsorships or philanthropy. Even though the latter can also make a valuable contribution to poverty
reduction, will directly enhance the reputation of a company and strengthen its brand, the concept of
CSR clearly goes beyond that.
Promoting the uptake of CSR amongst SMEs requires approaches that fit the respective needs and
capacities of these businesses, and do not adversely affect their economic viability. UNIDO based its
CSR programme on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) Approach, which has proven to be a successful
tool for SMEs in the developing countries to assist them in meeting social and environmental
standards without compromising their competitiveness. The TBL approach is used as a framework for
measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental
performance. It is an attempt to align private enterprises to the goal of sustainable global development
by providing them with a more comprehensive set of working objectives than just profit alone. The
perspective taken is that for an organization to be sustainable, it must be financially secure, minimize
(or ideally eliminate) its negative environmental impacts and act in conformity with societal
expectations.
Key CSR issues: environmental management, eco-efficiency, responsible sourcing, stakeholder
engagement, labour standards and working conditions, employee and community relations, social
equity, gender balance, human rights, good governance, and anti-corruption measures.
A properly implemented CSR concept can bring along a variety of competitive advantages, such as
enhanced access to capital and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings,
improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base, improved brand image and
reputation, enhanced customer loyalty, better decision making and risk management processes.