Ethics in your company

[qweezyq]

I would love to hear about any positive and engaging ethics programs and/or training in your company.

I would also love to hear about any ethical dilemmas you have encountered professionally and how it was handled/resolved.

Working on a little side project.

Thanks

 

[Slugger926]

I would love to hear about any positive and engaging ethics programs and/or training in your company.I would also love to hear about any ethical dilemmas you have encountered professionally and how it was handled/resolved.

Working on a little side project.

Thanks

They have all been for show with answers given on quizzes. Management's actions do not follow what they say, the programs, or company values.

arty-smiley-048: arty-smiley-048: arty-smiley-048:

 

[Dark Knight]

Ethics? They are too busy circling the cars in the parking lot and doing group stretching to avoid injuries in the office.

 

[cpguitar]

I would love to hear about any positive and engaging ethics programs and/or training in your company.I would also love to hear about any ethical dilemmas you have encountered professionally and how it was handled/resolved.

Working on a little side project.

Thanks

I find it interesting you asked about Ethics. I'm concerned that our field is really dropping when it comes to ethics but I can't blame one or the other. some thoughts about civil Engineering and ethic for you to ponder:

1. Is is ethical to have the upper managers who does not design work on a project going to the meetings with the client and not take the engineer that is responsible to get the work complete?

2. Is it ethical for an engineer (manager level) to have the plans sit on their desk and then expect the staff to stay all night to meet a deadline. Where is the quality control?

3. Is it ethical for an engineering firm to use the references of someone they are attempting to recruit to hire in their proposal for a project and hold the hiring contingent on the firm getting the project?

These are very common practices if you ask me that I have wondered about. Maybe it is just poor managment.

 

[HornTootinEE]

I would love to hear about any positive and engaging ethics programs and/or training in your company.I would also love to hear about any ethical dilemmas you have encountered professionally and how it was handled/resolved.

Working on a little side project.

Thanks

I find it interesting you asked about Ethics. I'm concerned that our field is really dropping when it comes to ethics but I can't blame one or the other. some thoughts about civil Engineering and ethic for you to ponder:

1. Is is ethical to have the upper managers who does not design work on a project going to the meetings with the client and not take the engineer that is responsible to get the work complete?

2. Is it ethical for an engineer (manager level) to have the plans sit on their desk and then expect the staff to stay all night to meet a deadline. Where is the quality control?

3. Is it ethical for an engineering firm to use the references of someone they are attempting to recruit to hire in their proposal for a project and hold the hiring contingent on the firm getting the project?

These are very common practices if you ask me that I have wondered about. Maybe it is just poor managment.

To extend on the first one: Is it ethical for upper managers to be changing or throwing out work that they are ultimately not responsible for or expierienced enough to make decisions on? Example, we have an upper manager who has to approve/disapprove work and projects, but this person has zero expierience in our field of work. So, assuming I passed on Friday, that means a non-PE with no expierience in my discipline can overthrow projects I as a PE will be putting my signature on??

 

[qweezyq]

Ok, so far nobody has really answered my question. I was not opening the topic for a place for you to vent. I clearly am looking for positive input. Not to say I can't learn from people's negative experiences, but that is not what I asked for and it is a little disheartening.

anyway, i will humor you.

1. Sure it is ethical. Do you really think someone that has been in the trenches and now does management can't direct projects and analyze plans to know whats going on. It would be wise to consult the designer on issues, but he should be able to handle meetings with owners etc. Besides, do u think an owner really cares about the bearing capacity of bolt 36D on column a-245-B? No. he doesn't understand what that means and doesn't care. He is after the big picture. where will things go and how much will it cost.

2. Inconsiderate, irresponsible? Maybe. Unethical? you need a dictionary.

3. Not sure if you are talking about an individual or a sub-consultant. Sub-consultant I would say sure it's ethical. you aren't going to pay them if you don't get the job. If you are an individual, I would actually say they are being considerate. In fact it may be unethical to hire you in that situation. What is the alternative, they hire you and then fire you 2 weeks later when they don't get the work and have nothing to pay you for?

Sorry buddy, it seems you are bitter and have personal issues with your boss. These aren't really ethical issues and I can't believe you sucked me into answering you. but i did it.

Does anyone have any real answers to my topic? Thanks!

I would love to hear about any positive and engaging ethics programs and/or training in your company.I would also love to hear about any ethical dilemmas you have encountered professionally and how it was handled/resolved.

Working on a little side project.

Thanks

I find it interesting you asked about Ethics. I'm concerned that our field is really dropping when it comes to ethics but I can't blame one or the other. some thoughts about civil Engineering and ethic for you to ponder:

1. Is is ethical to have the upper managers who does not design work on a project going to the meetings with the client and not take the engineer that is responsible to get the work complete?

2. Is it ethical for an engineer (manager level) to have the plans sit on their desk and then expect the staff to stay all night to meet a deadline. Where is the quality control?

3. Is it ethical for an engineering firm to use the references of someone they are attempting to recruit to hire in their proposal for a project and hold the hiring contingent on the firm getting the project?

These are very common practices if you ask me that I have wondered about. Maybe it is just poor managment.

 

[qweezyq]

My positive ethical scenario for you is as follows:
I work for a fairly decent size civil firm. We do work ranging from subdivisions, to dam renovations, construction inspection, and highway design. About 7 months ago, the firm pursued a project from a college (happened to be my alma-mater), and one of my classmates is now an employee of the school and was on the selection committee. My illustrious marketing department *embellished the locations of some personnel working on the project. I was very upset, because I actually keep in contact with the guy on the selection committee as he used to be our class president and wrote our class notes in our alumni review. I was also furious simply because they misrepresented the company in general, not just to the college from which I graduated. Anyway, I made a pretty big deal about it. A month ago, another proposal went to this same college and before it went out I said, "It will be accurate, correct, and honest, or my name won't be on the org chart." They sent an accurate, correct, and honest proposal the second time. So, yes, sometimes they do things that are unethical, but sometimes they heed their employees concerns and change their tact, and all it takes is one person to take a stand usually and people will follow suit.

Good for you SAP. Thanks for your input. I may use your scenario. I welcome these comments.

Does anyone's company out there have any formal training or any type of ethics awareness?

 

[bingcrosbyb]

I work for a large international firm and one of our ethic module requirements is to agree to not participate in the "trafficking & transportation of human beings across borders". I'm sure that's in there because someone did it before. Otherwise, we have to complete a 2 hour training course each year. I've been lucky to sit in on a few NSPE ethics webinars. They are definitely a resource of invaluable information as well as source of amusement listening to arguments between engineers concerning what's ethical and what's not.

 

[HornTootinEE]

Ok, I'll play straight this time...

The utility I work for is owned by a Fortune 500 Holding company, and the holding company requires us to complete online modules that deal with stuff like workplace harassment, diversity, being politically correct, electronic courtesy and security, and a whole host of others. As far as a discussion of ethics directly or encouraging ethics training, that isn't really there. The online modules we do are more of a refresher, and in fact are called "Learn the Law." They appear to be more of a CYA deal than actual promotion of ethics, but they do serve as good reminders. We also do one on company property that deals with what the company feels is appropriate to do on company time for personal reasons, which tends to be a good reminder once in awhile too.

Sorry if I got off track in the earlier post

 

[cydcarter]

My company has numerous online modules for to help train all employees on all kinds of subjects. These are some of the absolute mandatory ones for every single person in the firm and some are required to be completed annually:

Ethics

Sexual Harassment

Safety

Timekeeping

Social Media

Don't be fooled, ethics is involved in every module listed above and many other areas. Should you post negative work experiences on Facebook? Should you predict how many hours you will be working later this week on your timesheet? Can you ask for donations to your personal causes/charities at work? If you are driving a company vehicle, can you stop by the grocery store and pick up a personal errand? If you spot some boxes stacked strangely, should you bring this to management's attention?

Ethical dilemmas are everywhere and the line can be fuzzy as work life integrates with personal life, especially in this age when you can work from home, social media is everywhere, etc. But there are some things that just don't change and it's sad that people nowadays have to be trained on it...

 

[envirotex]

One year, a guy from the board came to our office to give us a seminar on stamping...

In Texas you are required to complete one hour of ethics training every year as part of your 15 hours of continuing education. This is the only hour of training that can't carry over into the following year...one of the ways to complete this hour of training is to download and read the Texas Engineering Practice Act and Board Rules.

Exciting, I know, but this is what most of the engineers in my firm do...

 

[snickerd3]

we take an ethics online training module every year in May...so this years is coming up soon. The state just reguratates the laws and provides examples. If we take too short of a time going through the presentation, they will invalidate our participation and we will get talked to and forced to go through it again.

otherwise we get a ecertificate for participating. Although an ethics training for IL government is quite an oxymoron.

 

[ALBin517]

I work for the government so we are professionally ethical and have to be.

But there seems to be some "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul" if the right people like Paul.

 

[qweezyq]

These comments are great and very helpful. Please keep them coming.

It seems to me that the companies that do have some sort of training on ethics provide an online module that is quick and easy. This gives the impression that management doesn't focus on these issues so they are not very important.

My company also has online modules and while the president stressed the importance, I don't feel that an online module really grabs peoples attention it is just something they have to get through.

I am in the process developing a more involved program that will become part of my company's culture. So my second part of my thread question is as follows. If I were in your company and wanted to get you to buy into this program what would you want to hear? Why should this be important to you? Why should you possibly invest personal time into this program?

And as a seperate issue, what type of program would you want to take part in?

Thanks again everyone for your input. Please keep it coming.

 

[cydcarter]

These comments are great and very helpful. Please keep them coming. It seems to me that the companies that do have some sort of training on ethics provide an online module that is quick and easy. This gives the impression that management doesn't focus on these issues so they are not very important.

My company also has online modules and while the president stressed the importance, I don't feel that an online module really grabs peoples attention it is just something they have to get through.

I am in the process developing a more involved program that will become part of my company's culture. So my second part of my thread question is as follows. If I were in your company and wanted to get you to buy into this program what would you want to hear? Why should this be important to you? Why should you possibly invest personal time into this program?

And as a seperate issue, what type of program would you want to take part in?

Thanks again everyone for your input. Please keep it coming.

I'm glad we can provide some information, but I do want to clarify:

Online modules are relatively boring, but it is the easiest way to guarantee the same message is delivered to everyone. Also, an online system can be easily tracked and graded to ensure the message not only gets delivered but that people are receiving it. Lastly, it can be customized for user input to ensure you only get the information you specifically need (I don't care about the rules regarding part time employees on timesheet compliance).

My only request would be updated modules (yearly) or modules with more interesting examples. One thing we do now specifically regarding safety: every large group meeting at our office starts with some safety tip and example of consequences. They don't even have to be work-based safety tips. You hear some pretty funny and amazing stories from people that could have easily been avoided. It also gets people involved and share stories.