3.1 Introduction to the Chapter

This chapter of the book is specifically focused on the overriding question of why ethics is so important to society. As context it will attempt to define what ethics are but, in this pursuit, will articulate the ongoing dilemma of the different definitions of ethics. Such differentiation could pose a problem in the quest to understand and interpret what constitute ethics and ethical practices. Furthermore, as a foundation for the discussion on ethics, the origins and history of ethics will be explored from the philosophies and teachings of Socrates in the fifth century BC to modern-day doctrines on ethical frameworks. In this regard, historical theories will be explained and contextualised as the basis for ethical teaching over the centuries.

The chapter will also delve into the area of why ethics are important and will discuss the goals and benefits for individuals, organisations and society at large from ethical principles and values. In this regard, examples of unethical practices in the construction industry will be specifically discussed and the consequential effects and fall out from these in terms of reputational damage and loss of public trust. Finally, the important issue of how to recognise unethical practices and dilemmas about what is right and wrong will be explored and how to address such adversities. This is designed with the intention of changing cultures, addressing existing bad practices and improving working practices, especially in the construction industry, for the better.

3.2 What Are Professional Ethics?

To address the issues of professional ethics, particularly applied to the construction industry, one needs to firstly understand what ethics are and what constitutes ethical or non-ethical practices. Professionals are bound by a set of attitudes, principles and character dispositions that govern the way their profession is practiced, and this is commonly referred to as ‘professional ethics’. Such ethics are not confined to clients but according to obligations are also owed to colleagues and members of the public at large.

Theories of ethics come from a philosopher’s perspective and can be categorized as metaethics, relating to where ethical values and principles emerge from, normative ethics, relating to moral standards of conduct and applied ethics, involving examining controversial issues (Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2010).

Ethics has been described in general usage as:

…the philosophy of human conduct with an emphasis on moral questions of right and wrong’ (Helgadottir 2008), ‘the system of moral values by which the rights and wrongs of behaviour are judged’ (Rosenthal and Rosnow 1991) and ‘a moral philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour’.

Alternatively, ethics could also be defined as:

…the systematic attempt to make sense of individual, group, organizational, professional, social, market and global moral experience in such a way to determine the desirable, prioritized ends that are worth pursuing, the right rules and obligations that ought to govern human conduct, the virtuous intentions and character traits that deserve development in life and to act accordingly.

(Petrick and Quinn 2008 as cited in Helgadottir 2008)

A general definition of ethics was provided by Carey and Doherty (1968, as cited in Poon 2003) around the philosophy of human conduct with an emphasis on moral questions of right and wrong. Notwithstanding this, professional ethics has been described specifically around the expectations around responsibility, competence and willingness offer quality of services to the general public. There is sometimes confusion on what constitutes business and professional ethics. Accordingly, it would be helpful to examine the differentiation between the two. To offer clarity in this regard, business ethics are primarily focused around conduct. They revolve around ethical questions related to whether certain actions could be deemed good or bad, right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, worthy of praise or blame, reward or punishment. It seems that defining professional ethics is not an easy and straightforward task. To reinforce this position, Uff (2003) stated that ‘in any event, it would be difficult today to pin down ethics to a particular definition in the current climate of change in matters of professional accountability and transparency’. Notwithstanding this challenge, professional ethics can be defined as ‘a set of moral principles or values’ (Trevino and Nelson 2004), whereas others have described them as a system of norms to deal with both the morality and behaviour of professionals in their daily practice (Abdul-Rahman et al. 2007). Alternatively, Fewings (2009) described professional ethics as the application of values to society and a range of different perspectives whereas Bayles (1989, cited in Abdul-Rahman et al. 2010) advocated that professional ethics revolve around a systems of norms wherein day-to-day behaviours and morality can be managed and regulated. Notwithstanding these alternative descriptions, when considering professional ethics, it is important to understand what ‘profession’ means. Profession in this sense could be defined as ‘the possession and autonomous control of a body of specialist knowledge, which when combined with honorific status, confers power upon its holders’ (Uff 2003). This is quite an arduous definition and as such it is probably more advantageous to consider professionalism from the perspective of providing a ‘service’ to clients. In this regard, a profession can be linked to a group of individuals who can provide specialist knowledge to their clients. Professional ethics therefore could be defined as a system of standards and norms to enable the behaviour and morality of those practicing professional to deal with their duties and job responsibilities. However, according to Hamzah (2012) professional ethics does not always apply solely to individuals but can be extended to organisations and institutions. Furthermore, one could argue that they are not solely for the benefit of clients but should be extended to the public. Moreover, they encompass qualities and duties associated with responsibility, competence abide by established standards, rules and behaviours.

When considering professional ethics, Lere (2003) described them as a way and approach between professionals and experts as experts and clients as lay people. Conversely when we examine professional ethics specifically within a construction context the RICS defined them as ‘a set of moral principles extending beyond a formal code of conduct’ (RICS 2010). In terms of how such moral principles should be applied in the workplace the code of ethics for project managers stresses that ‘it is vital that Project Managers conduct their work in an ethical manner’ (Walker 2009).

According to Rogers (1911) ethics revolves around the well-being of human beings. Well-being in this sense signifies the permanent realization of goodness enacted by individuals and takes into account:

• The nature of individual good
• The nature of social good
• The relationship between individual and social good
• The freedom of the will
• The ethical worth of positive morality
• The relationship between good and pleasure
• The nature of virtue (in antique ethics). In this sense virtue is linked with a person’s character and applied to their motives or actions. In this context it is generally accepted that a morally virtuous person is one who abides and respects the moral codes laid down by honour, mercy, industry, temperance, charity. Conversely, the opposite of virtue is associated with vice.
• Duty and moral obligation (in modern ethics)
• The ethical motives that exist for people to pursue social good or to whatever is morally right

Another challenge for describing and defining ethics comes from the perspective that they have two distinct levels, namely Micro and Macro, relating to different aspects of the organisational environment. According to Chang (2005) micro ethics relates to personal issues and relationships with individuals and deals with issues such as personal integrity, honesty, trust and transparency. Alternatively, macro ethics deals with the wider aspects of actions affecting and impacting on society, the environment and the reputations of organisations (Chang 2005). Macro ethics can be related to ethical issues that have a significant and prolific high-level impact on the reputation of the industry or the public at large and predicated on the notion of doing good things for the wiser society.

Clearly the aforementioned alternative descriptions and definitions highlight that there are many differences of what ethics are which has given rise to problems of ambiguity and meaning. This view was supported by Vitell and Festervand (1987) who advocated that complications arise, and ethical dilemmas exist as there is no universally accepted definition of ethics. Perhaps this is one of the problems when considering professional ethics in the construction industry on a global scale which could be giving rise to different interpretations of ethics for construction professionals and what they mean in practice. This is arguably of particular importance when considering the construction industry as the understanding and views of many different professional bodies, association and organisations and their members are not always the same. The RICS Professional Ethics Working Party (RICS 2000) accepted that this potential ambiguity and inconsistency could create problems for the profession. Perhaps therefore a common framework for managing ethical dilemmas and thereby improving ethical standards is required which could address this problem. This opinion is supported by Liu et al. (2004) who argue that professional ethics is based on the subjective nature of principles, standards and values which vary between different sectors of the industry and a more consistent approach is required accordingly.

3.3 A Brief Historical and Theoretical Perspective on Ethics

The known history of pure ethics or moral (ethical) theories began with some of the ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. After recovery by English Positivists, ethics were the main area for discussions during medieval times in Europe. In more modern times throughout the nineteenth-century ethical ideas and theories were debated robustly throughout Europe. Evolution concepts emerged into physical sciences as well as the development of ethics during this time and were supported by the likes of Darwen, Comte and Spencer. Some of the main early philosophers and areas of ethics are summarised below:

1. (i) Socrates (fifth century BC)

Socrates was the founder of the Science of Ethics and professed the following moral beliefs and virtues:

• Learn your passions within your own soul and control them to reach wisdom
• He who knows must act accordingly
• No one voluntarily follows evil
• Virtue is knowledge
• Vice can only be because of ignorance
• Only by self-knowledge can freedom be acquired

Socrates believed that religious figures such as Zeus did not at all times act in a moral way. Accordingly, he advocated that people are not sure if behaviours are good because it pleases the gods or if it pleases the gods because it is good. Furthermore, he professed that some difficulties such as geometry can be solved through data whereas others including the justice system are moral issues.

• (ii) Plato (fifth to fourth century BC)

Plato defined the social good and their relationships in his famous book of Republic. He advocated the four virtues belonging to the state which were justice, courage or fortitude and temperance. In this regard, justice was classed as the highest virtue and included the other three virtues. He defined the highest good in the form of ideas and reason in the universe and defined the notion of mortal body and immortal soul. He advocated that good people are ones whom knowledge, emotion and desire are in perfect harmony with the souls of themselves. He believed that people should give others the benefit of the doubt and not assume they have done wrong without sufficient evidence. Plato exclaimed that ‘no one knowingly harms himself or does evil things to others because that would harm his soul’. Furthermore, Platonic ideals were predicated on justice being regarded as intuitive and arising from individual perceptions of forms.

• (iii) Aristotle (fourth century BC)

Aristotle defined political science as the highest of all sciences, as everything else was aimed at the good of the state. Furthermore, ‘social good’ was considered by him above ‘individual good’ and this was related to individual actions attaining goodness for society. He defined well-being as the activity of the soul and it being in accordance with virtuous practices. Aristotle advocated that people should balance emotion and rationality and ethics should be predicated on moral choices and reasoned guiding actions with objectivism at its heart. Furthermore, his philosophies revolved around the notion that everything in the known universe has a beginning, end function, skill and purpose.

• (iv) Early Christianity

Early Christianity focused on having a sense of one own personal goodness and morality and professed that this was the foundation of ethics. This stemmed from the underlying premise of ‘love thy neighbour as thyself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. The early Christians also believed that quality is the basic principle of what they referred to as the ‘golden rule’. Conversely, they proclaimed that anarchism related to people not wanting to be ruled as this implied to them inequality in society.

• (v) Other historical perspectives on ethics

In addition to the above, Table 3.1 contains other historical perspectives and schools of thought around ethics.

3.4 Historical Theories as Frameworks for Ethics

In addition to the above historical perspectives the following theories have presented themselves in the past as theories as frameworks for ethical teaching.

• (i) Deontology

Deontology was commonly perceived as a framework predicated on the notion that human beings have a propensity and duty to follow rules around ethics. Accordingly, there was a common understanding that people should treat others as they would be expected to be treated themselves. Deontology also revolved around the belief that good intentions and good will are still good even if their results do not achieve good results or consequences.

• (ii) Social Contract Theory

Social Contract Theory was first introduced by Thomas Hobbes in the sixteenth century. The theory was grounded on the premise that people in their natural environment and habitat are constantly fearful of violence and death. In this regard, human lives were viewed as short, precarious, solitary and unpleasant. In an attempt to escape the miseries of these aforementioned predicaments people under Social Contract Theory doctrines were encouraged to relinquish powers they had over others in exchange for protection afforded to them from a strong authoritarian central medium. Protection in this regard was viewed as a social contract. Altruism and cooperation were regarded by Social Contract Theory as vital to create a system of ethics based on collectivistic and social ideologies.

• (iii) Virtue ethics

Virtue ethics were predicated on the basis that people should behave in accordance with principles of virtue and be compassionate to others. Virtue is regarded in this sense as bringing pleasure and a peace of mind through doing the right thing and therein attaining the highest value.

• (iv) Cognitivism

Cognitivism beliefs stemmed from the notion that propositions that are expressed from ethical statements can be either true or false. Conversely, non-cognitivism theories professed that ethical statements were the articulation and expression of opinions and emotions that were not always true to life. Accordingly, these expressions were considered to be more subjective than objective and neither true nor false in nature.

• (v) Scientific ethics

Robert Merton in the 1950s advocated that scepticism existed around scientific theories and therein they were always open to challenge and questioning. In this regard, he philosophised that transparency and disclosure of results and data was not always practiced, with scientists trading intellectual property rights for esteem and recognition. He advocated a standard of Universalism for bringing about truth predicated on devising pre-established criteria. Following a similar belief, Bruno Latour in the late twentieth century was equally as sceptical of science, society and technology. He opined that ‘scientific facts’ were made up of social constructs designed to overwhelm the public by marshalling enough supporters and users. Over many years previous theories of the Universe have been proven to be wrong and those dismissed as wrong proven to be right. Latour also suggested that knowledge around science was sometimes floored as it is an artificial product of economic, political and social interactions in a competitive environment.

3.5 Concept and Purpose of Ethics

According to Guttmann (2006), ethics be designed to provide the mental powers to individuals to enable them to overcome fleeting passing instincts and therein enable them to choose good preferences over bad. Furthermore, Guttmann concurred that they should facilitate one’s thought process in order that decisions emanate from the conscience of individuals to ‘do the right thing’. Being ethical in this regard, he argued, should involve adopting moral codes, linked with values and principles. According to Guttman doctrines, these are designed to ensure that rules and practices are consistently applied across a broad range of business situations. Such ethical practices should be conducted not only to clients but on society at large in all day-to-day business affairs. Guttman argued that it is important, especially for new construction professionals, to fully recognise what is required of them. This was predicated on the basis that professional conduct is not something that can be ignored and the way they conduct themselves is a major element of their recognition. Furthermore, Guttman professed that individuals should be taught to know right from wrong in their decision making and confident and assertive enough to uphold their actions and stand up to unethical behaviours.

According to Vee and Skitmore (2003) one of the important aspects of ethics is ‘personal ethics’. This can be described as treating other people with the same extent of honesty and consideration as they would expect to be treated. Some professionals would concur that these personal ethics are more important for their clients than other individuals including members of the public.

3.6 A Context to the Discussion and Perception around Business Ethics

There is a perception that business ethics, best practice and codes of conduct are relatively things of the recent past, but some argue that the history of business ethics goes back to medieval times. According to the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in the medieval period, defined very carefully a piece of cannon law, which prescribed clearly what was legitimate behaviour in certain fields of the business world (Chryssides and Kaler 1993). There has been a marked increase in interest in business ethics in recent times; the subject has in fact quite a long pedigree. More recently and in the past few decades, firms and organisations have had more interests in business ethics than ever. Commitment to ethical business principles is becoming increasingly important (CMI 2010). There is little doubt that business ethics has become increasingly fashionable area of enquiry over recent years. (Mellahi and Wood 2003).

There seems to be a general agreement within the context of business that one of the fundamental values and distinctive characters of managing construction projects is acting on behalf and providing quality services to clients and stakeholders. Undertaking this role must be carried out professionally, ethically and within the rules and regulations of business engagement.

According to Interscape (2006) there are five different factors which influence ethics in the workplace:

• Individuals will tend to encompass more responsibility for managing their own careers at an earlier age
• Companies are adapting, innovating and changing which creates new ethical challenges
• It is becoming increasingly important in a global economy to understand other individuals’ perspectives and positions on many different areas of work
• There is growing diversity throughout the world in matters such as religions, values and principles which raises the bar in a need for increased tolerance
• The complexity of knowledge and skills of the world’s population creates new questions from an ethical perspective in terms of practice and technology

With reference to the above factors, these can create new challenges for the management of ethics where ethical dilemmas become commonplace. Particularly in the construction and engineering sectors the sensitivities to making the right choice and decision on ethical and morality grounds has become more prolific in recent years. Practices which may have been acceptable in previous years may now be regarded as inappropriate and at odds with professional behaviours. This could include accepting of gifts and hospitality but also the modern needs around transparency and accountability to many different stakeholders. Several research studies have been conducted throughout the years in the construction industry on the way they conduct their lives and working practices. Some quite alarming findings have emanated from these which have painted a less than good image of the sector. There have been reported cases of individuals prepared to lie and deceive to seal deals including new work orders, and in isolated cases people prepared to trick and deceive their colleagues and stakeholder to secure a competitive advantage. Other cases involved the use of company equipment and resources for their own gains and exaggerating and inflating time sheets and expenses for financial betterment.

3.7 Goals of Professional Ethics

According to Fewings (2009) goals of professional ethics can broadly be classified into two main categories; inward- and outward-facing goals, and these are listed below.

1. Inward-facing goals
   • Provides support and guidance for people to behave and act in an ethical manner, especially in instances where they are faced with dilemmas and pressures.
   • Creates common rules for people and organisations and outlines their responsibilities and duties to act and behave ethically.
   • Deters individuals to act unprofessionally and behave in an unethical way by creating an environment in which people are encouraged to report unethical behaviours and where sanctions are identified.
   • Reduces internal conflicts.
   • Creates standards of acceptable behaviours between colleagues, employees, employers, associates, clients and the general public.
2. Outward-facing goals
   • Protects vulnerable populations who could be harmed by the activities of a profession.
   • Responds to previous cases of unethical conduct by professions.
   • Creates institutions that are resilient in the face of external pressures.
   • Serves as a platform for adjudicating disputes amongst professions and between members and non-members.
   • Provides a platform for evaluation of professions and as a basis for public expectations.
   • Establishes professions as distinct moral communities and worthy of autonomy from external control and regulation.
   • Creates a basis for the development of trust and enhances and protects the good reputation of professions.

3.8 The Importance of Professional Ethics for the Construction Industry

In order to discuss professional ethics in context it is important to understand why it is important for the construction industry. Philosophers have debated for many centuries on the importance of ethics in society which has formed the basis of how the study of ethics awareness, education and standards has developed in the modern world. In this regard, perspectives have changed over the centuries, but ethical principles are largely built upon values, behaviours and trust in the society we live and work. Ethics has become a ‘hot topic’ in many sectors over recent years and the construction industry is by far no exception to this agenda. Notwithstanding this premise, reported cases of immoral and unethical practices and in some cases fraudulent criminal activities have given rise to some high-profile cases which have tainted the construction industry and put it in a bad light. This has had an overarching detrimental effect on the reputation of the industry and a distinct lack of public trust in construction professions and organisations. There have been reports of sleaze and corruption and ethical improprieties linked to collusion and regulatory breaches. Ethical teaching in applying professional standards and behaviours to the construction industry are vitally important to turning the tide and responding and addressing such unethical practices.

In the past there have been views that ethics are a vital and essential practice requirement as they engender the general public’s trust and preserves their employers’ interests (Abdul-Rahman et al. 2007 ). Construction professionals who act in an ethical manner will enhance their performance which will increase the success of projects. In addition, for construction professionals to survive it will demand public confidence which is dependent on the ethical conduct and professional knowledge (RICS 2010). Accordingly, this could suggest that any compromises on ethics could jeopardise the service delivery and damage public perception and the image of the construction industry.

One of the other problems the construction industry has faced over many years lies in its reputation and the general perception of the public (Robson 2000). This has largely emanated from negative press coverage, particularly in the UK, for unethical practices and behaviour uncovered in the past. From data published by the Building Research and Information Service Building it would seem that contractors in comparison with other construction professionals have gained a greater reputation for unethical behaviour. This assertion is predicated on a higher number of legal disputes emanating from their behaviour and practices over successive years (Vee and Skitmore 2003). Research studies conducted by Liu et al. (2004) suggested that developers and contractors especially display little emphasis on the existence of ethical codes when compared to other construction professionals such as architects and surveyors. This may therefore suggest that contractor-led organisation such as the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) should develop and promote cultural change to improve standards and raise awareness of ethical standards. Irrespective of whether the contractors are at fault, reputational damage to construction professionals may ensue when controversy on projects, culminating from their contractors’ wrongdoing, emerges in the press. There have been many examples where clients have been held to account for the practices carried out by their appointed contractors. The example of Carillion’s demise in 2018 in the UK led to speculation that public sector organisations, who awarded framework contracts for schools and hospitals, had been negligent in not undertaking more robust financial checks in their due diligence procedures.

A possibly more controversial explanation for unethical practices in contracting could be the relatively high turnover of construction company personnel and the perceived motivation of greed for increased profits (Liu et al. 2004). Construction companies are frequently accused of only being concerned with short-term economics or simply blinkered to the interests and well-being of their clients and associates in the industry. After all, why would construction companies become unduly concerned for their clients and practices when in most cases they move from one job to another in short succession? Arguably this is a misunderstood area in construction management. It can produce adversarial management styles geared to aggression and deception rather than a professional approach underpinned by integrity, honesty, transparency, fairness and trust (Walker 2009). Accordingly, this may explain why the importance and practice of professional ethics does not often feature very highly on the agenda of some building contractors. Construction professionals should be aware of such negative aspects and manage their selection processes to appoint contractors who have demonstrated social and moral responsibility in the past.

One previous example of controversy was related to construction workers being added to a database and blacklisted by up to 40 major national construction companies in 2003. It was reported that this could have excluded many individuals and companies from employment without their knowledge. This followed previous failures of standards and ethics related to The Office of Fair Trading’s investigation and report of September 2007 which found that 103 construction firms had colluded with competitors in bid-rigging to secure construction contracts. This bid rigging practice is further discussed by Vee and Skitmore (2003) who explained that tendering has traditionally been the prime area of concern for the construction industry brought about by both contractor and awarding client unethical practices.

The aforementioned cases involving main contractors’ misdemeanours does not infer by any means that other construction professionals including clients always comply with ethical codes. There have been cases in the past which involve construction clients, using their powers as ‘paymasters’ on projects, to pressure their professional consultants and main contractors to accept fixed price commissions and tenders which do not reflect reasonable margins for them to survive. Such win–lose scenarios, devoid of a partnering/teamwork philosophy could lead to reputational consequences for construction professionals under such scenarios. Clearly this is damaging to the construction industry at large in terms of public confidence and trust in the sector. While speculation exists as to the existing law on such matters these cases certainly highlight the debate on whether ethical standards and codes of conduct within the construction industry are being maintained.

The Chartered Management Institute articulate that ethical standards apply equally to the personal behaviour of individuals, as they do to organisations if their actions impact on society at large (CMI 2010). Furthermore, Trevino and Nelson (2004) described the importance of ethical standards from a personal perspective that staff need to feel that they are acting with integrity and in accordance with best practice. They concurred that individuals and professionals prefer to work for ethical organisations to feel good and be proud of the work they undertake. On a managerial level, organisations are responsible for the ethical or unethical practices of their employees under law. For this reason, it is important for employers to set down boundaries for acceptable and non-acceptable behaviours and practices of their staff (Trevino and Nelson 2004). This is especially relevant for managerial staff who should not abuse the authority and power of their positions and conduct their roles legally and legitimately. Walker (2009) argued that power can be a positive or negative force in its illegitimate form. Power in its positive form can be used to further objectives of the organisation, whereas in its negative form may be used to achieve personal objectives, which do not subscribe to organisational objectives.

One of the benefits of ethics for organisations revolves around trust, especially where firms are heavily reliant on their reputation for conducting business and gaining new work (Trevino and Nelson 2004). Weiss (2003) outlined that business ethics deals with three basic areas of managerial decision making. The first is around choices about the law and whether to follow, the second relates to choices about economics and social issues outside of law and the third is the priority of self over the company’s interests. Despite these assertions, Cowton and Crisp (1998) argued that economies depend on the profit motive, and the pursuit of profit need not be perceived as immoral. To offer assistance to practitioners to what is moral or immoral Cowton and Crisp (1998) concurred that one needs to consider (i) respect for core human values, (ii) respect for local traditions and (iii) the belief that context matters to decide what is right and what is wrong.

Arguably, ethics can create the bedrock on which all of our relationships are built; it is about how we relate to our surroundings and it is not about the connection we have but the quality of that connection (Trevino and Nelson 2004). Another important aspect, which is at the heart of ethical and moral issues for construction professionals, is ethical dilemmas and decision making. It is recommended that there should be a need for sensitivity to ethical dilemmas to avoid actions being taken without the awareness of potential ethical issues. Chapter 4 of the book has been dedicated to such ethical dilemmas.

3.9 Ethical Principles and Codes for Construction Professionals

Owing to increasing concerns in many high-profile cases including those previously referred to in this chapter, demonstrating dishonesty and corruption, it is important for construction professionals to commit to and encourage project teams to comply with sustainable ethical principles. Codes of ethics which have been introduced have provided an indicator that organisations and institutions take ethical principles seriously as they should outline expectations for all personnel with regard to ethical behaviour and intolerance of unethical practices (CMI 2013).

Relationships between construction professionals and the professional consultants and contractors they appoint rely on professional ethics and trust especially since fee agreements cannot accurately specify all financial contract contingencies for possible additional services (Walker 2009). The main motivation for the public relying on members of professional bodies relates to them giving advice and practising in an ethical manner (RICS 2010). Accordingly, the RICS has developed 12 ethical principles to assist their members in maintaining professionalism and these relate to honesty, openness, transparency, accountability, objectivity, setting a good example, acting within one’s own limitations and having the courage to make a stand. In order to maintain the integrity of the profession members are expected to have full commitment to these values. Furthermore, a ‘Code of Ethics Checklist’ published by the CMI sets down that ethics is particularly relevant to maintaining the reputation of an organisation and inspiring public confidence in it (CMI 2013). For this reason, codes of ethics should reflect the practices and cultures which construction professionals want to encourage for their respective organisations and project teams. This is supported by the CMI who advocated that:

A code of ethics is a statement of core values of an organisation and of the principles which guide the conduct and behaviour of the organisation and its employees in all their business activities.

CMI (2013)

Arguably the main deficiencies of codes of ethics had emanated from the notion that there are no universal standards and accordingly they vary between countries and different sectors in the building industry. Boundaries and barriers created by fragmentation and differentiation within the construction sector have possibly deterred any common frameworks of professional ethics emerging in the past (Walker 2009). This is an area that demands more attention through multinational dialogue across all areas of the construction sector, to overcome. One attempt to address unethical behaviour in this way comes from The Global Infrastructure Act Anti-Corruption Centre, which has published a guide with examples of corruption in the infrastructure sector to assist practitioners. It sets down potentially criminal acts of fraud which include collusion, deception, bribes, cartels, extortion or similar offences at pre-qualification and tender, project execution and dispute resolution (Stansbury 2008). Furthermore Abdul-Rahman et al. (2007), from studies conducted on construction professional, published rankings for the top 11 most frequent unethical practices and these are contained in Table 3.2, and these include underbidding, bribery and collusion.

As a means to address some of these unethical practices, codes of conduct around professional ethics will be discussed further in Chapter 10 .

3.10 How Should Construction Professionals Recognise Unethical Practices?

The next issue and potential problem relates to what constitutes unethical behaviour in practice. As previously highlighted, there is no universal theory of ethics with different cultures existing within the construction industry and this creates problems and dilemmas in what is ethical or non-ethical (Liu et al. 2004). Clearly this reinforces the need for construction professionals to have a consistent approach to professional ethics which can be applied across the whole industry. Liu et al. (2004) explained, however, that this notion of achieving consistency is linked to the different cultures which exist within the construction industry and this may make boundaries between ethical and non-ethical behaviour become blurred at times. A practical example of this could include the boundary between receiving a seasonal gift as a polite gesture and what is deemed to constitute an act of bribery to influence an award of a contract for instance. Vee and Skitmore (2003) attempted to address this potential grey area and offered clarity on the boundary between gifts and bribery. They concluded that gift giving transfers become an illegal act of bribery when they compromise relationships between the gift giver and receiver and favour the interests of the gift giver. This is an important aspect for construction professionals, especially at tender stages when bidders may offer them gifts or invitations to corporate functions, to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. It is normal for construction professionals to have to sign up to anti-bribery legislation and declare gifts to avoid accusations of impropriety in such cases. Other forms of unethical behaviour could include breach of confidence, conflict of interest, fraudulent practices, deceit and trickery and may also in some cases have problems of grey areas and interpretation difficulties. Moreover, less obvious forms of unethical behaviour could include presenting unrealistic promises, exaggerating expertise, concealing design and construction errors or overcharging (Vee and Skitmore 2003). Such is the importance of this area; examples and types of unethical practices will be covered in more depth in Chapter 5.

3.11 The Need for Construction Professionals to Uphold Ethical and Cultural Values When Procuring Projects

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.

W. Clement Stone

In consideration of the above quotation, the next important factor that arguably has a strong influence and link to professional ethics is culture and the cultural values of the construction industry and those construction client organisations that work within it. In the past, adversarial attitudes in the construction industry have affected relationships, behaviours, culture and trust in the construction industry. A major contributor in improving cultures with the construction industry has been professional ethics which defines rules of conduct. However, construction professionals should regard their scope and ethical responsibilities as much greater and more extensive than just simply concerning conduct, institutional rules and regulations (Walker 2009).

There have been opposing views on how best construction professionals can instigate cultural change within the industry and differentiation and fragmentation can again pose difficulties in this regard in aligning cultures, beliefs and standards (Liu et al. 2004). A practical example of this could be subcontractors having completely different standards beliefs and values to main contractors and similar scenarios existing between surveyors and architects. This raises the issue of the importance of changing the culture of the industry as a whole and the way it works. If cultural change is required, then a further question is raised as to how do construction professionals working with their project teams achieve this? The answer could be in improved training, education and personal development to raise the awareness of the importance of professional ethics. Ahrens (2004) certainly supported this view and advocated the use of modules designed to teach ethics to university-built environment undergraduates to expand their knowledge and understanding of ethical issues affecting the construction industry, with particular emphasis on contracting responsibilities and liabilities. He explained that too many young practitioners graduating from higher education do not possess the skills in areas relating to ethical values, moral working, cultural difference and environmental responsibility and is facilitating modules across 15 European Universities to attempt to address this educational imbalance. Liu et al. (2004) presented a similar argument to improve ethical self-regulation and cultural change through education and training. Further supporting views emanated from Vee and Skitmore (2003), who explained that ethical codes alone are not sufficient to maintain ethical conduct. Their findings indicated that employer-led training and institutional CPD to educate members on what ethical codes mean from a practical perspective can greatly increase awareness and participation in ethical practice.

3.12 Summary

This chapter has articulated the alternative descriptions of what ethics are which highlights that the differentiation and variation around definition could give rise to problems of ambiguity and meaning. Accordingly, an ethical dilemma could ensue from the absence of any universally accepted definition of ethics. Perhaps this is one of the problems when considering professional ethics in the construction industry on a global scale, possibly leading to varying interpretations of ethics for construction professionals and what they mean in practice.

Goals of professional ethics can broadly be classified into two main categories; inward- and outward-facing goals. Inward-facing goals include creating common rules for people and organisations and outlining their responsibilities and duties to act and behave ethically. Conversely, outward-facing goals include providing a platform for evaluation of professions and as a basis for public expectations.

The importance of ethics should not be underestimated as they are considered a vital and essential practice requirement, engendering the trust of the general public and preserving their employers’ interests. Accordingly, one of the benefits of ethics for organisations revolves around trust, especially where firms are heavily reliant on their reputation for conducting business and gaining new work. Furthermore, construction professionals who act in an ethical manner will enhance their performance which will increase the success of projects. Conversely, any compromises on ethics could jeopardise service delivery and damage public perception and the image of the construction industry.

It is important for construction professionals to commit to and encourage project teams to comply with sustainable ethical principles but there are many different aspects and issues that influence and affect professional ethics, and this presents a challenge for the industry. Codes of ethics which have been introduced have provided an indicator that organisations and institutions take ethical principles seriously as they should outline expectations for all personnel with regard to ethical behaviour and intolerance of unethical practices. Notwithstanding this premise, unethical behaviours and practices have been experienced in the construction industry over many years. There are repercussions that can arise from non-ethical practices, especially in the context of the UK construction industry. Construction professionals, as leaders in the procurement of projects, should be leading the way in cultural changes to improve the reputation of the industry. In this pursuit, they should be aware of the importance of ethics, alternative definitions and interpretations of ethics, the reputation of the construction industry, codes of conduct and governance and regulations in avoiding bad practices. In conclusion, it would appear that measures to improve the practice of professional ethics, such as professional codes of conduct, have gone some way to improve the way the industry works but there are still far too many cases emerging of unethical practices that are blighting the sector. Although arguably these practices are emerging from a small minority of the sector, they are creating a bad press for the whole industry and further measures should be instigated by construction professionals to address this dilemma. Traditional responses in the past, at an institutional level, have been based on governance, regulations and punishment for non-compliance and clearly these have had only limited success. Perhaps construction professionals should be leading the way for a cultural change in the industry to train, educate and motivate construction individuals and organisations in what professional ethics entail, measures to ensure compliance and the benefits that they can bring for the sector. This could be achieved through more focus on FE and HE course modules linked to professional ethics and CPD through workshops and training events in the workplace. These measures will hopefully contribute to providing a more ethical environment for the industry to work within and reap great benefits not just for all construction-related organisations and the building projects that they procure, but for the future of the construction industry at large. It is accepted, however, that to bring about these cultural changes will take conviction, integrity and in some cases courage not to engage in established unethical practices. These improvements once ingrained within the industry could then reap massive rewards in providing a safer, honest, trusting and more enjoyable working environment for all.

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