Professional Ethics

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Professional Ethics

• For the Health and Safety Professional
• June 2004
• ASSE Conference Las Vegas

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Dr. Peter Strahlendorf B.Sc., LL.B., LL.M.,
S.J.D., B.E.S., CRSP

• Associate Professor
• School of Occupational and Public Health
• Ryerson University
• Toronto, Canada

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Pick One

• Ethics cannot be taught. You are able to sense
  what is right, good and just, and are motivated
  to act or you are not.
• 2. While people differ in their abilities, most
  people can improve their ethical decision-making
  through education and practice.

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A Personal Challenge to the Science-Oriented

• Do we think differently when thinking
  scientifically than when thinking ethically?
• Can you find scientific answers to the questions
  what is reasonable?, or what is fair?
• This is part of the art of OHS practice.

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Professional Ethics

• What is a profession?
• What is ethics?
• What is professional ethics?
• Ethical theories
• Thinking about professional ethics
• Professional values
• Codes of Ethics

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Do you agree?

• It is always wrong to intentionally take an
  innocent life?

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Do you agree?

• The right course of action is to weigh the
  consequences of action and choose the action that
  leads to the greatest good for the greatest
  number?

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Two Valid Moral Positions

• The first is Kantianism
• Kant Right or wrong regardless of consequences
• The second is Utilitarianism
• Utilitarianism Right or wrong depending on
  consequences
• Most people agree with both positions

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Dilemma

• The hijacked plane with 200 people is approaching
  a building with 50,000 people
• Vote! Will you shoot down the plane?

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Dilemma

• You cannot subscribe to both principles in the
  case.
• A true moral dilemma
• Which position has the greatest weight in the
  circumstances?

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Orientation

• Aim to show several different ways to think
  through a problem in professional ethics, rather
  than merely describe what professionals say are
  their problems (sociology of ethics).

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• Profession
• Ethics
• Professional Ethics

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Profession

• All professions are occupations, but not all
  occupations are professions
• Can take a broad or narrow view of what is a
  profession
• A self-regulated occupational group capable of
  legally prohibiting others (including incompetent
  or unethical members) from practising is a
  narrow view

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Based Primarily on

• Morality and the Professional Life
• Cynthia A. Brincat
• Victoria S. Wike
• Prentice Hall, 2000
• ISBN 0-13-915729-8

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Profession

• 1. Group identity
• 2. Shared education, training -- requirements
  for admission
• 3. Special uncommon knowledge
• 4. Knowledge used in the service of others
  positive social need
• 5. Involves individual judgment, (some)
  autonomy in decisions
• 6. Adherence to certain values
• 7. Penalties for substandard performance

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Profession

• Matter of degree there are many emerging
  professions.
• Obstacle in the way of the OHS professional is
  the diverse nature of practice with competing
  co-professionals.

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Profession

• You are not a professional until you are a member
  of a group of colleagues who have articulated a
  set of standards and values and can enforce them,
  at the very least, by exclusion from the group.

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Professionalism

• 1. Skill, competency in work
• 2. Relational element work will be
  beneficial to others
• Work itself doesnt have moral status
• Execution of work has moral status

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Recognizing when Were in the Realm of Ethics

• Watch the language
• Right and wrong -- Actions
• Good and bad -- Motives, methods, goals

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Professional Ethics

• Purpose Helps professional decide when faced
  with a problem that raises a moral issue
• Complexity Can be many people, with many issues
  involved may be involved history to the issues
  may be an issue WHO decides, not just WHAT
  decided.

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Ethics and Morality

• Morality making choices with reasons
• Ethics the study of HOW the choices are made,
  ie ethics is the study of morality
• Often use ethics and morality interchangeably

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General vs Professional

• General Ethics individual as member of
  community, broader range of issues, top down
  principles
• Professional Ethics moral expectations specific
  to the occupational group, tend to focus on
  concrete bottom up cases

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Morality and Ethics

• Professional Morality what we do in our
  occupational lives
• Professional Ethics the study of what we do in
  our professional lives

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Ethics and Law

• Law the authority is external
• Ethics the authority is internal
• Much of law, but not all, is based in morality
• Sometimes law is unethical
• Much of what is ethical is unaddressed by legal
  rules

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Professional Ethics and Law

• There is a moral duty to obey the law (with some
  caveats)
• Professional ethics covers more issues than the
  law
• One can be unethical without behaving illegally
• Rare ethically must resist the law

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Professional Ethics and Law

• Be very careful not to embark in an exercise in
  ethical analysis when there is a clear legal rule
  in the situation that trumps the entire process
  of ethical analysis.

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Professional Ethics and Law

• Be very careful not to assume that there is a
  legal rule for every situation. Often the gaps
  between legal rules require one to switch to an
  ethical analysis.

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Ethics

• Descriptive ethics What IS
• Prescriptive ethics What OUGHT to be
• We do not seek to study professional ethics as a
  sociologist would, but to assist with choices
  about what one ought to do.

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Descriptive Ethics

• 2002 British study by Burgess and Mullen
• 77 of hygienists had witnessed ethical
  misconduct by colleagues within last 5 years.

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Descriptive Ethics

• Burgess and Mullen study. Most common cases
• Plagiarism
• Confidentiality of data
• Faked data
• Criticizing colleagues for gain
• Holding back, disguising data
• Destruction of data
• Not reporting incident deliberately

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Descriptive Ethics

• Patricia Logan 2001, USA. Reported reasons for
  misbehavior, hygienists
• Economic pressure
• Transition from employee to consultant results in
  compromises
• Working in foreign countries
• Lack of legal standards
• Working on contingency basis
• Decrease in job security

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Descriptive to Prescriptive

• Two very different ways of reasoning.
  Descriptive, or scientific, studies of
  professional ethics help us identify issues that
  need to be included in Code of Ethics and in
  educational programs. Gives us our case
  studies.

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Prescriptive Ethics

• What OUGHT to be
• The words used are different good-bad,
  right-wrong, just-unjust
• Thought processes use values, goods, virtues,
  rules, ethical theories, moral reasons, moral
  explanations, and moral decisions.

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Why the Interest in Professional Ethics?

1. As occupations become more specialized, the
   ethical issues become more specialized
2. Professional societies have increased efforts to
   establish ethical codes to guide members
3. Increasing public scrutiny, lack of traditional
   deference
4. Regulatory oversight, public protection

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• Moral Reasoning

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Machinery of Prescriptive Ethics

• Rules e.g. always tell the truth
• Values e.g. Integrity
• The two are intimately related.

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Prescriptive Ethics

• Judgments should be
• universalizable or generalizable
• Judgments should apply to like cases and not be
  case-specific or subjective
• If it applies to me now, it should apply to
  anyone else in a similar position.

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Moral Relativism

• Ethical values are relative to time, place and
  culture
• Moral beliefs are subjective and arbitrary
• Its all a matter of personal opinion
• Decisions shift easily

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Moral Absolutism

• Ethical values completely objective
• Unchangeable, universal, no exceptions
• Comparatively inflexible
• Neither position tenable.

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Objectivity

• Codes of ethics require objectivity, which means
  that there are principles and values outside of
  the individual that the members of the community
  share and that individuals will be measured
  against.

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Objectivity

• Thinking reasonably is thinking morally.
• Samuel Johnson

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Reasonable Person -- Peer

• What would the reasonable peer do in the
  circumstances?
• Reasonable person mature, sane, sober,
  well-informed, well-intentioned, open-minded,
  calm, detached but empathetic
• Reasonable peer add expertise.

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Moral Decisions

• Reasons explain a decision
• Reason Reason Decision
• Explanation System of reasons

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A Moral Reason

• Is general, not particular or contingent
• reason, not instinct or external authority
• not selfishness
• moral value, not economic, legal, social value

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Moral Explanation

• At least one of the reasons justifying a decision
  is a moral reason.
• This identifies, but does not evaluate a moral
  explanation.

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Dilemma

• Explanation 1
• Reason Reason ? Decision 1
• Explanation 2
• Reason Reason ?? Decision 2
• May or may not be a MORAL dilemma

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Non-Moral Dilemma

• 1. I should work late and finish the work I
  promised Id finish.
• 2. I should leave and go to a party because I
  like parties and want to enjoy myself.
• 1. universalizable, non-selfish, moral value
  (integrity, responsibility, promises)
• 2. non-moral reasons and decision.

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Moral Dilemma

• Moral Explanation 1
• Moral reason reason Decision 1
• Moral Explanation 2
• Moral reason reason Decision 2

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Resolution of Dilemmas

• Some dilemmas are resolved because they are not
  moral dilemmas.
• Some MORAL dilemmas can be resolved through a
  creative third alternative that satisfies both
  moral outcomes.
• Or, possible to sequentially act on each one.
• Or, evaluation will show which is strongest moral
  explanation and decision.

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Evaluate Moral Reasons

• STRONG
• relevant to decision
• concern with person(s) most affected by decision
• focussed on values of central importance

• WEAK
• tends to be irrelevant
• not concerned with person(s) most affected by
  decision
• emphasizes peripheral values

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Evaluate Moral Explanations

• STRONG
• use several perspectives (consequences, motives,
  rights, virtues, etc.)
• considers all persons
• many values

• WEAK
• narrow focus
• selective concern
• fewer values

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• Ethical Theories

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A Moral Theory

• Is a broad perspective which
• helps us decide which element of a moral problem
  is most important (e.g. consequences, rights,
  goods, virtues, etc.)
• helps us resolve conflicts between rules and
  between values.

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How We Come by Moral Theories

• Family
• Religion
• Culture
• Experience and reflection
• Education

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Moral Action Theories -- Doing

• consequences for community
• rights of individuals
• duties of individuals
• What correct course of action should I take?

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Moral Status Theories - Being

• Virtue, character
• Care, relationships
• Narrative, history and plans
• What kind of person should I be?

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Human Goods

• Life, health
• Knowledge
• Play
• Art
• Friendship
• Self-evidently good

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Human Goods

• Human life considered to be fundamental good,
  pre-conditional good
• Human life is not measurable, life is priceless
• Leads to dilemmas in the workplace

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Consequentialism

• The greatest good for the greatest number
• an act is right only if it tends to result in the
  greatest net good
• all acts are potentially permissible depends on
  consequences
• all persons count equally
• difficult to determine which consequences, what
  probability, what weight?
• May sacrifice individuals for greater good

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Consequentialism

• Utilitarianism is major consequentialist theory
• Not the only one
• May aim for human goods as a matter of duty,
  without a strict utilitarian calculation

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Rights-Based Theories

• Right justified claim on someone
• Right-holder may or may not claim right
• Which rights?
• Which rights more fundamental? Or pressing?
• An act is morally right if it respects and
  upholds rights
• Respects individuals, bearers of rights
• Good of community may be sacrificed for right of
  individual

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Duty-Based Theories

• Duty obligation, responsibility
• Considers motive or intention of decision-maker,
  plus nature of act, rights, consequences
• Good motive, means are acceptable, nature of act
  is good
• Consequences are of secondary consideration
• Recognizes complexity
• Value of individual is important
• May sacrifice community good for the sake of
  individual duty

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Kantianism

• Often viewed as a duty-based theory
• But rights emerge from duty to treat others with
  respect
• X has a duty to Y
• Y has a right that X must respect
• E.g. right to know and duty to tell

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Kantianism

• Deontological prior to action
• Decide if an act is right or wrong without
  looking at consequences
• Motivated by reason alone
• Universal moral imperatives
• Reason tells us that something is always right
  all can follow without contradiction

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Kantianism

• Duty to
• Always tell the truth
• Always avoid taking an innocent life
• Always treat others as ends in themselves and
  never as means solely Basis of respect for
  persons

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Virtue-Based Theories

• Act for the sake of virtue, or as a virtuous
  person would
• A virtue is a good character trait or disposition
• Tendency to act in a way that promotes human good
  or human flourishing
• Vice is a bad character trait
• More people affected by virtue than fewer
• More virtues expressed than fewer
• BUT, some virtues may be more important than
  others
• Whole person considered, not isolated acts
• Virtues may be culturally specific

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Virtues

• Examples
• Benevolence
• Justice
• Loyalty
• Friendliness
• Courage
• Honesty
• Integrity

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• Moral Reasoning
• Part 2

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Using Moral Theories

• Not what is decided, but HOW it is decided
• Theories identify values and interpret values
• A persons moral theory explains why they hold
  the values they do

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Professional Ethics

• Professionals work involves decision-making
• Ones own decisions, decisions of others
• Relational component to professional work
• Must understand reasons and decisions of others
• Must make own decisions in context of others
  decisions

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Moral Framework

• Provide a Moral Explanation by
• Appeal to a Rule (rightness, wrongness)
• Using a Theory (perspective)
• Applying a Value
• in order to make a Decision

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Moral Framework

• Analysis decision is already made
• Decision-making decision still to come
• Analysis ?
• Decision?Rule?Theory?Value
• Decision-making ?

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• Professional
• Values and Virtues

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Common Professional Values

• Integrity
• Honesty
• Promise keeping
• Loyalty
• Competence

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Common Professional Values

• Respect for persons
• Justice
• Compassion
• Confidentiality

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Comparison

• Medicine and law services relate primarily to
  persons
• Engineering and other science based professions
  services relate primarily to things
• OHS professional services relate to both more
  complex

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Comparison

• Medicine and law solo practice or partnership
• Engineering employee in organization
• OHS professional Consultant, employee, official
• -- Wider issues of responsibility
• -- Relations, context, conflicts, values not
  always the same

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Integrity

• Most common value in professional codes
• Keystone value
• Consistent commitment to moral commitments
• Structural integrity our moral character is
  the same, whole, integrated
• Cant commit to conflicting standards and have
  integrity

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Integrity and Honesty

• Related values
• Honest people have integrity
• To be true to a system of values, one must be
  honest
• Integrity requires being committed to honesty
• Honesty is a way of valuing integrity

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Problem

• Brilliant, first class OHS professional but he
  suggested a scheme many years ago we would
  advise clients only solution to a certain
  regulation was purchase of a very expensive
  storage tank for which we and our third partner
  (unknown to client) would have sole vending
  rights

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Integrity and Honesty

• Rules
• admit errors
• refrain from false/misleading
  pretences competency
• advise clients truthfully
• dont fool with the numbers
• dont steal others work -- plagiarism

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Problem

• A few years ago, heard that Tony, a former
  student was claiming that he was a professor in
  OHS at our university in his consulting adverts.
• Investigated His flyer said engaged with
  instruction at Ryerson in OHS for 4 years .. .
  Verbally interpreted as teaching.

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Problem

• We like to order more copies of your training
  manual
• Never heard of the company not a client.
• How did you get original training manuals?
• Oh, Mr X used them when he did training for us
  last year.

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Integrity and Promise Keeping

• Lack of integrity/honesty say X, mean Y
• Integrity follow through on promises
• Be careful about promises as may jeopardize
  integrity
• OHS consultant promise more than one can deliver?

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Problem

• Bait and Switch
• Albert Einstein does the pitch but Gomer Pyle
  shows up to do the OHS work .

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Problem

• Consultant promises to
• Get you to world class safety in 3 months
• Get your accidents to zero
• Ensure compliance
• Or head office wants you, the employee, to agree
  to the above.

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Integrity and Loyalty/Dependability

• Avoid actions that degrade integrity of
  profession loyalty to profession
• Be loyal to professions goals
• If committed to profession, be committed to
  professions goals
• Dependability is a display of loyalty
• Loyalty to employers goals

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Disloyalty to Professions Goals

• OHS professional
• Advocates high risk behaviour?
• Chooses incompatible values to promote?
• Displays risky behaviour in personal life?

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Problem

• Member of a professional OHS group, certified by
  that group, set up his own designation and
  offered short courses for for people to obtain
  the designation. In his advertising, he said the
  new designation was just as good as the
  original, only half as expensive and 1/10 the
  time.

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Conflicts Involving Integrity

• Commitment to our commitments
• What if 2 or more commitments in conflict?
• Creatively find alternatives where not at odds
• Often values not in true conflict, but
  interpretation of values
• May be a greater commitment to some values than
  others compromise necessary in world of scarce
  resources

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Problem

• Protect life, environment, and property.
• Do not compromise.
• Possible?
• Are the values of equal priority when commitments
  come into conflict?

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Whistleblowing

• Disclosure of wrong-doing
• Conflict protection of life versus loyalty
• Honesty versus loyalty
• Honesty versus promise keeping

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Problem

• Your report shows areas of high risk,
  non-compliance, errors etc.
• Your superior or client rewrites the report,
  eliminating your data and conclusions, or buries
  the report.
• Duty to warn in conflict with .

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Whistleblowing

• Explore all options to avoid conflict
• Creativity and clarification often reduce
  conflict
• Compromise between values often possible
• Distinguish between internal versus public
  whistleblowing

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Whistleblowing

• Some cases of public whistleblowing excessive and
  involve motives of spite, revenge,
  self-justification
• Best companies have addressed whistleblowing and
  protect it provide internal mechanisms
• Hard cases requiring self-sacrifice actually
  rare, involve high risk

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Competency

• Part of the meaning of professional is to
  possess special, uncommon knowledge and skills.
• Dont have to be best in profession, just above
  threshold.
• Redundant to put in Codes of Ethics?,
• as incompetent person should not have been
  granted status, or should have been weeded out?

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Competency Duty to Maintain

• Far more important is a duty to keep up, to
  maintain competence.
• As technology and knowledge improve, the bar of
  professional practice is raised.
• Standing still results in eventual incompetence.

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Problem

• A few years ago, a well known member of the
  profession stated publicly that a failure to
  adopt behavior-based safety was professional
  malpractice (hence, unethical).
• Agree?

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Problem

• Insofar as BBS is behavioral psychology, we
  would be missing out on cognitive psychology,
  developmental psychology, evolutionary
  psychology, etc. etc.

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Solution

• Professional groups should be leery of declaring
  that certain theories and techniques are true
  or established.
• Better approach is the PDC approach where
  competing and novel ideas are not barred.
  Gradual, contingent acceptance is the pathway.

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Areas of Competence

• Extremely important in a profession
• where people come from a wide variety of
  disciplines
• there are many areas of specialization, and
• there are other professions adjacent

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Problems

1. You are asked to provide expert evidence in an
   area that you are not truly an expert.
2. Head office wants all locations to institute a
   certain safety technique about which you know
   little.
3. You observe a colleague offering services in
   areas you know he or she has little competence.

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Respect for Persons

• All persons are due basic respect and a dignity
  which is to be respected
• Kant treat every person as as end, and not as a
  means solely
• Other people are not merely a method for our own
  goals others have their own goals
• Others may be used with informed consent
  contracts are moral

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Respect for Persons

• Distributive justice - distributive criterion for
  basic respect and dignity is personhood
• Respect on a continuum - desert beyond the basic
  minimum
• Respect for certain aspects of others integrity,
  wisdom, honesty, skill, experience
• Basis of respect for professional peers

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Respect for Persons

• Professional - show basic respect for every
  person, even if not felt
• Not hypocrisy
• Many professional codes refer to a right to
  respectful care on part of client/patient
• Confidentiality, privacy, autonomy, choice,
  informed consent, self-development, empowerment

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Problem

• OHS professional transferred to companys gold
  mine in South Africa. A large portion of miners
  were HIV positive, and life expectancy averaged 2
  years. Companys unstated position that spending
  on safety uneconomical due to short life span of
  workers? Solution?

107
Justice

• Justice as fairness
• Involves balancing, weighing and conforming
  to a standard
• Moral psychology people have a sense of
  justice
• Four forms of justice Commutative, distributive,
  retributive and procedural

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Commutative Justice

• Unfair to leave a harm uncorrected.
• X does harm to Y. Take from X to compensate Y so
  as to address the imbalance. Basis of law of
  torts.
• Fairness lies in putting people back in the
  position they would have been in had the harm not
  been done

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Distributive Justice

• Fairness in distributions
• Distribute X according to pre-agreed criterion Y
  (need, ability to pay, merit, status, personhood)
• We distribute DVD players on the basis of ability
  to pay, university degrees on the basis of merit,
  and human rights on the basis of personhood

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Retributive Justice

• Balance severity of punishment with severity of
  harm for which punishment imposed
• Severe punishment for severe wrongs, light for
  slight
• Workplace discipline should be fair in such a
  balanced fashion.

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Procedural Justice

• Fairness in decision-making about others
  interests
• Unbiased decision-maker
• Hear both sides
• Mutual disclosure, notice
• Treat both sides equally
• Balance between the parties

112
Justice

• Treat like cases alike
• Justice ? equality, Justice equity
• Equal and unequal treatment could both be fair
• Rewarding and punishing can both be fair
• Not always concerned with legal version(s) of
  justice

113
Justice in the Workplace

• Fair compensation for services
• Equal treatment in process
• Unfair competitive practices
• Appropriate (fair) discipline
• Hearing both sides in a dispute
• No bias re grounds of discrimination

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Professional Codes Justice

• Accountability -- punish professionals who
  violate standards
• Duty to report colleagues wrong-doing for
  retributive justice to be carried out
• Fairness warning, reprimand, suspension,
  expulsion from group

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Professional Codes Justice

• Fairness in distribution of professional services
  -- no discrimination
• More than one form of justice can be in play at
  same time

116
Compassion

• A professional is compassionate
• No relational sensitivity no professional
  life
• Compassion is a feeling
• No obligation to feel compassion, but an
  obligation to act compassionately
• Some believe professional is dispassionate

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Compassion

• Concern for others
• Strongly relational employer-employee,
  colleague-colleague, professional-client
• Imagine (if you cant ask) what it would be like
  in the others shoes
• Not knowing better, but knowing as

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Compassion

• Two rules
• Alleviate suffering
• Act in other persons actual (to them) best
  interest

119
Confidentiality

• Confidentiality regarding
• Whose interests
• Which interests

120
Confidentiality

• Confidential information of
• Worker
• Employer
• Colleague
• Competitor

121
Confidentiality

• Medical information
• CBI confidential business information
• Legal rules exist in many jurisdictions for both.

122
Problem

• Youve won the contract but how about including
  these features of your competitors work from
  his proposal -- into your services. We insist
• Should you? Aiding in a breach of
  confidentiality by the client?

123
Problem

• You signed a confidentiality agreement when
  consulting for a world class company - X. During
  the contract you learn many highly effective
  techniques. Later you are asked to give a talk
  at a PD conference on Xs world class safety
  techniques.

124
Problem

• If clear contractual language, not an ethical
  issue but a legal one.
• Yet, contractual non-confidentiality clauses do
  not typically capture experience.
• Not simple, outside of legal issue, as failure to
  share knowledge a breach of a professional
  standard. Lives may be saved with broader use of
  technique.

125
Problem

• You signed a confidentiality agreement, and began
  contract. Discovered
• An issue of high risk, the company ignoring or
• An issue of high risk, the company actively
  covering up, lying or
• An issue of high risk, the company knows its in
  clear legal non-compliance.

126
Conflicts

• Human life versus property
• e.g. Right to know versus trade secrets
• Human life versus environment
• e.g. Take time to ensure PPE of response crew
  versus speed in preventing chemical reaching
  natural environment

127
Conflict of Interest

• Usually refers to conflict between professional
  duties and personal interests
• Can also refer to conflict between professional
  duties/values and other values

128
Objective Decision-making

• Often expressed in Codes of Ethics
• Opposite of subjectivity
• Does the decision and the reasoning behind it
  hold up to scrutiny by the reasonable peer?
• No bias, truthfulness, no conflict of interest

129
Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)

• Commonly used to guide action
• Related to risk benefit analysis
• 1. What are alternatives?
• 2. Identify costs and benefits of each
• 3. Quantify
• 4. Calculate net gain of each
• 5. Choose one with greatest net gain

130
Criticism of CBA

• 1. Not all costs/benefits identified
• 2. Correct weight not given
• 3. Action may be greatest net gain but morally
  impermissible from another moral perspective
• 4. Appears scientific or value free but
  not
• 5. Merely a utilitarian technique

131
Environmental Protection

• 1. Protect human interest in the environment,
  versus
• 2. Protect the environment for its own sake
• Environmental ethics is problematic
• -- rights for non-moral creatures?
• -- universalizability of principles?

132
Protection of Property

• Often denigrated as a value
• Compares poorly with human life
• Yet, pre-condition to many aspects of human
  flourishing
• Implicit in organizational values of commercial
  enterprises
• An issue in many dilemmas and cannot be ignored

133
Relations with Colleagues

• Distinguish between duties to profession as an
  institution and duties to professional colleagues
• Dont bring profession into disrepute
• Treat colleagues in a professional manner

134
Relations with Colleagues

• Co-operative
• Respect
• Egalitarian
• Supportive and helpful
• Openness
• No blatant crude competition
• Intra-professional recognition based on merit
• Maintenance of discipline

135

• Professional
• Codes of Ethics

136
Code of Ethics

• Clarifies values and rules
• Facilitates group cohesion
• Instills necessary public confidence
• Used as framework for discipline

137
Code of Ethics -- The Audience

• 1. Members of profession
• 2. Clients, employers
• 3. Agencies and regulators
• 4. Public at large
• 5. Professional competitors

138
Code of Ethics -- Positive

• 1. Inspirational?
• 2. Educational?
• 3. Enforcement, self-policing
• 4. Resolve moral dilemmas?
• 5. Alert audience of expected standard of
  performance

139
Code of Ethics -- Negative?

• 1. Done to polish public image?
• 2. Protects professional monopoly?
• 3. Status symbol of emerging profession?
• 4. Can instill complacency (we have a code of
  ethics, therefore we are ethical)
• 5. Cannot create an ethics
• 6. Cannot truly codify ethics
• 7. Of marginal ability to resolve ethical
  dilemmas without collateral education

140
Code of Ethics

• Examine each statement in Code
• Where do you see the professional values we have
  been reviewing?
• Do we agree they need unpacking and further
  study to see what they really mean in
  application?
• Do we agree that a Code of Ethics is good, but
  not sufficient?

141
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• Duty to serve and protect people, property and
  environment.
• Exercise duty with integrity, honor and dignity.

142
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• Principles
• 1. Protect people, property and the environment
  through the application of state-of-the-art
  knowledge.

143
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• Principles
• 2. Serve the public, employees, employers,
  clients and the Society with fidelity, honesty
  and impartiality.

144
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• Principles
• Achieve and maintain competency in the practice
  of the profession.
• Avoid conflicts of interest and compromise of
  professional conduct.
• Maintain confidentiality of privileged
  information.

145
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• I shall
• 1.Inform the public, employers, employees,
  clients and appropriate authorities when
  professional judgment indicates that there is an
  unacceptable level of risk.

146
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• I shall
• Improve knowledge and skills through training,
  education and networking.
• Perform professional services only in the area of
  competence.

147
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• I shall
• Issue public statements in a truthful manner, and
  only within the parameters of authority granted.

148
ASSE Code of Professional Conduct

• I shall
• Serve as an agent and trustee, avoiding any
  appearance of conflict of interest.
• Assure equal opportunity to all.

149
BCSP Code of Ethics

• Certificants shall, in their professional safety
  activities, sustain and advance the integrity,
  honor, and prestige of the safety profession by
  adherence to these standards.

150
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 1. Hold paramount the safety and health of
  people, the protection of the environment and
  protection of property in the performance of
  professional duties and exercise their obligation
  to advise employers, clients, employees, the
  public, and appropriate authorities of danger and
  unacceptable risks to people, the environment, or
  property.

151
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 2. Be honest, fair, and impartial act with
  responsibility and integrity. Adhere to high
  standards of ethical conduct with balanced care
  for the interests of the public, employers,
  clients, employees, colleagues and the
  profession. Avoid all conduct or practice which
  is likely to discredit the profession or deceive
  the public.

152
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 3. Issue public statements only in an objective
  and truthful manner and only when founded upon
  knowledge of the facts and competence in the
  subject matter.

153
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 4. Undertake assignments only when qualified by
  education or experience in the specific technical
  fields involved. Accept responsibility for their
  continued professional development by acquiring
  and maintaining competence through continuing
  education, experience and professional training.

154
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 5. Avoid deceptive acts which falsify or
  misrepresent their academic or professional
  qualifications. Not misrepresent or exaggerate
  their degree of responsibility in or for the
  subject matter of prior assignments.

155
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 5. Continued
• Presentations incident to the solicitation of
  employment shall not misrepresent pertinent facts
  concerning employers, employees, associates, or
  past accomplishments with the intent and purpose
  of enhancing their qualifications and their work.

156
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 6. Conduct their professional relations by the
  highest standards of integrity and avoid
  compromise of their professional judgment by
  conflicts of interest.

157
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 7. Act in a manner free of bias with regard to
  religion, ethnicity, gender, age, national
  origin, disability, marital status, or sexual
  orientation.

158
BCSP Code of Ethics -- Standards

• 8. Seek opportunities to be of constructive
  service in civic affairs and work for the
  advancement of the safety, health and well-being
  of their community and their profession by
  sharing their knowledge and skills.

159
Summary

• Examination of professional ethics is important
  for the profession as an institution, and for
  individual professionals
• Solving problems can be very difficult
  sometimes
• Better ethical decision-making can come from
  education and practice
• Education is needed to supplement Code of Ethics

160

• For an electronic copy of this presentation,
  please email me at
• strahlen_at_sympatico.ca
• And put on subject line ethics talk