Comments on: #WednesdayWrite: Consider Your Code of Ethics

By: Faizal Zulkifli

Faizal Zulkifli — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 01:35:30 +0000

I am a Chemical Engineering student and I have just searched and found the code of ethics for my field at https://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics which is approved by the American Institute of Engineers. There are several things that I have learnt from it especially on how to conduct myself in a professional way for my future career. In terms of writing, it does not specifically talked about it but one of the ethics stated that all statements or information must be presented in a truthful and objective manner which means that extra attention needs to be paid into all sorts of future writing tasks such as reports in order to avoid any misinterpretation or misconduct of data.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 19:09:56 +0000

There are several different organizations for constructions professionals that have a Code of Ethics. One of the more prominent organizations in the field is Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) whose Code of Ethics can be found here: https://cmaanet.org/code-of-ethics

While the construction industry hasn’t had the best reputation in the past for being the most ethical, organizations and companies today are working to eliminate this stereotype. This is evident in the code of ethics that it has implemented. For example, there are two specific examples relating to writing and communication in the CMAA Code of Ethics. One is under II.) Obligations to the Client – Release of Information and one is under III.) Obligations to the Profession – Honesty. Both of these are crucial in the construction industry as there is a constant exchange of information and in order to protect yourself, your company and your client there must be a standard established when it comes to this information exchange.

A little less obvious are the codes that relate to integrity when representing your qualifications and availability. These mostly pertain to communication between a company and the public. It is imperative that a company is open and honest about these aspects of their company to ensure that they are able to continue working in the industry. A company that is caught being dishonest will almost inevitably fail. This is quite possibly the most important ethical consideration within the industry.

By: Carolina Martyn

Carolina Martyn — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 19:46:27 +0000

I’m also in computer engineering, and I agree that nothing in the code is surprising to me at all. Computer and Electrical Engineering are relatively new fields compared to some other fields, so while I don’t think any code of ethics is perfect, the IEEE Code of Ethics covers a lot of the issues faced today have electrical and computer engineers. I agree that writing would fall under communication, since it is one of the main ways ideas are exchanged in the industry, whether it be through papers, emails, or comments in a code.

By: Youngsu Kim

Youngsu Kim — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 18:31:17 +0000

I’m a computer engineering major so I looked at the IEEE code of ethics, but could not find any principles explicitly related to writing and communication. I assume that #9 “to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action” implicitly indicates that my writing or communication with others that might harm others, it should be avoided. That’s what I think it means in terms of writing and communication.

By: Cassie Bienert

Cassie Bienert — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 03:15:44 +0000

The medical profession subscribes to the American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics (https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/ama-code-medical-ethics). Within this code of ethics is a “Consent, Communication, and Decision Making” section that includes ethics of writing and communication. Written consent must be documents for all treatments and release of medical information. Of course, Patient Confidentiality must be conserved at all times. The written ethics stresses that the all information be presented to the patient in a clear manner, which makes sense because they must be able to comprehend the significance of treatments, diagnoses, etc. I was surprised the ethics didn’t explicitly say not to persuade or give your opinion when presenting the patient with treatment options. IT does say that information should be presented so that the patient can make an informed decisions, but I thought there should be some phrase that prevents doctors conveying their bias.

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 12:47:20 +0000

I am also Chemical Engineering, so I read through the AIChE code of ethics and then looked at both of your comments. I think that having a short code of ethics definitely helps to get more people to read through the whole thing. But I think a bigger benefit to the broad wording from AIChE is legally, their language is so broad that nearly any situation can be interpreted as falling under it. The issue with more specificity is that loopholes can arise, and the code might not stay current with new technology and associated issues.

One of the statement in the code says: “Formally advise their employers or clients (and consider further disclosure, if warranted) if they perceive that a consequence of their duties will adversely affect the present or future health or safety of their colleagues or the public.” But “formally advise” can mean almost anything, and I think communication breakdowns are likely to occur due to the broad language. Plus, there are no further steps to follow should the employer not care about the potential adverse effects, while the code says the employee should be loyal to both the employer and the public: what should they do in this situation?

https://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics

By: Mackenzie Knox

Mackenzie Knox — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:59:20 +0000

I too am a food scientist and referred to the IFT CFS code of ethics when researching for this post. You point all the basic of any code of ethics and the point of confidentiality in terms of food science. However, a point I found interesting that you did not bring up was the point “Report personal conduct that may violate this Code of Ethics to the International Food Science Certification Commission in a timely manner.” I found it quite interesting that they mention self-reporting violations. I think people are bound to mess up every once in a while but to come forward and admit it in order to correct the problem is something completely different. I think it is important that this code of ethics recognizes people are not perfect but have a way to compensate for that.

By: Rachel Cannon

Rachel Cannon — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:00:38 +0000

I’m also a civil engineer and I think the code of ethics for civil engineers has a lot of information about communicating through reports and statements because civil engineers work with the public more than other engineering professions. Therefore, a part of our code of ethics states that “Engineers shall be objective and truthful in professional reports, statements, or testimony. They shall include all relevant and pertinent information in such reports, statements, or testimony.” This relates to technical writing in the profession in a way that the public can understand and that gives them all information they need to know to make important decisions about matters relating to infrastructure and public health improvements.

By: Katherine Butler

Katherine Butler — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 20:28:02 +0000

A profession I am seriously considering entering, Public Relations, has a code of ethics listed here: https://www.prsa.org/ethics/code-of-ethics/.
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) code of ethics is pretty spot on for what I would’ve guessed and emphasize values important in professions that communicate with the public like honestly, fairness, and free flow of information (similar to journalism almost). However, there were a legal few points that I did not expect that were articulated heavily and in detail, such as conflict of interest, competition, disclosure of information, etc. (which now that I think about makes total sense).
Since I am also taking a basic introductory class in PR, I am still learning about the industry as a whole but feel that these values encompass what I would’ve thought. Overall, I am glad that PR has a code of ethics as strong as this one because sometimes the industry gets a bad rep for “skewing” information or misrepresenting and manipulating information.

By: Ben White

Ben White — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 20:04:58 +0000

I’m also a computer engineering student. that #5 on the website is very important. Being able to clearly communicate technological details to those of a non-technical field is very important. Right now, many people are scared of artificial intelligence. It is the job of anyone that follows the IEEE code of ethics to be able to explain the real implications of AI. Like you say above, providing real and honest feedback and criticism is very important in terms of scholarly publications but also the communication that can cause public outcry like with AI. While the code of ethics does not specifically mention writing, I think we can put writing under the umbrella of communication considering it is a major form of communications.