2 Essential Aspects of

Team work in

Engineering

1) C o l l e g i a l i t
 COLLEGIALITY
Central Elements of Collegiality are
• Respect
• Commitment
• Connectedness
• Co - operation
It is an amorphous concept referring
to an environment characterized by
Professionalism, a General Sense of
well being & a spirit of co – operation
 TECHNIQUES for ACHIEVING
COLLEGIALITY IN AN
ORGANIZATION
1) Development of Recognition
& Articulation of Shared
values
2) Establishing a sense of
Professionalism
3) Vision
4) Defining Expectations
6) Paying attention to Gender
& Diversity Issues
7) Score – keeping
8) Compensation
9) Trust
10) Practice Area Leadership

11) Selection Process

12) Helpfulness
13) Balance of Power

14) Partner Evaluation

15) Problem Partners

16) Business
We shall try to look
Development
into each of this aspect
 1) Development of Recognition
& Articulation of Shared
Values
 In many firms, one can identify
a handful of partners who are
central to the collegiality of
organization

 Attitudes & shared values

become important in maintaining
the desired environment
 Critical Questions asked are
• Does the firm have leaders that
represent the mode of
performance ?
• Firms value more than money ?
• Interested in Maximizing Profits &
not care about loyalty ?
• Ties are bound
Ultimately, these by
will economics
lead to
only ?
unstable & non - collegial
environment heading for Distrust &
 2) Establishing a Sense of
Professionalism
• Leadership of a Firm establishes a
sense of “Professionalism” in the
conduct of Business
• Good behavior reflecting Civility,
Courtesy, Respect, Fair Dealing,
Honesty etc establishes
professionalism
• Professionalism is an essential part
of Collegiality
 3) V I S I O N
• “Vision” or “Mission” is an
integral part of an
professional organization
• Vision is the result of “Agreed
Purpose” of an Institution /
Organization
• A firm with No Agreed purpose
can easily degenerate into
4) DEFINING EXPECTATIONS
• Disappointment at Unfulfilled
Expectations results in “Discord” in
an organization
• Expectations → Reasonable /
Unreasonable !
• Frequently, expectations are also
uncommunicated that makes it more
complex
• Unresolved Expectations Destroy
Collegiality
5) P A Y I N G ATTENTION

T O S Expectations
• Managing T R U C T U RisE a key

to a Collegial Environment

• Utilization of Permanent / Semi -

Permanent / V F / Contractual

Labours help in Maintaining

Collegiality
6) PAYING ATTENTION TO GENDER &
DIVERSITY ISSUES
• Collegiality can be enhanced /
diminished based on the attitude of
leadership towards the issues
related to “ G e n d e r & D i v e r s i
ty”
• In other words, Openness,
Commitment and Output of the
Partners / Employees shall be valued
 7) SCORE – KEEPING
• Definition / Determination of
yardstick for productivity is important to
“ Collegiality ”
• Firms, should stimulate External Efforts
to stimulate Business ( Marketing ) and
internal Efforts to sustain / meet the
demand
• A coherency in expected between these
2 efforts
• Productivity / Perfectibility depend on
• A discontent between the Marketing
Men & internal Execution Men can
lead to a poor performance of the
firm

• That is, “score keeping” practice

( relate to the performance in
terms of output ) should be clearly
articulated, understood, examined
periodically and open for discussion
8) COMPENSATION
• There are 2 distinct aspects that have an
impact on Collegiality
1. Profitability of the Firm !
2. How the Profits are shared ?
• Managements Role is not only to
maximize Profit but also to share in a
reasonable / acceptable manner among
partners / stakeholders et al
• Differences in Compensation among
Partners / Employees should be
reasonable and explainable
• Stakeholders should believe that
there has been a Thoughtful
Consideration of the issue of
compensation
• Lack of Fairness can destroy
collegiality and ultimately the Firm
“Claimant Mentality” shall be avoided
Seeking to extract as much as
possible from the organization –
“Claimant Mentality”
 9) TRUST
A successful firm needs the following
quality from the personal
• Hardworking
• Ethical
• Competent
• Honest
and most importantly “Trust” among
Employees / Partners
• It is equally important that firms identify
and deal accordingly with persons who
are not trustworthy
10) PRACTICE AREA
LEADERSHIP
• It is quite important for the
firms to understand their
area of Strength & Expertise
and plan & work accordingly

• This approach shall able to

 11) SELECTION PROCES
• Collegiality of anSindividual shall be a

criterion for selection

• Considerate to others,respect others,

Fair to subordinates,thoughtful,

caring,unselfish behaviour etc shall be

valued
• Difficult to imagine Collegial

organization with abusive, greedy,

 12) HELPFULNESS
• An expectation of Helpfulness from
the – Firm by the Employees is quite
important
• Mutual Understanding & helpfulness
enable better “ C o l l e g i a l i t y ” in
the organization
• Recognition of helpfulness can be in
the form of promotion, monetary etc
• Punishing behaviour may not be of
much use
13) BALANCE OF POWE
• Firms built on R
multi sources of
income perform better rather
than the one with Uni- source
• Balancing of Economic Power
within the firm also helpful
• Balance among Expert areas,
Experts, Multi – Offices etc
ensure better collegiality
14) PARTNER EVALUATIONS
• Critical Self analysis ( introspection
) done in a Constructive &
Positive Spirit helps
• Employee / Partner Evaluation also
helps
• Firms that neither have evaluations
nor open communication tend to
suffer ( not knowing what is going
wrong )
15) PROBLEM PARTNER
• Firm’s approachS to dealing with
problem partners is highly relevant to
its overall collegiality
• Firms ( that are unmerciful& result
oriented only ) send the message
to one & all that their value to the
firm depends on high performance
• Can produce significant Profits &
also stress
 Contd…
• Firms that are not quick to act can
benefit from loyalty but the business
may suffer
• Such firms may also be looked upon
as “Weak Ones”
• Expectation should be communicated
and Human Face shall be shown
simultaneously
• That is, over aggressiveness or
passive approach harms the collegiality
of the organization
16) BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
• This is an important

technique to maintain

collegiality

• Only a Flourishing Firm can

maintain Good “Collegiality”

2 nd
PART : LOYALTY
Agency Loyalty :

• Acting to fulfill one’s

contractual duties to an
employer

• It is a matter of actions
whatever its motives are
Identification Loyalty :
• Much to do with attitudes,
emotions, and a sense of
personal identity
• It implies to meet one’s moral
duties to a group willingly
with personal attachment &
affirmation
• People who detest their

Employers & Companies

• Who do their working

grudgingly are not loyal in the

sense even though they may

perform their duties properly and

therefore manifest “ Agency -

 COMPONENTS OF
IDENTIFICATION LOYALT
• Employee Y
should be treated
fairly

• Employers often need to do

well to cultivate Identification
Loyalty

• This type of Loyalty can be

• Absence of Identification
Loyalty need not be a moral defect
or source of guilt although it is
most preferred
• Companies seeing employees
as stakeholders have better
success in evoking Identification
Loyalty
 PROFESSIONALISM
& LOYALTY
3 Points on the Relationship between
Professional Responsibility &

Loyalty to Companies or Employers

1) Acting on Professional

Commitments to public can be

more effective way to serve a

company rather than mere

 Contd…

2) Loyalty to companies

should not be equated to

merely obeying one’s

immediate supervisor

3) Obligation to employer &

public is equally important

 PROFESSIONAL
RIGHTS
• In addition to
“Responsibilities” it confers “
R i g h t s ” also on Engineers

• Often the Rights &

Responsibilities overlap each
other
 Contd…
• Not all the rights have come
due to professional status
• Right to
Privacy
( Participate in activities of
ones choice outside of work )
• Reasonably object
company’s policies etc
Salaried Engineers have several
over lapping Types of Moral Rights
1) Human Rights ( Possessed by
Virtue of being people or Moral
Agents )
Ex :
• Fundamental Right to pursue
legitimate personal interests
• Right to make living etc
2) Professional Rights
- Possible by virtue of being
professional having special moral
responsibility
Ex :
• Basic right of professional conscience
• Right to refuse to engage in unethical
activity
• Right to express one’s professional
judgment including Dissent
• Right to warn the public of dangers
• Right to fair recognition and
3) Employee Rights : Rights that

apply or refer to the status ‘

Employees ’

Ex :

A) Contractual : Arising solely out

of Employee’s contract

• Right to receive salary of a

B) Non – Contractual : Existing even
if not formally reorganized in
Contract or Company Policy
• Right to Choose Outside
Activities
• Right to Privacy & Employer
Confidentiality
• Right to Due Process from
Employer
• Right to Non - Discrimination on
However, the most fundamental right to

an Engineer’s professional practice is

right of “ P r o f e s s i o n a l Consc

ience”
This involves the right to exercise

“Professional Judgm

e n t ” in discharging ones duties and

to exercise the judgment in an “ Ethical

Manner ”
 Contd…
• Right of Conscientious Refusal, to
refuse to engage in unethical
behaviour
Clear Example:
( Falsifying data, fudging on the safety
of a product etc., )
Lesser Clear Example :
Refusal to work on a defence project,
environmentally hazardous projects
etc.,
 ENGINEERS IN DEFENSE
Arguments for INDUSTRY
& Against
• Weapons are ultimately to kill people
• Defense is a legitimate function and
an honorable job
• Weapons are only to be sold to other
countries
• In the interest of the nation
Ultimately, it is important not to work
in any project that one deems
unethical even if leads to carrier
development or even if it is a
OCCUPATIONAL CRIME
“ O c c u p a t i oSn a l C r i m e s ”
are Illegal acts made Possible
through one’s Lawful Employment
Ex :
• Employee Crime
• White Collar Crime
• Embezzlement & Fraud
• Computer Theft
• Trade Secrets
1) EMPLOYEE CRIME
• Employees who nanage their own
business making use of their
employers resources
• Store Manager who steals items
from incoming shipments and sell
the good
• Trusted employees selling company
products illegally & pocketing the
proceeds
2) W H I T E COLLAR CRIME
• Takes place mostly at the
workplace
• Involves activities otherwise
related to legitimate occupations
Ex:
• Taking office supplies for Personal
Use
• Manipulation of Accounting
Records or Legal Documents for
3) EMBEZZLEMENT & FRAUD
• Committed by either commission or
omission

An act of commission involves lying or

making some form of material
misrepresentation
• Omission refers to any failure to
disclose a significant fact that the law
requires to be disclosed
4) C O M P U T E R THEFT
5) TRADE SECRETS
• T S are concerned with a
company’s own activities,
technologies and future plans
• List of suppliers, customers,
research results, computer
programs, marketing strategy etc all
constitute to T S
To put it simply, it is a misuse of
“ proprietary Information ”
WHISTLE BLOWING(WB
• An act by which ) an employee
informs public or higher
management about illegal /
unethical behaviour by an employer /
supervisor
• In case of Govt Employee, it can be a
disclosure of a Fraud / Wastage
• W.B straddles line between
“ Responsibilities & Rights ”
• In many cases, Engineers are
 TYPES OF WB
Internal
When an employee goes over the head
of immediate superior to report a
problem to a higher level of
management
or
bypassing all levels to go directly to
the CEO
However it is done, the W.B is kept
within the company
External
Occurs when an employee goes
outside and reports wrong doing to
Media or Law Enforcement Authorities
Either type is likely to be seen as an
act of disloyalty
First one is seen less serious from
corp point of view.
Both are serious because it leads to
distrust, disharmony, inability to work
together
 WHEN WB BE ATTEMPTE
Only when the following
D? 4 conditions
are met, WB is morally acceptable
1) Need : Clear and important harm
that can be avoided by WB
2) Proximity : Whistle Blower must
be in a very clear position to report
on the problem. First hand
knowledge is essential
3) Capability : He should have a
reasonable chance of success in
stopping the harmful activity
Otherwise No
4) Last Resort
WB is attempted when no one else
is more capable or proximate to
blow the whistle and if one feels
that all the lives of action have been
explored & shut off
IMPORTANT ASPECT
• A great deal of introspection

and reflection are required

before W B

• Motive should not be for

revenge upon fellow employee,

supervisor or company nor in

 PREVENTING WB
Since it is harmful for the image and
future prospects of the organization,
from the employers’ point of view
one should seek to minimize the
need for WB.
But to intimidate the employees who
are likely to blow whistle in the
future is ineffective & ethically
WAYS TO SOLVE WB
1. There must be a strong ethics
culture from highest to the lowest
2. Should be clear line of
communication to provide path for
employees to air their concerns
3. All employees must have
meaningful access to higher level
of management
4. Willingness on the part of