ASSIGNMENT 1 –( 1.

2)

Ethical decision-making is central to the practice of construction engineering and management. This
is no more evident than in the twenty-first century, when the construction industry must function in
very diverse organizational contexts. Whilst construction companies pursue projects in international
markets, many investors are buying or forming joint ventures with domestic companies. New and
varied professional attitudes have recently arrived in western markets such as the construction
companies are increasingly employing managers from developing nations to undertake commercial
and infrastructure engineering projects. In many developing countries the construction industry is
vulnerable to unethical behaviour or corruption – vulnerability in part because of differences in
culture and managerial systems across countries; and this diversity is manifest in the different
perspectives of professional ethics and professional practice. Importantly, professionals in
construction engineering must be aware of these differences; however current ethics education for
engineering professionals generally lacks global components. In this chapter, emphasis is placed
upon professional registration, including mandatory awareness of professional ethics, as an
imperative for the welfare of world citizens; discussion on the nature of the construction industry
and globalized trends emphasizes why ethics and professional education must be integrated within
civil and construction engineering and management curricula. Only then we can anticipate an
appropriate educational foundation for professional registration of the international engineer.

construction is divided into building (vertical) construction and infrastructure (horizontal or heavy)
construction. Building construction focuses on homes, schools, hospitals, sky scrapers and shopping
centers; while infrastructure construction industry builds highways, bridges, airports, harbors, dams,
pipelines, water treatment facilities, power plants etc. From a business and construction market
side, the major types of construction projects can be further sub-divided into commercial, industrial,
infrastructure, institutional and residential. Those who are in the construction industry may
undertake projects for both private and public interests. The industry also interacts with multiple
facets of government at the federal, state and local level. Constructed facilities are becoming
increasingly complex from both technical and managerial perspectives. A single construction project
may involve a wide diversity of professionals and skilled workers, including engineers, architects,
general contractors, multitudes of subcontractors who tend to specialize, numerous manufactures
and suppliers. For a construction project, it is normal to have several thousand, or tens of thousands
of activities which need to be carefully planned and coordinated and this involves managing quality,
costs, schedules, safety, resources, and more importantly, personnel and reputations. In most
instances, the construction process may go through numerous stages with many parties involved. A
new infrastructure construction project may have to pass various stages before construction: a
project concept approval, feasibility study, design and zoning approval, land purchasing, bid and
contract documents preparation, project procurement, building permits application, invitation of
bidders, attending pre-bid meetings, bid analysis, review of qualifications, insurance and contract
awards. During construction, the contractor or the owner’s contract administrator will manage the
project. Contractors, general and/or subcontractors, and the owner, government or private, or
independent third party who works for the owner, will conduct quality control and quality assurance
respectively. The construction or 10 Ethics for Construction Engineers and Managers in a Globalized
Market 145 project manager will call and preside over pre-construction meetings, weekly,
intermediate and final inspection meetings, propose or review change orders, prepare a quantity list
and payment certificate, manage cost, schedule, safety, quality, resources including materials,
equipment, and personnel. Post construction, the owner or contractor may be involved in
maintenance and operation, responsible for warranty repairs and rectification. The complexity of the
construction industry has made it a high risk, volatile business, such that only those companies of
proven competence, reliability and demonstrated integrity are likely to survive over time.
Construction projects are difficult to manage because each project is unique by nature, involving
many skills that are non-repetitive and do not lend themselves to assembly type production – and
they are dependent upon environmental and natural conditions which are often beyond the
contractor’s control.