Ethical and legal responsibilities of being a professional in the construction

industry
Contents
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1...................................................................................................................................................4
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Ethics and professional ethics............................................................................................................5

2.2 Ethics of the Construction Industry....................................................................................................6

2.3 How Ethical standards are applied to project management and ascribing value..............................6

CHAPTER 3...................................................................................................................................................7
3.1 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................7

References...................................................................................................................................................8
 ABSTRACT
This report covers the moral obligations of professionals or individuals in the UK construction
industry. It starts out by introducing what it attempts to do, before going ahead to define the
concept of ethics, and how it relates to the construction industry. Next it emphasizes the
importance of and covers the operational principles of the industry as well as cites instances
where ethical standards were maintained by concerned bodies as regards price fixing and project
management. Finally, it concludes by giving a brief insight into what the future might hold for
ethics in the aforementioned construction industry.
 CHAPTER 1
Introduction
This report will define and examine the nature of the ethical responsibilities of the UK’s
construction professionals. It will define key terms such as ethics and professional ethics. Also,
it will highlight the ethical obligations of professionals in construction in areas of project
management and ascribing value to a job.

1
 CHAPTER 2
2.1 Ethics and professional ethics.
Ethics can generally be defined as the system of moral guidelines by which all human actions
may be described to be right or wrong or good or bad. Delbridge et al (2000) defines ethics as
moral principles as of an individual.

Professions are generally connected with the provision of a service. Consequently, a profession
can be defined as a body of people that are gathered to benefit societal interests in a particular
area of specialization. (Appelbaum and Lawton, 1990, Bowen, P., Pearl, R., and Akintoye, A.,
2007). Those in a particular profession are regarded as professionals in that area.

Ethics are binding on professionals too. They are not exempt from such moral obligations,
responsibilities and duties that hold on normal people (Vee, C. and Skidmore. M., 2003). Instead
they are bound by a particular set of principles, or guidelines that are expected of those in a
particular profession. McDowell (1991) termed this as professional ethics.

Various professions are known to have differing ethical reputations. For instance, surveys reveal
that architects have ethical superiority over lawyers. This is easily explained by the fact that
lawyers are expected to put client obligations first over their public obligations (Vee, C. and
Skidmore. M., 2003). The reverse is the case for architects.

Figure 2.1 Ethical Reputation of various professions.

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2.2 Ethics of the Construction Industry
The ethical code operating in the construction industry is based on the notion that “the common
good is right” as long as the situation is not a legal one (Nawaz, T. and Ikram, A., 2013). This
notion holds on the different professionals in the construction industry; Architects, project
managers and contractors.

The construction industry has an ethical code based on the following concepts

 Honesty

 Fairness

 Fair reward

 Reliability

 Integrity

 Objectivity

 Accountability

The above principles apply to all professionals in the industry regardless of position, affiliation
or qualification.

2.3 How Ethical standards are applied to project management and ascribing value.
Ethical standards are high in the construction industry. Akinrata and Ogungbile (2018)
emphasizes that it is very critical that project managers and contractors. go about their work in an
ethical manner.

For instance, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK, prosecuted contractors who had fixed
prices in the West Midlands back in 2004. This resulted in a fine of almost 300,000 pounds.
(Greenhalgh, B 1997).

The European Commission has also been busy unearthing cartels and disrupting unethical
behaviors. (Ferguson, WC 1994)

3
 CHAPTER 3
3.1 Conclusion
Past events support the idea that any advancement in the ethical standards of the UK construction
industry depends majorly on the proper implementation and monitoring of ethical guidelines of
both the individual and the organizational bodies present in the industry. While there are already
organizations on ground such as the OFT, there is a need for more baseline monitoring that
closely marks the individuals present in the industry. Without this, there will not be
advancement.

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 REFERENCES
Appelbaum, D and Lawton, S.V. (1990), Ethics and the Professions, Prentice-Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, NJ.

Bowen, P., Pearl, R., and Akintoye, A. (2007) “Professional ethics in the South African
construction industry.” Building Research and Information, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 189–205.

Delbridge, A et al. (Eds) (2000). Macquarie Dictionary, Macquarie Point.

Ebunoluwa B. Akinrata and Adedayo J. Ogungbile (2018) Appraisal of Measures in Enhancing

Professionalism and Ethical Conducts among Quantity Surveyors in Nigerian Construction
Industry.

Ferguson, WC (1994) Building a solid ethical foundation in business, The Executive Speaker,
9(1), Aug-Sep, 33-9

Greenhalgh, B (1997) Practice Management for Land, Construction and Property Professionals,
Chapman and Hall, New York

McDowell, B. (1991), Ethical Conduct and the Professional’s Dilemma, Quorum Books, New
York, NY.

Nawaz, T. and Ikram, A. (2013) Unethical Practices in Pakistani Construction Industry European
Journal of Business and Management, vol. 5, no. 4, pp 2-4.

Vee, C. and Skidmore. M. (2003) Professional ethics in the construction industry. Engineering,
Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 117- 127,

Walker, P.J. (1989), “Ethical Challenges in Porject Management”, degree dissertation,

Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.