Mentoring New Water Resources Professionals on Engineering Ethics

Abstract

Engineers maintaining high level of ethical standards is important to society and to the respective profession. We serve as the technical experts on behalf of society and with that role comes significant responsibilities. There are many causes for engineers to make unethical decisions, i.e., placing profit above protection of the public. Such reasons, for example, overbooked schedules, the unethical conduct of business associates, doing the “right thing” would cause a lot of trouble, and the pursuit of fame and fortune above all, etc. There are some common ethical dilemmas that new professionals may face: the acceptance of gifts from vendors or contractors, the billing of labor hours to unrelated project, and the inadequate reviewing of design work. New professions may lack the experience and abilities to successfully handle ethical dilemmas early in their careers. Mentoring new professionals, related to ethical standards may have a long-lasting effect on individuals who are new in the engineering profession. Experienced engineers bring vast knowledge in discussions on how to resolve ethical dilemmas. A key aspect to being a successful mentor is to thoroughly understand the Code of Ethics. If an engineer’s decision are highly supported by the Code of Ethics then it is much more likely that his(her) conduct will be more appropriate and acceptable.