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1 – 10 of over 127000Examines the requirements for a code of professional conduct. Outlines the content and operation of the Library Association’s current code of professional conduct. Identifies some…
Abstract
Examines the requirements for a code of professional conduct. Outlines the content and operation of the Library Association’s current code of professional conduct. Identifies some problems incurred in operating a code of professional conduct, together with some of the benefits of operating within the framework of such a code. Includes some thoughts on the future of a code of professional conduct for librarians.
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Christopher Amoah and Demetri Steyn
Complying with the code of conduct by professionals in the construction industry worldwide has become a significant issue over the years. This has led to projects' failure…
Abstract
Purpose
Complying with the code of conduct by professionals in the construction industry worldwide has become a significant issue over the years. This has led to projects' failure, leading to losses to both the client and contractors. The study's objective is to identify the challenges of construction professionals in complying with their code of conduct and preventing corrupt practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative approach was used to collect empirical data by sending questionnaires to 56 construction professionals in South Africa. Data gathered were analysed through Excel statistical tool. Mean values were calculated for the quantitative data, whilst thematic content analyses were used to generate frequencies and percentages for qualitative data.
Findings
The findings indicate that construction professionals experience many unethical issues in their work duties such as inflated tender prices, overpricing the rates, tender-based kickbacks, bribes for projects, unethical methods of project execution, use of lower grade materials than specified, discrimination, among others. However, issues such as greediness, acceptance of corruption as usual practice, lack of knowledge about the code of conduct, the only way to get contracts, part of the process, and peer pressure create a challenge in complying with the code of conduct and preventing corrupt practices among construction professionals.
Practical implications
Construction professionals face many unethical and corrupt practices in their project management and execution, which they cannot overcome due to many factors. Therefore, there is the need to sensitise the professionals in the construction industry regarding their code of conduct as well as the danger associated with engaging in corrupt practices in their work and their implication on project performance.
Originality/value
The findings give an insight into the critical factors curtailing the construction professional's ability to comply with their code of conduct and be corrupt-free in their line of duty. Thus, professional associations can use the findings in guiding their members.
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Charles Gillon, Michael J. Ostwald and Hazel Easthope
The architectural profession faces an increasingly complex ethical landscape. In recent decades, the ethical foundations for architecture – formally defined in professional codes…
Abstract
Purpose
The architectural profession faces an increasingly complex ethical landscape. In recent decades, the ethical foundations for architecture – formally defined in professional codes of conduct and reflected in regulatory frameworks – have expanded to incorporate imperatives derived from environmental and social responsibilities. The present research examines how these expanding ethical expectations are reflected in, and supported by, recent research about architectural ethics.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis is based on a systematic review of recent research (2002–2023) focussing on ethical values and associated behaviours in the architectural profession. The review identifies 37 research articles (from a starting set of 2,483 articles), which are analysed empirically and then qualitatively to draw out views around three types of ethical behaviour. The paper then discusses how these findings align thematically with the evolving ethical needs of architectural practitioners (as defined in the professional codes of ethics and conduct of the RIBA in the UK, AIA in Australia and the AIA in the USA).
Findings
While business ethics remains the focus of past research, there has been a rise in research about ethics and social and environmental factors. The content of professional codes reflects this shift, setting the conditions for architects to aspire to increased expectations of environmental and social responsibility.
Originality/value
This article undertakes the first systematic review of recent research about architectural ethics and its alignment with the content of contemporary professional codes. Organised thematically, recent research about ethical values and associated behaviours can offer guidance for the evolving ethical needs of architects.
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The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of ethical decision-making that applies to accountants and the accounting profession.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model of ethical decision-making that applies to accountants and the accounting profession.
Design/methodology/approach
This model is an integration of five factors that influence ethical decision-making by accountants: professional codes of conduct; philosophical orientation; religious orientation; culturally derived values; and moral maturity.
Findings
This model is a synthesis of previous identified factors that influence ethical decision-making and incorporates them into a model that is specific to professional accountants.
Research limitations/implications
The authors develop a set of propositions and explain how this model can be tested and its implications for both the accounting profession and the teaching of business ethics.
Originality/value
This model presents a new way of viewing ethical decision-making by accountants that is predicated on the importance of professional codes of conduct that influence both behaviour and decision-making. The external certification of professional accountants provides a layer of accountability not previously incorporated into ethical decision-making models.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of moral theory as a philosophical analytical framework for built environment organisations' ethical codes of practice. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of moral theory as a philosophical analytical framework for built environment organisations' ethical codes of practice. The identified moral theories under consideration are “deontology”, “consequentialism” and “virtue ethics”.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a case study to examine the use of moral theory to explain the ethical codes of practice of built environment professional organisations. The chosen organisation is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The approach for conducting the case study is through semi‐structured interviews with experienced RICS members which gather views on the application of moral theory to explain the RICS ethical principles.
Findings
The case study revealed that there are mixed views on the use of moral theory to explain the RICS code of practice. The general view is that deontology is the most suitable theory to explain the fact that the work or process has been undertaken correctly. On the other hand, there is also a view amongst senior professionals that virtue ethics is most appropriate as it addresses the importance of both the correct “result” and the correct “process”.
Research limitations/implications
The paper uses a case study approach to examine the ethical code of one built environment professional organisation. This research does not therefore claim empirical generalisation but instead provides illustrations on the use of moral theory to explain the code of practice of a built environment professional organisation. The paper is based on a series of interviews. The findings should be understood as the aggregated opinions of the interviewees.
Originality/value
The paper makes an original contribution to existing literature on the theoretical analysis of codes of practice for built environment professional organisations. It describes research which is the first to use moral theory as a framework for analysing rules of conduct of built environment professional organisations.
Charles Vee and CMartin Skitmore
Provides results of a small, but representative, questionnaire survey of typical project managers, architects and building contractors concerning their views and experiences on a…
Abstract
Provides results of a small, but representative, questionnaire survey of typical project managers, architects and building contractors concerning their views and experiences on a range of ethical issues surrounding construction industry activities. Most (90 per cent) subscribed to a professional code of ethics and many (45 per cent) had an ethical code of conduct in their employing organisations, with the majority (84 per cent) considering good ethical practice to be an important organisational goal. It was agreed by 93 per cent of the respondents that “business ethics” should be driven or governed by “personal ethics”, with 84 per cent of respondents stating that a balance of both the requirements of the client and the impact on the public should be maintained. No respondent was aware of any cases of employers attempting to force their employees to initiate, or participate in, unethical conduct. Despite this, all the respondents had witnessed or experienced some degree of unethical conduct, in the form of unfair conduct, negligence, conflict of interest, collusive tendering, fraud, confidentiality and propriety breach, bribery and violation of environmental ethics.
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The fight against money laundering has moved in a new and unforeseen direction. All‐crimes money laundering means what it says: the offence‐creating provisions of s. 93A of the…
Abstract
The fight against money laundering has moved in a new and unforeseen direction. All‐crimes money laundering means what it says: the offence‐creating provisions of s. 93A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 encompasses all crimes, including tax evasion. What is more, it is intended to criminalise the professional adviser who enters into arrangements or provides transactional advice to a client that facilitates the retention of the proceeds of crime, if the adviser suspects the client has been engaged in tax evasion.
Ying Han Fan, Gordon Woodbine and Wei Cheng
The purpose of this paper is to further extend research (Fan et al., 2012a) examining the attitudes of Chinese certified public accountants with respect to independence aspects of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to further extend research (Fan et al., 2012a) examining the attitudes of Chinese certified public accountants with respect to independence aspects of their professional codes of conduct and their influence on ethical judgement. These attitudes are compared with those of Australian public accountants Particular attention is given to refining a pre-existing instrument to determine measurement invariance.
Design/methodology/approach
A field survey of 81 Australian and 516 Chinese public accountants was conducted including the distribution of a questionnaire. Statistical analysis included confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance.
Findings
An analysis of data established the existence of a stable model for identifying the dimensions of independence of mind and independence in appearance within the context of the codes of conduct relevant to both cultures. Chinese accountants demonstrated significantly less concern about audit-client relationships affecting independence in appearance compared to their Australian counterparts. Interestingly, independence of mind was found to positively influence ethical judgement for both groups taken together, although Chinese accountants were the significant contributors to this model outcome.
Research limitations/implications
The relatively small sample of Australian accountants drawn from a limited population base could influence the quality of data analysis. This paper provides a further research direction for re-examining the relationship between Australian public accountants’ attitudes towards their code of professional ethics and their ethical judgements in a significantly larger sample.
Practical implications
This paper is particularly useful to the profession in that it will provide members with better insights into how accountants in different cultural settings view audit independence issues and their relationships with audit clients. Second, this study offers a scale for measuring attitudes towards codes of professional ethics for further cross-cultural studies.
Originality/value
An exploratory research exercise that indicates that accounting practitioners in divergent cultures demonstrate similar concerns about independence issues, although it is believed that guanxi is likely to explain why Chinese accountants are less concerned with independence of appearance issues. The research also presents a validated instrument for examining attitudes towards codes of ethics.
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C.N. LINDA FAN, M.H. CHRISTABEL HO and VINCENT NG
This paper proposes conducting extensive cross‐profession comparison regarding perceptions of various professionals towards professional ethics as the first step in professional…
Abstract
This paper proposes conducting extensive cross‐profession comparison regarding perceptions of various professionals towards professional ethics as the first step in professional ethics inquiry. The authors argue that concepts and perceptions of professional ethics result from the prolonged professional socialization process during both college/university and industry training. Differences in professional ethics conceptions both within and between professions can be ascribed to differences in training. For college/university training these differences may lie in varying professional course contents and arrangements, diverse educational professional development (CPD) courses offered by various professional institutions, codes of conduct drafted by professional institutions and corporations, personal work experience may account for these differences. However, this pluralist explanation of these differences is not the end of the inquiry, but rather explicitly points to the difficulty of resolving the conceptual array in professional ethics inquiry.
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Bernadia Linggar Yekti Nugraheni, Lorne Stewart Cummings and Alan Kilgore
This case study aims to investigate the role of actors in the implementation of fair value standards in an emerging country, Indonesia.
Abstract
Purpose
This case study aims to investigate the role of actors in the implementation of fair value standards in an emerging country, Indonesia.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses semi-structured interviews with important actors within the local accounting profession, standard setting and regulatory environment, to analyse fair value accounting implementation. This study also incorporates information from press releases and newspapers, to provide a more comprehensive picture of fair value implementation.
Findings
First, professionals undertake routine actions, cultivate interests and strategically navigate their environment during the process of fair value standard implementation. Second, the role of appraisers becomes more prominent during this process. Third, government involvement is significant in ensuring the successful implementation of global accounting standards.
Research limitations/implications
First, differing localised contexts, including communities and actors, may shape how an emerging country undertakes the diffusion and implementation of global standards, which in turn can also lead to institutional change. Second, government involvement is crucial in supporting the implementation of global accounting standards within emerging economies. Third, implementing market-based measurements within emerging economies characterised by a lack of an active and liquid market may present challenges.
Practical implications
Third, implementing market-based measurements within emerging economies characterised by a lack of an active and liquid market may present challenges.
Originality/value
This study applies the concept of Institutional Work within Institutional Theory to explain how fair value standards are implemented within a localised emerging economy characterised by unique actor roles and goal-directed action.
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