Professional Ethics for the Construction Industry

Construction professionals have a range of demanding responsibilities; towards clients, their companies, and to abide by government regulations. It is understandable that busy practitioners could forget their ethical responsibilities in the face of these pressures, but maintaining a rigorous ethical standard is crucial to long-term success.

Written to meet the ACCE’s requirements for all construction students, this textbook draws on the authors’ industry experience, as well as detailed case studies to introduce and explore ethics in the construction industry. Within each chapter, the authors present the key ethical issues in important areas of construction management such as:

• Contracts and bidding
• Documentation
• Codes and Compliance
• Discrimination and Harassment
• Client Relations

Lists of further reading and discussion questions will help readers at all levels to develop their understanding of this issue. Written as a resource to accompany students throughout their degrees, this is the ideal book to give students or practitioners the breadth and depth of understanding required to successfully negotiate the ethical challenges facing the construction organization of today.

Rebecca Mirsky is an Associate Professor with the Department of Construction Management at Boise State University. She is a registered professional environmental engineer and LEED Accredited Professional with over 20 years of experience in the construction industry, having worked for both Morrison Knudsen and the Bechtel corporations in various roles including estimator, project cost engineer, field engineer and project engineer. She is also an active member of the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), and participates regularly on accreditation visiting teams.

John Schaufelberger is the Dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, where he has taught since 1994. A licensed professional engineer, he served thirty years as an officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers prior to joining the University of Washington faculty. He managed major public works construction projects in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, as well as at many locations throughout the United States. He is a member of the National Academy of Construction, and author of several books on Construction Management. He also serves as chair of the ACCE Accreditation Committee.