The Ethical Engineer

8. Special Issues in Consulting Engineering

8 Special Issues in Consulting Engineering Consulting engineers face special ethical problems. An engineer who works for Boeing or Exxon does not have to compete for clients or advertise his services. Most of the time, his company has control over most aspects of the project on which he is working, and so he must answer primarily to one employer. Consulting engineers, however, usually collaborate with other firms, companies, or agencies . For a particular project, the X corporation may employ firm Y, which in tum subcontracts work to Z consultants, which employs mechanical engineer Jones. Jones must address the needs of X, Y, and Z, whose interests may conflict. This chapter helps you untangle some of the knotty problems that confront consulting engineers. Advertising Before 1976, many professional codes prohibited advertising . The Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that such blanket bans on professional advertising were unconstitutional Copyrighted Material 221 222 CHAPTER EIGHT because they restrained trade. As a result, professional societies no longer ban advertising. Instead, they seek to establish guidelines for improper forms of advertising. These fall into two categories: advertisements of questionable honesty, and advertisements that demean the profession of engineering. Dishonest or MisLeading Advertising Because engineering is built upon trust, consulting engineers have an institutional duty to be scrupulously honest in attracting clients. This duty goes beyond not telling lies. The consulting engineer must avoid, as much as possible, creating a false impression of the capacity, expertise, experience, personnel, or facilities of the firm. The criteria for honesty are threefold. First, is the information given strictly true? Consulting engineers should scrupulously avoid making any statements that are not strictly true. Second, does the information presented provide a legitimate reason for clients to select the firm? Since the point of advertising is to give clients a reasonable basis for making a choice, consulting engineers should do their best to present clients with information that furnishes legitimate reasons for considering their firm. Third, would the information presented give a false or misleading impression to a reasonable client? Any statement could be misconstrued, while even the most misleading statement, if it is not strictly false, might be understood correctly. The engineer must ask himself, "How would a reasonable client understand this statement?" Copyrighted Material Special Issues in Consulting 223 It may be useful to look at a few examples of dishonest advertising. It is dishonest to use the names, experience, or achievements of engineers who no longer work for the firm. Of course, care must be used in distinguishing between the personal achievements of prior employees or partners, which may not be used, and the projects handled by prior employees or partners while they were with the firm, which may be mentioned. Thus, it is improper to say "Our engineers have won the X award" when the engineer who won the X award no longer works for the firm. However, it is not improper for the firm to list Y project among its achievements even though the engineer who worked on Y project for the firm no longer works there. Another form of dishonesty consists of exaggerating , explicitly or by insinuation, the role played by the firm in a particular project. If the firm played a minor role in project Y, it is misleading simply to list project Y among the firm's achievements, as this falsely suggests the firm had primary responsibility for project Y. (A reasonable client might have this false impression.) However, it is not improper to say that the firm participated in or assisted in project Y, since the "vote of confidence" given to the firm when its assistance was requested is a legitimate reason for considering the firm. Finally, it is dishonest to list an area or function the firm is not fully qualified to handle. For example, it is improper for a firm to take out an advertisement in the yellow pages suggesting that it conducts site and risk assessments as well as hydrographic surveys, when all hydrographic surveys are subcontracted out and the firm has neither the personnel nor the facilities Copyrighted Material 224 CHAPTER EIGHT to carry out any but the simplest site and risk assessment assignments. Unseemly or Demeaning Advertising Advertising by consulting engineers should maintain the dignity and high social values of the engineering profession. Engineers should remember that their advertisements represent engineering to the public, and they should avoid advertisements that undercut the values of the engineering profession...