Comparison of Finnish Codes of Honor and ASCE Code of Ethics

Abstract

Professional ethics is an important area of ethics. ASCE has a good code of ethics. Also, other countries have developed their own ethical standards for the members of engineering societies. This paper presents the translations of two Finnish codes of ethics. The first one has been approved by the Association of Finnish Civil Engineers. The second code is directed to all the architect and engineering members of a wider technical society called the Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers. The aim of this paper is to introduce Finnish ethical codes and compare them with the ASCE code. Also, the influence of some pioneers in ethics is shown. Similarities and differences between the codes are critically analyzed as it is useful to examine these in depth. The objective of this comparison and benchmarking is to stimulate discussion and initiate planning or revision work of ethical codes around the world. Professional organizations, like civil engineering associations, need such codes for their members. One severe violation of ethical behavior can damage the whole profession, especially as the profession becomes more global in scope. Therefore, it is important that ethical codes are widely used in civil engineering education and—if possible—developed globally.