Tools to support constructors with ethics

CIOB has been developing tools for industry in order to raise awareness of ethical issues, and help industry manage risks. In business, ethical issues falls into two categories: personal and professional ethics. Most of the theories focus on the ethics of an individual, yet in business there is a collective responsibility with the company being the ‘individual’. Increasingly, businesses are expected to behave in a responsible manner beyond just their regulatory and commercial requirements.

It is only is the past three decades that business and ethics have been associated together, underlining the importance of business to society as well as to the client, the project team and the environment. Professional ethics can be led by the business, and in construction are also led by professional membership bodies who hold their members to account through a code of ethics.

Tool kits on ethics are often based on five mechanisms:

1. What leaders pay attention to, measure, and control on a regular basis.
2. How leaders react to critical incidents and organisational crises.
3. How leaders allocate resources, rewards and status.
4. Deliberate role modelling, teaching and coaching.
5. How leaders recruit, select, promote and communicate.