Civil Engineering January-February 2022 | Vol 30 No 1

Civil Engineering January/February 2022 17 Many organisations also develop mission statements. In his seminal book, Working with Emotional Intelligence , Daniel Goleman emphasises the importance of an organisation’s mission statement in aligning employees to the values of an organisation, saying, “Organisations that lack a well formulated mission – or whose mission statements are little more than public relations ploys – offer people little to commit to. Employees need a clear sense of an organisation’s core values to form an allegiance to them.” The mission of an organisation is its heart. Dedication to the mission and a commitment to supporting the core values is vital within an organisation’s culture. Research has shown that those employees who have the most organisa- tional commitment often enjoy better job satisfaction and suffer from the least work stress. Motivated employees prefer organisa- tions where the mission and values are clear, and reflected in ethical guidelines and behaviour. In a culture where action is aligned to values, an environment is nur- tured that actively eliminates people who don’t share those values. In other words, those who refuse to act ethically will be pushed out of the organisation. These types of organisations are more resilient and sustainable over the long term. Not only is ethical behaviour by employees more likely to build long-term client relationships and lead to more work and more successful projects, but it is also more likely to build a resilient organisa- tion. Organisational resilience is “the ability of an organisation to anticipate, prepare for, respond and adapt to incre- mental change and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper.” Given the challenges our industry faces at this time, resilience is essential if organisations are to make it through another year. Given all of the above, unethical and corrupt organisations will not survive in the long term. Public and private sector client organisa- tions can encourage the adoption of ethical mission statements in the civil engineering and construction industry. For instance, in Hong Kong, any contractor tendering for a government project must have a code of ethics in place before they will be considered. Policies don’t automatically translate into action, so commitment and resulting steps are required. WHAT CAN INDIVIDUAL ENGINEERING PRACTITIONERS DO? From a personal standpoint, individual engineering practitioners can commit “Beyond being a legal and moral responsibility, ethical behaviour needs to become an organisational priority, which requires an alignment process that integrates employee behaviour with the organisation’s ethical standards.” – Oladinrin & Ho An awkward situation I remember being invited to a party at a potential client’s luxurious home a few years ago. There was a large contract up for grabs, probably in the region of USD$200 million or more. The venue was a large villa; a beautiful house with an enormous entertainment area, swimming pool and even an office with an enormous hardwood boardroom table which could seat at least 30 – no doubt witness to many contract signings. The entire event was sumptuous. Guests arrived in expensive vehicles and were ushered through to the entertainment area. There was plenty of tasty food and expensive alcohol. There were also prostitutes mingling and available, fully paid for by the host. The offer was clear – contract with me and you will be taken care of. How would you feel in this situation? Would you indulge in everything on offer and just sign the contract? For some this might be an acceptable way of practicing. Clearly, the ECSA Code of Conduct is insufficient to provide guidance to either the host or anyone else in this situation. In these cases, the Mirror Test, Front Page Test, Consequences Test and other similar approaches can help. Figure 1 Five clusters of characteristics of ethical organisations Stakeholder Balance Leadership Effectiveness Process Integrity Long-term Perspective Mission and Vision Driven