Mamphey, S; Knight, A and Manu, E (2023) Similarities, intent, and emphasis: Alignment of international ethics principles with built environment professional standards in Ghana. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Professional codes of conduct establish the ethical rules and parameters within which built environment professionals operate. In 2021, the IESC published the first-ever global ethical standards for the built environment sector. The ability of global ethics standards to promote parity and greater ethical practice has been a subject of extensive debate. A year on since its adoption, there is little understanding of the global acceptance and uptake of the standards. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, the extent to which the existing built environment standards in Ghana are aligned with the global standards has been examined in this paper using a qualitative research approach based on content analysis of ethics standards. The study identified similarities and differences between the global standards and the codes of ethics for the following Ghanaian professions (engineers, architects, and surveyors). Some common elements were also identified, indicating that some rules are indeed universal and culture free. Yet, ethical principles in all the standards examined were also sometimes explained differently in terms of intent and emphasis of the rules.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | built environment sector; ethical standards; Ghanaian professional bodies; professional code of conduct. |
| Index terms: | Ghana, content analysis, ethics, engineer, Sub-Saharan Africa, architect, built environment, profession, qualitative research |
| Subjects: | ethical practice, data analysis and analytics, institututions, research design and methodology, profession, infrastructure and transport systems, Geography, physical geography and landforms |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Roles and Professions, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here