Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors

Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors

Course Outline

This course examines a series of situations that surveyors may commonly face. The course discusses correct actions in the context of what the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) calls its “Surveyor's Creed and Canons.”

Examining the ethics of an individual’s actions, given a theoretical or “teaching” situation, is a standard method of appraising and judging professional practices. Many State Boards of Registration have promulgated either a “Code of Ethics” or a “Creed and Canons.” These have one intention: to set the bar for professional ethics. These guides are based on moral assumptions considered essential to our culture. They are the standards by which professionals are expected to make decisions, behave and act.

These ethical standards always assume that public protection and safety is foremost in every surveyor’s decisions. As the NSPS Creed and Canons states, “I dedicate my professional knowledge and skills to the advancement and betterment of human welfare.” The Creed goes on to affirm that a surveyor will, “… place service before profit, honor and standing of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.”

The course takes seven situations where land surveyors commonly err in ethical decision-making. It frames each situation around a corresponding NSPS creed or canon. Students are then tested for their understanding of these basic situations.

This course affirms the underlying professional principle that surveyors are guided by a common moral understanding. Ethics encompasses “right conduct and good life.” Upon gaining professional registration, a land surveyor is assumed to be familiar will these basic guidelines. Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors is an essential review for both new and experienced professionals.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

Upon completion of Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors, surveyors will have reviewed the basic ethics and conduct expected of them in professional practice. In the context of the “Surveyor's Creed and Canons” published by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), the student will have learned the parameters of ethical decision-making by examining a series of challenges that surveyors typically encounter on a regular basis.

The “Code of Ethics” or the “Creed and Canons” posted by many State Boards of Registration

Are intended to guide professional land surveyors in their day-to-day conduct.
Are based on moral assumptions considered essential to our culture.
Are the standards, by which professionals are required to make decisions, behave and act.
Assume that public protection and safety is foremost in every surveyor’s decision.

The student will learn or review the seven key NSPS guidelines which are based on a surveyor’s affirmation that,

“I dedicate my professional knowledge and skills to the advancement and betterment of human welfare,” and that
“I will place service before profit, honor and standing of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.”

Upon completion of the course, the student will have become familiar with situations in which surveyors commonly err in ethical decision-making. Land surveyors, new or experienced, will finish the course with a far stronger understanding of professional ethics. The course affirms ethical actions that society believes demonstrate “right conduct and good life.”

Intended Audience

This course is intended for Land Surveyors.

Benefit to Attendees

Course Introduction

Many modern philosophers define ethics as a branch of philosophy that encompasses what is known as “right conduct and good life.” Note that this definition is far broader than the common concept of right and wrong. A central aspect of ethics is "the good life”—that is, the life worth living or a life that is satisfying. This aspect of ethics is held by many ethicists to be critical. In addition, ethicists note that the foundation of "the good life” is also a life lived that does no harm.

It is this last virtue—the sense of doing no harm to others—that is a basic premise of every professional code. Land surveyors and engineers alike are held to an identical standard: the professional will “place service before profit, honor and standing of the profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.” This sets a high bar, indeed. Professionals serve the public first and themselves next.

These principles are codified in the “Surveyor's Creed and Canons” published by the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyorsexamines a series of situations that surveyors commonly face, and discusses them in the context of the NSPS Canons. The NSPS Canons are used specifically because all state boards of registration strongly encourage land surveyors to belong to nationally based professional societies. NSPS, an organization affiliated with the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, is the largest and most active of such groups.

Many State Boards of Registration incorporate either a “Code of Ethics” or a “Creed and Canons” in their regulations. Some of these state-level codes are directly based on the NSPS model. These are intended to guide the conduct of professional surveyors. As we will see, these are the standards by which professionals are required to make decisions, behave and act.

The course takes seven situations where land surveyors commonly err in ethical decision-making. It compares each situation to a corresponding NSPS Canon.Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors affirms the underlying professional principle that surveyors are guided by a common moral understanding, and that ethics encompass “right conduct and good life.” Holding professional registration assumes that a surveyor is familiar with, agrees to and practices, these basic guidelines.

Course Content

The course content is contained in the following PDF file:

Decision-making and Ethics in Everyday Practice for Land Surveyors

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Course Summary

This course has presented a series of typical examples of the ethical challenges many surveyors face. From misrepresenting services to misidentifying personal relationships before an approving authority, the examples highlight the pitfalls of cutting corners, or gambling when personal gain trumps the public good. Failure to follow high ethical standards may lead to having one’s license revoked, or being the subject of legal action. When a surveyor accepts professional licensure, he or she accepts the liabilities that follow failure to abide by prescribed ethical standards.

Related Links

American Congress of Surveying & Mapping (ACSM), website: www.acsm.net

International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), website: www.fig.net/

National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), website: http://www.nspsmo.com/

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.