You might be interested in Chris MacDonald’s business ethics blog at www.businessethicsblog.com Particularly if you are in one of the professions and practice in a business-like manner.
Chris is an educator, speaker, and consultant in business ethics. He teaches in a school of management at a university in Toronto and is associated with another in the U.S. He is co-editor of the Business Ethics Journal Review. http://businessethicsjournalreview.com/
Chris is a philosopher by training, a practical philosopher by inclination – this chap’s not stuffy by a long shot. He’s seldom still. An east coast guy that has done good and is influencing the business world in a big way. And doing this in an area – business ethics, that is in desperate need of a good influence.
Philosophy means “love of wisdom”, from the ancient words philos (love) and Sophia (wisdom) (Ref. 1). Think most of us in the professions are in that good place.
I met Chris when he taught a critical thinking course a few years ago at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. One of the best courses I’ve taken in my life by a good teacher, and a course that all professional engineers practicing forensic engineering should take.
Chris has twice been declared one of the “Top 100 thought leaders in trustworthy business behaviour”. He has several times been named one of the “100 most influential people in business ethics”.
He has been blogging since November, 2005. His blog is current, well designed, easy to navigate, and very readable – not cluttered and busy like so many.
He tells you about his blog much better than I could at his web address above. I think a good, spirited summary of who he is and what he’s trying to do with links is at his page, ‘About’. He warns you on this page that you will probably be irritated by his blog – but, I found, your thinking challenged in the process.
One of his recent postings lists five must-reads on business ethics at http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/5-business-ethics-must-reads/
I’ve been reading some of Chris’ material on ethics for several years now. It’s well I should, considering that one-third of the content of a 140 page set of guidelines for forensic engineering practice – 46 pages, is on ‘ethics in forensic engineering’ (Ref. 2). Another approximately one-third is on legal matters and business considerations.
One-fifth of another 200 page set of guidelines for forensic engineers is on legal matters and guidance for experts preparing for the civil litigation process (Ref. 3). There is some emphasis on ethics in these guidelines too.
Also, I should read the business ethics blog if there’s anything to my comments on professional ethics and the tyranny of the bottom line, updated, a blog I posted October 11, 2012 (Ref. 4).
Those are enough reasons for a professional engineer to take an interest in Chris’ blog, as I have, but allow me one more reason.
Rule 55 in the Nova Scotia’s civil procedures rules is quite direct in informing experts that they are reporting to the court, and that they are to be objective – that’s all there is to it, with no qualifiers on objectivity. And experts are to state the reliability of their opinions. These charges to experts from the justice system are explicit and contain a clear ethical requirement.
It’s possible some of you might be interested in Chris’ blog. I think he’s got something to say to all of us.
References
1. Mannion, James, Essentials of Philosophy, The Basic Concepts of the World’s Greatest Thinkers, Fall River Press, New York, 2002
2. Lewis, Gary L., Ed., ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), Guidelines for Forensic Engineering Practice, 2003
3. ASCE, Guidelines for Failure Investigation, 1989
4. Professional ethics and the tyranny of the bottom line. Updated. Blog posted, October 11, 2012