PROFESSIONAL ETHICS - THE MISSING LINK TO A COMPLETE EDUCATION.

The teaching of ethics in professional faculties is often limited to a 'hit or miss' selection of guest speakers in a one-term 'Professional Orientation' course. A base of high moral values is perhaps the primary distinguishing characteristic between the 'professional' and the 'entrepreneur'. Most ethical questions come to common sense and decency. When applied to business decisions however, there is a strong temptation to bend the rules unless the person has a basic ethical philosophy. With a recent spate of questionable acts by medical, legal and educational professionals as well as the ethical problems which we as surveyors are faced with, it appears that there is a need for the entrenchment of a course in basic ethics in professional faculties. Students must learn the fundamentals of ethical philosophy in order for them to make sound decisions in professional practice.