This
paper discusses professional association, conduct and development as applied to
professional practitioners. It also emphasizes on the fundamental codes and
ethics of Engineers, the class of individuals who participates and why and the
types of professional association both in national and international extant.
INTRODUCTION
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional
organization, or professional society) is usually a non profit organization
seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals
engaged in that profession, and the public interest. The roles of these
professional associations have been variously defined:
"A group of people in a learned occupation who
are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice
of the occupation;" also a body acting "to safeguard the public
interest;" organizations which "represent the interest of the
professional practitioners," and so "act to maintain their own
privileged and powerful position as a controlling body." This, in turn,
places the burden of enforcing a Profession ban upon these associations as
well.
Therefore,
in certain dispute situations the balance between these two aims may get tipped
more in favor of protecting and defending the professionals than in protecting
the public. An example can be used to illustrate this. In a dispute between a
lawyer and his/her client or between a patient and his/her doctor, the Law
Society of Nigeria e.g.
Nigeria
Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) will inevitably
find itself plunged into a conflict of interest in (a) its wish to defend the
interests of the client, while also (b) wishing to defend the interests, status
and privileges of the professional. It is clearly a tough call for it to do
both.
Professional conduct is the field of regulation of members of professional
bodies, either acting under statutory or contractual powers.
Historically, professional conduct was wholly undertaken by the private professional
bodies, the sole legal authority for which was of a contractual nature. These
bodies commonly established codes of conduct and ethical codes for the guidance
of their members.
In
certain areas, where the public interest is considered to be heavily engaged,
legislation has been enacted, either replacing professional regulation by
statutory legislation, or by a form of supervision of the professional body by
a statutory body e.g. COREN.
According to Public Service Rules (PSR)
- 030301
- Misconduct is defined as a specific act of wrong-doing or an improper
behavior which is inimical to the image of the service and which can be
investigated and proved. It can also lead to termination and retirement.
The University of Lagos senior staff conditions of service defines misconduct
as “General misconduct to the prejudice of the good name of the establishment
and/or of discipline and the proper administration of business of the
University.
This includes corruption, dishonesty, drunkenness in the course of duty, and
false claims against the University, insubordination, divided loyalty (conflict
of interest) , negligence, falsification and suppression of records (facts,
professional information) and conviction for a criminal offence other than
traffic offence, absence from duty without leave for two consecutive or more
nights without satisfactory reason, disobedience of any instruction issued by a
constituted authority, failure to appear or to answer questions satisfactorily
in any investigative panels set up by the establishment on matters out of above
regulations.
Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both
personal development and career advancement and it must be certified.
Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning
opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences
and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.
It has been described as intensive and collaborative, ideally incorporating an
evaluative stage. There are a variety of approaches to professional
development, including consultation, coaching, communities of practice, lesson
study, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical assistance.
WHO PARTICIPATES
AND WHY
A wide variety of people, such as teachers, military officers and
non-commissioned officers, health care professionals, lawyers, accountants and
engineers engage in professional development. Individuals may participate in
professional development because of an interest in lifelong learning, a sense
of moral obligation, to maintain and improve professional competence, to
enhance career progression, keep abreast of new technology and practices, or to
comply with professional regulatory organizations.
Many Nigeria have national professional development requirements for Engineers,
Doctors and Lawyers. For example circular written by National Agency for
Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to all Directors of NASENI
Institute as an extant provisions of registration with professional bodies
stated; I am directed to bring to your attention once more and to restate the
provisions of the council for the registration of engineering in Nigeria
(COREN).
Decree that an Officer in the Engineer Cadre cannot be promoted beyond Senior
Engineer, CONRAISS 09, if such an officer is not duly registered with COREN. It
is also pertinent to note that as a consequence of this statutory provision
Engineers will no longer be advanced/upgraded or redesigned beyond Senior
Engineer on account of COREN registration
Many American states have professional development requirements for school
teachers. For example, Arkansas teachers must complete 60 hours of documented
professional development activities annually. Professional development credits
are named differently from state to state.
For
example, teachers: in Indiana are required to earn 90 Continuing Renewal Units
(CRUs) per year; in Massachusetts, teachers need 150 Professional Development
Points (PDPs); and in Georgia, must earn 10 Professional Learning Units (PLUs).
American and Canadian nurses, as well as those in the United Kingdom, are
required to participate in formal and informal professional development
(earning Continuing education units, or CEUs) in order to maintain professional
registration. Other groups such as engineering and geoscience regulatory bodies
also have mandatory professional development requirements.
FUNDAMENTAL
CODE OF ETHICS OF AN ENGINEER.
The
professional engineer has some authority which has to be practice carefully to
avoid being a source of danger to the public. This includes being a leader in
engineering projects, practicing engineering and supervising the work of
younger engineers. The basic rules that governs the conduct of engineers
(Engineering Ethics) are summarized into:
(i) Hold
great importance the safety, health and welfare of the public.
(ii)
Perform services only in areas of their competence.
(iii)
Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
(iv) Act
for your employers as faithful agents or trustees.
(v) Avoid
deceptive acts.
(vi)
Conduct themselves in such a way as to always enhance the reputation of the
profession.
NATIONAL
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION
These
associations were the most established interest groups in the country and
included the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Medical Association
(NMA), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Nigerian Economic Society
(NES), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and the Nigerian
Political Science Association (NPSA) etc.. Many of these associations were
mainly concerned with matters relating to the professional interests of their
members.
In
pursuing professional concerns, however, they articulated and demanded
important political actions. Between 1983 and 1985, for example, the NMA called
a strike of medical doctors to demand an improvement in health care delivery.
Its leaders were detained and the union banned until 1986. The NBA has been at
the forefront of the movement for the observance of the rule of law and human
rights in Nigeria. Most other associations held annual conferences at which
positions were taken on national issues
INTERNATIONAL
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Association
for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE International)
AABB
(formerly American Association of Blood Banks)
Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Association
for Manufacturing Excellence (AME)
Association
of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)
American
Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
Association
of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM)
Association
of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA International)
Color
Marketing Group (CMG)
Institute
of Directors (IoD)
Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Institute
of Food Technologists
Institute
of Internal Auditors (IIA)
Institute
of Management Accountants (IMA)
Institute
of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST)
Institute
of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
Institute
of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
Institution
of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
Institution
of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Institution
of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Information
Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA
International
Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE)
International
Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
International
Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)
International
Association of Facilitators (IAF)
International
Association of Forensic Linguists (IAFL)
International
Association of Hydro geologists (IAH) Groundwater specialists
International
Association of Medical Colleges (IAOMC)
International
Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM)
International
Association of Internet Professionals (IAIP)
International
Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
International
Council on Systems EngineeringInternational Facility Management Association
(IFMA)
International
Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)
International
Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI)
International
Federation of Robotics (IFR)
International
Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA)
International
Interior Design Association (IIDA)
International
Reading Association (IRA)
International
Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS)
Latin
American Studies Association (LASA)
NACE
International, corrosion control industry association
Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE International)
Society
of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
Society
for Technical Communication (STC)
Society
of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE)
Society
of Indexers (SI)
Society
for Protective Coatings (SSPC)
Standards
Engineering Society (SES)
Urban
Land Institute (ULI)
Usability
Professionals' Association (UPA
CONCLUSION
The role
and importance of registration with professional bodies and professional
development of an individual in a research institute like ours cannot be
overemphasized. Professional development has aided an interest group in
lifelong learning, sensing moral obligation, maintaining and improving
professional competence, enhancing career progression, keeping abreast of new
technology and practices, or complying with professional regulatory
organizations.
References
1.
NASENI extant provisions of registration with professional bodies
written to all Directors of NASENI Institute
28th Jan 2013
2.
Professional association from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
November 2009 was last modified on 1 May 2013 at 00:16
3.
Professional development From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August 2008 was last updated 27 January 2013 at 02:13.
4.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN ENGINEERING+ By Engr. (Prof). C. C.
Okoro. FNSE (NSE 2011)
5.
National Professional Development Center on Inclusion. (2008).
"What do we mean by
professional development in the early childhood field?".
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child
Development Institute, Author.
6.
University of Lagos revised conditions of service governing senior
staff.
7.
Public Service Rule (PSR) (2008 EDITION)
05:01:00
