Ethics in Practice

[TLWalkerAIA]

Ethics between Principal and employees is degenerating in our profession. Most employees are being milked of their labor without any real career opportunity being offered or delivered. It is a tacit and enduring lie that is the curse of our profession, in short there is no upward mobility for Architectural employees. Access to private practice is limited by current policies and practices and architectural employees both interns and those who are licensed, all over the USA are unhappy. Architects are very hard pressed to borrow from any lender the start-up funds needed to launch their own practice, and god knows they are not paid enough that they could ever save the money. Most practices are started with family money and in general reveals the economic class stratification that plagues our nation. Working class people can not fund business start-ups. We need to take action to future proof our profession because the best and most talented are shortchanged on opportunity...

Unethical behavior by employers is on the increase. For example: Do you think it is unethical for the principal of an Architectural Firm to first employ an intern or licensed architect with a promise of shared ownership of the firm, at some not yet determined point in the future, even promise them a secure job from which they will not be laid-off to sell the deal, and then, in some cases after more than ten years of milking the employee, to escape the shared ownership they offered and even obligation in written agreements, terminate the employee by firing them with some fabricated story that alleges dishonesty by the employee and incompetence or some other excuse?

Do you think it is ever acceptable for principals to lie to, or lie about their employees? Attorneys and Doctors seem to be more able to work their way into partnership or shared ownership status? Only a very small percentage of our employees ever have an ownership interest in our practices. We are short on career opportunities. What is the solution

[Richard Haut]

The value of a professional opinion is in its honesty.

If professionals continue to lie in the way that you desribe, and which too many of us are seeing, then the value of professionals drops.

The principals that you describe are either incapable of or unwilling to run their firms in a proper and honest manner. The longer that they continue to behave in that way, the lower the real value of the firm's work becomes. Then the more they have to cheat their own employees and work on the cheap - and so on in a downwards spiral.

It debases the value and purpose of the profession.

The classic - and tragic - example is Arthur Andersen. A fine - even great - professional accounting practice. They ended by being disgraced by a shoddy and dishonest client - and that is the clue. A crooked client needs a dodgy accountant. A decent client would not have followed the sleazy advice. Similarly, a decent accounting firm - with that essential ingredient that Andersen's lost: self-respect - would have had nothing to do with the financial corruption at Enron.

Suppose that somebody asked you to design a building that was inherently unsafe for an increased fee so that they could cut costs ? (I apologise for even using the example but it is relevant). Even the suggestion is outrageous. But is it ?

Young architects should get together to form a practice, or find honest firms - and they must let each other know which firms behave in the way that you describe.

Anyone in Britain knows just how bad this has become. The culture of corruption which began in Britain's financial services sector in the City has spread, and continues to spread.

What is needed, as Warren Buffet has said, is a return to common sense.

[Kudus]

Very intresting topic .

[grogers]

It distresses me to hear such stories of dishonesty. I can, however assure you that you are over generalizing in your statements.

I am a principal of a medium sized firm who started with nothing and has never knowingly lied to his employees.

My practice is truly blessed with a close-knit team of hard-working well-paid employees. It does me no good to demand 50-60 hours per week from them. I personally do not want to be known as the father or husband who was never there, nor would I expect that from my employees.

It was very financially difficult for my family when I quit my job and started my firm 20 years ago. I made it through those times without any assistance from a bank. It was scarry for me to hire my first employee, because I didn't know anything about payroll taxes, quarterly reports, insurance requirements, or benefits.

The first year I made a decent income was about 4 years into my new venture. By that time, I had accrued debt and further, I learned the hard way about April 15th. It took me another 6 years to begin to break even and just start to make a decent living.

This sacrifice is worth a lot to me. My firm is worth a lot to me. Sure, if someone comes along that has an entrepreneurial spirit, is a hard worker and sustains repeat clients, I will reward them with part of the sacrifice I made for this firm.

I do get frustrated at the young (usually recent grads) that come along and somehow feel entitled to a part of previous sacrifice without even proving themselves for 1, 3 or 5 years. I actually pity them. They probably won't get very far in this profession where nothing is handed over freely. They can go to work for some dishonest principal somewhere that will promise them the moon.