Ethics Flashcards
What are the 5 sections of the AICP Code of Ethics
Section A. Aspirational Principles - not things you can be charged for failing to achieve or be punished for.
Section B. Rules of Conduct - enforceable, come with sanctions/charge of misconduct, you can be punished for not following these
C. Advisory Opinions
D. Adjudication of complaints of misconduct
E. Discipline of members
C-E above are procedural provisions (applying the code)
What is our overall responsibility as ethical planners?
We have a primary responsibility to serve the public interest. We shall achieve high standards of professional integrity, proficiency, and knowledge.
What are the 8 responsibilities planners have to the public? (Aspirational Ethical Principles)
- conscious of the rights of others
- concern for long-range consequences
- attention to interrelatedness of decisions
- provide timely, clear, accurate information
- give people the opportunity to have a meaningful impact
- seek social justice by expanding choice and opportunity. promote racial and economic integration.
- promote excellence of design
- deal fairly with all participants in the planning process
What are the 4 responsibilities that planners have to clients and employers? (Aspirational Ethical Principles)
- always consistent with faithful service to the public interest
- exercise professional judgment
- accept their decisions unless illegal or inconsistent with public interest
- avoid conflict of interest or APPEARANCE of it
What are the 10 responsibilities that planners have to our profession and colleagues? (Aspirational Ethical Principles)
- act with integrity
- educate the public
- act professionally
- share the results of your experience
- do not accept the applicability of a customary solution
- contribute time and resources to development of others
- increase opportunities for underrepresented groups
- enhance professional education and training
- analyze ethical issues
- contribute to voluntary professional activities
What should planners do ethically in regard to serving the public?
-facilitate public debate
-increase public participation
-give accurate info
-expand choice
-exhibit fairness and sense of equality
-preserve the natural and built environment
When was the Code of Ethics adopted?
1978 when AIP and APA merged. It was a collaborative, multi-year process including outreach to the membership.
When was the Statement of Ethical Principles adopted for all participants in the planning process?
1992
How many Rules of Conduct are there?
25 statements plus 1 warning.
When should the ethics code be applied (5 instances)?
- As an individual
- When working with colleagues or decision-makers
3.When working with clients or customers - When serving the public interest
- When serving the profession
When working as an individual, what are 8 things that you SHOULD NOT do?
- Don’t accept work that is illegal.
- Don’t unlawfully discriminate.
- Don’t misstate qualifications.
- Don’t accept work beyond competence or that can’t be finished on time.
- Don’t accept an advantage related to employment.
- Don’t use power of office to seek a special advantage.
- Don’t do work whether there is potential gain to family or household without disclosure.
- Don’t use confidential info for personal advantage.
When working with colleagues and decision-makers, what are 5 things that you SHOULD NOT do?
- Don’t talk to decision-makers when it is prohibited. (respect hierarchy)
- Don’t misrepresent qualifications of others (don’t trash them)
- Don’t take credit for other peoples’ work
- Don’t coerce others to make findings not supported by the evidence
- Don’t engage in private communications with planning process participants.
When working with clients and customers, what are 5 things that you SHOULD NOT do?
- Don’t make private deals when prohibited.
- DO provide timely, clear, accurate info.
- Don’t solicit clients with misleading claims.
- Don’t reverse your public position without consultation with your employer.
- Don’t moonlight unless employer approved.
- Don’t sell services by implying ability to influence decisions by improper means.
When serving the public interest, what SHOULD you NOT do?
Disclose the interest of clients and do not conceal your employer.
When serving the profession, what are 5 things that you SHOULD NOT do?
- DO always cooperate with an ethics charge is filed.
- Don’t retaliate against someone who files an ethics charge.
- Don’t threaten to file charge.
- Don’t commit a wrongful act that reflects on the profession.
- Don’t file a frivolous ethics charge.
Who should you report to if your supervisors are being unethical, illegal, or corrupt?
The standard is to start within your own organization.
5 Steps to Applying the Ethics Code:
- Get the facts
- Brainstorm and analyze alternatives (know your goals, check the code)
- Make a decision.
- Publicity test - if someone were to tweet it around the planning community, would you be able to stand by it?
- Take action
Scenario: a Council member requests an advanced copy of the staff report - can you provide it?
Answer: Explain that it is still a draft and let them know which date it would be available. If you send it to one Council member, send it to all.
Cities have rules about releasing documents. This could be a conflict of interest.
Scenario: You are a consulting planner for the city. The city has asked you to take a 15% pay cut in solidarity with all other planners who have taken the it. Is it ethical?
Answer: It’s a decision between the employer and planner. The city can reduce the scope of services under your contract as a means of reducing your pay.
Scenario: Your colleague confides in you that they plan to take sick leave, not come back, and then retire. Your supervisor has made a valiant effort to save/keep that position for your colleague. Should you tell your supervisor?
Answer: You have a responsibility to that individual. It was a confidential conversation. You don’t know if your colleague is really going to follow through with their intent. Also, you don’t know if your supervisor is fighting for that position for other reasons. You don’t have complete info. Disclose when you feel ready.
Scenario: The Historic Preservation Commission is considering a proposal brought by a neighborhood to expand the Historic District in order to stop a large apartment project. You are a planner reviewing the apartment project. You plan to testify AS A CITIZEN at a public hearing against the proposal. Is this ethical?
Answer: You can’t be testifying on an aspect of municipal policy that is tied to what you are reviewing. You have to be seen as an objective participant in the process.
Scenario: Your Planning Director confides he’s thinking of taking a job with the law firm he’s currently negotiating with over a lawsuit they have threatened to file against the City. Should you do anything? Should the Director take the job?
Answer: First, tell your director that it’s not a good idea. He shouldn’t take the job. If you know he’s revealing confidential information, tell him he will have to self-report or you will.
Scenario: An applicant threatens to complain about you because you said his project was “Mickey Mouse.” He says if he gets expedited review, he’ll keep his mouth shut. What should you do?
Answer: Go straight to your supervisor, say you’ve lost patience and apologized, and to put somebody else on the project. Don’t give him expedited review. “Fess it then we’ll fix it” - Confess to your supervisor if you’ve done something wrong.
Scenario: You are a consulting planner, your boss tells you to cut and paste for a project with the least likelihood of bringing more business and concentrate on the project that could bring more because your firm has limited capacity. Is this ethical?
Answer: It might be okay if you the project could be well-served by a simple cut and paste. However, your firm should have the capacity to do the best on all projects. Tell your boss that you understand and will spend less time on it but that you don’t want to do inferior work for a client that has paid us.
Scenario: Should your staff accept a gift basket from developers or from planning consultants? Or tickets from a developer to a banquet honoring community development professionals?
Answer: No. Offer them to donate the tickets to other community advocates.
Scenario: You are to conduct a community workshop regarding the construction of a parking garage downtown, but the project is already nailed down and now changes will be made regardless of the outcome of the meeting. Is this ethical?
Answer: You can’t have sham public meetings. There are procedural issues. Completed tasks out of order. You need to seek public input first. Thinking in terms of Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation, this would be in the rung of “Informing” or worse “Manipulation”/Non-Participation.
Scenario: An architect working on a project for you is also a planning commissioner in Philadelphia. They hand your city’s planning commission their architect business card and their planning commission business card. Should they provide their planning commission business card if not working in that capacity?
Answer: They should not. It implies that there is a different kind of relationship - that they are serving the public interest and not ultimately there because they are representing the developer.
Scenario: You are woking on a General Plan Update. Should you excuse yourself from matters affecting Troy Hill?
Answer: Yes. When your decision has a differential impact on your home, you can’t be participating. Get a planner from another city to write that staff report. Someone could argue that you influence the staff analysis, even indirectly.
