Clark Construction Group, Bethesda, Maryland
The company’s charitable foundation specializes in helping wounded, active-duty service members and veterans from nearby military hospitals.
Turner Construction, New York
Operates mentoring and training programs in communities where employees live and work.
Saunders Construction, Centennial, Colorado
Launched a program called Building Confidence in Kids, which has rebuilt a playground, refurbished rooms and built an on-site day care center at an affordable housing community.
Sundt Construction, Tempe, Arizona
Employee and matching company donations support community organizations in Arizona, California and Texas, where Sundt has offices.
McCarthy Building Companies, St. Louis, Missouri
The company’s Heart Hats initiative supports local projects that benefit low-income families and children.
Source: Corporate Giving Helps Communities and Improves Construction
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job cost data are examples of confidential and proprietary information that give a company its competitive advantage. Employee records and human resource data that contain Social Security numbers, bank account numbers for direct deposit of paychecks, and other private data must also be safeguarded against exposure or theft. All employees should receive training to help them recognize sensitive information and know how to use it appropriately.
A first level of data protection is often the company’s private intranet, accessible only by employee login. There may be different permission levels so that employees only have access to the data that they require to perform their jobs. Electronic data must be backed up securely and frequently, not only to protect against loss, but also to allow access to previous versions of documents that may have been inadvertently or inappropriately changed or edited. Employee training should include instruction on creating secure passwords and emphasize the importance of not sharing or revealing login or password information.
Digital information is both easily accessed and highly portable. Companies often rely on confidentiality agreements to set boundaries on what can and cannot be shared outside of the firm. Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements are legal contracts that restrict people from sharing sensitive information to which they may have been granted access for business purposes. By signing such a document, an employee agrees to protect and not disclose the information described in the agreement. Employees have an ethical and legal obligation to comply with the requirements of any confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements by not intentionally revealing protected information. Non-disclosure require- ments may extend to subcontractors and vendors who have access to proprietary project information. Sharing confidential information that is protected by a non-disclosure agreement is not only a violation of a legal contract; it is also a breach of accepted business ethics and a betrayal of trust.
In the construction industry, any competitive advantage can mean the difference between winning or losing a bid or proposal. The more you know about the way your competitors win projects, the better you can design your own winning strategy. The most obvious legitimate source of
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competitive information is that which is publicly available, including news articles and press releases, company newsletters and brochures, public filings, and information available on a company’s public website. There is a simple rule of thumb to determine whether competitive information has been ethically obtained: if the means used to obtain the information involve lying, misrepresentation, or deception, the tactic is probably unethical.
Although a company may enjoy a short-term benefit by illegally or unethically obtaining information about a competitor, such practices never pay off in the long run. Stealing confidential information is not a successful long-term business strategy, and is no substitute for developing sound marketing and business development practices based on satisfied clients and a solid reputation for high quality performance.
Confidentiality agreements or contractual clauses are particularly important on projects that use a collaborative approach. A building infor- mation model (BIM) is an example of a collaborative effort that relies on massive data sharing. If a project will require the use of a model that is jointly created and shared, it is crucial for all parties involved to under- stand and agree upon who owns the BIM, who are the authorized users, and when each user’s access to the BIM begins and ends. The American Institute of Architects offers a free BIM protocol document that addresses these issues (http://www.aia.org/).
When multiple parties participate in the planning and creation of the BIM, who is ultimately responsible for errors in design or code compliance? During the planning stage, if a contractor finds a design error that can potentially lead to a substantial change order in his or her favor, that contractor has an ethical obligation to communicate the error to the other parties. An ethical check would most certainly reveal that the contractor would not wish to be held responsible if he or she were the one who ended up paying for the mistake.
Ethical issues can also arise when multiple parties have access to and can make changes to a BIM if one party decides to make changes to their own advantage without communicating those changes to the other parties. For example, a mechanical contractor who decides to alter the configu- ration of piping or ductwork could negatively impact the performance of
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the electrical contractor if those alterations are not communicated and agreed upon ahead of time. The project’s BIM protocol should anticipate such challenges and make sure all parties are aware of and committed to following appropriate procedures.
Ethics and Social Media
According to a 2012 survey by McKinsey, more than 1.5 billion people around the globe now have an account on a social networking website, and almost one in five online hours is spent on social networks – increas- ingly via mobile devices.6 Even if social networking sites are blocked on
the company network, employees can still gain access via smartphones or other personal devices.
In terms of percentage of the workforce, a 2012 study by the Ethics Resource Center revealed that 75 percent of U.S. employees belong to one or more social networking site.7 The survey further showed that although
some employees only connect to their social network during breaks, many others check in at least once an hour, or are constantly connected.
Unless an employee has the specific job function to use and monitor social media for the company, it’s probably safe to assume that very little (if any) of the time spent by most workers on social networks during work hours is required to accomplish their jobs. Personal time spent on social networks might have nothing to do with the employer, or could include commentary about the employer, work projects, colleagues, or clients. This commentary could not only compromise company confidential infor- mation, but social networks also present a potential outlet for retaliation, and could inhibit workers’ freedom to report workplace misconduct. Companies themselves are increasingly using social media for marketing and for recruitment. Jobvite’s 2013 Social Recruiting Survey of 1,600 recruiting and human resources professionals revealed that 94 percent of those surveyed either used, or planned to use, social media for recruiting.8
The growing popularity of social media-based information comes with ample opportunity for unethical behavior including misrepresenting one’s self or others or posting abusive, embarrassing or harassing comments, links or photos. Firms that rely on social media as a marketing tool need
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to have policies and procedures in place to help employees know what is and is not appropriate to post and link to. Company social media sites need to be carefully monitored and administered to prevent inappropriate content. Firms that use social media in their recruitment efforts need to verify posted credentials, and have a healthy suspicion of information that appears either overly complimentary or unjustifiably negative.
So far, most companies do not perceive use of social networks by employees to be a significant risk, although it has close ties to data privacy and confidentiality, which companies almost universally identify as a significant risk. Firms are just beginning to develop policies and training about the use of social networks in the workplace, as well as addressing social media use in the company code of conduct. Some companies are