Topic: A person who holds high or senior official positions in an architectural professional body should cease private practice to avoid conflict of interest.
Introduction
"Professional denies the allegation of conflict of interest ". This is the kind of headline we see on news from time to time when the conflict between public duty and private or personal interest has been the cause of numerous scandals and unethical conduct with serious repercussions. Over the years, the issue of conflict of interest has grown worse, leading to a wave of public outrage. The question at the heart of this issue is, what conflict of interest is and why such conflicts are ethically significant. How do we avoid conflict of interest in the field of the architect? This article analyses the ethical dilemma of conflict of interest and the proposition that a person who holds high or senior official position in an architectural professional body should cease private practice to avoid conflict of interest.
First of all, let's have a brief idea of the definitions of conflict of interest and architectural professional body. Conflict of interest denotes a situation in which a person has a private financial interest sufficient to influence or appear to influence, the exercise of his or her public duties. A primary reason for concern about conflicts of interest is that they reduce public trust and confidence in the integrity and impartiality of public functionaries. An architectural professional body is an organization with individual members practicing a profession or occupation in which the organization maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct, and practice of that profession or occupation.
Supporting Arguments
It is submitted that there are 4 broad reasons why a person who holds high or senior official positions in an architectural professional body should cease private practice to avoid conflict of interest. First and foremost, to avoid the credibility of the professional body and individuals being affected. Individual behavior/business orientation may differ from the vision and objective of the professional body. For instance, a senior official or his firm in the professional body may undertake conventional and unsustainable projects which is located in a highly congested area due to a money-making business model demanded by the clients. On the other hand, he or she may be promoting sustainable and green building for the professional body.
Secondly, the ability of discretion, independence, and judgment of the professional body will be questioned. Conflict of interest can exist is a situation in which a member or his or her immediate family member has, direct or indirect personal or financial interest that compromises or could compromise the member’s independence or judgment in exercising his or her responsibilities to the professional body. Conflict of interest includes but is not limited to Actual Financial Conflicts of interest. For instance, the public or ordinary members of the professional body may question whether the persons holding high or senior positions will focus more on their private and personal interests rather than having any deeper concern towards the field of architecture when making a decision. The simple reason being private and personal interests care perceived to cloud a person’s objectivity and independence.
Thirdly, the interest of the members of the professional body will be prejudiced. Money, reputation, and resources of the professional body may be misused to achieve personal gains and private interest. For example, a senior officer of the professional body may be using the body’s name to secure projects which he may not otherwise be able to secure in normal circumstances. In the circumstances, one could be so fully occupied in fighting for its own gains that the welfare of the entire body goes unattended.
Lastly, allowing the same group of people to hold a high position in the professional body and practicing privately will create unfair competition in the industry. Persons holding high positions in the professional body tend to have higher public exposure and credibility. This will enable them to secure work easier than others. Such phenomena will affect the livelihood of other architectures.
Arguments Against
On the other hand, opponents of such ideal content that conflict of interest is subjective. The perception of conflict of interest is based totally on what someone “feels” about a person or a situation. Conflict of interest arises when one person’s desired outcome is against another person or group’s interests. For instance, such conflict can exist during competition and tender for big developments and projects. This can be prevented by providing standard criteria and guidelines by stakeholders.
Secondly, creasing private practice might be the most direct way to avoid conflict of interest within an architectural professional body, but it is not the most intellectual way. A more comprehensive approach should be used to resolve the conflict, rather than a blanket ban. Architects are known as problem solvers. Architects should strive to solve the problem rather than running away from the problem. The body should consider this issue from all angles to prevent the issue of conflict of interest. For instance, the professional body can provide standard provisions and rules for commonly occurring situations.
In addition to this, restricting private practice is actually limiting experienced architects from joining the professional body. Nobody is born to be talented. Knowledge and ability can only be gained from real-life experiences. Not to mention that building a masterpiece in real life is the dream of every architect. Development goals without money are just a dream. Giving up your own business and practice for the sake of joining the professional body is unrealistic. Practicing architects are more likely to keep up with the pace of society and have enough experience for the high and senior official position in the professional body. Hence, if there is a restriction on private practice, the majority of the experienced architects will rather give up a high position in the architectural body than their private practice.
Lastly, professional ethics in architecture practice such as credibility and reliability are the inherent qualities of any architects. Architects should be able to lead by example and avoid unethical attitudes in all kinds of practices by using this quality. Having this fiduciary responsibility to the body is known as having a duty of loyalty. As a professional architect, he or she should be able to limit or avoid the conflict of interest through professional ethics in architecture practice as a basis of professional credibility.
Deliberations and Conclusion
Running private practice while holding a high position in an architectural professional body might affect the credibility and reputation of the body and a person’s judgment because private and personal interests can cloud a person’s objectivity. There may also be an issue where the livelihood of other architects being affected due to unfair competition in the industry. It is argued that ceasing private practice is not the most critical way to avoid conflict of interest within an architectural professional body although it may be perceived as the most direct way. It is submitted that a more comprehensive approach should be used, rather than a blanket ban.
Conflict of interest is hard to determine as it often involves subjective evaluation. In a situation of conflict of interest, instead of quitting private practice altogether, the persons concerned shall recuse themselves from the duty or work which becomes the subject matter of the conflict. Voluntary recusal is essential to safeguard the reputation, financial interests, and personal ties of that person with other parties. Fundamentally, as a conscientious architect, he should always strive to uphold the fiduciary responsibility and professional ethics in architecture practice to avoid conflict of interest and to maintain the dignity of architecture.
References
Sadri, H. (2012). Professional Ethics in Architecture and Responsibilities of Architects towards Humanity. Turkish Journal of Business Ethics, 5(9), 86.
Ethics and Conflict of Interest. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ethics.ubc.ca/peoplemcdonaldconflict-htm/
Mafunisa, J. J. (2003). Conflict of interest: Ethical dilemma in politics and administration. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 27(2), 4-22.
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