Professionalism & Ethics With Reference To Surveyors In South Africa

Introduction

The term professionalism and ethics can be used compatible by others, although there are many differences between the two, this was asserted by (Worthington, 2015) where he further explained in the working environment they use these terms commonly with reference to the code of conduct of the organisations. Ethics can be agreed as guidelines that are obligatory on a particular organisation. An ethical code assists a particular organisation to work transparently within the work setting. Professionalism is referring to the skills, competence and the conduct displayed by an individual of a certain profession. It is true that keeping ethics is also considered as one of the features of professionalism, it is confirmed that by keeping ethics it also considered as one of the values of professionalism.Surveyors fall amongst the so called “excessive elite” like medical doctors and engineers. Their photograph is taken into consideration in the network.

With this having been said, the important thing gamers inside the Geomatics enterprise, which include the government derived the Statutory body known as South African Geomatics Council (SAGC) to alter work, professionalism and ethical behaviour of the Geomatics Specialists Acts were handed, signed by the president of the Republic of South Africa and applied for the individuals to adhere to. These Acts are there to display and guide the surveyors behaviour in addition to defend the general public from any damage which could result from their moves, by outlining which actions are considered to be mistaken behaviour by means of the Geomatics specialists. There is also Code of Conducts that has been developed to spotlight the expected moral behaviour with the aid of the surveyors. “Professionalism, ethics, and morals cannot be divided and with these in-place it is rarely possible to betray trust. On the other hand those are not the only aspects that make up a professional individual; responsibility and accountability are also integral ingredients of being a professional” (Siyabonga Khanyeza, 2015).There is also the South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) which was developed specially to shield the public in opposition to any damage and also for protecting the organisation and its registered professionals to the general public.

Who are surveyors

A surveyor is a person whos has ontained at least a 4 year degree from a University of Technology; a surveyor is recognised as registered in one of the following catorgories: professional, technologist and technician. According to the registration body South African Geomatics Council (SAGC), it is expected that apart from the qualification requirements for registration, all of the above mentioned professionals are to adhere to a code of conduct enforced by a procedure of discipline.

Function and powers of registration body and the voluntary organisations SAGC

The SAGC protects the public and clients against harm of malpractice by implementing and regulating the Geomatics Profession Act through a defined set of disciplinary procedures, as outlined in the Act. It also maintains a register of registered professionals.SAGI (South African Geomatics Institute): is a Public Benefit Organisation focusing on the business aspects of registered experts in the fields of Land Surveying, Engineering Surveying, GIS, Planning, Land Management, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing – commonly now termed Geomatics. It also assists in networking and sharing common challenges in surveying or GIS and this is normally done through scheduled workshops and conferences.SARWA (South African Right of Way Association): This is an association that assists in sharing information amongst members, practitioners associated with the acquisition of property rights. This is also done through workshops and conferences. In addition, it also promotes the development of its members through education and training. The association underwrites the fair, ethical, transparent, and professional conduct of its members.

Professionalism with reference to Surveyors in South Africa

Worthington (2015) describes Professionalism as the skills, competence and the conduct displayed by an individual of a certain profession. It is also expected that such a person cultivates a polite demeanor when dealing with clients and fellow professionals. Professionalism encompasses a variety of dimensions. It is not only polite behavior or academic competence but it is a mixture of a number of qualities that contribute to professionalism. A professional need to have specialised knowledge in his particular field. This is one of the main characteristics of a certified professional. If the individual has gaps in his knowledge the contribution that he or she can make is minimal. Being competent is also important. If an individual has all the academic certificates but, still fails to work competently, then it is disruptive to the individual as well as organizational performance. Other traits such as honesty, integrity and politeness are also important for a professional. This can be considered as one of the great assets in the surveying industry as it allows the individual to perform well.Additionally, for the engineers, there may be the Engineering Council of South Africa (Act 46 of 2 hundred).

Engineering professionals register beneath distinct categories ranging from Technician to professional Engineers. These councils are aimed at tracking the professionals behaviour in addition to defensive the public, who's the purchaser to them from any harm that would result from any wrong behaviour of the specialists. (Paul Marshall, 2011) said inside the years earlier 1984 simplest land surveyors have been registered and without titling themselves as such they were taken into consideration to fall into the then highly slim definition of professional. This placed them in the same, so called, elite club as docs, chartered accountants, lawyers, and engineers.Surveyors have to be registered with a statutory body, the South African Geomatics Council (SAGC). This body regulates how surveyors practice and that they are in correct standing, ensuring that they deliver proper services and additionally to keep the public out of damage in any way.

President Jacob Zuma, in terms of section 40 of the Geomatics Profession Act, 2013 (Act No. 19 of 2013), determined that on the 01 August 2015 is the day that the Act shall come into operation. President Zuma assented the Act in December 2013. This Act details, amongst different matters, gives manual on how Geomatics experts should behave themselves.There's additionally South African Geomatics Institute (SAGI) that's (SAGI, 2017) Public advantage organisation focusing on the enterprise factors of registered specialists in the fields of Land Surveying, Engineering, Land Control, Photogrammetry, Surveying Planning, GISc and Remote Sensing normally now termed Geomatics. SAGI has a code of conduct for members and further, all contributors are statutorily registered. Individuals of the public are endorsed to protect themselves by using employing offerings of a SAGI member.Surveyors who are members of SAGI are also governed by its code of conduct. (SAGI, 2017)

The objectives of this Code of Conduct are to ensure that members:

• “apply their knowledge and skill in the interests of society and the environment;
• execute their professional service with integrity, sincerity and in accordance with generally accepted norms of professional conduct;
• honour the interests of their colleagues and respect the standing of the profession;
• continuously improve their professional skills and those of their subordinates;
• encourage excellence within the Geomatics profession”

Characteristics of Professionalism

Being a surveyor means much more than carrying a coat and tie or possessing a diploma or a degree. Professionalism additionally has to do with the way you behave yourself for the duration of your enterprise affairs. True surveyors possess a number of important characteristics (Chris Joseph, 2018).

Appearance - A professional is neat in appearance. Make certain to satisfy or even exceed the requirements of your business enterprise's dress code, and pay unique interest in your look whilst meeting with prospects or customers.

Reliability - As an expert, you'll be counted on directly to discover a way to get the process executed. Responding to humans promptly and following through on guarantees in a well-timed way is likewise critical, as this demonstrates reliability.

Competence - Experts attempt to become experts of their discipline, which sets them aside from others. This will mean persevering with your education by taking courses, attending seminars and achieving any associated expert designations.

Written Correspondence - During written correspondence, preserve your letters, be brief and to the point. Your tone should be polite and formal without being "stuffy." This also applies to e mail correspondence.

Organizational capabilities - A professional can speedy and effortlessly find what is wanted. Your paintings area need to be neat and organized, and your briefcase should incorporate best what is needed on your appointment or presentation.

Accountability - specialists are always answerable for their actions. In case you make a mistake, own up to it and try to fix it if feasible. Do not attempt to shift the blame onto a colleague. In case your organization made the mistake, take responsibility and remedy the issue.

Ethics with reference to Surveyors in South Africa

Worthington (2015) describes Ethics as guidelines for individuals, which clearly state the do’s and don’ts. Ethics exists in many contexts. Especially in the industrial setting as ethics are considered as vital. In this context, a work ethic is imposed on all employees. This guides the employees to be ethically correct in all their actions. Ethics include a number of features such as honesty, integrity, law abiding, leadership and accountability.(Paul Marshall,Plato, 2011) describes ethics as how we behave while we understand there may be very little chance of people being found out. They are no longer legislated and are not effortlessly taught. They relate without delay to our personal integrity and moral standards, Plato attempts to instil ethics via the mentorship structure. There may be no alternative for shadowing a mentor after you have achieved an educational qualification. This can also have a similarly bad effect relying at the ethics degree of the mentor.

The South African Geomatics Council (SAGC) has established ethical code of conduct for registered members. This is to make sure that their participants carry out their duties with integrity and for them to be relied on by means of the general public due to their compliance with the code of ethics. Disciplinary movements may be instituted for contributors who do not follow this code of behaviour. The code of ethics guarantees that a survey practitioner renders services in a way that consumer’s rights are included and the general public is not harmed. It is the duty of a survey practitioner to take ethical steps to prevent instances that could bring about malicious conduct (Makau, 1997).In terms of Section 19(1) of the Geomatics Profession Act 19, 2013, it is explained and emphasised that the surveyor “may not engage in any act of dishonestly, corruption, bribery or unethical conduct (SAGC, 2017).A surveyor is taught from university that the qualities of a good surveyor include being honest, reliable, and trustworthy, and always doing checks when conducting survey”. (Siyabonga Khanyeza, 2015).

the surveyor “must discharge their duties to their employers,clients, associates and the public with integrity,fidelity and honestly”.

Characteristics of Ethics

The following listing of concepts includes the characteristics and values that every surveyor should associate with moral behavior (Josephson Institute's, 2010):

Honesty - Ethical executives are sincere and straightforward in all their dealings and they do not deliberately mislead or lie to others with the aid of misrepresentations, overstatements, partial truths, selective omissions, or every other approach.

Integrity - Ethical executives exhibit private integrity and the braveness in their convictions by doing what they assume is proper even when there is first rate stress to do otherwise, and they are principled, honorable and upright. They will not sacrifice principles for expediency, be hypocritical, or unscrupulous.

Law Abiding - Ethical executives abide by way of legal guidelines, policies and regulations referring to their commercial enterprise sports.

Leadership - Moral executives are aware of the duties and possibilities in their role of leadership. They use their personal behavior to create an environment in which principled reasoning and moral decision making are enormously prized.

Accountability - Ethical executives accept personal duty for their choices and omissions to themselves, their colleagues, their groups, and their communities.

Conclusion

There are many challenges adhering to the Professional Code of Ethics and could be for more than one of the following reasons: war of hobby, peer pressure, terrible ethical consciousness, corruption, social-political strain, negligence, time constraints and breach of self-assurance (Adjei K.O, M Sarfo and A Sam., 2015). To create a commonplace operational framework. (Abdul-Rahman, H Wang and Yap, 2010) stated that unethical behaviour had a negative impact on great work but, this can be by encouraging mentorship to enhance the professionalism in one’s character. All registrations are regulated through the South African Geomatics Council and the Act is enforced on members but a massive sum of specialists namely, the technicians experience that the frame work has not provided sufficient offerings to suit their desires. They are basically left inside the dark. The statutory body needs to conform with the requests of all members as many do not have the funds for the registration expenses. There ought to be an enactment where there is a wave of charges for positive agencies of professions or a discount in annual fees.

Like most professions, the Geomatics career has all sorts of people for example those which might be obsessed with what they do and people that are pressured to do what they do. All of this depends on personal notion, goals and accomplishments. One must not be evaluated on their a few years of experience and how their training is acquired, but additionally on how they carry about themselves. This can be understood through an example. Surveying is a profession where the significance of the ethical code is very high. A surveyor is expected to be ethical throughout his or her practice so that it is beneficial for the surveyor, the society at large and also the surveying profession. Let us take the case of competency. It is expected that all surveyors should be competent in the surveying profession. If the surveyor is not competent, he will not be able to assist the client and can even cause damage to the client. This is why in any profession ethics is established.

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