Introduction
A year and a half after it began work on the project, the Intersociety Committee for Professional Employment Guidelines has announced that the second edition of the Guidelines to Professional Employment for Engineers and Scientists has been endorsed by enough societies to officially replace the first edition. A special subcommittee, following an elaborate procedure to assure that all interested societies had ample opportunity to comment, completed the revision. The draft was then edited further by the full intersociety committee and released in October for review and endorsement by engineering and scientific societies.
As agreed upon by the intersociety committee, the second edition was to officially replace the first upon endorsement by four out of five of the societies "principally concerned with implementation", including NSPE, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A second requirement was that two thirds of the societies endorsing the first edition, which was adopted January 1, 1973, must also endorse the second. All five of the listed societies have endorsed, as have at least 26 of the 32 first-edition endorsers.
Foreward
The first edition, January 1. 1973. stated that the Guidelines would be kept current by periodic review. Such a review has now been completed which indicates that the principles outlined in the first edition remain sound and should be retained, but that some changes and additions are needed to improve clarity and reflect experience. These have been incorporated in this second edition.
Despite the changes. the Guidelines remain a summary of mutually satisfying relationships between employers and professional employees such as engineers and scientists. But now it is recognized that they reflect the combined experience and judgment of many employers and professionai employees. The first edition gave the credit for the Guidelines solely to the endorsing societies.
Other differences between the first and second editions consist of addition of some thoughts on employee-employer responsibilities regarding patents, control of proprietary information, and use of engineering titles. The distinction is clarified between the performance evaluation by the employer for salary administration and the performance review by the employer and employee in face-to-face discussion for career planning, exchange of viewpoints, and letting the employee know how he/she is doing. The text has been edited to take account of female as well as male employees. An effort has been made to minimize redundancy, clarify ambiguities, and improve the style.
The second edition does not add any qualification of employee benefits beyond what was included in the first edition. A benefits study, which was made with the help and cooperation of the EJC Corporate Affiliates, revealed that qualification calls for an excessive amount of detail which is perhaps more appropriate to implementation than to the content of the Guidelines. It was concluded that the Guidelines should remain as broad statements of principle pursuant to the basic concepts and format of the first edition. The results of the benefits study are being published separately.
It is anticipated that the Guidelines will continue to be used by employers in evaluating their own practices, by professional employees in evaluating their own responsibilities and those of their employers, and by new graduates and other employment seekers in evaluating their prospective employers.
Because of wide variations in individual circumstances and organizational practices, it is inappropriate to make such evaluations on the basis of any single policy or fringe benefit. Rather, attention should be devoted to evaluating the entire employment "package," including compensation (salary and other benefits) and such intangibles as opportunities for future advancement and participation in profits, location, local cost of living, and other factors which may be important to the professional employee.
Where practices do not measure up to the spirit of the Guidelines, it is hoped that improvements will be implemented by employer initiative and employee-employer discussion and joint action to minimize personnel problems, reduce misunderstandings, and generate greater mutual respect. In the process of implementation, it is recommended that the Guidelines continue to be viewed as desirable general goals rather than as a set of minimum standards. A constructive and flexible approach is essential to deal with the aforesaid wide variations in individual circumstances.
Where differences in interpretation occur, they may be referred to the headquarters office of any of the endorsing societies. This document is subject to periodic review by the endorsing societies to keep it current.
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