The Gift of a Complimentary Seminar Registration A pipe company invites engineers to a complimentary educational seminar on the use of their products. This could be compared to perks and gifts given to physicians by drug companies.
Contingency Payment for Industrial Design Payment for work on a contingency or commission basis is considered by some toundermine the professional standing of engineers and in some circumstances to create a conflict of interest. Others consider it to create an incentive for an engineer to deliver the best services of which she is capable.
The Use of Work from An Unpaid Consultation Zealous pursuit of a contract and use of a study authored by a competing firm. This case raises questions about the limits are require to keep competition for a contract fair.
Exchange of gifts with customers and suppliers The guidelines in this article go into greater detail about the propriety and acceptability of the exchange of gifts between non-government suppliers and customers.
Relevant Literature on this Topic
Stephen H. Unger, "Ethical Aspects of Bribing People in Other Countries", Science and Engineering Ethics, V. 4 (1998): Issue 3, pp. 287-290. Other keywords for this article: corruption, trade.
Richard M. Cohen and Jules Witcover, "Say You Gave at the Office ...," excerpt from A Heartbeat Away, in Sons of Martha: Civil Engineering Readings in Modern Literature, Augustine J. Fredrich, ed. (NY: ASCE, 1989). Other keywords for this: fraud, financial, in government contracting; gifts to officials; kickbacks; corruption; contracts.