--- title: "Contractor friend's dinner and guesthouse offer" subject: "Engineering Professional Practice" chapter: 7 key: "semester_8/engineering_professional_practice:friend-dinner-guesthouse-ethics" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/friend-dinner-guesthouse-ethics site: BCT Engineering --- # Contractor friend's dinner and guesthouse offer Engineering Professional Practice · Chapter 7: Case Studies based on Engineering Practices - Asked in: 2071 Magh, 8 marks; year not given - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/friend-dinner-guesthouse-ethics - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/chapter-7 ## Question You are working as an Engineer from a Consulting Engineering Firm. Your contractor friend Er. Hari is working as a Project Engineer from contractor office in the same project. Mr. Hari invites you for dinner every Friday to celebrate "good Friday" and requests you to share the guest house for your accommodation. What would you do in maintaining the code of ethics and friendship relation? (Prepare a case study based on code of ethics. Make supplementary assumptions if necessary.) ## Short answer Decline the guest house and weekly dinners, and arrange your own accommodation and meals. Inform your superior about the friendship and invitation, and keep inspections strictly to specification. Professional integrity and public trust come before friendship, but a transparent friendship can continue. ## Answer #### Case and assumptions I am a supervising engineer from the consulting firm; the project engineer Er. Hari of the contractor is my friend. I certify the quality of work and the contractor's bills. I assume the dinners are paid by Hari or his company, the guest house belongs to the contractor, and I pay nothing for accommodation. The firm has no rule that allows it. #### Ethical issues - **Conflict of interest:** I act as the client's representative to check the contractor. Receiving regular benefits from the person I inspect makes my judgement doubtful, even if it is not actually affected. - **Gifts and hospitality:** weekly dinners and free accommodation are valuable benefits. They may be seen as a bribe or an inducement to overlook defects, and so they weaken honesty and impartiality. - **Appearance:** the public, client and other contractors may suspect favouritism. A professional must avoid even the appearance of wrong. - **Law:** the Nepal Engineering Council code of conduct requires engineers to act as faithful agents of their client or employer, to avoid conflicts of interest, and not to accept any payment or benefit from the other party in connection with the work. The Prevention of Corruption Act 2059 treats improper benefits to a public or project official as an offence, and the Public Procurement Act 2063 bars improper influence. #### Options 1. Accept everything: easy for friendship, but it breaks the code and puts my job and licence at risk. 2. Refuse everything and cut the friendship: safe, but unnecessarily harsh. 3. Decline the guest house and regular dinners, keep the friendship in a transparent way. 4. Accept but disclose to my firm and client: still leaves the appearance of favour. #### Recommendation Choose option 3. - Politely decline the guest house and arrange my own accommodation (or the firm's/client's). - Decline the weekly dinner. If we meet socially, it should be occasional, not in a way that suggests a link to the work, and each pays his own share. - Inform my immediate superior about the friendship and the invitation, so there is transparency. - Explain frankly to Hari that I value the friendship, but my duty requires me to stay independent. A true friend will understand. - Continue to inspect strictly by the specification, record decisions in writing, and, if there is any doubt about impartiality, ask a colleague to check the particular work. The friendship is important, but professional integrity and public trust come first. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Why is accepting weekly dinners and free guest house from the contractor's engineer a problem for the supervising engineer? A. Because friends cannot meet socially at all B. Because dinners are illegal in every case C. Because the contractor's guest house is unsafe D. Receiving regular benefits from the person he inspects makes his judgement doubtful and may look like an inducement or bribe Answer: D. The supervising engineer checks the contractor, so regular benefits from him create a conflict of interest and may be seen as a bribe, even if judgement is not actually affected. (Key point: Conflict of interest) 2. What does 'avoid even the appearance of wrong' mean here? A. Only actual bribery matters B. Even if he stays fair, the public, client and others may suspect favouritism, so he must avoid the situation C. Nobody can see private dinners, so they are fine D. Appearance matters only to the contractor Answer: B. A professional must avoid situations that look like favouritism because public trust depends on appearance as well as actual conduct. (Key point: Appearance of wrong) 3. Which option does the answer recommend? A. Accept everything to keep the friendship B. Cut off the friendship completely C. Decline the guest house and regular dinners but keep the friendship transparently D. Accept the offers but tell nobody Answer: C. Option 3: decline the guest house and weekly dinners, keep the friendship in a transparent way, with each paying his own share if they meet occasionally. (Key point: Recommended option) 4. Which step helps maintain transparency and impartiality? A. Inform the immediate superior about the friendship and invitation, and record decisions in writing B. Hide the friendship from the firm C. Approve the contractor's work faster D. Let the contractor arrange accommodation quietly Answer: A. Informing the superior, inspecting strictly by specification and recording decisions in writing keep the engineer independent and transparent. (Key point: Transparency and independence) ## Related in Engineering Professional Practice - [Site engineer uses weaker mortar and concrete mix](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Amortar-ratio-friend-silence) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Short note: Consulting firm registration](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Ashort-note-consulting-firm-registration) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 5 - [Substandard sand offered with cost-saving share](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Asubstandard-sand-aggregate-share) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Engineer's relation with client, contractor, fellows](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Aengineer-relation-client-contractor) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 3 - [Engineer opens confidential salary file](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Aconfidential-salary-file-conduct) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Consultant's friend supplies material; community objects](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Aconsultant-friend-supplier-quit) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 ## Related in other subjects - [Contents of a good project proposal](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aproposal-contents-components) — Project Engineering, chapter 2, asked 3× - [Classify project; characteristics; good environment](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aclassify-project-importance-environment) — Project Engineering, chapter 1 - [Dividend per ordinary share, 500 shares, tax 20%](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Adividend-per-share-500-shares-b81) — Project Engineering, chapter 6 - [Memo: office closed for conference](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Amemo-office-closed-conference) — Communication English, chapter 4