ASQ Code of Ethics

Before I jump into the nuts and bolts of this chapter, I want to share my perspective on Quality.

To me, Quality is integrity, not just in the products we make or the services we offer, but in the way we make them and the relationships we maintain.

This is essentially the essences of the ASQ Code of Conduct – to have integrity in everything you do.

To become a CQE, and to maintain your certification, ASQ requires that you maintain the highest level of professional conduct.

ASQ’s Code of Conduct breaks down into the Fundamental Principles and three (3) Expectations of a Quality Professions.

The fundamental principle is:

ASQ requires its representatives to be honest and transparent. Avoid conflicts of interest and plagiarism. Do not harm others. Treat them with respect, dignity, and fairness. Be professional and socially responsible. Advance the role and perception of the Quality professional.

I want to add my own perspective here.

This fundamental principle is all about trust and integrity.

I say this all the time, and I’ll say it again, your career grows (read: promotion) when you learn new things and grow.

But that’s only partly correct.

Not only do you have to learn and grow, but you have to put that knowledge into practice, and work collaboratively the people around you to make a difference in your organization.

When you start making a larger difference in your organization, then your career will grow.

And this is where trust and integrity come into play.

Everything we do is done on a team. And the speed at which that team operates will be based on the level of trust between team members.

Where there is trust, there is speed. But where there is no trust, there is no speed.

And speed means getting things done!

And getting things done means making a difference in your organization, which leads to you growing your career.

So this advice from ASQ to be honest and have integrity will benefit you as an individual, because as you work with integrity, you will build trust with your co-workers, and that trust will allow you to be a more productive version of yourself.

Let’s now look at the 3 expectations of a quality professional.

The Three (3) Expectations of a Quality Professional

Act With Integrity and Honesty

Strive to uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the Quality professions.
Be truthful and transparent in all professional interactions and activities
Execute professional responsibilities and make decisions in an objective, factual, and fully informed manner.
Accurately represent and do not mislead others regarding professional qualifications, including education, titles, affiliations, and certifications.
Offer services, provide advice, and undertake assignments only in your areas of competence, expertise, and training.

Quality Ethics Henry Ford

Demonstrate Responsibility, Respect and Fairness

Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of individuals, the public, and the environment
Avoid conduct that unjustly harms or threatens the reputation of the Society, its members, or the Quality profession.
Do not intentionally cause harm to others through words or deeds. Treat others fairly, courteously, with dignity and without prejudice or discrimination.

Safeguard Proprietary Information and Avoid Conflicts of Interest

Ensure the protection and integrity of confidential information.
Do not use confidential information for personal gain.
Fully disclose and avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest that could reasonably impair objectivity or independence in the service of clients, customers, employers, or the Society.
Give credit where its due.
Do not plagiarize. Do not use the intellectual property of others without permission. Document the permission as it is obtained.

Reference

The information above is taken directly from the ASQ Code of Ethics.

Examples of Ethical Dilemmas

To help you prepare for the CQE Exam, I want to give you examples of ethical dilemmas that should be avoided, or that would violate the 3 expectations of a quality professional.

You are interviewing for a new job for a quality engineering position. The interviewer asks you if you’re ever been involved in a validation for an automated piece of equipment. In your work experience you’ve had extensive experience in validating semi-automated equipment, however never a completed automated piece of equipment. You believe you have to say yes to get the job, what would you do?

You are validating a new piece of production equipment, and during the measurement of the product, you find a data point that is out of spec, which you believe to be a result of measurement error. The technician suggests that you re-measure the part and record the result on a new data sheet, and discard the original data point. What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?

As part of your business, you collect confidential customer information. Your supplier has indicated that they could improve the quality of their product if you would only share your customers confidential information with them. What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?

You have two suppliers for an important component. One supplier has asked If they can get a copy of the receiving inspection data from their competitor. . . What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?

Your primary supplier also does business with your biggest competitor. In error, your supplier accidentally sends you your competitors’ data. What would you do? How might your reaction possibly violate certain elements of the code of ethics?

During a validation, you’re having to build hundreds of samples to satisfy the requirements in the validation protocol. This requires you to constantly start and stop the automated equipment to take samples from the line. A maintenance technician suggests that you bypass the safety curtain around your equipment to speed up the process. What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?

You’re on the manufacturing floor investigating a non-conformance. Your production folks are a very diverse group. While interviewing one operator, he indicated that the root cause was “those foreigners over there” as he points as a group of employees. What element of the code of ethics was violated by this operator?

A supplier is attempting to win more business from your organization, and they recognize you as a key stakeholder who can speak up regarding the quality of their product. They offer you expensive tickets to a football game where your favorite team happens to be playing in. What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?

You are investigating a recent non-conformance, and the data suggests that the root cause is a recent change that was made to the production line that results in nearly $1M in scrap reduction. The operations director approaches you to ask you to find a different root cause. What element of the code of ethics might be in violation here?