ABSTRACT
This chapter emphasizes the contract nature of ethics. The parties to the contract are the individual and society at large that permits individual engineers, and by extension scientists and technical managers, to occupy a special position of trust in a free enterprise economy. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics serves two related purposes, it provides a code for its members, and by extension, to the engineering community at large, and it serves in part as a "model code", some of whose provisions are adopted by other bodies such as state engineering licensing boards. Standards engineering and the development of standards are an important part of the engineering profession. Those engaged in standards engineering recognize that their work has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people.
