The Role of Discretion in Professional Practice *

Headnote

Abstract

Various scholars of ethics and economics conduct research on the best modes of decision making which guarantee good outcome and moral behaviour of the individuals involved. Either of the modes considered, rules with regulations or discretion and judgment, find applicability in diversified professional circumstances. The paper investigates how discretion can be used in professional activity by using the Aristotelic-Thomistic framework. Results indicate that such a framework can be used by engineers in their working environments and by other working professionals with the main proposition that only in discretionary decision making is the person able to take full responsibility for the outcomes and to premeditate their moral worth in conscience before resolving to commit the act itself.

Keywords: personalistic professionalism in engineering ethics, discretion, human decision making, conscience, truth

JEL Classification: A13, D81

1.Introdution

So far few attempts have been made to provide an in-depth insight into the process of committing a moral act by a professional human being, with the help of either rules or discretion. Even fewer attempts were made to combine these internal and external processes into the seamless operation of a human being. This paper shows how it is applicable to use discretion in professional ethical judgment.

It shall be argued that the discretion of an acting person can only result in moral choices when acts are done with the whole involvement of the acting person's inner faculties rather than impersonally. Only then are appropriate virtues built and professional skills combined with them.

2.Rules vs. discretion in the economic and professional literature

Davis1 was one of the few authors in the professional engineering literature who recognized the importance of professional judgment for science and engineering practice. To be a minimally competent engineer, '(...) one must be able to identify fruitful problems, investigate them in the appropriate way, and draw useful conclusions. '2 Since there is no single reliable algorithm for doing this in either science or engineering, central importance is placed on judgment and personal discretion for doing it rightly and reliably. It is especially important for ethical professional behaviour.

There are two opposing views on what to rely on during professional moral conduct. One group of views recommends the reliance on rules, which are more applicable in certain...