What is the main ethical issue in the case study?

CNST4335-Construction Management II

Ethics Assignment
Ethics is a cornerstone of professional construction practice. This assignment is to help students to gain a better understanding of ethics standards through a real-life case study. This assignment is also an assessment of your written communication skills. Please take the time to write well to ensure a high grade.
Instruction
Read the attached Ethic Case Study and reference any code of ethics adopted by any professional or trades organization to answer the following questions:
Q1. What is the main ethical issue in the case study? Describe any circumstances to help the reader to fully appreciate the issue.
Q2. What caused the issue/problem in the first place?
Q3. Imagine you were one of the paving contractors and were asked to participate again in the complementary bidding.
What will you do? Explain your reasons.
1. You will agree to participate with the understanding that each contractor has its fair turn to receive awards in future projects.
2. You will decline to participate and you will prepare your bid independently.
3. You will decline to participate and report the complimentary bidding practice to the client, i.e. the state agency
Q4.Discuss your rationale for declining the other option.
Evaluation
CRITERIA POINTS
I. Technical Merit (7 points)
– Q1 & Q2 (300 words minimum) /3
– Q3 &Q4 (500 words minimum) /4
II. Writing skill (3 points)
– Use of appropriate grammar, spelling, and MLA format (see sample in Blackboard) /1.5
– Logic structure & development of ideas /1.5
TOTAL /10pt

Deadline: Please submit your solution in Blackboard (click “Ethics Assignment” link on the left navigation menu) prior to the due date.

Complementary Bidding in Construction Projects
SITUATION:

Several paving contractors in two southern statesparticipated in an anticompetitive scheme known as complementary bidding or bid rigging. Prospective competitors on a particular paving contract would select a “winning” bidder amongst themselves. The designated contractor would submit its bid for the project, while the other contractors would knowingly submit bids having a higher dollar amount or containing terms the contractors knew would be unacceptable to the state entity letting the contract. The scheme would thus create the illusion of a competitive bidding process while ensuring that a particular paving contractor ultimately received the contract award.

ASCECodeofEthics