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+--- Thread: Ethics in a downturn (/showthread.php?tid=1443)
Ethics in a downturn - BAJR Host - 5th March 2009
One thing we must all guard against.. is cutting any more corners.. chopping back on price.. doing less than is the very best... if we cut corners or are unethical then we may as well give up archaeology.
It is not a money making get rich scheme... and if we lose the one thing that makes us do archaeology... for what in reality is a few more pounds... then we have lost our soul.
I would (and just have in the past two weeks) lost two jobs worth thousands - becuase I could not in all honesty do less than the best. - not saying that those that won are doing so, but I value my services and won't go down. (now, I have bills to pay, and as maggie is reminding me, cash flow !! ) but I see my craft as more important.
?When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.?
William Blake
Ethics in a downturn - Windbag - 5th March 2009
"Nothing less than the best"- sorry, but there is a sliding scale of how much time, effort and expense you can put into any aspect of work. We all have standards, but it takes minimum standards that are enforced across the board (through curators or the IfA) to maintain or raise the appropriate level. If companies are allowed to get away with shoddy work then that is their fault, but it is the system that allows it to happen.
?He who seeks vengeance must dig two graves: one for his enemy and one for himself?
Chinese Proverb
Ethics in a downturn - monty - 5th March 2009
originally posted by Tom Wilson:'the dole aint so bad'.......the dole is absolutely horrendous...difficult enough for those having to sign on without such comments surely.........i fail to see what aint so bad about it !
Ethics in a downturn - BAJR Host - 5th March 2009
Standards are one thing that can be enforced more robustly.. and I feel that the IfA are going to be helping in this... we need to support curatorial services to enforce.. we need this.. as we can have all the written standards in the world, but holes big enough to drive trains through.
My comment about nothing but the best is a personal one... I don't compromise.. I mentally can't.. [:p] problem? perhaps..!
?When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.?
William Blake
Ethics in a downturn - monty - 5th March 2009
Nothing but the best ....something we should all consciously aim for .....we definitely need to support the curatorial element and hopefully IfA and BAJR Federation can really help move things forward..
Ethics in a downturn - BAJR Host - 5th March 2009
I agree.. and it has to be a collective thing.. with nobody pulling out of sync
?When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.?
William Blake
Ethics in a downturn - drpeterwardle - 5th March 2009
The one thing that must not be compromised in a down turn is health and safety and in particular people feeling that they cannot complain. The ethics quality and the archaeology are secondary to this.
Peter
Ethics in a downturn - tom wilson - 6th March 2009
Quote:quote:Originally posted by monty
originally posted by Tom Wilson:'the dole aint so bad'.......the dole is absolutely horrendous...difficult enough for those having to sign on without such comments surely.........i fail to see what aint so bad about it !
Sorry Monty, but the dole ain't so bad, unless you have kids, in which case you have my sincere sympathy. I've been on the dole a lot, by the way. Sorry if you are now, but Trowelhead's question was whether the market was sufficient reason to give up on one's ethics. I hope I have made my position clear on that.
It ain't so bad as to be worth becoming a mockery of what you set out to be, and destroying other people's chances of doing a decent respectable job as archaeologists by dragging the whole industry down with unethical practices.
I agree with your other point about best practice though. The level we should be looking for is 'good enough'. 'Best practice', to me, implies trying to make improvements that the current market isn't in a position to contemplate.
freeburmarangers.org
Ethics in a downturn - Sparky - 6th March 2009
Disagree Tom. 'Good enough' seems very subjective whereas 'best practice' implies that there are standards (IfA, Eh H etc) which we should adhere to as a minimum.
One person's 'good enough' can mean embarrassment for the rest of us.
Ethics in a downturn - Oxbeast - 6th March 2009
"...which we should adhere to as a minimum". Isn't that substantially the same thing as 'good enough'? Its a subjective question in anyway, as standards may or may not quantify what is 'best practice' in any particular case.