MR.

BRIAN MATARA
LECTURER
KISUMU
0716460428

ETHICAL DIMENSIONS IN CONSULTANCY

-Meaning of ethics in consultancy
-Ethical problems in consultancy
Ethics: Definition

“Ethics” can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how we should behave — in
particular, how we should constrain the pursuit of self-interest when our actions affect others.

Ethics are about moral evaluations of decisions as to whether they are right or wrong on the basis
of socially/culturally accepted principles of behaviour. Ethics are moral principles that define
appropriate behaviour.

The most basic and common ethical issues have been formalized through laws and regulations to
ensure conformity to the standards of society. At the most basic level, practitioners are
expected to conform to these laws and regulations. However, it is important to realise that
ethics go beyond legal issues.

Organizations need to operate in accordance with sound moral principles based on ideals such as
fairness, justice, and trust. Clients will generally regard unethical marketing activities as
unacceptable and often refuse to do business with practitioners who engage in such practices.
Thus when practitioners deviate from accepted moral principles to further their own interests at
the expense of others, continued exchanges become difficult, if not impossible. Good ethical
decisions make good business sense as they foster mutual trust between the organization and its
clients (as well as other stakeholders) and build good relationships.

When an organization engages in unethical business activities, it may not only lose sales as
dissatisfied clients refuse to deal with it, but it may also face lawsuits, fines, and even prison for
its executives.

Regardless of how a person or an organization views the acceptability of a particular activity, if

society judges that activity to be wrong or unethical, then this view directly affects the
organization’s ability to achieve its goals. Although not all activities seen as unethical by society
may be illegal, clients may see it as unethical. Their protests against a particular activity may
result in legislation that restricts or bans it.

Ethics are individually understood and vary from one person to another. Although individual
practitioners often work within their own concepts of ethical standards, there needs to be shared
standards of acceptable behaviour to guide all business decisions.

“Business Ethics” can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people &
institutions should behave in the world of commerce. In particular, it involves examining
appropriate constraints on the pursuit of self-interest, or (for firms) profits, when the actions of
individuals or firms affects others

Codes of ethics Principles for Ethical Consulting

Codes of ethics are formalized rules and standards that describe what the company expects of its
employees. Codes of ethics encourage ethical behaviour by eliminating opportunities for unethical
behaviour: the company’s employees know both what is expected of them and what the
punishment is for violating the rules. Codes of ethics also help marketers deal with ethical issues
or dilemmas that develop in daily operations by prescribing or limiting certain activities. The
codes of ethics do not have to be so detailed that they take into account every situation, but they
should provide general guidelines for achieving organizational goals and objectives in a morally
acceptable manner. Simply put, ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing
the right thing – however, in organizational consulting, the right thing is not always easy to
identify. Ethics includes the fundamental ground rules by which we live our lives. Values that guide
how we ought to behave are considered moral values, for example, values such as respect, honesty,
fairness and responsibility. Statements around how these values are applied are sometimes called
moral or ethical principles.
Ethical consultants must have a set of principles, which defines ethical behavior and guides the
consultants’ actions toward those behaviors. This is true whether you are an external consultant or
an internal leader wanting to lead employees fairly and equally. Many times, those principles are
documented as a code of ethics. Also, consultants must be able to recognize ethical dilemmas and
have at least one tool to use to address the dilemma
Codes of Ethics to Avoid Behaviors That You Perceive as Unethical
It is critical that you establish some major principles, or guideposts, to ensure that you consult in
a manner that is fair and equitable and also thatminimizes your liabilities as a consultant. Those
principles are your “inner compass” in the midst of the confusion and complexity that are typical
at various times in an organizational change effort.
Many times, consultants start developing that compass by developing descriptions of their mission
and vision for their consulting work and the way that they want to work.
Here are some important ethical guidelines for consulting during organizational change:

i. Do no harm to your client

ii. Keep client information private unless the client or law requests otherwise
iii. Do not create dependence by you on your client, nor by your client on you
iv. Anticipate and avoid conflicts of interest
v. Do not act in the official capacity as an advocate for your client.
vi. Do not go beyond your own expertise
vii. Do not skip the discovery phase of consulting
viii. Treat others the way you want them to treat you
ix. Avoiding Behaviors That Clients Perceive as Unethical

Avoiding Behaviors That Clients Perceive as Unethical

To avoid unethical behaviors, you also should develop strong self-awareness, including about your
own biases and assumptions and about the limits of your own expertise. This self-understanding
is critically important.
When first establishing a relationship with your client’s organization, you should make every effort
to learn the culture, or personality, of their organization. The culture is reflected in a variety of
values, some of them actually enacted and others that are preferred by members of the
organization.
Ethical behaviors should conform to the values of that culture, as well as your own professional
Values.
Examples of a Consultant’s Unethical Behaviors
1. Because the consultant wants to have a good relationship with the client, the consultant quickly
adopts the client’s perspective on all issues and does not voice any disagreement with the client,
thereby colluding with the client.
2. Because the consultant offered guidance or advice that was well beyond their expertise, the
client’s organization implemented action plans that were destructive to the organization.
3. Because the consultant did not conduct enough discovery (or “diagnosis”) to further examine
the client’s reported issue, the client’s organization implemented action plans that were incomplete
or destructive to the organization.
4. Because the consultant wanted the client to promptly do as the consultant advised, the consultant
pushed their point of view well beyond what the evidence of the discovery process revealed in the
client’s organization.
5. Because the client wanted the consultant to come to the same conclusion about the issue as the
client, the client somehow did not tell “the whole story” to the consultant who, in turn, made the
wrong recommendations based on inadequate information.
6. Because the consultant wanted to further help the client’s organization, the consultant did not
terminate the current consulting project when the outcomes (that were specified in the project’s
work plan) are achieved.
7. Because the consultant wanted to help the overall community, the consultant told investors
information that the client believed was being held in confidence between the consultant and client.
8. Because the consultant wanted to help the client’s organization, the consultant arranged a
meeting to report concerns about the Chief Executive Officer to the members of the Board, without
telling the Chief Executive Officer of the consultant’s attendance at the Board meeting.
9. When the consultant learned about a particular new model or technique, for example, in
evaluation, he or she tried to convince the client of an issue with the client’s products or services
in order to create an opportunity to apply that new learning.
10. During the discovery phase of the consulting process when interviewing one of the entry-level
employees, the consultant tried to build trust with the employee by sharing his or her confidential
impressions of what he or she has concluded about the Chief Executive Officer so far.

Typical Problems of Ethics in Consulting

1. Client already knows the answer he wants to his problem.

2. Client wants you to omit information from your written report.

3. Client wants proprietary information that you learned while employed with someone else.

4. Client wants you to lie /cheat/fake ideas

5. You are a head hunter and a member of a client’s firm wants you to recruit him.

6. Client wants you to bill for greater or lesser than the actual amount.
 WBA 8

ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF CONSULTANCY

a) Identify and discuss key ethical challenges that consultants in Kenya face today while executing
their mandate (10 marks)
b) By working as a professional consultant you establish a contractual relation with
your“customer”, that is a donor, an executing agency, anon-governmental organisation, a private
consultancy firm, a recipi-ent institution, a project etc. Once a contract is concluded you will have
obligations but also rights.Discuss(10 marks)
c)Discuss Principles for Ethical business Consulting(10 Marks)