Ethics for Management Consultants

Abstract

Management consultants and their moral standards and behaviour have been questioned and caricatured, but it is not sufficiently appreciated that they frequently have to operate in situations which are characterized by ambiguity, ignorance, uncertainty and sensitivity and they cannot always simply apply ethical rules in cooperating with their clients. In addition, more attention should be given to the ethics of the client, and “dual ethics” should be a joint concern. Research among consultants and clients has identified several ethical dilemmas frequently experienced by consultants which are explained and explored. Dr Poulfelt is Associate Professor of Management at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy at Copenhagen Business School, Blaagaardsgade 23 B, DK‐2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.

Moral or Dirty Leadership: A Qualitative Study on How Juniors Are Managed in Dutch Consultancies

“…It is possible that they are merely used instrumentally, to push performance of juniors just a little bit further, without irreversible consequences for leadership reputation and employee health and wellbeing. What we can conclude is that the morally dirty reputation of consultancies is not only articulated regarding the consultant–client relationships [7,8,9,10]. Moral leadership issues between consultants and their managers are also publicly addressed, and more prominently indeed than their moral leadership approaches.…”

“…Popular criticisms also target consultants for their lack of expertise and overly high fees, lack of independence, and a focus on rationalization over human values [5,6]. Mostly consultants’ clients are identified as victims of such morally dirty practices [7,8,9]. Such public criticisms undermine the reputation of consultants and contribute to the occupation’s dirty image [10,11].…”

Introduction of Jokes-Based Research Methods

“…Fourth, when consultants work with clients, they do not always take the whole client system into account. Although serving the client's interest is considered very important (Shaw, 2020, p. 36), interests of the primary client are not necessarily aligned with the interests of all employees, or other relevant external stakeholders (see Bouwmeester & Stiekema, 2015;Poulfelt, 1997;Schein, 1997;Sturdy, 2009). For instance, IT assignments have the potential of increasing efficiency but do not always benefit employees.…”

Critical Jokes and Moral Reflection in Interviews

“…However, moral criticisms on the manager-consultant relationship are less prominent in the consulting literature than criticisms related to the consultant-client relationships (cf. Allen & Davis, 1993;Poulfelt, 1997;Redekop & Heath, 2007). The latter has negative reputation effects and undermines business (Krehmeyer & Freeman, 2012, p. 87;O'Mahoney, 2011, p. 107).…”