Dilemmas IMC Ethical helpline

I’m told that the IMC Ethical Helpline for Members of the Institute is up and running, and a number of members have taken advantage of this service, since it was inaugurated in October last. As readers of this column will know, dilemmas seem to come out of the blue. They attack you when you least expect it. You’re sailing along minding your own and your client’s business, earning some honest fees, working long hours, travelling far afield, staying in strange hotels and suddenly, you are confronted with a dilemma.

The dilemma can be concerned with client management or staff. The dilemma can be concerned with relationships between the client and you as the consultant. If you work for a large consultancy, it might pose difficult questions concerning your continued employment. The dilemma might even be concerned with third parties, who have only a passing knowledge or interest in your quandary, but, who are very interested, if not dependent, on the outcome.

What do you do about it?

It depends, doesn’t it. If you’re a sole practitioner, who do you turn to? Do you turn to a colleague or former colleague, a friend, a mentor, a minister of religion, or somebody else?

If you work in a small firm, you may choose to talk to one of your colleagues.

But they may be involved also, and unable to give you objective, disinterested help.

If you work in a large firm, you may have the luxury of being able to discuss the dilemma confidentially with a supervisor. On the other hand, you may not be able to do this, because the firm itself is involved.

In all these cases, the IMC Ethical Helpline aims to provide an objective, disinterested, non-judgemental response. It does not provide advice.

It is structured to make available, experienced consultancy professionals, with counselling training, to help management consultancy members of the Institute manage their own solution to the dilemma facing them.

Regular readers will be familiar with our fictional consultant, Antonia, and the many quandaries she has faced in her career as a management consultant and described in previous issues. I believe Antonia could have saved herself some sleepless nights, had she had access to such a helpline.

Where the issue facing the consultant involves legal matters the caller will be referred to IMC’s “Lawcare” legal advice line.

This brings to mind times when Antonia meets people who believe that compliance with the law is all that is required of them for their behaviour to be ethical. Do you believe this? If you do, perhaps it is worth thinking about those charlatans who set themselves up as bona fide consultants.

There is no law to prevent unscrupulous rogues entering the management consultancy market and competing with reputable consultants. And they do! Offering advice and help to your clients! And their services are often offered at a cut price, and often focused on early payment of the fees (Upfront? Why not!). And many of these unscrupulous people make unsustainable claims for their skills and previous experience.

Much of this is perfectly within the law, even if it does sail close to the wind. But is such a way of doing business ethical?

In January, I challenged readers to consider whether they or their practice made clients aware of the standards of behaviour expected of consultants, particularly as expressed in the IMC Code of Conduct and extended by the Ethical Guidelines.

I met a deafening silence. Does that mean that nobody has any views on this? Or, are we all leaving the field clear to unscrupulous practitioners?

Also in January, I reported the end game of a complex recruitment assignment in which Antonia had become enmeshed. She had been fortunate, and things had worked out for the client and for her. No thanks to the client politics, and Antonia’s willingness to help the client. She resolved never to allow such a conflict to arise again. I wonder if it will be that easy, or should she be building a more formal response into her Terms and Conditions of Business?

Antonia also reported a situation which involved a series of decisions, none of which appear to be wrong, but the result has posed huge dilemmas for Antonia. To whom does she have obligations? If she takes up her new position, would she be compromised in dealing with a client? This case is ongoing, and I hope to be able to tell readers of the outcome before long.

This month Antonia faced a difficult dilemma concerning expenses incurred on behalf of a client. A telephone company had provided a threeway dialling service to Antonia, and when she attempted to use this on an intercontinental basis found that it didn’t work. She was told that, by adding an additional line as she had done, the agreement to provide the threeway service was not now possible.

However, the telephone company recommended that Antonia try one of their subsidiaries which could provide such a service. This she duly did and the intercontinental threeway conversation took place.

So far so good! But when the bill arrived three months later it was nearly four times the expected cost! By then, she’d billed the client for the original expectation of around u60 based on previous experience but the figure charged was nearer u260 and she’d done the same for three other calls!

If Antonia did nothing, she could be u800 out of pocket. Her proposal, and working discussions, had not provided the client with any indication of this level of expenses. Could she go back to the client and charge for this? What do you think?

The cases described in this column are based on real situations, but names and other details are changed to respect individual’s confidentiality and to protect sources. Antonia is a fictional figure who represents the actual consultant involved.

Antonia welcomes your views on the cases described. Please write to her c/o The Editor or via e-mail on Compuserve 100445.434

Paul Lynch is a member of the IMC council and the forthcoming president of the IMC.