2. In the field of consulting there are many areas a consultant can provide services to
customers such as business consulting, management consulting, and IT consulting. In
order to be able to provide the services clients are looking for consultants must be able to
abide by ethics set for the consultant to follow. Applying ethical standards and
procedures ensures that the client is being treated fairly and that the consultant is
upholding their promise to the clients.
I work for a consulting firm where I am asked to provide clients solutions to their IT
products and services. Working on the magnificent mile is very interesting at times I am
asked more often to perform tasks that may not be my level of expertise or to perform
services that does not fit in the services we offer as a IT consulting firm. At times we are
forced to explain how we aren’t able to do the tasks ask of us because it will violate our
ethical standards.
According to www.amcf.org each consultant must uphold the following ethical standards
in regards to clients consultants “will serve our clients with integrity, competence and
objectivity.” “Consultants will keep client information and records of client engagements
confidential.” This is very important when engaging with the client. A consultant must be
able to serve the client and provide impartial solutions. The client’s information and
records are very important and may contain valuable information and must not be shared
with anyone unless the client provides approval. The standards listed will ensure that the
client can trust the consultant.
According to www.amcf.org there are ethical standards that consultants should abide by
during an engagement with the client. “Consultants will accept only engagements for
which we are qualified by our experience and competence.” Yet another important
3. standard that a consultant must follow because it ensures that the client will be speaking
with a consultant that is knowledgeable in the area in which they need assistance. This
standard in particular is something my co-workers and myself stress a lot at our firm the
client hire us to do one job and like the service they received to the point they want us to
perform other services that we may not have the experience required. In this situation we
will refer the client to other consultants that have the level of expertise in which they are
looking for.
Working for a IT consultant firm the topic that is discussed more than anything is how
much it will cost to perform the services we provide. Majority of the time clients are
willing to pay for the service they want us to provide but there are times when we have a
client who wants a discount on the services provided. Depending on the situation of the
client we may provide a discount just to make the client happy. According to
www.amcf.org there are ethical standards regarding fees that must be implemented as
well. “We will agree independently and in advance on the basis for our fees and expenses
and will charge fees and expenses that are reasonable and legitimate.” “We will disclose
to our clients in advance any fees or commissions that we will receive for equipment,
supplies, or services we recommend to our clients.” The standards listed here regarding
fees sum up the standards that we uphold at the firm. However we have clients who feel
the fees incurred or upfront fees are too high or that they should be provided with a
discount on the services. Too often we have to explain to the client in a professional
manner that they get what they pay for if they pay the price they want they may not get
the level of service we provide.
4. There is also the level of professionalism that must be displayed while engaging with
clients. Working as a consultant can be demanding most times you are being asked to
perform services that aren’t your level of expertise, your being asked to cut costs, and to
do things that simply may not fall into the ethical standards of your firm. You must be
able to stand firm on the ethical standards of your consulting firm and present yourself in
a professional manner at all times no matter how frustrating it can be. www.amcf.org
states, “we will respect the intellectual property rights of our clients, other consulting
firms, and sole practitioners and will not use proprietary information or methodologies
without permission. “We will not advertise our services in a deceptive manner.” Having
standards such as these in place will ensure that the client is treated with the utmost
professionalism. Not only will we as consultants uphold the integrity of the client but the
integrity of ourselves as well as the firm.
After reviewing the ethical standards listed by the amcf.org I thought there are some
standards they we as a firm may need to implement into our code of ethics. According to
Nelson, Bob and Economy. Developing a Personal Code of Ethics for Consulting.
www.dummies.com. “Ethics are important for anyone in business, They’re particularly
important to consultants because of the high level of trust that organizations grant them
and because of the access that many consultants have to the confidential and proprietary
inner workings of the firms that employ them.” This statement sums up why having
ethical standards is so important clients most times have no clue what have to be done in
order to provide the services they are looking for that’s why they seek an consultant to
put the pieces together that they don’t have. In order to do that the client must be able to
trust the consultant with everything.
5. This article had similar standards to the amcf.org. Bob Nelson and Peter Economy
described the standards consultants must follow in lamest terms. “Nelson, Bob and
Economy, Peter. Developing a Personal Code of Ethics for Consulting.
www.dummies.com states: “Account for your time accurately and honestly. Your client
expects and trusts you to be truthful in your billing practices.” This is very important you
can’t just tell the client what you think the costs should be to render a service. As
consultants we must inform the client the firm prices for services and product if needed
and stick to that price. This will allow the client to know that this is our final price and
that it will not change.
Bob Nelson and Peter Economy described a standard that is followed within my firm
strictly. Nelson, Bob and Economy, Peter. Developing a Personal Code of Ethics for
Consulting. www.dummies.com states: “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. You may
really want to impress a potential client with your amazing abilities, don’t make promises
you can’t keep in hopes of landing the account.” The standard also blends in with the
billing practices if a consultant promises to provide a potential client one price for the
services they are looking for but it’s not the usual price charged because they want the
client to go with the firm this can cause a issue with other potential clients in the future.
We may have been able to provide that client a discounted price but that doesn’t mean we
can do the same with the next potential client, however if it’s been spread around that we
gave one client a discount on services other clients will want the same discount and that
can cause a problem with the client, consultant and the firm.
When a client arrives to a IT consulting firm their main concern is the problems or issues
they are having and what services or products they should implement to take care of the
6. problems and issues that exist. Pretty much they are coming to the consultant to get a
solution to their problem. The client doesn’t want more than what they have already
expressed to the consultant. Providing the client with products and services that they
really don’t need can cause even more problems. Nelson, Bob and Economy, Peter.
Developing a Personal Code of Ethics for Consulting. www.dummies.com states: “Don’t
recommend products or services that your clients don’t need. You may speak with clients
who are absolutely certain that they know what is wrong with their organization.” A
consultant can land a great contract just by proposing to do what they say you should do.
However, if a consultant knows the course of action the client suggests is not the proper
remedy, you should tell your client so and decline the offered work. Hopefully the client
will respect the consultant being honest.
Another aspect of ethics in consulting is being honest with the client. Don’t tell the client
what you think they want to hear. Be candid and give your honest opinion. When a client
agrees to the service and prices they will receive from a consultant, they expect the
consultant to be frank and honest in their opinion. Sugarcoating the truth will not benefit
the client and it definitely will not benefit the consultant.
Bob Nelson and Peter Economy also state how important it is to protect client’s
information. Clients could be in the process of changing how their financial systems are
operated. In order for a consultant to be able to assist the client in the type of software
needed for a new system the consultant may have access to sensitive information. If this
information is not handled confidentially it can cause harm to the organization. It could
also cause harm to those whose financial data is stored in the current system. Consultants
are required to keep all information confidential at all times.
7. Working in the consulting field there is the possibility of a firm working on the same
project for competing companies. In this case the consultant must inform the clients
possibly sign a nondisclosure agreement and if the competing companies can’t come to
an agreement with the consultant, the firm may have to drop one or all clients that are
involved. This standard is a tough one for consulting firms. I’ve actually experienced
working on a project for two companies where the client needing assistance was a
husband and wife who were divorced and running the same type of organization. Once
we realized that the husband and wife were running competing companies we met with
each and informed them that a nondisclosure agreement must be compiled because we
noticed that both the husband and wife were in competition with each other. They were
very upset that they both were using the same firm and demanded that we dropped the
other as our client. After a long and tedious meeting with both companies we had to
remove ourselves and drop both clients. That was a hard one to swallow it was a huge
opportunity for our firm but we had to do what is right by the clients.
Being a consultant I have met with clients who have asked me to perform services that
aren’t apart of what we provide as a firm. I’ve had clients ask me to come to their homes
and help them with systems they access from their offices at their homes. I’ve had to
explain to the client how I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that and how it’s unethical to
perform the service requested. Nelson, Bob and Economy, Peter. Developing a Personal
Code of Ethics for Consulting. www.dummies.com states: “Don’t break the law.” At
times, a client may ask you to do something that is not only against your personal sense
of ethics but also obviously and blatantly illegal. I’ve had to drop clients with the
8. approval of my manager for things I’ve been asked to do as side jobs from the project we
were originally hired to do.
Being a consultant in the IT field has pros and cons. There are always potential clients
who are looking for solutions to the systems they are currently operating. Technology
changes everyday so with that a consult in the IT consulting industry is always in need.
However, once a client is inquiring about services and products needed a consultant has
to inform the clients about the fees, which could turn, keep the potential client as a
potential client if they feel the fees are too high. Then you have a deadline in which the
solutions must be presented to the client and as the consultant the goal is to get it done
within the timeframe allowed. The consultant must uphold the standards applied to be
able to be honest with the client, not promise the client something that can’t be delivered.
Ensuring that services and products delivered are actual services and products the
consultant has expertise in. Keeping the clients information confidential and not breaking
the law.
If a consultant can follow the ethical standards that have been implemented they will be
successful in their field. They will be able to provide the services a client is looking for
accurately. Not only will the consultant be successful at completion of the contract but
also the client will be satisfied in knowing they have hired the right consultant to perform
the services they are looking for. The client may even recommend the consultant and the
consulting firm to other potential clients that are looking for services and products for the
problems they are currently trying to eliminate. Being ethical can take a consultant and a
consulting firm far in the IT consulting field. Without ethical standards there will be no
set of guidelines a consultant must follow and things would not be handled with such
9. care. Without ethics clients information would not be kept confidential, time and fees
would be calculated based on what the consultant think the fees should be, promises will
be made that can be delivered, clients will be provided with services that does not apply
to the problems they are having. Consultants would be offering services that not apart of
their level of expertise. Ethics exist for a reason it provides structure for the consulting
industry.
