Research and consulting ethics

The following discussion items are on Research and Consulting Ethics for the subject of Dissertation and Consulting Management:


A. Consulting ethics

1. Essence of professionalism
2. Professionalism in Management Consutancy
• Conflicts of interest
• As a certified management consultant
• Ethical norms
• Ethical guidelines and how they are to be applied
• Priinciple of vulnerability
• Principle of transparency
3. Considerations arising from the commercialization of service
• Case 1: the engineering wave
• Case 2: Performance management
• Case 3: Leadership development
• Case 4: Change management
• Case 5: Using assessment as a way to market services
• Case 6: Colluding with cosmetic change
• Case 7: who takes credit

B. Research ethics: http://josephho33.blogspot.com/2012/01/ethics-in-business-research.html

1. Stances on ethics:
• Universalism ("ethical precepts should never be broken")
• Situation ethics ("principled relativism")
• The end justifies the means
• No choice (sometimes, no choice if we want to investigate the issues of interest)

Some lecture notes in class:

1. Ethics:
• about right or wrong; good or bad
• Diverse sources of criteria: indvidual, national culture, company; professional bodies; official sources, e.g. stock market regulator on board of directors' behaviours, etc
• Different schools of thinking: western vs oriental perspective
• Overall, the process is analytical, critical and logical
2. Morality: culture/ tradition-bound perspective on what is right or wrong.
3. Three topic areas need to be reviewed:
• Consultant's ethics
• Researcher's ethics
• Ethical rules from institutions, notably educational institutions such as unversities.
4. Students should note the main challenges in coping with ethical dilemmas and wicked problems in ethical analysis.

References

1. Block, P. (2000) "Chapter 18: Ethics and the shadow side of consulting", Flawless consulting, Pfeiffer.
2. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011) Business Research Methods, Oxford University Press  [Chapter 5: Ethics in Business Research]
3. Lynch, P. (2007) "Chapter 4: Professionalism and ethics" in Sadler, P. (editor) Management Consultancy, Kogan Page.
4. Business research ethics link 1: http://www.ehow.com/info_7759040_ethics-business-research-process.html
5. Research ethics link 2: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/