Ethics in IT Consulting

Taishaun OwensIS 578

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.