Ethics in Consulting

Enron had a voluminous code of ethics. But when the code got in the way of doing what management wanted done, Enron’s board was easily persuaded to lay aside certain provisions of that code – most notoriously the conflict-of-interest provision. —Millman, p. 17

We have seen companies such as Enron experience significant ethical crises that led to the loss of tremendous amounts of money, devastation for many of their employees, and jail time for the people found guilty of crimes. As a consultant, you will be involved in assessing potential ethical issues and identifying how those issues affect an organization’s performance, morale, and public perception.

For this Discussion, you will analyze how ethical issues impact organizations and the role of the OD consultant in helping organizations with ethical concerns.

References
Millman, G. J. (2002). New Scandals, Old Lessons Financial Ethics After Enron. Financial Executive, 18(5), 16–19. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.or…

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and focus on the role the OD consultant should play in helping a company to address an ethical issue.
• Consider a company or organization that is currently experiencing a serious ethical issue. The organization that you choose should not be your current employer, nor former employer, nor Enron.

By Day 4

Post a response to the following:

• Identify a company or organization that is currently experiencing a serious ethical issue. Make sure that the organization you choose is not a current employer, former employer, or Enron.
• How is this ethical issue affecting the organization’s performance, morale, and public perception?
• As an OD consultant, what steps might you take to help improve the organization’s ethical guidelines and behaviors?

Learning Resources

Required Readings

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Institute of Organization Development. (2015, December 20). Critical OD competencies to help you become a world-class OD interventionist [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://instituteod.com/iod-announces-7th-annual-o…

International Organization for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes. (n.d.). Ethical guidelines and professional standards for organization development and group process consultants. Retrieved from https://www.iagp.com/docs/IAGPOrgEthicalguidelines…

Jex, S. M., & Britt, T. W. (2014). Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

• “Ethics in Data Collection” (pp. 53–54)

Rothwell, W. J. (2015). Organization development fundamentals: Managing strategic change. Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.

• Chapter 4, “Competencies of Organization Development Consultants”
• Chapter 6, “Ethics and Values in Organization Development”
• Appendix II, “The International Organization Development Code of Ethics”

Wooten, K. C. (2008). Ethical issues facing O.D. in new paradigm organizations: Back to the future. Organization Development Journal, 26(4), 11–23.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2012a). Consulting competencies [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.