Ethics and organizational context
of consultation and collaboration
By Dr. Vance L. Whippo
Grand Canyon University: PCR-805
June 26, 2019
Introduction
Consultation and collaboration on the outside appear to be straightforward in their meaning but can be confusing. Depending on the professional field, individual works may have different reasons and purposes for each. With both, the outcome is betterment and improvement, no matter if it is an individual suffering from an illness or an organization that wants to improve itself. A consultant is an expert in their field of study, who is requested to assist, and collaboration may be the outcome of the service to better the individual or organization. No matter which situation comes about, each has ethical responsibilities to themselves and their clients and typically has a process they go through to accomplish the assignment.
Ethics
Ethics in consultation and collaboration are covered in professional organization's standards and codes of ethics such as the American Counseling Association (ACA, 2014) or the American Psychological Association (APA, 2017). The codes that spell out how a consult should be conducted and the criteria required of the individual are typically like any other ethical requirement within the codes. A consultant must understand their values, be culturally aware, and maintain a professional relationship with all parties. They must understand the client's rights, have respect for them, treat all conversations and material confidential, gain the consent of all parties, and act for the client's best welfare. They have professional responsibilities of being fully qualified to perform their job, be competent at it, and gain competency when they are lacking. They need to be aware of public disclosure and opinion and maintain appropriate relations with peers. Further, there are requirements for maintaining proper records, storage of them, destruction of them, permissions, disclosures, and client access.
Each organization has some ethical codes that are slightly different from each other due to the areas of expertise they represent. The ACA covers consultation and collaboration in three areas of its code D.2., B.7., and I.2.c. (ACA, 2014). Section D.2., covers the provisions of consultation services, B.7., covers case consultation, and I.2.c., covers suspected violations of the code and for a consultation to take place to assert the situation. Of these Section D.2.a. is the most important and requires that consultants take reasonable steps to have resources and competence as well as referral sources when conducting these services. Though this does not explicitly state any specific ethic to be followed, in order to adequately cover this section respecting choices, understanding values, and making sure that the consultant has the proper training and skills, consultants must allow consultees to have choices throughout the 5consultation process (Dougherty, 2014). Having choices gives the consultee some control in the consultation process as it builds trust and avoids unethical situations. Understanding one's values and the consultee's values is essential as the consultant may be in a position of power that is inappropriate to the consultee and ideas that are left out may appear to the consultee that
the consultant is uninformed or ignorant (Dougherty, 2014). Section D.2.b. covers obligations of service, rights, and responsibilities of all parties using precise language to explain the process and services, costs, risks, benefits, and limits of confidentiality. Confidentiality is the ethical and legal responsibility to protect others from the unauthorized disclosure of information shared during the consultation (Newman, 1993). Newman (1993) indicates that dual-role relationships create a conflict of interest that may create perceptions of biased judgment, breach of confidentiality, or altered objectives. Perception is everything in consultation as it creates public opinion not only about the organization but the person for good or bad (Sahir & Brutus, 2018). Competency is of the greatest importance in everything a consultant does; all other ethical items should be second nature.
Organizational Consulting
Consulting in an organization is a bit different than consulting with an individual as the organization may have multiple consultees and consulters. Just as consulting on a personal level adds additional parameters above counseling by adding the consultant. Organizational consultants strive to solve organizational issues and create an environment of well-being (Dougherty, 2014). Organizational consultation had its modern beginning in 1886 in the industrial setting where consultants were used to increase productivity from an engineering standpoint (Sahir & Brutus, 2018). Consultation eventually changed to a management consultant dealing with how managers worked with the employees or efficiency experts, and the relationship between tools and humans (Dougherty, 2014; Sahir & Brutus, 2018). In World War I, organizational consultants were seen as efficiency experts, and in the 1920's they expanded into other subsystems. The Great Depression saw organizations attempting to survive, which made room for consultants to work. Leadership studies in organizations became common in the 1940s and focused on improved working conditions and the wellbeing of the individual. Organizational consultants focused on organizational development and process consultation introduced by Edger Schein (1969) focused on the human side of the organization, leadership, and balancing needs of the individual and the organization. Organizational Development (OD) fostered the development of Management Science and Human Resource Development (HRD). The emergence of both HRD and OD supports the idea of consultation, which exemplifies the idea that happy workers are productive. Later the ideas of Total Quality Management (TQM) as a continuous improvement process and Multicultural Organizational Consulting (MOC) dealing with diversity. Dougherty (2014) and Rockwood (1993) indicate that Schein (1988, 1999, 2006) developed models of consultation, Purchase of Expertise, Doctor-Patient, and Process. Within the purchase of expertise, there are a couple of subcategories, Education/Training and Program. Of the three primary models of Purchase of Expertise, the consultee defines the problem, the consultant suggests interventions, the consultant does most of the work, and the consultee learns very little. With the Doctor-Patient, the consultant does all three, and the consultee learns little. In the Process Model, there is a collaboration in the first two areas, the primary responsibility is on the consultee, and the consultee learns problem-solving. Dougherty (2014) discusses a consultation model that is easy for all parties to understand, which consists of four stages that have four phases. Phase One is Exploring Organizational Needs and consists of asking the questions of "Should I consult or not to consult," "Why am I
here?", "Who are you?" "What is likely to happen?" "What will be the result?", and "What can go wrong?". Phase Two consists of why to contract, to clearly define expectations of both consultant and consultee, elements of a contract, goals, time frame, responsibility of consultant & and agency, boundaries, review, and evaluation. Phase Three pertains to physically entering the system by moving into the "workspace", getting to know employees of the organization, adapting to the organization's schedule, and having those affected by consultation informed about the consultant's role. The Fourth Phase is Psychologically Entering the System through the gradual acceptance of the consultant by members of the organization which includes considering the process level (how the organization functions) and personal interaction (how people within an organization function). Also, during this phase, there is a need to create trustworthiness by demonstrating understanding for the organization and people, using consultancy power appropriately, adhering to confidentiality, and demonstrating knowledge and confidence.
Multiculturalism is of great importance throughout this process. It is a part of the system that can challenge the power and privilege of the organization, create barriers if not considered and remove them, allowing for equal access and opportunities in the organizations when considered (Sue, 2008). Studies show that healthcare providers who interact and work with diverse patient populations can help individuals with their health issues by increasing their empathy and becoming culturally competent (Abrishami, 2018). Being empathetic requires education in social justice as it allows for understanding and awareness of not only personal worldviews but other's views, beliefs, and understanding of inequalities that affect the marginalized (Gripin, 2017). Not only should this be taught in school, as Gripin (2017) states but should be encouraged as young consultants to learn and try new things (Troper & Lopez, 2009). Trying new things does not mean that they step outside their training, but seek training, as ethics boards have guidelines dealing with this (ACA, 2014; APA 2017; BACB, 2014). Consultants and clients should be involved in learning from and shaping each other's organization, which helps to create good short- and long-term relationships (Retna, 2016). A consultant and counselor need to work together to solve the issues that arise in the organization or practice without giving up power to the consultant. It is the responsibility of a leader to create a culture of acceptance and inclusion. Understanding that an organization, made up of many individuals is complex is necessary for creating a climate of diversity (Chin, Desormeaux, Sawyer, 2016). When consultants take the time to understand diversity and push for it as part of their recommendations, it removes barriers that impede equal access and opportunities in organizations.
Conclusion
In summary, multiculturalism needs to be taught at the very beginning and needs to be integrated into the entire process from learning to finishing the project. Just as professional organizations provide ethics and expect them to be understood and followed, the consultant must learn them somewhere and what is better than through their professional organizations when in-processing to membership. Gaps exist in the fact that there is no one set standard of ethics of consulting, and there is no one definition of consultation.
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