Integrity in management consulting: a contradiction in terms?

摘要

A number of failed consulting projects have brought questionable 'principles of consulting' to light. As a reputation-based industry, management consultants have therefore been looking for a new, ethically more robust understanding of what they do. This article argues that consulting is a form of situation-specific assistance provided by an independent expert that enables the person seeking advice - here the company -to act in an 'overcomplex' situation. The article indicates how 'integrative management consulting ethics' would affect daily consulting activities on a practical level, thus providing a compass to guide CEOs, managers and consultants in management consulting processes.