Ethical dilemmas in organization development

Kindred Todd and the Ethics of OD Kindred Todd had just finished her master’s degree in organization development and had landed her first consulting position with a small consult- ing company in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The president, Larry Stepchuck, convinced Todd that his growing organization offered her a great oppor- tunity to learn the business. He had a large number of contacts, an impressive executive career, and several years of consulting experience behind him.

In fact, the firm was growing; adding new clients and projects as fast as its president could hire consultants. A few weeks after Todd was hired, Stepchuck assigned her to a new client, a small oil and gas company. “I’ve met with the client for several hours,” he told her. “They are an impor- tant and potentially large opportunity for our firm. They’re looking to us to help them address some long-range planning issues. From the way they talk, they could also use some continuous quality improvement work as well.”

As Todd prepared for her initial meeting with the client, she reviewed financial data from the firm’s annual report, examined trends in the client’s industry, and thought about the issues that young firms face. Stepchuck indicated that Todd would first meet with the president of the firm to discuss initial issues and next steps.

When Todd walked into the president’s office, she was greeted by the firm’s entire senior manage- ment team. Team members expressed eagerness to get to work on the important issues of how to improve the organization’s key business processes. They believed that an expert in continuous qual- ity improvement (CQI), such as Todd, was exactly the kind of help they needed to increase efficiency and cut costs in the core business. Members began to ask direct questions about technical details of CQI, the likely timeframe within which they might expect results, how to map key processes, and how to form quality improvement teams to identify and implement process improvements.

Todd was stunned and overwhelmed. Nothing that Stepchuck said about the issues facing this com- pany was being discussed and, worse, it was clear that he had sold her to the client as an “expert” in CQI. Her immediate response was to suggest that all of their questions were good ones, but that

they needed to be answered in the context of the long-range goals and strategies of the firm. Todd proposed that the best way to begin was for team members to provide her with some history about the organization. In doing so, she was able to avert disaster and embarrassment for herself and her company, and to appear to be doing all the things necessary to begin a CQI project. The meet- ing ended with Todd and the management team agreeing to meet again the following week.

Immediately the next day, Todd sought out the president of her firm. She reported on the results of the meeting and her surprise at being sold to this client as an expert on CQI. Todd suggested that her own competencies did not fit the needs of the client and requested that another consultant—one with expertise in CQI—be assigned to the project.

Larry Stepchuck responded to Todd’s concerns: “I’ve known these people for over ten years. They don’t know exactly what they need. CQI is an important buzzword. It’s the flavor of the month and if that’s what they want, that’s what we’ll give them.” He also told her that there were no other consultants avail- able for this project. “Besides,” he said, “the president of the client firm just called to say how much he enjoyed meeting with you and was looking forward to getting started on the project right away.”

Kindred Todd felt that Stepchuck’s response to her concerns included a strong, inferred ultimatum: If you want to stay with this company, you had bet- ter take this job. “I knew I had to sink or swim with this job and this client,” she later reported.

As Todd reflected on her options, she pondered the following questions:

• How can I be honest with this client and thus not jeopardize my values of openness and honesty?

• How can I be helpful to this client?

• How much do I know about quality improve- ment processes?

• How do I satisfy the requirements of my employer?

• What obligations do I have?

• Who’s going to know if I do or don’t have the credentials to perform this work?

• What if I fail?

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After thinking about those issues, Todd summarized her position in terms of three dilemmas: a dilemma of self (who is Kindred Todd?), a dilemma of compe- tence (what can I do?), and a dilemma of confidence (do I like who I work for?). Based on the issues, Todd made the following tactical decisions. She spent two days at the library reading about and studying total quality management and CQI. She also contacted several of her friends and former classmates who had experience with quality improvement efforts.

Eventually, she contracted with one of them to be her “shadow” consultant—to work with her behind the scenes on formulating and implementing an intervention for the client.

Based on her preparation in the library and the discussions with her shadow consultant, Kindred Todd was able to facilitate an appropriate and effective intervention for the client. Shortly after her assignment was completed, she resigned from the consulting organization.

SUMMARY

This chapter has examined the role of the organization development practitioner. The term OD practitioner applies to three sets of people: individuals specializing in OD as a profession, people from related fields who have gained some competence in OD, and managers having the OD skills necessary to change and develop their organizations or departments. Comprehensive lists enumerate core and advanced skills and knowl- edge that an effective OD specialist should possess, but a smaller set of basic skills and knowledge is applicable for all practitioners at all levels. These include four kinds of background: intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, general consultation skills, and knowledge of OD theory.

The professional OD role can apply to internal consultants who belong to the orga- nization undergoing change, to external consultants who are members of universities and consulting firms or are self-employed, and to members of internal–external con- sulting teams. The OD practitioner’s role may be described aptly in terms of marginal- ity and emotional demands. People with a tolerance for marginal roles seem especially suited for OD practice because they are able to maintain neutrality and objectivity and to develop integrative solutions that reconcile viewpoints among opposing orga- nizational departments. Similarly, the OD practitioner’s emotional intelligence and awareness are keys to implementing the role successfully. Whereas in the past the OD practitioner’s role has been described as standing at the client end of the continuum from client-centered to consultant-centered functioning, the development of new and varied interventions has shifted the role of the OD professional to cover the entire range of that continuum.

Although OD is still an emerging field, most practitioners have specific training that ranges from short courses and workshops to graduate and doctoral education. No single career path exists, but internal consulting is often a stepping-stone to becoming an external consultant. Because of the hectic pace of OD practice, specialists should be prepared to cope with high levels of stress and the possibility of career burnout.

Values have played a key role in OD, and traditional values promoting trust, col- laboration, and openness have been supplemented recently with concerns for improving organizational effectiveness and productivity. OD specialists may face value dilemmas in trying to jointly optimize human benefits and organization performance. They also may

67CHAPTER 3 The Organization Development Practitioner

encounter value conflicts when dealing with powerful external stakeholders, such as the government, stockholders, and customers. Dealing with those outside groups may take political skills, as well as the more traditional social skills.

Ethical issues in OD involve how practitioners perform their helping role with clients. As a profession, OD always has shown a concern for the ethical conduct of its practitio- ners, and several ethical codes for OD practice have been developed by various profes- sional associations. Ethical dilemmas in OD arise around misrepresentation, misuse of data, coercion, value and goal conflict, and technical ineptness.

NOTES

1. A. Church and W. Burke, “Practitioner Attitudes about the Field of Organization Development,” in Research in Organization Change and Development, eds. W. Pasmore and R. Woodman (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1995).

2. C. Worley, D. Hitchin, and W. Ross, Integrated Strategic Change (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1996).

3. R. Henkoff, “Inside Anderson’s Army of Advice,” Fortune (October 4, 1993); N. Worren, K. Ruddle, and K. Moore, “From Organization Development to Change Management: The Emergence of a New Profession,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 35 (1999): 273–86.

4. M. Beer and E. Walton, “Organization Change and Development,” Annual Review of Psychology 38 (1987): 229–72; S. Sherman, “Wanted: Company Change Agents,” Fortune (December 11, 1999): 197–98.

5. R. Kanter, The Change Masters (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983).

6. R. Lippitt, “Dimensions of the Consultant’s Job,” in The Planning of Change, eds. W. Bennis, K. Benne, and R. Chin (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1961), 156–61; C. Rogers, On Becoming a Person (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971); “OD Experts Reflect on the Major Skills Needed by Consultants: With Comments from Edgar Schein,” Academy of Management OD Newsletter (Spring 1979): 1–4; K. Shepard and A. Raia, “The OD Training Challenge,” Training and Development Journal 35 (April 1981): 90–96; E. Neilsen, Becoming an OD Practitioner (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1984); S. Eisen, J. Cherbeneau, and C. Worley, “A Future-Responsive Perspective for Competent Practice in OD,” in Practicing Organization Development, 2d ed., eds. W. Rothwell and R. Sullivan (San Diego: Pfeiffer, 2005); A. Church, “The Professionalization of Organi- zation Development,” in Research in Organization Change and Development, eds. R. Woodman and W. Pasmore (Oxford: JAI Press, 2001); A. Freedman and R. Zackrison, Finding Your Way in the Consulting Jungle (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001).

7. R. Sullivan and K. Quade, “Essential Competencies for Internal and External OD Consultants,” in Practicing Organization Development, eds. W. Rothwell, R. Sullivan, and G. McLean (San Diego: Pfeiffer, 1995).

8. C. Worley, W. Rothwell, and R. Sullivan, “Compe- tencies of OD Practitioners,” in Practicing Organization Development, 2d ed., eds. W. Rothwell and R. Sullivan (San Diego: Pfeiffer, 2005).

9. C. Worley and G. Varney, “A Search for a Common Body of Knowledge for Master’s Level Organization Development and Change Programs —An Invitation to Join the Discu ssion,” Academy of Management ODC Newsletter (Winter 1998): 1–4.

10. C. Worley and A. Feyerherm, “Reflections on the Future of Organization Development,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 39 (2003): 97–115; Worley, Rothwell, and Sullivan, “Competencies of OD Practitioners.”

11. B. Tannenbaum, “Letter to the Editor,” Consul- ting Practice Communique, Academy of Management Managerial Consultation Division 21, 3 (1993): 16–17; B. Tannenbaum, “Self-Awareness: An Essential Element Underlying Consultant Effectiveness,” Journal of Organizational Change Mana gement 8, 3 (1995): 85–86.

12. A. Church and W. Burke, “Practitioner Attitudes about the Field of Organization Develo pment,” in Research in Organizational Change and Development, eds. Pasmore and Woodman.

13. M. Lacey, “Internal Consulting: Perspectives on the Process of Planned Change,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 8, 3 (1995): 75–84.

14. M. Kaarst-Brown, “Five Symbolic Roles of the External Consultant–Integrating Change, Power, and Symbolism,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 12 (1999): 540–61.

15. Lacey, “Internal Consulting.”

16. C. Argyris, Intervention Theory and Method (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1973).

17. A. Foss, D. Lipsky, A. Orr, B. Scott, T. Seamon, J. Smendzuik-O’Brien, A. Tavis, D. Wissman, and

68 PART 1 Overview of Organization Development

C. Woods, “Practicing Internal OD,” in Practicing Organization Development, 2d ed., eds. W. Rothwell and R. Sullivan (San Diego: Pfeiffer, 2005); E. Kirkhart and T. Isgar, “Quality of Work Life for Consultants: The Internal–External Relationship,” Consultation 5 (Spring 1986): 5–23.

18. This application was developed by Kimberly McKenna based on her experiences as both an exter- nal and internal OD practitioner and on Kirkhart and Isgar, “Quality of Work Life for Consultants.”

19. R. Ziller, The Social Self (Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon, 1973).

20. W. Liddell, “Marginality and Integrative Decisions,” Academy of Management Journal 16 (March 1973): 154–56; P. Brown and C. Cotton, “Marginality, A Force for the OD Practitioner,” Training and Development Journal 29 (April 1975): 14–18; H. Aldrich and D. Gerker, “Boundary Spanning Roles and Organi- zational Structure,” Academy of Management Review 2 (April 1977): 217–30; C. Cotton, “Marginality—A Neglected Dimension in the Design of Work,” Academy of Management Review 2 (January 1977): 133–38; N. Margulies, “Perspectives on the Marginality of the Consultant’s Role,” in The Cutting Edge, ed. W. Burke (La Jolla, Calif.: University Associates, 1978), 60–79.

21. P. Brown, C. Cotton, and R. Golembiewski, “Marginality and the OD Practitioner,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 13 (1977): 493–506.

22. C. Lundberg and C. Young, “A Note on Emo tions and Consultancy,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 14 (2001): 530–38; A. Carr, “Understanding Emotion and Emotiona lity in a Process of Change,” Journal of Organizational Change Management 14 (2001): 421–36.

23. D. Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam Books, 1995); R. Cooper and A. Sawaf, Executive EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations (New York: Grosset/Putnum, 1997); P. Salovey and D. Sluyter, eds., Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence (New York: Basic Books, 1997).

24. Goleman, Emotional Intelligence.

25. J. Sanford, Fritz Kunkel: Selected Writings (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1984); Lundberg and Young, “Note on Emotions”; Carr, “Under standing Emotion.”

26. J. Ciarrochi, J. Forgas, and J. Mayer, Emotional Intelligence in Everyday Life: A Scientific Inquiry (New York: Psychology Press, 2001).

27. D. Kegan, “Organization Development as OD Network Members See It,” Group and Organization Studies 7 (March 1982): 5–11.

28. D. Griffin and P. Griffin, “The Consulting Survey,” Consulting Today, Special Issue (Fall 1998): 1–11 (http:// www.consultingtoday.com).

29. J. Lewis III, “Growth of Internal Change Agents in Organizations” (Ph.D. Diss., Case Western Reserve University, 1970).

30. G. Edelwich and A. Brodsky, Burn-Out Stages of Disillusionment in the Helping Professions (New York: Human Science, 1980); M. Weisbord, “The Wizard of OD: Or, What Have Magic Slippers to Do with Burnout, Evaluation, Resistance, Planned Change, and Action Research?” OD Practitioner 10 (Summer 1978): 1–14; M. Mitchell, “Consultant Burnout,” in The 1977 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators, eds. J. Jones and W. Pfeiffer (La Jolla, Calif: University Associates, 1977), 145–56.

31. Griffin and Griffin, “Consulting Survey.”

32. T. Isgar, “Quality of Work Life of Consultants,” Academy of Management OD Newsletter (Winter 1983): 2–4.

33. P. Hanson and B. Lubin, Answers to Questions Most Frequently Asked about Organization Development (Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1995).

34. Church and Burke, “Practitioner Attitudes.”

35. D. Jamieson and C. Worley, “The Practice of Organization Development,” in Handbook of Organi- zation Development, ed. T. Cummings (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 2008); M. Wheatley, R. Tannenbaum, P. Griffin, and K. Quade, Organ ization Development at Work (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2003).

36. Church, “Professionalization of Organization Development”; S. Guastello, Chaos, Catastrophe, and Human Affairs (Mahwah, N.J.: LEA Publishers, 1995); R. Stacey, D. Griffin, and P. Shaw, Complexity and Management (London: Routledge, 2000); R. Garud, A. Kumaraswamy, and R. Langlois, Managing in the Modular Age (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2003); A. Shani and P. Docherty, Learning by Design (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2003).

37. R. Saner and L. Yiu, “Porous Boundary and Power Politics: Contextual Constraints of Organization Development Change Projects in the United Nations Organizations,” Gestalt Review 6 (2002): 84–94.

38. D. Jamieson and W. Gellermann, “Values, Ethics, and OD Practice,” in The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change, eds. B. Jones and M. Brazzel (San Francisco: Pfeiffer, 2006); T. Egan and W. Gellermann, “Values, Ethics, and Practice in the Field of Organization Development,” in Practicing Organization Development, 2d ed., eds. W. Rothwell and R. Sullivan (San Francisco: Pfeifer, 2005); D. Coghlan and A. Shani, “Roles, Politics, and Ethics in Action Research Design,” Systemic Practice and Action Research 18 (2005): 533–51; D. Bowen, “Value Dilemmas in Organization Development,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 13 (1977): 545–55; L. White and K. Wooten, “Ethical Dilemmas in Various Stages of Organization Development,” Academy of Mana gement

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Review 8 (1963): 690–97; K. Scalzo, “When Ethics and Consulting Collide” (unpublished master’s thesis, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Los Angeles, Calif., 1994); L. White and M. Rhodeback, “Ethical Dilemmas in Organization Development: A Cross-Cultural Analysis,” Journal of Business Ethics 11, 9 (1992): 663–70; M. Page’, “Ethical delimmas in organ ization development consulting practice” (unpublished master’s thesis, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Los Angeles, Calif., 1998).

39. W. Gellerman, M. Frankel, and R. Ladenson, Values and Ethics in Organization and Human System Development: Responding to Dilemmas in Professional Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990).

40. W. Bennis, Organization Development: Its Nature, Origins, and Prospects (Reading, Mass.: Addison- Wesley, 1969).

41. H. Kelman, “Manipulation of Human Behavior: An Ethical Dilemma for the Social Scientist,” in The Planning of Change, 2d ed., eds. W. Bennis, K. Benne,

and R. Chin (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1969), 584.

42. E. Schein, Process Consultation Revisited (Rea ding, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1999); R. Beckhard, “The Dependency Dilemma,” Consultants’ Comm unique 6 (July–September 1978): 1–3.

43. G. Lippitt, Organization Renewal (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1969).

44. C. Argyris, “Explorations in Consulting–Client Relationships,” Human Organizations 20 (Fall 1961): 121–33.

45. J. Slocum Jr., “Does Cognitive Style Affect Diagnosis and Intervention Strategies?” Group and Organization Studies 3 (June 1978): 199–210.

46. This application was submitted by Kathy Scalzo, an OD consultant in western Canada. It is based on an actual case from her interviews with OD consul- tants on how they resolve ethical dilemmas. The names and places have been changed to preserve anonymity.

70 PART 1 Overview of Organization Development

APPENDIX

Ethical Guidelines for an Organization Development/Human Systems Development (OD/HSD) Professional Sponsored by the Human Systems Development Consortium (HSDC), a significant integrative effort by Bill Gellermann has been under way to develop “A Statement of Values and Ethics for Professionals in Organization and Human System Development.” HSDC is an informal collection of the leaders of most of the professional associations related to the application of the behavioral and social sciences. A series of drafts based on extensive contributions, comments, and discussions involving many professionals and organizations has led to the following version of this statement.

As an OD/HSD Professional, I commit to supporting and acting in accordance with the following guidelines:

I. Responsibility for Professional Development and Competence A. Accept responsibility for the consequences of my acts and make every effort to

ensure that my services are properly used.

B. Recognize the limits of my competence, culture, and experience in providing services and using techniques; neither seek nor accept assignments outside those limits without clear understanding by the client when exploration at the edge of my competence is reasonable; refer client to other professionals when appropriate.

C. Strive to attain and maintain a professional level of competence in the field, including

1. broad knowledge of theory and practice in

a. applied behavioral science generally.

b. management, administration, organizational behavior, and system behavior specifically.

c. multicultural issues including issues of color and gender.

d. other relevant fields of knowledge and practice.

2. ability to

a. relate effectively with individuals and groups.

b. relate effectively to the dynamics of large, complex systems.

c. provide consultation using theory and methods of the applied behavioral sciences.

d. articulate theory and direct its application, including creation of learning experiences for individuals, small and large groups, and for whole systems.

D. Strive continually for self-knowledge and personal growth; be aware that “what is in me” (my perceptions of myself in my world) and “what is outside me” (the realities that exist apart from me) are not the same; be aware that my values, beliefs, and aspirations can both limit and empower me and that they are primary determinants of my perceptions, my behavior, and my personal and professional effectiveness.

E. Recognize my own personal needs and desires and deal with them responsibly in the performance of my professional roles.

F. Obtain consultation from OD/HSD professionals who are native to and aware of the specific cultures within which I work when those cultures are different from my own.

II. Responsibility to Clients and Significant Others A. Serve the short- and long-term welfare, interests, and development of the cli-

ent system and all its stakeholders; maintain balance in the timing, pace, and magnitude of planned change so as to support a mutually beneficial relationship between the system and its environment.

71CHAPTER 3 The Organization Development Practitioner

B. Discuss candidly and fully goals, costs, risks, limitations, and anticipated out- comes of any program or other professional relationship under consideration; seek to avoid automatic confirmation of predetermined conclusions, either the client’s or my own; seek optimum involvement by client system members in every step of the process, including managers and workers’ representatives; fully inform client system members about my role, contribution, and strategy in work- ing with them.

C. Fully inform participants in any activity or procedure as to its sponsorship, nature, purpose, implications, and any significant risk associated with it so that they can freely choose their participation in any activity initiated by me; acknowledge that their choice may be limited with activity initiated by recognized authorities; be par- ticularly sensitive to implications and risks when I work with people from cultures other than my own.

D. Be aware of my own personal values, my values as an OD/HSD professional, the values of my native culture, the values of the people with whom I am working, and the values of their cultures; involve the client system in making relevant cultural differences explicit and exploring the possible implications of any OD/HSD interven- tion for all the stakeholders involved; be prepared to make explicit my assumptions, values, and standards as an OD/HSD professional.

E. Help all stakeholders while developing OD/HSD approaches, programs, and the like, if they wish such help; for example, this could include workers’ representatives as well as managers in the case of work with a business organization.

F. Work collaboratively with other internal and external consultants serving the same client system and resolve conflicts in terms of the balanced best interests of the client system and all its stakeholders; make appropriate arrangements with other internal and external consultants about how responsibilities will be shared.

G. Encourage and enable my clients to provide for themselves the services I pro- vide rather than foster continued reliance on me; encourage, foster, and support self-education and self-development by individuals, groups, and all other human systems.

H. Cease work with a client when it is clear that the client is not benefiting or the contract has been completed; do not accept an assignment if its scope is so limited that the client will not benefit or it would involve serious conflict with the values and ethics outlined in this statement.

I. Avoid conflicts of interest.

1. Fully inform the client of my opinion about serving similar or competing orga- nizations; be clear with myself, my clients, and other concerned stakeholders about my loyalties and responsibilities when conflicts of interest arise; keep parties informed of these conflicts; cease work with the client if the conflicts cannot be adequately resolved.

2. Seek to act impartially when involved in conflicts between parties in the client system; help them resolve their conflicts themselves, without taking sides; if necessary to change my role from serving as impartial consultant, do so explic- itly; cease work with the client, if necessary.

3. Identify and respond to any major differences in professionally relevant values or ethics between myself and my clients with the understanding that conditions may require ceasing work with the client.

4. Accept differences in the expectations and interests of different stakeholders and realize that those differences cannot be reconciled all the time.

J. Seek consultation and feedback from neutral third parties in case of conflict between myself and my client.

72 PART 1 Overview of Organization Development

K. Define and protect the confidentiality of my client–professional relationships.

1. Make limits of confidentiality clear to clients/participants.

2. Reveal information accepted in confidence only to appropriate or agreed-upon recipients or authorities.

3. Use information obtained during professional work in writings, lectures, or other public forums only with prior consent or when disguised so that it is impossible from my presentations alone to identify the individuals or systems with whom I have worked.

4. Make adequate provisions for maintaining confidentiality in the storage and dis- posal of records; make provisions for responsibly preserving records in the event of my retirement or disability.

L. Establish mutual agreement on a contract covering services and remuneration.

1. Ensure a clear understanding of and mutual agreement on the services to be performed; do not shift from that agreement without both a clearly defined professional rationale for making the shift and the informed consent of the clients/participants; withdraw from the agreement if circumstances beyond my control prevent proper fulfillment.

2. Ensure mutual understanding and agreement by putting the contract in writ- ing to the extent feasible, yet recognize that

a. the spirit of professional responsibility encompasses more than the letter of the contract.

b. some contracts are necessarily incomplete because complete information is not available at the outset.

c. putting the contract in writing may be neither necessary nor desirable.

3. Safeguard the best interests of the client, the profession, and the public by making sure that financial arrangements are fair and in keeping with appropri- ate statutes, regulations, and professional standards.

M. Provide for my own accountability by evaluating and assessing the effects of my work.

1. Make all reasonable efforts to determine if my activities have accomplished the agreed-upon goals and have not had other undesirable consequences; seek to undo any undesirable consequences, and do not attempt to cover up these situations.

2. Actively solicit and respond with an open mind to feedback regarding my work and seek to improve.

3. Develop, publish, and use assessment techniques that promote the welfare and best interests of clients/participants; guard against the misuse of assessment results.

N. Make public statements of all kinds accurately, including promotion and advertis- ing, and give service as advertised.

1. Base public statements providing professional opinions or information on sci- entifically acceptable findings and techniques as much as possible, with full recognition of the limits and uncertainties of such evidence.

2. Seek to help people make informed choices when making statements as part of promotion or advertising.

3. Deliver services as advertised and do not shift without a clear professional rationale and the informed consent of the participants/clients.

III. Responsibility to the Profession A. Act with due regard for the needs, special competencies and obligations of my col-

leagues in OD/HSD and other professions; respect the prerogatives and obligations of the institutions or organizations with which these other colleagues are associated.

73CHAPTER 3 The Organization Development Practitioner

B. Be aware of the possible impact of my public behavior upon the ability of col- leagues to perform their professional work; perform professional activity in a way that will bring credit to the profession.

C. Work actively for ethical practice by individuals and organizations engaged in OD/HSD activities and, in case of questionable practice, use appropriate channels for confronting it, including

1. direct discussion when feasible.

2. joint consultation and feedback, using other professionals as third parties.

3. enforcement procedures of existing professional organizations.

4. public confrontation.

D. Contribute to continuing professional development by

1. supporting the development of other professionals, including mentoring with less experienced professionals.

2. contributing ideas, methods, findings, and other useful information to the body of OD/HSD knowledge and skill.

E. Promote the sharing of OD/HSD knowledge and skill by various means including

1. granting use of my copyrighted material as freely as possible, subject to a mini- mum of conditions, including a reasonable price defined on the basis of profes- sional as well as commercial values.

2. giving credit for the ideas and products of others.

IV. Social Responsibility A. Strive for the preservation and protection of fundamental human rights and the

promotion of social justice.

B. Be aware that I bear a heavy social responsibility because my recommendations and professional actions may alter the lives and well-being of individuals within my client systems, the systems themselves, and the larger systems of which they are subsystems.

C. Contribute knowledge, skill, and other resources in support of organizations, pro- grams, and activities that seek to improve human welfare; be prepared to accept clients who do not have sufficient resources to pay my full fees at reduced fees or no charge.

D. Respect the cultures of the organization, community, country, or other human system within which I work (including the cultures’ traditions, values, and moral and ethical expectations and their implications), yet recognize and constructively confront the counterproductive aspects of those cultures whenever feasible; be sensitive to cross-cultural differences and their implications; be aware of the cul- tural filters which bias my view of the world.

E. Recognize that accepting this statement as a guide for my behavior involves hold- ing myself to a standard that may be more exacting than the laws of any country in which I practice.

F. Contribute to the quality of life in human society at large; work toward and support a culture based on mutual respect for each other’s rights as human beings; encour- age the development of love, trust, openness, mutual responsibility, authentic and harmonious relationships, empowerment, participation, and involvement in a spirit of freedom and self-discipline as elements of this culture.

G. Engage in self-generated or collaborative endeavor to develop means for helping across cultures.

H. Serve the welfare of all the people of Earth, all living things, and their environment.