Ethicists must be able to read, write and communicate well. "We
have to have highly developed reading skills, research skills and be able
to think analytically," says Michael McDonald, an ethicist.
An architect
has called you up for some professional advice. He is concerned about whether
some private consulting work he is doing at the office is ethical. You tell
him that he may be in a conflict of interest if he is using the firm's client
base or using their computer systems for his own private work.
"What
exactly is a conflict of interest?" he asks.
Conflict of Interest:
A
conflict of interest is a situation in which a person, such as a public official,
an employee or a professional, has a private or personal interest sufficient
to appear to influence the objective exercise of their official duties. There
are three key elements in this definition.
First, there is a private
or personal interest. Often, this is a financial interest, but it could also
be another sort of interest, say, to provide a special advantage to a spouse
or child. Taken by themselves, there is nothing wrong with pursuing private
or personal interests -- for instance, changing jobs for more pay or helping
your daughter improve her golf stroke.
The problem comes when this
private interest comes into conflict with the second feature of the definition,
an official duty -- quite literally the duty you have because you have an
office or act in an official capacity. As a professional, you take on certain
official responsibilities, by which you acquire obligations to clients, employers
or others. These obligations are supposed to trump private or personal interests.
Third,
conflicts of interest interfere with professional responsibilities in a specific
way, namely, by interfering with objective professional judgment. A major
reason clients and employers value professionals is that they expect professionals
to be objective and independent.
Factors like private and personal
interests that either interfere or appear likely to interfere with objectivity
are then a matter of legitimate concern to those who rely on professionals
-- be they clients, employers, professional colleagues or the general public.
So
it is also important to avoid apparent and potential as well as actual conflicts
of interests. An apparent conflict of interest is when a reasonable person
would think that the professional's judgment is likely to be compromised.
A potential conflict of interest involves a situation that may develop into
an actual conflict of interest.
(Excerpt used with permission from
Michael McDonald)