Flemming Poulfelt

Ethics for Management Consultants

Management consultants and their moral standards and behaviour have been questioned and caricatured, but it is not sufficiently appreciated that they frequently have to operate in situations which are characterized by ambiguity, ignorance, uncertainty and sensitivity and they cannot always simply apply ethical rules in cooperating with their clients. In addition, more attention should be given to the ethics of the client, and “dual ethics” should be a joint concern. Research among consultants and clients has identified several ethical dilemmas frequently experienced by consultants which are explained and explored. Dr Poulfelt is Associate Professor of Management at the Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy at Copenhagen Business School, Blaagaardsgade 23 B, DK‐2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.

Human Resource Management in Professional Services Firms: Too Good to Be True? Transcending Conflicting Institutional Logics

Why is it that HR specialists appear to have difficulty applying their knowledge, systems and techniques in a systematic way when it comes to professional services firms (PSFs) – particularly when the drivers for developing powerful HRM practices within such businesses seem more pressing than ever? This paper analyzes the ways HR specialists and PSF managers/partners differ in their understanding of organizations and their management. The analysis supports the argument that, while HR specialists and the discipline of HRM are governed by bureaucratic logic in their approach to management, PSF managers by contrast are driven by professional logic. This creates a number of subtle as well as explicit tensions and disconnects that will have to be tackled if the practices of HRM are to prevail in PSFs. This paper contributes to HRM literature as well as institutional theory, by applying an analysis of institutional logics to HRM practice in PSFs. The paper builds on interviews with five HR managers who have held positions in PSFs, as well as a longitudinal case study of PSF managers in one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms. The paper offers a number of tentative proposals around how HRM and PSFs might transcend the described gulf between the two approaches to management.

Imagining ‘non-nationality’: Cosmopolitanism as a source of identity and belonging

Current literature tends to see cosmopolitan identity formation as an individual endeavour of developing a stance of openness, and transcending discourses of national and other cultural identities. This article challenges the essentialism inherent in this model by proposing a different framing of cosmopolitan identity formation that shifts the focus to how people collectively mobilize cosmopolitanism as a resource for cultural identity construction. The article is based on an anthropological study of transnational professionals who are part of a diverse expatriate community in Amsterdam. The analysis shows how these professionals draw on cosmopolitanism to define themselves as ‘non-nationals’. This involves downplaying national affiliations and cultural differences while also marking national identity categories and ‘cultural features’ to maintain the difference they collectively embrace. This, however, does not imply openness to all otherness. Boundary drawing to demarcate the cosmopolitan ‘us’ in relation to national (mono)culture is equally important. The article argues that cosmopolitan identities are socially accomplished as particular modes of collective belonging that are part of – not beyond – a global discursive sphere of identity politics.

When West meets East: the case of a Scandinavian consulting firm’s expansion into India

The paper explores how a Scandinavian management consulting firm entered the Indian market and how this process of international expansion set in motion a significant change in organisational identity. The purpose of the article is to explore and reflect on how a medium-sized consulting firm managed its transition to the new context of India and the resulting implications for practising consulting in a new environment. In this case, the experience in India changed the firm and challenged preconceptions about the process of globalisation being a one-way export of Western products, knowledge and ideas. A different firm emerged from the experience: one that is not only more international but which is also now becoming more clearly differentiated in the Scandinavian market. The phenomenon observed is termed ‘reverse consulting’ and is emerging as a new driver in the internationalisation of professional services firms.

Management Consultants — The Danish Experience

This chapter examines the Danish management consulting industry from the perspective of the consulting firms’ managing partner and the client organization’s chief executive officer. It examines the principal motives in clients’ use of consultants and their buying behavior, as well as clients’ perceptions of consulting firms and their experiences in working with them. The results confirm a number of basic beliefs regarding the value of using consultants, but question some of the consultants’ capabilities and ethical behavior. The chapter also addresses the challenges facing consultants and clients in improving both their relationship and assignment effectiveness.