Question

Suppose that Ms. Hamir stacked the deck with her design proposal. In other words, she purposefully under-designed the less expensive solution and produced a cost estimate for the higher-end version that she knew would come in over budget if it were chosen. She also knew that SLS had a tendency to hire design consultants to do build projects. Is it unethical to produce a consulting report that steers a client toward a specific outcome? Suppose instead that Ms. Hamir had prepared a report that truthfully recommended the more expensive option as the better choice for SLS in her best professional opinion. Further suppose that SLS management decided on the less expensive option solely to reduce costs without regard to the project’s security outcomes. Would she be ethically sound to urge reconsideration of such a decision?

Answer 1

Answer:

Is it unethical to produce a consulting report that steers a client toward a specific outcome?

Yes.

Would she be ethically sound to urge reconsideration of such a decision? Yes.

Explanation:

Producing a biased consulting report aimed to drive the client to a specific decision is definitely unethical, even if this action is aimed to make sure they get the best option for their security needs.

The ethical course of action would be to provide an honest report and to ask for the client´s reconsideration in case the client prioritizes cost reduction over the project’s security.