What's
Behind The CMC?
In selecting management consultants, managers are well advised
to seek individuals who meet the profession's standards
of competence and ethics. The CMC designation is a valuable
aid in this quest. Certification by the Institute of Management
Consultants is the mark of excellence among management consulting
professionals. Twenty thousand consultants from over twenty
nations have now been awarded the CMC by one of the certifying
institutes which comprise the International Council of Management
Consulting Institutes. The CMC qualifications of all national
institutes meet a minimum global standard recognized by
all. IMC USA is a founding member of the Council, established
in 1987 to advance worldwide certification.
CMC
Certification
When you see the initials
CMC following a consultant's name, it means that he or she
is a Certified Management Consultant and has met strict
certification requirements of the Institute of Management
Consultants. The Institute was founded in 1968 by the principal
associations in the consulting field to establish publicly
recognized standards of competence and professional conduct
for the individual management consultant. Applicants for
Institute certification undergo thorough investigation of
their consulting experience; they are interviewed by a panel
of senior consultants to verify their technical competence;
and they must pass a written examination evidencing their
familiarity with the Institute's Code of Ethics, which they
have pledged in writing to follow.
What's
Behind The IMC?
Founded in 1968, the Institute
of Management Consultants (IMC) is the leading association
representing management consultants with members in the U.S.
and overseas. It is an outgrowth of combined efforts by the
principal associations and societies in the field to establish
management consulting as a self-regulating profession, meriting
the same public confidence and respect as medicine, accounting
or law. Toward the achievement of this goal, IMC provides
the essential attributes of professionalism:
- A Code of Ethics governing
professional practice.
The primary
purpose of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC)
is to serve as a voice for those in the field and to establish
professional and ethical standards for management consultants.
Code of
Ethics
CMC's pledge in writing to abide
by the Institute's Code of Ethics. Their adherence to the
Code signifies voluntary assumption of self-discipline above
and beyond the requirements of law. Key provisions of the
Code require that CMCs:
- Safeguard confidential
information
- Render impartial, independent
advice
- Accept only those client
engagements they are qualified to perform
- Agree with the client
in advance on the basis for professional charges
- Develop realistic and
practical solutions to client problems
The Institute enforces
the Code by receiving and investigating complaints of violations
and by taking disciplinary action, including revocation
of certification against any member who is found guilty
of Code violation. |
IMC Code
of Ethics
Clients:
We will serve our clients with
integrity, competence, and objectivity. We will keep client
information and records of client engagements confidential and
will use proprietary client information only with the client's
permission. We will not take advantage of confidential client
information for ourselves or our firms. We will not allow conflicts
of interest which provide a competitive advantage to one client
through our use of confidential information from another client
who is a direct competitor without that competitor's permission.
Engagements:
We will accept only engagements
for which we are qualified by our experience and competence.
We will assign staff to client engagements in accord with
their experience, knowledge, and expertise. We will immediately
acknowledge any influences on our objectivity to our clients
and will offer to withdraw from a consulting engagement when
our objectivity or integrity may be impaired. Fees: We will
agree independently and in advance on the basis for our fees
and expenses that are reasonable, legitimate, and commensurate
with the services we deliver and the responsibility we accept.
We will disclose to our clients in advance any fees or commissions
that we will receive for equipment, supplies or services we
recommend to our clients.
Profession: We will
respect the intellectual property rights of our clients, other
consulting firms, and sole practitioners and will not use
proprietary information or methodologies without permission.
We will not advertise our services in a deceptive manner and
will not misrepresent the consulting profession, consulting
firms, or sole practitioners. We will report violations of
this Code of Ethics.
Why hire a CMC?
When you consider
using a management consultant, look for the CMC designation...
Your
project and your organization deserve
nothing less.
(The CMC Certified
Management Consultant) designation is awarded to those select
consultants who have demonstrated a history of substantive
results for clients, adherence to the canon of ethics of
the Institute of Management Consultants USA, and professional
practice management. Global standards of technical competence
and professional conduct are set by the 43-nation International
Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).
At this time, about 1,000
consultants in the United States have been recognized with
the CMC. That is less than 1% of all active professional
management consultants. The advantages to the client organization
in ensuring that consultants engaged for projects possess
the CMC designation include:
- A history of results
and excellent performance, as evidenced by client testimonials,
references, and repeat business. Evidence of that successful
track record is required for CMC certification.
- Adherence to the highest
ethical standards of the profession, as manifest by successfully
completing both written and oral ethics examinations on
the consultant's commitments to the client, fiscal responsibility,
and to the public and the profession.
- Experience in the field,
since a minimum of three years of continuous consulting
and successful results are required for certification.
- Life-long professional
education, provided by the IMC USA in the form of national
conferences, local workshops, topical research, the IMC
USA Academy for Professional Development, newsletters,
and other chapter professional development offerings.
- A reference network for
challenging client problems, including the IMC USA national
database, local chapter reference sources, and the combined
wisdom of the knowledge management created and maintained
within IMC USA membership.
All these give you confidence in knowing
that the consulting resource you've chosen has passed the toughest
certification in the profession, and must maintain that degree
of performance through renewal of that certification every three
years to current global standards.
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