RE: Vendor conflict of interest - Consultants, etc.

["Andy Nolen-Parkhouse" <aparkhouse@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I would imagine that many "consulting" arrangements are really designed to
reach a pre-determined result.  Either because a board may need to justify a
very large expense or because executives need to override their internal
staff, a study is commissioned to provide the appropriate "due diligence".
I don't think it's a problem in these cases that someone would contract with
someone who supports the desired results and may profit from the decision.

Many of us do this frequently, but on a smaller scale.  A potential customer
calls up and says "Management won't let me upgrade my iSeries because
they're thinking about implementing SAP.  Help me get together my business
case for staying on the platform and you have a good chance of selling me
the upgrade."

On the flip side, anyone who truly wants an objective analysis of
alternatives should vet their consultants thoroughly and make it clear that
they want objective advice.  Hiring someone who could profit from one choice
presents such a clear conflict of interest that it should really be avoided.
But in many cases, I don't think objective advice is desired.

Regards,
Andy Nolen-Parkhouse