The following paper will be a review on the article, “Ethics and Executive Coaching: An Agency Theory Approach.” A summary of the article will be followed by a personal review and critique. Finally in conclusion a statement will be included as to whether this article was informative on the subject matter or not.
Executives today, struggle with a multitude of decisions to make on a daily basis. Organizations require that their executives make top quality decisions throughout each day. Business has become more and more complicated and organizations often seek out assistance for their top executives. Executive coaches are hired to work with executives to aid them in becoming more effective and successful in their jobs and their personal lives. The relationship that exists between the coach and executive is based on trust and discretion. High level executives are privy to organizational insider information and therefore trust in the relationship is crucial. This relationship is permeated with potentially volatile information about the organization and its employees, the question of ethics arises, “Is it ethical for an executive to share private information with a coach?” It is therefore imperative that the relationship between the coach and executive adheres to the agency relationship. (Hannafey, 2013)
The agency relation recommends that this style of coaching requires specific moral duties that are more stringent than the typical set of professional ethics. Executive coaching is a relatively new profession and there is currently no written code of ethics for this field. There are many possible areas where controversy can occur regarding certain subjects; private information, organizational standards, financial issues, and conflicts of interest. It is the job of the coach to always look out for the best interest of the executive. Generally there is a contract drawn up for the coach by the organization. This contract clarifies moral practices and expectations within the relationship. Coaches working at this level are referred to as agents working under the Agency Theory approach (Hannafey, 2013).
There are two kinds of agency theory. The first involves economics and centers around the principles of the firm, shareholder, and management associations, and analysis of the corporate organization. The second form focuses more on legal issues. This emphasizes the role of, “agents in negotiating on behalf of the executives and/or serving their interests.” This second form often requires more contract agreements. Agency relation can help to define executive coaching and all the ethical components. The agency relation details information in both a descriptive, or defining, and a normative, or opinionated, way. Agency theory provides direction for the executive and agent, or coach, so that there is transparency, awareness, and ethical wisdom within the relationship. “Agency theory assumes that self-interest motivates all parties, both principals and agents” (Proffitt, 2000). Again, it is imperative that the agent solely regard the interests of the executive or principal above his or her own interests. This is the position that Hannafey regards as essential (Hannafey, 2013).
Francis Hannafey is an Associate Professor of Religion at Fairfield University (Hannafey). Lawrence Vitulano is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor at the Yale Child Study Center (Lawrence). I feel that the authors made it clear that higher standards need to be met at this level of coaching due to the privileged information that is often discussed. The article was overall very vague. In discussing what agency theory is, it would have been far more successful in my opinion if there were specific examples given as to how this theory works in comparison to other theories or practices currently available. There seemed to be a great deal of reiteration of the identical information and no real meat to the matter. The authors mentioned the commentaries from Boatright, Eisenhardt, and DeGeorge, but were not definitive in my opinion. I did not find the article explanatory or helpful in regards to how practical the agency relation approach is to creating an ethical situation in this coaching environment.
References
Game Theory. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 8, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory
Hannafey, F.T. Associate Professor of Religious Studies. Retrieved from https://www.fairfield.edu/lassochannel/academic/profile/index.lasso?id=88
Hannafey, F.T., & Vitulano, L.A. (2013). Ethics and Executive Coaching: An Agency Theory Approach. Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 115, 599-603. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-012-1442-z
Proffitt, D. (2000). Agency Theory as a Basis for Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.cbfa.org/proffitt_2000_Paper.pdf
Vitulano, L.A. PhD., Clinical Professor in the Child Study Center. Retrieved from http://childstudycenter.yale.edu/adolescent/faculty_people/lawrence_vitulano.profile
