February 13, 2012 Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away Danielle Kurtzleben: The Peace Process is over. Finally Susan Johnston: The Myth of Economic Inequality Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Farro Salad: An ancient grain is now new again as the base of a tasty tangle of flavorsome vegetables, chickpeas and salami February 10, 2012 Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: The biblical case against small-mindedness involved diminishing His precious prophet Caroline B. Glick: The Peace Process is over. Finally Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage Rachel Koning Beals: Gen X Women Continue to Shrink Gender Investing Gap The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Durand: Who Says You Can't Make Restaurant Favorites at Home?: MANGO AND STICKY RICE February 9, 2012 Jeff Strickler: An argument a day keeps the divorce away, they say Clifford D. May: CAIR's Crusade against The Third Jihad Melissa Healy: Study finds jolt to the brain boosts memory Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation Emily Brandon: 10 Necessities for a Great Retirement Spot The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Winter Squash and Red Swiss Chard Risotto is Colorful Cozy Cold Weather Fare (includes detailed dos and don'ts) February 8, 2012 Rivy Poupko Kletenik: Tree hostility: The auspicious history of the evolution of Tu B'Shevat Steven Emerson: Planting Trees is Racist?! Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups Anne Applebaum: Russia's Potemkin democracy Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs Emily Brandon: 10 Necessities for a Great Retirement Spot The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. 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Jewish World Review Nov. 13, 2006 / 22 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767 Pros and Cons By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir Do professionals need to strive for complete objectivity? http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Q: You recently stated that selling and providing advice should be strictly separated. How does this apply to professionals? A: . In last week's column, I explained that a salesperson doesn't have to be objective. On the contrary, his or her job is to be an honest but partial advocate for the benefits of the product being sold. The consumer in turn is the judge, who makes an informed judgment after hearing the arguments from all sides, that is, all the businesses competing for the purchaser's spending. Conversely, an advisor must be completely objective. His or her job is to advance the interests of the client, not to manipulate them. For this reason I condemned "in-house" financial advisors whose real job is not to advise the client but rather to sell to him. One reader pointed out that this advice is not easily applied to professionals. The nature of the professions is that the expert provides both advice and service. A dentist diagnoses a cavity and also fills the tooth; an auto mechanic diagnoses the source of problems and repairs it, and so on. While it is true that a professional both advises and sells, I think that his or her primary responsibility is providing impartial advice. During the advice stage, the professional is required to give counsel based solely on the best interest of the client. The average person is simply not in a position to play judge on whether or not he has a cavity, or a faulty carburetor, etc. Thus, he is totally reliant on the judgment of the professional. Just as the average person is unable to judge whether or not he needs an operation, he is unable to evaluate the expertise of the professional he consults. This is one reason that professions almost always have professional societies which impose standards of conduct and of expertise among members. Jewish law encourages the formation of societies of this nature, and gives members of a trade the power to make binding restrictions on who is qualified to practice their trade and to regulate practice. In order to prevent these regulations from being anti-competitive, they are subject to the oversight of a local authority. (1) Membership in such a society or guild gives the client confidence that the professional is truly qualified to dispense impartial advice and is subject to some disciplinary process which can penalize him for acting in an unprofessional way. Another way in which Jewish law gives special recognition of the expertise of trained professionals is giving them a partial exemption for advice which turns out to be ill-advised. An untrained individual is liable for giving bad advice, but Jewish law considers that a person with recognized professional credentials has the ability to exercise professional judgment, and that his or her "mistakes" are probably merely a regrettable case where problems could not have been foreseen. (2) In many cases, sticking to giving impartial advice will keep a professional from any kind of conflict of interest. The client is provided with all the information needed to make an informed decision, based on the expert judgment of the professional. There is no scope left for advocacy. We would not expect a heart surgeon to explain to a patient that he has a choice between bypass surgery and a stent, and then add that there is a special sale on stents for one week only. But we must admit that sometimes professional practices do include many discretionary items which the professional may want to market. For example, dentists routinely carry out purely cosmetic procedures such as whitening. This is acceptable as long as the professional clearly explains to the patient where the line is drawn. It's best if any "marketing" aspect of the interaction is left to a completely different part of the visit. For example, a dentist will first examine a patient and explain any dental work called for based on accepted professional standards. After the consultation is completed, the dentist can say, "By the way, you may also be interested in cosmetic dentistry treatments my practice can offer." A garage mechanic can finish explaining any necessary repairs, and add "By the way, we have a sale on tires." It should be made clear to the client that at this stage the professional/consultation stage is over, and that the professional is now putting on a new hat, that of salesperson. The underlying principle, that it is forbidden to mix advice and salesmanship, applies equally to a salesperson, a consultant, and a professional. A salesperson and a consultant can easily avoid the problem by limiting their repertoire to one of these roles. Professionals inherently have a conflict of interest, because they advise their clients on services that they provide. But the presence of a conflict of interest doesn't mean that the professional will give self-serving advice. Adequate training, a commitment to impartiality and a clear distinction between advice and selling will enable a professional to fulfill all aspects of his job with ethical excellence. SOURCES: (1) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 331:28 (2) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 306 Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes inspiring articles. Sign up for our daily update. It's free. Just click here. JWR contributor Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, formerly of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration, is Research Director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem, Jerusalem College of Technology. To comment or pose a question, please click here. THE JEWISH ETHICIST, NOW IN BOOK FORM You've enjoyed his columns on JWR for years. Now the Jewish Ethicist has culled his most intriguing — and controversial — offerings in book form. HARDCOVER PAPERBACK Sales help fund JWR. Previously: Does future reward make ethical behavior selfish? The whole truth — Even in the marketplace? Judaism and the afterlife: Reincarnation, heaven and hell The Jewish belief in resurrection of the dead affects how will live in the here and now Ethical guidelines on what to say and what's proper to keep to yourself Is it wrong to get credit for something you didn't do? Ethics and sportsmanship The ethics of forwarding email Must a supplier honor a discount offered by a rogue sales representative? Should I boycott my daughter's fashion show? Should you respond to all those annoying email pop-up requests? Do I have to reimburse someone who tried to do me a favor? Seeking credit card debt settlement Can I threaten to spread the word about someone who cheated me? How can the terminally ill tap into their life insurance? Is there value in an unhappy marriage? Where does the Almighty fit into your corporation's mission statement? Does an expert witness have to be impartial? Should I give recognition to a modest man who did a great deed? In representing my firm, can I tell a white lie? Defrauding insurance to save a life Can top level management unilaterally give away money to corporate dollars to charity? Loans to Family Members How much worker supervision is too much? Should I turn in a colleague for inappropriate acts? Priority in charitable giving Trolls and ogres How many hours of work is too many? Can I promote my product by having it unobtrusively written into a story? He's not heavy he's my brother All's fair in war?, II All's fair in war? Girth vs. worth Is it proper to tax bequests? Ethics of Being Overweight Penalized for working swiftly When is it a bluff? 'Rate and switch' My paycheck is late! Should schools cater to an elite? All's fair in love? Comfort and Competition Do I need the caller's permission to put a call on the speakerphone? Overtime for lost time Is it unethical to play suppliers against each other to get the lowest bid possible? Do family members have precedence in charity allotments? What the world of business can teach us about our annual process of repentance and renewal Are religious leaders subject to criticism? Vindictive Vendor: How can I punish an abusive competitor? Blogging Ethics: Is the blogger responsible for defamatory posts? © 2005, The Jewish Ethicist is produced by the JCT Center for Business Ethics