INTRODUCTION
It is true of every form of relationship, that
there are certain models that keep the relationship working. The professional
carries additional moral responsibilities for their clients. Professional-
client relationship is the basis for the go about of the relationship between
professionals and their clients. As a matter of fact, there are different
analyses with regards to this relationship. All these analyses are based on
addressing issues like: what kind of relationship is needed? Who should take
decision? Is there need one acting on behalf of the other? This is also in a
view to note the criteria to be taken in order to maintain a healthy
relationship between a professional and his/her client. The appropriate ethical
conception of the professional-client relationship is one that allows clients
as much freedom to determine how their life is affected as is reasonably
warranted on the basis of their ability to make decision.
There are general model set up for the conduct of
professionals in relationship with their clients. These are developed models
that govern the professional- client relationship. These ethical models often
assume certain facts and provide guide lines to the relationship. These models
are not based on unusual situations; they are based on the contacts of an average
client with professionals. The central issue here is the allocation of
responsibility and authority in decision making. The models are in effect and
with reference to different distributions of authority and responsibility in
making decisions. The ethical models
are in effect models of different distribution of authority and responsibility
in decision-making.[1] The models
include: agency, contract, paternalistic, advocacy, collegial or friendship and
fiduciary models.
However
this paper focuses on the models of professional- client relationship, but in
this context I am going to particularly look at the advocacy and fiduciary
model of professional client relationship. In this paper I would be discussing
the decision making party of these models, including their strengths and their
weaknesses.
FIDUCIARY
MODEL OF PROFESSIONAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
By
etymology, the word fiduciary is gotten from the Latin word “fiduciaries”, meaning “holding in trust”.
A fiduciary is someone who has undertaken to act for
and on behalf of another in a particular matter in circumstances which give
rise to a relationship of trust and confidence. It is an ethical relationship
of trust between two or more parties. In a fiduciary relationship, one person,
in a position of vulnerability, justifiably vests confidence, reliance and
trust in another whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter. In
such a relation good conscience requires the fiduciary to act at all times for
the sole benefit and interest of the one who trusts.
This model emphasizes a professional’s special obligation of being
worthy of a client’s trust. A professional and his or her client are said to be
in a fiduciary relationship when the two of then involves in a relationship
that involve the confidence and trust of one in another.
The basic responsibility of the fiduciary model is to provide the client with a
beneficial service, it equally have the responsibility not to violate the trust
by causing any form of harm to the other who has surrendered in trust and
confidence some degree of autonomy in the relationship. A failure in responsibility is misconduct and a neglect of duty. The
fiduciary is given trust by the other and that is because such trust is needed
to permit the fiduciary to do what it is that the fiduciary is to do for the
other.
In
this model of relationship, both parties are bestowed responsibility and their judgments
are both considered. One party always in a more advantageous position, and
therefore has a special obligation to the other. The weaker party always has
dependency towards the stronger party and exercises trust for the stronger
party, while the stronger party makes itself available and worthy of trust. For
this process and model to be effective, the client must trust convincingly the
accuracy of the professional’s analysis of the problems. The client relies on
the professional’s usage of his knowledge and ability to his (client) interest.
With regards to this, the professional must ensure that the trust and reliance
of the client on him are justified.
It
is notable about this model that it is not a case where the professional
presents an overall recommendation for a client’s acceptance or rejection,
because the client’s interest can be affected by various aspects of the
professional’s work. With regards to this, consulting the client is necessary
at different times. The expertise of the professional
does not extend to the client’s values and choice. The professionals
must first work from the model perspective of fiduciary framework of the
professional client relationship, where responsibilities are share between the
professional and his subject. The fiduciary model can
be applied in the relationships between: doctors and their patients, teachers
and their students, priests and their parishioners, insurance companies,
building contractors etc.
THE
DECISION MAKING PARTY OF THE FIDUCIARY MODEL
In
this model, the client exercises more authority and responsibility with regards
to decision making. The client’s consent and
participation is highly required in the process of making decision. The
client’s consent is given or withheld because of the dependency in the
professional’s information. The professional have the responsibility of
proposing course of action; the professional supplies the ideas and information
and it is the duty of the client to agree or disagree. For example, a medical
doctor may suggest operation for a patient, but it is left for the patient to
agree with the doctors suggestion or not, though the response is always most
likely to be on the positive.
STRENGHTS
OF THE FIDUCIARY MODEL
FREEDOM:
one of the major strengths or advantage that is attributed to this model is the
liberty and freedom it grants to the clients in the decision making process.
The client in this model is opportune to agree on how his/her life is affected
as warranted on the basis of his/her ability with regards to making decisions.
HOSPITALITY:
this model is mutually inclusive; in the sense that, given the fact that a
client has reason, and has casted his/her trust on the skills of a
professional, the professional in turn offers to his best capacity his
professional techniques in dealing with his client. Being aware of the fact
that his client is dependent on him to extents and avoiding a betrayal of the
client’s trust in him, the professional offers his services in professionalism
and mutually to his client.
EQUALITY/
CONSIDERATION AND FAIRNESS: this model is fair enough to give equal attention
to both the professional and the client. In this model, both the professional’s
and client’s judgment are being put into consideration; irrespective of the
expertise of a professional, the client is equally given a chance to decide on
what he/she wants for his/herself.
WEAKNESSES
OF THIS MODEL
A
major weakness of this model is that it is ruling off the possibility that some
clients do not know how to make decision; they don’t really know what they want
for themselves. It is appropriate only to the range of competent clients.
Another weakness of it is that, some people find it difficult to trust other
people, maybe because of their past experiences. If a client cannot trust the
professional in their relationship, the relationship would hardly work out
positively.
ADVOCACY
MODEL OF PROFESSIONAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
Advocacy
is an active verbal support for a cause or position in a situation of
interference, when someone speaks up for another person with the sole intention
of making the person’s view and wishes
listened to with the respect due to them. This marks the essence of the
advocacy model. This model always defines a natural activity presented where
people stand for others in situations; making others’ concerns their priority.
Mostly the first experience of advocacy is always within the family, where
members of a family supports and promotes each other’s interests and rights.
The function of advocacy, as it pertains to public relations, remains a
professional role responsible to client interests, professional interests, and
third-party interests only if the professional includes a preliminary stage in
the process of accepting a client’s issue. Advocates need to be flexible in the
approaches they use to ensure consumers receive the type of advocacy support
most likely to increase their ability to self-advocate and to become empowered
to make their own choices about the solutions to their issues and concerns.
Advocacy belongs to the family of conflict resolution.
Conflict can be resolved using two parties or three parties depending on
whether a model for mediation, conciliation, negotiation or advocacy is used.
In this model, the negotiator develops a collaborative relationship with the client. The advocacy model comes in
different types or forms which includes: self-advocacy, peer advocacy,
statutory advocacy, best interest advocacy, crisis advocacy, professional/
specialist advocacy and political advocacy. Peer advocacy takes place when the individual
providing the help has been through, or is going through, a similar
experience. This is also known as support advocacy and
is often used by support groups. Professional/ specialist advocacy is most
widely recognized as legal advocacy, but may also be provided by others who
provide specialist advocacy service such as HDC advocates who are under the
Health and Disability Commissioner Act.
Advocacy is divided into two main types of advocacy, case and cause or systemic advocacy. An individual or
groups of individuals either carry out case advocacy by themselves as
self-advocates or using paid or unpaid advocates who either support or
represent their case. Cause or systemic advocacy is where an individual or
group advocates on the need to bring about changes to a structure, system,
policy or legislation. This form of advocacy does not focus on an
individual but instead represents the rights and interests of a group with
similar concerns and issues. [2]
Part
of the assumption of advocacy is that the advocate takes up the client’s cause
fully, without any value judgment toward the client himself. Advocates use
their expertise to advance a client’s cause. The “ideology of advocacy
according to legal scholar W. H. Simon calls.” this ideology assumes two principles
of conduct: (1) that a professional is neutral or detached from the client’s
purposes, and (2) that the professional is an aggressive partisan of the client
working to advance the client’s ends. The decision making party of this model
is mostly the professional but with the instrumentality of the information
obtained from the client. For example: the professional relationship between a
lawyer and his client.
STRENGTH OF THE
ADVOCACY MODEL
This model makes it
possible for the voice of the less privilege to be heard in the society. This
model calls for fair judgment, in the sense that when a person advocates for
the other, it is always in view of requesting a fair judgment on the person’s
behalf. This model in a way empowers the weak of the society.
WEAKNESSES OF THE
ADVOCACY MODEL
This major weakness of this role is the
tendency of the advocator, speaking not exactly what his subject has in mind.
The role of the advocate equally assumes a certain amount of subjectivity in
the sense of one-sidedness of purpose and lack of consideration for third-party
interests. This model is strictly one-sided; it does not really consider the
other part. Example, if a lawyer sets out to advocate for a murderer in a law
court, he will not really consider the fact that his client has killed
somebody.
CONCLUSION
The professional client
relationship is a sensitive one, and with regards to the sensitivity of the
relationship between professionals and their client, models of relationship has
been advanced, addressing the issue of who does what, and who make the decision
in the relationship, equally giving a guide line and a set up procedure to be
followed by a professional in relation with his client. These relationship
models make certain assumptions about the client’s abilities.
The professional client
relationship is based on the usual sort of contact, the average client have
with professionals. However, in this paper I had discussed to concisely the
professional client relationship models of fiduciary and advocacy.
[1]
Michael D. Bayles, Professional Ethics , Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth Inc., 1981.p. 68.
[2] http://advocacy.hdc.org.nz/resources/models-of-advocacy.
11-20-2014. 4:32pm
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