A situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as a lawyer, insurance adjuster, a politician, executive or director of a corporation or a medical research scientist or physician, has competing professional or personal interests
Circumstances which prevent an attorney from representing a creditor on a claim, often because the attorney represents or has represented the debtor
When a board members acts on what could be perceived as his or her personal interest rather then the best interests of the organization, there is a conflict of interest For example, if an organization needs to purchase a computer, and one of the board members sells the computer system that the agency wants, the board member is put in a position where they might be perceived as benefiting monetarily from their own position on the board There should be a competitive bidding process and if a product or service is purchased in a manner that could personally benefit any board member, that person should state their interest in the issue, and not vote or use personal influence on the matter, and should not be counted in the quorum for a meeting at which board action is to be taken on the matter A formal conflict of interest policy should be included in the bylaws Topic areas: Governance
A situation occuring when an official's private interests may benefit from his or her public actions
Disclosure of any personal, financial, and/or professional interest that might create a conflict with the ability to fairly and objectively carry out one's responsibilities as an ERP or COA member
A conflict between the private interests and the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust
* A person has a conflict of interest when the person is in a position of trust which requires her to exercise judgment on behalf of others (people, institutions, etc ) and also has interests or obligations of the sort that might interfere with the exercise of her judgment, and which the person is morally required to either avoid or openly acknowledge (The lesser requirement of open acknowledgment is usually adopted when it seems too burdensome to require that the person in a position of trust to divest herself of the interest that conflicts with her position of responsibility For example, some journals require that authors disclose any substantial financial interests that might have biased their research assessment Requiring investigators to divest themselves of investments that they may have made on the basis of their scientific judgment would be too burdensome, and might even suppress publication )
Failure to provide information about a conflict of interest To take advantage of that conflict of interest For example, a Sydney Water employee fails to disclose a second job and conducted free inspections for their other employer
Where the business interests of an organisation run contrary to its public obligations For example, there could be a conflict of interest over a leaflet which is intended to educate arthritic patients about the importance of self-help therapy, but which is produced by a pharmaceutical company which manufactures drugs for arthritis
Any business activity, personal or company related, that interferes with the company's goals or that entails unethical or illegal actions
This term refers to the situation in which a person has a vested interest in the outcome of a decision, but tries to influence the decision making process as if they did not In other words, they stand to benefit from a decision if it goes a particular way, but they participate in the decision making process as if they were neutral For example, a judge who holds XYZ stock may be unconsciously influenced in a case concerning the XYZ Company A conflict need not even be intentional
any situation in which an employee influences university business, research, teaching, or other decisions in ways that lead or could lead to any form of personal financial gain for the individual or his/her family, or that gives or appears to give improper advantage to others to the detriment of the university
Threat to the public interest by a private interest; usually the position of a legislator unable to vote impartially due to some personal interest in a legislative matter
Any interest, financial or otherwise, any business or professional activity, or any obligation which is incompatible with the proper discharge of a legislator's duties in the public interest
a principle under which outside activities, relationships, or financial interests of a recipient are determined to be proper or improper to prevent an individual from appearing to be or being motivated by a desire for private gain
The situation that results when an umpire takes money from the players, when a judge takes money from defendants and prosecutors, and when government officials take campaign contributions from people whose economic interests are affected by government policy-making "We are the only people in the world required by law to take large amounts of money from strangers and then act as if it has no effect on our behavior " -- U S Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass )
when your personal interest collides with another interest calling into question your ability to make an independent value judgement
When a University employee is in a position to influence the conduct of a project for personal gain due to responsibilities or to arrangements with an outside entity For more information on the University of Michigan Conflict of Interest Policy see the attached document