Just open any newspaper, journalist magazines, or watch
television news broadcast to see how ethics has been a plaguing problem across
all industries. Here is a quick review of PMI®’s Code of Ethics.
The PMI® Code of Conduct sets the expectations for practitioners
in the PM community. “The Code of Ethics
and Professional Conduct is divided into sections that contain standards of
conduct which are aligned with the four values that were identified as most
important to the project management community” (Project
Management Institute, 2006). These four values are (Project Management
Institute, 2006):
1-
Responsibility- is our duty to take ownership for the decisions we make
or fail to make, the actions we take or fail to take, and the consequences that
result.
2- Respect- is
our duty to show a high regard for ourselves, others, and the resources
entrusted to us. Resources entrusted to us may include people, money,
reputation, the safety of others, and natural or environmental resources
3- Fairness- is
our duty to make decisions and act impartially and objectively. Our conduct
must be free from competing self-interest, prejudice, and favoritism.
4- Honesty- is our duty to understand the truth and act
in a truthful manner both in our communications and in our conduct.
In addition, each section of the Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct contains both aspirational standards and mandatory
standards. As the names imply, aspirational standards are those that
practitioners strive to
uphold. Mandatory standards are set, firm standards that must be followed (Project
Management Institute, 2006).
Armed with the above information, how useful are the PMI®
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct in helping someone decide what behavior
is appropriate and inappropriate? Apparently,
this must be a common question as PMI® has devoted another document to help. “This
PMI Ethical Decision-Making Framework (EDMF) document describes steps that can
be used to guide an individual in the project management profession through a
process to make a decision when confronted with an ethical dilemma” (Project
Management Institute, 2016).
In essence, EDMF describes 5 steps (and associated
sub-questions) is intended to be used as a guide for critical thinking
throughout the ethical decision-making process, it is represented as a sequence
of questions and sub-questions to stimulate the user beginning with the
recognition and assessment of the issue, and ending with a decision and action.
Here is a pictorial of the 5-Steps (Project
Management Institute, 2016):
PMI® Ethical
Decision-Making Framework
Corresponding with the 5-Steps are the questions you can ask
for each.
As PMs, why is ethics and standards important? The answer
basically comes down to teamwork. PMs are essentially completing an activity
with others. In order to be a leader, the PM must establish trust in building
relationships. No trust, no followers! And trust requires the PM is act
ethically. No ways around it. If the leader cuts corners, lies to stakeholders,
or acts in other unethical ways, the team will lose trust and the project will
probably fail. “Wise leaders understand
that a shared and credible statement of the organization's ethical standards
must complement a shared recognition of the leader's ethical beliefs” (O'Brochta,
2012).
So how does a PM know if they are acting ethically? Admittedly,
the mandatory standards are almost cut-and-dry, black-or-white. Examples of
these would be to not break policies, rules, regulations, or laws. However,
aspirational standards can be a little “gray”. One example, as provided by author Andy
Jordan, is:
For example, I
know of a professional services organization that wanted to include a clear
statement that they would never lie to a customer about the status of their
project. That led to a discussion about whether omitting information was a lie,
and by extension, only answering questions asked rather than volunteering
information. (Jordan,
2016)
The answer isn’t always clear, but the practice must be
consistent. I am a big advocate of standards. As PMI® states:
“We believe that
we can advance our profession, both individually and collectively, by embracing
this Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. We also believe that this Code
will assist us in making wise decisions, particularly when faced with difficult
situations where we may be asked to compromise our integrity or our values”
(Project Management Institute, 2006).
No one is perfect. Not every decision we have to make is
popular. However, standing by our values and ethics of the profession helps
ensure integrity and honor while serving as team members and leaders in our
profession.
Damien
References
Jordan, A.
(2016). How do you know you're behaving ethically? Retrieved from http://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/318674/How-Do-You-Know-Youre-Behaving-Ethically-
O'Brochta,
M. (2012). The leader's choice--five steps to ethical decision making.
Retrieved from http://www.pmi.org/learning/library/leaders-choice-ethical-decision-making-6031
Project
Management Institute. (2006). Code of ethics and professional conduct.
Retrieved from http://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Ethics/PMI-Code-of-Ethics-and-Professional-Conduct.ashx
Project
Management Institute. (2016). Ethical decision-making framework. Retrieved from
http://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code
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