Ethics 101 what every leader needs to know pdf

MGMT 8050 Project Ethics and Risk Management - 12 hours (1.2 CEUs)

COURSE After completing this course, students will know: OBJECTIVES

. What a risk is

. What the risk management processes are

. How to identify and analyze risks

. How to apply ethical decisions to your projects

PREREQUISITE None

TEXTS A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 6th Edition, Project Management Institute, 2017

Tom Kendrick, Identifying and Managing Project Risk, Third Edition, AMACOM, 2015

John C. Maxwell, Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know, Center Street, 2005

INSTRUCTOR

Module 3

Module Objectives

The objectives of this module are:

• Learn about the Project Management Institute (PM I) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

• Define a standard for ethical conduct

• Learn how to incorporate ethics in your decision-making

Reading Assignments

Maxwell, Chapters 1-7

PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

In December 2006, the Project Management Institute (PMI) established a new Code of

Ethics and Professional Conduct for its members. Prior to this, there was a Code of Ethics

for members of PMI and a separate Code of Professional Conduct for Project Management

Professionals (PMP).

The areas addressed by the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct are summarized

as follows:

Code Category Professional Conduct

. Responsibility Aspirational

I . Take actions in the best interests of society

2. Accept assignments consistent with qualifications

3. Fulfill commitments

4. Take ownership of errors and omissions

5. Protect proprietary information

6. Upholdthis Code

Mandatory

1. Uphold policies that govern our activities

2. Report unethical or illegal conduct

Respect Aspirational

1. Become informed about others’ norms and customs

2. Listen to others’ points of view

3. Resolve conflicts with others

4. Conduct ourselves in a professional manner

Mandatory

1. Negotiate in good faith

2. Don’t benefit at others’ expense

3. Do not act in an abusive manner

4. Respect others’ property rights

2

. Fairness Aspirational

1. Demonstrate transparent decision-making

2. Be objective

3. Provide equal access to information

4. Make opportunities equally available

Mandatory

I . Disclose conflicts of interest

2. Don’t make decisions with a conflict of interest

3. Don’t hire or award contracts based on personal

considerations

4. Do not discriminate

5. Apply rules without favoritism

Aspirational Honesty

1. Seek to understand the truth

2. Be truthful in communications and conduct

3. Provide accurate information

4. Make commitments in good faith

5. Create safe environment

Mandatory

1. Do not mislead or deceive others

2. Do not engage in dishonest behavior

PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Categories

3

Ethical Choices

In p. 3-6 of Maxwell, he proposes three reasons why people act unethically:

I . We do what’s most convenient

2. We do what we must to win

3. We rationalize our choices with relativism

Maxwell claims that ethical firms are actually more profitable than other firms. He states,

“Ethics + Competence is a winning equation.”

on p. 1 7, Maxwell states that there are only two important things that are needed for ethical behavior:

1. A standard for ethical behavior.

2. The will to follow this standard.

He points out on p. 17-18 that the Golden Rule is common to many cultures and belief

systems. He proposes that the Golden Rule be the standard for ethical behavior, for the

following reasons:

1. It is accepted by most people

2. It is easy to understand

3. It is a win-win philosophy

4. It gives direction

How does the Golden Rule relate to how people want to be treated? On p. 29-39, Maxwell

says that people want to be:

1. Valued

2. Appreciated

3. Trusted

4

4. Respected

5. Understood

6. Not taken advantage of

On p. 57-70, Maxwell lists five factors that can undermine the will to use the Golden Rule for

ethical behavior:

t Pressure

2. Pleasure

3. Power

4. Pride

5. Priorities

On p. 73-82, Maxwell recommends that we perform the following actions:

1 . Take responsibility for your actions

2. Develop personal discipline

3. Know your weaknesses

4. Align your priorities with your values

5. Admit wrongdoing quickly and ask forgiveness

6. Take extra care with finances

7. Put your family ahead of your work

8. Place high value on people

In addition, Maxwell lists the following behaviors that will reinforce ethical behavior (p. 87-

97):

1. Treat people better than they treat you

2. Walk the second mile

3. Help people who can’t help you

4. Do right when it’s natural to do wrong

5. Keep your promises even when it hurts

5

Module 3 Summary

In Module 3, we learned how to:

• Define a standard for ethical conduct

• Incorporate ethics in the decision-making process

Risk Assignment 2 — Select Risk Responses

The second risk assignment is to select responses for the risks that you identified and

assessed in the first risk assignment. Rank the risks you identify with the qualitative risk

assessment and select a strategy and resultant action for the 10 highest priority risks, as

shown in the following table.

Risk Response Priority Project Risk Strategy Risk Response Action

1 Arena not built in time Accept Modify timeline/budget

2 Miscalculated task timeline Mitigate Timeline buffer

3 Unforeseen costs Transfer Budget buffer

4 Poor lighting Avoid Research/testing

5 Poor contractor performance Contingent response Incentivize/penalize

6 Team ownership failure to approve Exploit Regular communication

7 Fail inspection Avoid Hire consultant/pre-inspection

8 Back order of supplies Contingent response Backup vendor

9 Not paying staff enough money Avoid Incentivize/penalize

10 Failure to obtain liquor license Accept Build relationships

Selecting Strategies and Actions for Project Risks

For the risks that you decide to accept, calculate a budget and schedule contingency:

Risk Budget Expected Schedule Expected Priority Project Risk Prob Impact Budget Impact Impact Schedule Impact

1 Arena not built in time 0.2 $3.0 M $0.6 M 1.0 yrs 0.2 yrs Failure to obtain liquor

10 license 0.1 $2.0 M $0.2 M 1.0 yrs 0.1 yrs

Establishing Budget and Schedule Contingencies for Risk Acceptance

6

Discussion Postings

Post your discussion posting by the date shown in the Syllabus. Discussion postings must

be a minimum of 100 words. In order to obtain full credit, review and comment on a

minimum of two other students’ discussion postings within two days after the scheduled

posting date. Please respond to comments on your discussion postings.

The discussion posting for Module 3 is:

1 . Find the Project Management Institute (PMI) Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct on the PMI website. What would you consider the strong points of the PMI Code? The weak points? What would you recommend being added or deleted?

2. Have you ever had a situation when you wondered what the ethical course of action was? Describe this situation in general terms. Did you incorporate ethics in your decision-making? Why or why not?

3. What do you feel about Maxwell’s contention that the Golden Rule be the standard for ethical decisions? Can you think of a situation that you faced or that you heard about where the Golden Rule didn’t seem to apply?

4. What did you like best in this course?

5. What changes would you suggest to improve the course in the future?

6. What were the most interesting or most important ideas and/or tools that you learned in this course?