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Ethics in PM
1. Ethics in project management
Exploring the importance of morality in projects
Alistair Godbold
e-mail: alistair.godbold@nichols.uk.com
3 April 2014
1
2. Ethics in Project Management
Ethics, bribery and trust in the world today
Why are projects different?
Why ethics and why now?
Why what we do now is not enough
What should we do about it?
6. What is a bribe?
The offering, promising, giving, accepting or soliciting
of an advantage as an inducement for an action
which is illegal or a breach of trust.
20. Why manage ethics?
• Protect against damaging perceptions
Project, Company and Profession
• Legal and moral backlash
• Differentiator for customers and consumers
• Develop and maintain trust
• Attract and retain good staff
More efficient than putting in controls
26. Recognising the warning signs
“Everybody
does it”
“If we don’t
someone
else will”
“No one will
get hurt”
“It is not
against the
rules”
“They knew
the risks”
“They would
do the same”
“It’s the way
business is
done”
“Just this
once”
“None will
know”
“We need to
make up the
time”
“It’s worth a
lot of
money!”
27. Why now?
• Increased pace of change
no time to catch issues and think
• Complexity and international
different norms of behaviour in different cultures
• FCPA and UK Bribery Act
BS10500 – Anti Bribery Management
• EU Public Procurement Directive
• OECD Combating the Bribery of Public Officials
28. What we do now does not work
Codes of conduct
• statements of the obvious (obey the law, pay on time, don’t lie, respect others)
• no practical use in dilemmas
Tick box culture
• on-line training and assessment
• ill-equipped people, company is fooling itself
Too little training
• expensive and resource intensive (if you think education is expensive, try ignorance)
29. Have you ever been asked to …
Source: Business in the community, the importance of ethical leadership 2013
10% of managers have resigned as a result
30. Root causes of misconduct
Source: KPMG Integrity Survey 2013
39. The Role of the PM
Views
Feelings
Leadership
Rules
Statements
Emotional Intelligence
• the ability to perceive and
understand emotion
• the ability to integrate emotion to
facilitate thought
• the ability to manage emotions
Project
Manager
Stakeholders
Project
team
40. What can we do now
Codes
• APM Code of Conduct
• Company Codes and value
statements
• Project Charter / Code
Leadership
• Promote Values and walk the talk
• Understand the theory
• Ethical training and discussion
Profession
• Separate 1st profession from
PM role
41. Action for PM - Promote Values
Define roles and responsibilities
Specify values and behaviours
• named
• make some measurable
• use metrics, indicators
• monitor, evaluate, control
Communicate about values
• targets, status, involvement
Encourage lessons learned
42. Develop trust
• communicate clearly and transparently 82%
• tell the truth, regardless of how complex or unpopular 81%
• engage with employees regularly to discuss the state of the business 80%
• be front and centre during challenging times 79%
• be personally involved in supporting local charities and good causes 69%
• have an active media presence 53%
Source: Endleman Trust Barometer Survey 33,000 respondents in 27 Countries
43. Ethical Maturity
• Understand the rules and theory
• Understand morality of society and where it is going
• Perceive the environment
• Communicate and create the environment
walk the talk and be clear in thoughts and words
• Train with Scenarios
grow from small and use real life applied to your project
44. Institutional structure – fixity and structure
Principle–doingright
Ethical Theory
Virtue Ethics
Deontological Ethics
• Kantian imperatives
• rights
• justice and fairness
Ethical Learning & Growth
• ethical egoism
Teleoglogical Ethics
• discourse ethics
• utilitarianism
Policy–doinggood
Individual process – adaptability and responsiveness
45. Until then – a rule of thumb
For the solution:
• Which goals and priorities does it support or work against?
• Does it reflect the values of the organisation and the decision makers?
• What are the consequences for each of the stakeholders?
• What qualms would the decision maker have about the disclosure of a
favourable decision to this solution?
• What is the positive or negative symbolic potential if understood or
misunderstood by others?
• How would my children look back on this?
46. Summary
It is not just about the law and doing the ‘right thing’:
• manage the ethics and its image of your project as an asset
Good business
Need to understand theory to be able to:
• feel, think and talk about issues
Warning signs
• be aware and take action
Leadership and people Not Rules
47. Ethics in project management
Exploring the importance of morality in projects
Alistair Godbold
e-mail: alistair.godbold@nichols.uk.com
3 April 2014
47