Ethics: Influencing Good Choices

By Gloria J. Durham, PMP

This is the last of a two-part series on ethics and ethical decisions. Read the first part in the series.

When it comes to ethics, people tend to think about situations where large-scale incidents take place, such as mortgage fraud cases, security exchange violations and even convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. The media tends to focus on these types of ethical situations, and when people think about someone being unethical, the latest headlines are what come to mind.

Ethics are often defined as the rules and principles that guide a society. Ethical theories are closely tied to moral philosophies. They're a reflection of an individual’s beliefs, behavior and values, and individual and personal values can serve as a platform to reinforce ethical behavior.

While values can have many definitions, the influence of values on behavior is consistent. Values play a significant role in making decisions based on operations of an organization's environment, culture and teams. In addition, values are shared by a group’s belief of what is right and wrong.

The project management community and its members have a shared set of common values in organizations that are guided by A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) and the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Unethical acts can happen at any level within a business. If no action is taken, these acts can have an effect on an organization’s culture.

Some unethical practices that a project manager might be tempted to engage in include:

• Submitting false project status and progress reports.
• Submitting false budget information.
• Accepting offers for kickbacks or gifts from suppliers.
• Overcharging of project work hours.
• Falsifying expense reports.
• Knowingly implementing poor quality products.
• Approving inaccurate test results.
• Taking office materials and supplies.

Think of ethics as a matter of virtue. Virtue can be developed through practice and can be achieved by having pride and personal dignity in accomplishments when a job is well done.

Having a balance between internal and external “good” can create an organization where employees are enabled to engage in individual virtuous pursuits.

Consider the following:

• Human beings have one distinctive function.
• That function is identified as reason (the activity of the soul).
• That function is distinctly equal to good (in accordance to reason).

When companies promote morality and ethics in their business practices, they foster a culture that encourages ethical behavior.

Most people do seek good and right choices, and most agree on similar definitions of what constitutes virtue, ethics and morality. The excellence of the project manager can influence the practice of virtue by analyzing what they can do as individuals to inspire their teams to excellence.

The greater aspect of this factor is project managers who practice ethical and moral behavior also refuse to compromise their basic core values. In addition, they willingly take responsibility for the outcomes of any decisions they make.

In part one of this series, Jennifer questioned Rob’s unethical actions. When a person voices their concerns about ethics, there is the possibility of threats of punishment, invalid accusations and being labeled as an informant.

Despite the risks associated with speaking up, project managers are obligated to act in a moral and ethical manner for the good of the corporation and those stakeholders associated with the project.

Project managers who make ethical decisions are leaders who can foster and influence ethical behavior in organizations.

PMI has resources on ethics, including a video on "Ethics and You." Learn more.

Gloria J. Durham, PMP, holds a masters in project management from Keller Graduate and masters in education (literacy) from Rockhurst University. She is a doctoral student at Capella University, and has over 25 years of IT and project management experience. Ms. Durham is a faculty manager for DeVry’s Online College of Business and Management and instructor for project management courses.