5 Ethical Issues In Project Management

By Elita TorresBusiness, Entrepreneur
Obstacles Senior Executives Must Overcome when Changing Career When we talk about people facing a career change, we mostly think about younger people who have realized that their current careers aren’t offering enough or who made a wrong career choice. Unfortunately, they are not the only ones who want or need to jump ship. Even seasoned professionals sometimes change their jobs, but that comes with many challenges. If you’re one of them, take a look at the following list of tips on how to overcome such problems. Hurt ego It’s logical that senior executives feel loss of self-esteem and self-worth, embarrassment and shame. After all, they’ve reached a respectable position in their profession and are used to a managerial position. This problem is best overcome by keeping the “usual life” going (family activities, hobbies, etc.) and focusing on your worth outside of the job. You should also be open to learning new things and connecting and sharing the experience with other top executives in transition. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help! Losing resources You may not be used to doing the day-to-day administrative tasks yourself or you may lack some basic habits and skills for details and logistics. If you fall into that category, it’s time you learned new behaviors and organizational skills and started respecting the small tasks that support the whole process. You probably won’t get a high-end job Such jobs are much more difficult to find, and your search will definitely take longer. There are fewer opportunities at this level, which means you’ll need to be much more patient if you’re looking for such a job. That’s why you need to expand your scope, be more flexible and ready to relocate. You might want to take a short-term step back in title in order to eventually move forward. Alternatively, you could explore consulting or starting/buying a business. Feeling abandoned Another problem that senior executives face when changing career is that they feel left out, which leads to lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. Such a crisis of confidence can be very debilitating. One of the best ways to deal with it is to turn to experts in efficient career coaching, who can help professionals unlock unrealized strengths and pursue their limitless potential and who find themselves at a career crossroads and are unsure where to turn. Get in touch with right people Experienced professionals find it difficult to get through senior executives’ gatekeepers, especially since human resources can offer little or no help in this regard. You need to talk to hiring managers about how you can help them reach their business goals. Also, join and participate in executive networking programs, board or directors and venture capital groups. Call-in favors and get help from senior-level friends and colleagues. Age Chances are, you’ll be perceived as being too old or “washed-up”. Naturally, employers will fear that you won’t remain long at the company and will have their concerns about investing in you, especially if you don’t have technology skills necessary to thrive in today’s work environment. To tackle this problem, you should refocus on your exceptional qualifications, proven results and experience, rather than your age. However, you need to know the culture of the company: if there is no-one older than 40, you shouldn’t apply for a job there if you’re 65. Instead, target smaller companies that would appreciate experience, contacts and credibility and stay up-to-date and informed about your industry. Perception of others You might not be taken seriously as a job candidate or others may project their own fears onto you or be in denial or act dismissive. In those situations, you need to tell the story about your departure from the company and let everyone know that you’re ok with the situation. Be genuine, relaxed and humble. If you have a better understanding of the special challenges you’re facing and implement the solutions suggested above, you’ll significantly improve your job search results and decrease your level of anxiety and frustration. This should, hopefully, lead you to a successful career transition.

Within project management,  ethical responsibilities are defined as those things that focus on issues that are “black and white”, such as conflicts of interest. It is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that all decisions they make are in the best interest of the project. However, despite the best knowledge gained through training courses for project managers, it is quite possible to find project managers not truly following the guidelines on some of the following ethical issues.

1. Creating correct reports

Even when they are factually correct, a project or progress report can be:

·       Pessimistic – conservative recognition of progress

·       Optimistic – giving the impression they are on top of everything

·       Factual – just offering facts and figures with no interpretations

Projects have a major impact on the future of a company, so project reports must commit to certain standards when it comes to their reporting. This means they should be as accurate as possible. Don’t suppress facts, even if they are not what people want to hear, and also indicate where there may be issues as well as provide plans for mitigating them. 

2. Ensure all stakeholder interests are protected

The project manager needs to master the art of stakeholder management, and this means ensuring that everyone’s interests are protected. It can be tempting to take the easy way out and listen only to the most influential stakeholders. However, for any project manager who has learned to handle and deal with conflicts, this is not the way forward. It is important to ensure transparency throughout, documenting everything clearly and negotiating where necessary. 

3. Be objective

A project manager with the skills and qualifications such as AMP PMQ, knows how important it is to remain objective throughout the project. Whilst this is a theory that is relatively easy to understand, putting it into practice can often be much more complicated. 

A project manager mustn’t “take sides” in things like technical discussions. They need to not only be objective but be seen to be being objective with all members of their team.

4. Accept and assign responsibility

The project manager should accept responsibility for the failure or success of the project. However, this does not mean that the responsibility lies entirely with them. Being accountable is an important aspect of the project and vital in influencing its outcome. It is a part of the project manager’s role to also assign responsibility as necessary.

It is necessary for there to be a clear and frank discussion that looks for the root causes of issues and then works to find ways of resolving them. When things need to be done differently, the project manager needs to step up and say this.

5. Use the correct process

Finally, understanding everything you learn as a project manager and when to use different processes is an essential part of the role. This means ensuring that if risk management practices are missing in the project the best processes are introduced. Additionally, if weak change management is in place this needs to be addressed. Resistance to change is always an issue. However, the correct processes can make all the difference in a project, and it is the role of the project manager to implement these and encourage their use.