As we talked about before in this module, it’s important for project managers to work ethically. This means doing the right thing, not just following rules. There are written rules and laws, but there are also moral rules and values.
What are these moral rules and values? Let’s break it down with some explanations and examples.
Moral rules are like a list of dos and don’ts for how a person should behave. For instance, one moral rule is “don’t steal.”
Values are strong beliefs that guide how we act in different situations. They show what we think is good behavior. Values can be personal, but they can also be shared in groups like companies. When a bunch of people in the same group share these values, they shape how everyone acts in that group.
In companies, these shared values are super important. They make up the core of what the company’s culture is all about. These values are a small set of important beliefs that don’t change much, and they really influence how people act at work.
For example, The Open University (2019) has some values they believe in:
In our work, we stick to The Open University values of being inclusive, innovative, and responsive.
The value of being inclusive and innovative is a big part of what people do at The Open University. They use this value to make sure everyone can access knowledge through new and creative solutions.
Values and moral rules help everyone know how to behave in a group or at work. It’s good to think about them to understand how they affect the decisions we make when working on projects.
Think about the values your workplace or a group you’re in follows. Can you name some of these values? How do these values affect how you work on projects? Share your thoughts with other learners in the discussion below.
My organization’s core values of integrity, user-centricity, and accountability drive my project work by ensuring that every decision prioritizes the end-user’s needs while maintaining transparent communication and high ethical standards throughout the development lifecycle.
At my organization, the core values are
1. Service which translates into being student centered. At the university of Lusaka, we place the students well being at the centre of every decision we make. This ensures we are compliant and customer centred in our quest to provide the best level of higher education.
2. Inclusivity. We make sure to include all students regardless of background, race, tribe, political affiliation or any other association they may belong to. We run out institution in a holistic way that caters for all.
3. Professionalism. We conduct ourselves in a very formal manner which ensures we attend to each individual student while remaining Proffessional and respectful.
How they affect project work.
1. Service ensure all our projects are centred around the client or bullilt with the client in mind. Plans are constantly revisited to ensure we do not stray from this. And it grows our institution in a very positive manner.
2. Being inclusive means our clients are our stakeholders and are consulted and informed at every step of the process. This is through student leaders and other forms of communication. It also helps us keep all our projects and results transparent and open to suggestion.
3. Being Proffessional ensures everyone works hand in hand to achieve a common goal while maintaining mutual respect for one another. A project runs smoothly when each person is considerate of others around them.
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is guided by values such as excellence, integrity, accountability, professionalism, and teamwork. These values promote high-quality education, honesty in academic work, responsibility in duties, and respect among staff and students.
In my work, these values influence how I approach projects by encouraging me to maintain academic honesty, meet deadlines, collaborate effectively with others, and strive for quality results. They also guide my decision-making to ensure that my work reflects professionalism and ethical standards.
Christabell Simalambo
Team 3
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is guided by values such as excellence, integrity, accountability, professionalism, and teamwork. These values promote high-quality education, honesty in academic work, responsibility in duties, and respect among staff and students.
In my work, these values influence how I approach projects by encouraging me to maintain academic honesty, meet deadlines, collaborate effectively with others, and strive for quality results. They also guide my decision-making to ensure that my work reflects professionalism and ethical standards.
Ethics is fundamental in the sector I work banking precisely. It drives our moral decisions and reinforces core values: superior customer experience, timely resolution, and exceeding expectations when needed. Each customer is a growth driver whose experience defines how the market sees us.
Therefore, we are expected to maintain composure always. Losing your cool, even when you’re right, contradicts our values. Under pressure, your conduct becomes the message. Ethics is proven by how we act when tested.
Values and moral principles are essential in guiding my actions and decisions of as a client representative in a 13- apartments building renovation project. At the core is integrity, which ensures honesty and transparency in all dealings, from managing contracts to reporting project progress. Accountability is equally important, as the client representative must take responsibility for decisions and ensure that all parties deliver according to agreed standards.
Fairness and impartiality help maintain balanced relationships among contractors, consultants, and other stakeholders, preventing favoritism and promoting trust. Professionalism and competence ensure that tasks are carried out diligently, with proper attention to quality, timelines, and budget. Respect for others fosters effective communication and teamwork, which are critical in a project involving multiple buildings and diverse participants.
Overall, these values and moral principles create a foundation for ethical behavior, successful project delivery, and long-term client satisfaction.
I own an event management and catering business and one of my core values as an organization is inclusivity and meal safety.
Inclusivity as a core value of my organization makes me think of how to make sure that people from different backgrounds, orientations and lifestyles are catered to during the events I plan. That means that when planning and managing events, I make sure to research through questioning, people who are expected to be at that event. This research helps me to plan location, logistics, food and other facets of the event around the expected audience so nobody feels left out and not considered during an event.
Moving to meal safety, people are very particular about what they eat and how those things are prepared. I make sure to include excerpt clips featuring the area where the meals were prepared and cooking procedures that ensured the safety of those meals as background clips projected for the entertainment of the audience. Additionally, I love to make sure that I give some brief introductory speech which lets me assure my consumers that the meals they will be consuming from my kitchen are safe and made with total consideration of mela safety protocol.
These are some of the ways that I incorporate the core values of my organization into my different projects
As the Learning Support Lead in our online education organization, our core mission is to support students within our community by guiding them through their homework and preparing them ahead of their school curriculum.
Our goal is to ensure that every student we work with excels academically.
We achieve this by providing personalized support tailored to each learner’s unique learning style working with students one at a time to maximize understanding and results.
With the launch of our new website, we are now able to enhance our impact even further.
We can closely monitor live sessions, track student progress more effectively, and maintain a high standard of accountability.
Most importantly, we are deeply committed to integrity, delivering exceptional value, and ensuring that parents receive the best return on their investment in their children’s education.