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.
The core values of my organization is teamwork, collaboration and punctuality.
In project management, teamwork, collaboration, and punctuality are critical elements shaping decision-making.
Teamwork cultivates diverse perspectives, fostering a rich pool of ideas and insights. Collaboration ensures that expertise is leveraged collectively, optimizing resource utilization. Punctuality, by respecting deadlines, maintains project timelines and minimizes disruptions, facilitating smooth decision implementation.
The synergy of teamwork and collaboration enhances problem-solving, mitigates risks, and boosts overall project efficiency. When teams operate cohesively, decisions become more robust, benefiting from the collective intelligence and creativity of the group, ultimately contributing to the project’s success. Punctuality reinforces accountability, sustaining a disciplined project environment crucial for informed and timely decision-making.
In the organisation I work for, two of the core value that we have are no politics talk and no religious talk. This has really helped us a lot when dealing with our clients. This also has helped us in overcoming the biase nature when dealing with clients from different religion and different political view
In the group I belong, our core values are:
Trustworthiness (Integrity, Honesty, reliability, Loyalty),
Discipline,
Caring
Fairness and respect,
Responsibility and accountability.
Values in our organization are a sey of beliefs that guide our organizagional team to behave ethically towards our customers. We have set our working tandards in order to deliver what we promised. We offer tourism services to various tourists from a wide range of backgrounds. We believe in a multi cultural working spirit where we see each other as humans rather than any cultural background or difference that can separate us. We areto treat all the customers equally. Second thing, we offer the full service without waiting for Tips or any other incentives aside from the customers. All these values; moral principles, laws and regulations are always monitored by the project manager to make sure they are applied all the time, everywhere and to any customer.
Ethical values and belief differ for every culture, country and people however Project management values and ethics are universal. We do what we say and say what we do. PMs follows regulations and guidelines, Contracts are binding except when reviewed and signed off.
It is also the PMs responsibility to make sure these same standards an belief and values are embraced by his team. Ethics of the profession is a scared code for PMs that must be adhered to. Organizations trust the PMs enough to handover projects for executions an expect excellence in delivery.
In my organization. Collecting a bribe or a payment from vendors in order to influence selection for a project is prohibited.
One of the values 0f my company is No religious or political talks. And so when I write for them, I keep that in mind.
A project manager is saddled with both professional and moral responsibility to be values, culture and standard behaviour conscious and inclined in the handling and discharge of his tasks and duties.
He must seen to be wholly adherent to professional ethics and societal and sensitive social norms, and codes of conduct that’s required or demanded advertently or inadvertently in the way and manner a PM carries and conducts himself.
Values of the organisation has defined as the set of beliefs that guides the team behaviour helps to guide a team response or behaviour when in dilemma. It is a standard with which a team member/team behaviour is weighed in situations that are not specifically stated in the hand book.
Core values are the rules, beliefs and guidelines of an organization although ethics and core values varies from one organization to the other but are important parts of organization. In the company where I work our ethics and core values are honestly, hardworking, empathy, respect, synergy, discipline, teamwork and customer focus. Going again this ethics and core values incurred wrath or punishment
In the organization which I belong honesty and integrity are hold in the highest esteemed.
The first day I assumed my duty at my place of work I was given a staff handbook that included a set of values in the organization and also different departments of the organization. But the common ones include no disrespect to pay members of staff or clients, proper communication and handovers, cooperate dressing to work all the time and so on. This has helped not to fall into any shortcomings that my organization would not like.