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.
In my Organization, Some of our core values are; Trust, Accuracy, Problem Solving and Teamwork.
We make sure our clients get what they want, solve their problems and enlighten them on what ever issue they are not clear about. We make sure they have complete trust in us to give solutions to their problem.
We also work as a team, Team work make the dream work. Cover up any lapses of any of the team members.
Core Values in my own team(not necessarily and organization)
*Aim to reach out to the needy
*Be innovative, like bringing in ideas that can help boost the team
*We aim to help each and everyone
*Always dress responsibly
*Be punctual
*Be respectful
And we also want Excellence from the team, we want people to see and appreciate what we do.
In my organization, one of our core values is Excellence. Well ensure everything went engaged in is driven by this culture of excellence. Well pursue our projects with excellent touch.
In my organisation, some of the core values we abide by and how it affects the way we carryout our jobs include:
1. Competence- we ensure that only competent and experienced personnel that have been trained with international best practices handle our projects. So a lot of investment is made in training the staff in line with this value
2. Excellence – we believe whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well. That helps us to put in a lot of effort in ensuring we deliver excellence in all our projects.
3. Integrity – a lot of value is placed on integrity when dealing with our clients and our projects. In this value includes transparency in all our dealings- we are transparent with our clients with project costs, requirement, etc. Also vices like stealing, no matter the minuteness , is not tolerated.
These are just a few of them but in summary, our values are the core of our organisation and determines how we carry out our jobs.
The values in my present work place (SCHOOL)
1. Respect
2. Punctuality
3. Do not take anything without permission
4. Dress modesty etc
The way it’s can affect my course as a project manager
1. It have make the value of respect as a way of life to me. So that will help me relate with my client as expected
2. It will shape my time keeping as a project manager. Because time frame is key in project management.
Etc
In the healthcare organization I belong, our core organization values are
I) Innovation: constantly pushing and finding new ways to advance in the field.
II) patient-centered care and Excellence in clinical care: We prioritize the needs, and values of patients in all aspects of health care delivery. Ensuring that the highest standards of quality and safety in medical treatment, diagnosis, and interventions are delivered.
III) Compassion – showing empathy, and kindness towards patients and their families.
IV) Integrity and Ethics: In all interactions and decision-making processes, honesty, transparency, and ethical principles is very paramount
V) Collaboration: To achieve optimal health outcomes, we must work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams, patients, and community partners.
In any healthcare projects, these values will influence my work by guiding efforts to ensure that patient perspectives or interests are integrated into decision-making processes, collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, and seek opportunities to enhance best practices through ongoing learning and quality improvement initiatives.
One of the Values of my profession is to ensure indiscriminate provision of service to individuals and families irrespective of race, tribe, color, gender, political views or religious believes you must treat people as humans so in essence equal to treatment to all has been my watch word as I go on my day to day discharge of my professional responsibility. Where the person come from, or what they believe in is only important to shape my care to them based on their preference as am also ethically expected to respect human autonomy at all times.
In my circle, our core values emphasize that there is strength in diversity hence inclusivity and being humane is our watch word. These values influence the way we approach projects because it eliminates discrimination during team selection and encourages communication with empathy especially when having difficult conversations.
Ethics refers to the principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity. It involves distinguishing between what is right and what is wrong, and making decisions based on moral principles.
Values, on the other hand, are the beliefs and principles that guide an individual’s attitudes and behaviors. They are deeply held beliefs about what is important or desirable.
Like in my company we have an Acronym which states: W.E.C.A.R.E
Willingness
Empathy
Customer centric
Accountability
Respect
Extraordinary
This has helped us deliver timely to customer’s satisfaction
In summary, ethics provides a framework for making moral decisions, while values are the guiding principles that inform those decisions
Adding to the solutions suggested under ethics in practice, during projects when team members are called upon to work overtime to meet deadlines, in addition to the provision of additional services to buffer the inconvenience to team members is the provision of food. This could either be breaor lunch as most organisations are situated in industrial areas that literally goes dead on the weekends. By such provision, the team is relieved from that worry and can concentrate on the task. This should be considered to be captured in the scope of the project. The type of project here, counts as food provision cannot be absorbed on all kinds of projects.