Slovak University of Technology
Faculty of Material Science and Technology in Trnava
Manager ethics
ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Ethics or apllied ethics?
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One of the dictionary definitions of ethics
is that it is “The rules or standards of
conduct governing the members of a
profession”.
VALUES – MORALS – ETHICS
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Values are the fundamental beliefs that we hold.
They are the principles that we hold regarding
what is right, good, and just.
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Morals are the values which are inherent in a
system of beliefs – a higher authority such as a
business society in which business values such as
performance excellence, quality, safety, service,
and accomplishing desired results are important.
ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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Project team members are required to
work in different environments that have
unique cultural value systems, morals,
and ethics.
It is expected that people in the project
management field have both personal and
professional ethics.
There are several interrelated key
responsibilities involved in having a successful
ethics policy:
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The development of policies which
establish ethical principles and standards
for the organization.
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Appointment of an individual within the
organization that has primary
responsibility for the design and
administration of ethics policies.
There are several interrelated key
responsibilities involved in having a successful
ethics policy:
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The distribution of these policies to the
members of the organization.
Proactive teaching and guidance of the
organizational members about the ethic
policies.
Provide counseling to organizational
members about ethical issues in their
roles in the organization.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
INSTITUTE (PMI) POLICIES
ON ETHICS
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The Preamble to PMI’s Member Ethical
Standards states that it is vital that
members conduct themselves in an
ethical manner in order to earn and
maintain the confidence of team
members, colleagues, employees,
employers, customers, clients, the
public and the global community.
Professional Code of Ethics
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The PMI has established a
Professional Code of Ethics that all
Project Management Professionals
(PMP) must adhere to. These ethics
are meant to ensure that all PMPs
abide by a set of values, and they live
up to those values in pursuit of their
careers.
Project Management Institute
Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct
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CHAPTER 1. VISION AND APPLICABILITY
CHAPTER 2. RESPONSIBILITY
CHAPTER 3. RESPECT
CHAPTER 4. FAIRNESS
CHAPTER 5. HONESTY
APPENDIX A - A.1 History of this Standard
APPENDIX B - B.1 Glossary
Values that Support this Code

Practitioners from the global project
management community were asked to
identify the values that formed the basis of
their decision making and guided their
actions. The values that the global project
management community defined as most
important were: responsibility, respect,
fairness, and honesty. This Code affirms
these four values as its foundation.
Conflict of Interest.
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A situation that arises when a practitioner
of project management is faced with
making a decision or doing some act that
will benefit the practitioner or another
person or organization to which the
practitioner owes a duty of loyalty and at
the same time will harm another person or
organization to which the practitioner owes
a similar duty of loyalty.
The only way practitioners can resolve
conflicting duties is to disclose the conflict
to those affected and allow them to make
the decision about how the practitioner
should proceed.
PMI Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct
http://www.pmi.org/info/AP_PMICodeofEthics.pdf
Here are eight guidelines to help you
establish a strong ethics foundation for your
project.
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Recognize that managing ethics is a
process. Ethics management is the
process of reflection and dialog . that
produces deliverables such as codes,
policies and procedures.
The goal of an ethics management
initiative is preferred behavior in the
project environment.
The best way to manage ethical
dilemmas, like negative project risks, is to
avoid their occurrence in the first place
Here are eight guidelines to help you
establish a strong ethics foundation for your
project.
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Make ethics decisions in teams, and
make decisions public, as appropriate.
Integrate ethics management with
other project practices. Define preferred
ethical values directly in the project plan.
Use cross-functional teams to develop
your ethics management plan. Benefit
from varied input.
Here are eight guidelines to help you
establish a strong ethics foundation for your
project.
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Value forgiveness Help project
personnel recognize and address their
mistakes and then support them to
continue to try to operate ethically
Give yourself credit for trying
Attempting to operate ethically and
making a few mistakes is better than not
trying at all. All projects are comprised of
people and people are not perfect.
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Do s and Don'ts in Managing
Global Projects
DO
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Develop your cultural self-awareness.
Set realistic expectations for yourself and
others.
Accept that you will make mistakes, but
remain confident.
Be patient.
Slow down. Make relationships.
Keep your sense of humor.
Keep your integrity.
Stay objective, minimize blame
DON'T:
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Assume similarity.
Try to adopt the orientations of the other
culture. Adaptation does not mean
adoption.
Dwell on comparing the other culture with
your own.
Evaluate the other culture in terms of
good or bad.
Assume that just being yourself is enough
to bring you cross-cultural success.
Thank you for your attention!
Questions?