1st Edition

Ethics and Project Management

By Ralph L. Kliem, PMP Copyright 2012
    244 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
    by Auerbach Publications

    Ethics plays a critical role in project management, but all too often, its importance is overlooked. This benign neglect can result in serious consequences to individuals and organizations, ranging from tarnished reputations to civil and criminal liability. Ethics and Project Management demonstrates the importance of making ethics a key consideration in managing projects and describes the impacts that occur when ethical transgressions arise.

    Providing the tools necessary for project managers to avoid an ethical lapse that can put themselves and their organization at risk, this volume:

    • Defines ethics and places it within the project management context
    • Discusses the contents of the Project Management Institute’s code of ethics
    • Enables project managers to recognize the trends that precipitate ethical dilemmas on a project
    • Demonstrates how ethical concerns permeate the entire project life cycle
    • Provides tips on establishing a governance protocol to ensure ethical compliance
    • Explores legal issues that arise from unethical behavior
    • Examines how ethical concerns on a project can have global implications, and how to operate in international settings with cultural differences

    Each chapter ends with a Getting Started Checklist, facilitating immediate application of the concepts discussed and making it easy for project managers to determine whether they are in compliance with ethical standards. Providing a solid roadmap for the ethical health of a project, this volume is essential reading for all those concerned with avoiding the disastrous consequences of a cavalier approach to ethics.

    Praise for the book:

    ... a great desktop reference for any project manager. It is a must-have title to complete any project management library and I recommend it to both new and highly experienced project managers.
    —Gregg D. Richie, PMP, MCTS, CNP, Managing Principal, P8, LLC

    Ethics and Project Management
    What Is Ethics?
    Misperceptions about Ethics
    Key Factors
    Common Terminology
    Theoretical Underpinnings
    Why Ethics Should Matter to Project Managers
    Unique Circumstances
    Hard and Soft Ethical Issues
    Consequences of Ethical Failure
    Cloudy Perspective
    The Ethical Dilemma
    Two Key Considerations
    Sensitivity of Issue
    Intensity of Response
    Project Management Code of Ethics
    Benefits
    Downsides
    Categories of Principles
    The Ethical Trends and Challenges Confronting Project Managers
    Global Trends
    Adapting to Global Trends
    Straying from the High Road
    How Ethics Permeates the Entire Project Life Cycle
    Contextual Factors
    Five Major Project Management Processes
    Categories of Ethical Dilemmas
    Ethics and Project Management Processes
    Planning and Ethics
    Executing and Ethics
    Monitoring and Controlling and Ethics
    Closing and Ethics
    General Ethical Dilemmas
    Ethics and Project Governance
    What Is Governance?
    What Are Controls?
    What Is Risk?
    Effective Risk Management
    Ethics and the Law
    The Relationship between Law and Ethics
    Key Legal Terms
    Key Legal Principles and Concepts
    Numerous Laws and Regulations
    Ethics, Globalization, and Project Management
    Important Factors
    Key Dimensions
    Independence, Integration, and Interdependence
    Challenges
    Breeding Ground and Consequences
    Key Actions
    Making Ethics a Reality
    Why Ethics Takes a Back seat
    Making Ethics on Projects a Reality
    The Mark of an Ethical Project Manager
    Glossary
    Bibliography
    Index

    Biography

    Ralph L. Kliem has more than 25 years of experience with Fortune 500 firms in the financial and aerospace industries. His wide, varied experience in project and program management includes managing compliance and information technology projects and programs.

    He is the author of more than 15 books that have been translated in several languages. He has also published more than 200 articles in leading business and information systems publications.

    Mr. Kliem is an adjunct faculty member of City University in Seattle and a former member of the Seattle Pacific University faculty. He is an instructor with Bellevue College and Cascadia Community College and a frequent presenter to the Puget Sound chapter of the Project Management Institute and other professional organizations. He also teaches Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and other project management seminars and workshops in the United States and Canada.

    After 33 years in the project management profession, I have seen ethics treated as sacred by most and valued much less by others. Ralph Kliem has taken the subject of ethics for project managers, dissected it with the accuracy of a skilled surgeon, and then explained it in exacting detail for the entire community to easily understand. In a world where we usually see ethics gone awry, he proves that taking the hard right over the easy wrong still is (and always will be) the best option. Since project management is a global profession, today's project manager is faced with integrating the rules, customs, cultures, and ethical values of different countries into their projects. Using the information in this book will sustain the foundation of ethical behavior and decision-making at all levels of the organization, regardless of project size and/or location. The use of graphics, check lists, examples, and other tools, turn this book into a working document and a great desktop reference for any project manager. It is a must-have title to complete any project management library and I recommend it to both new and highly experienced project managers.
    —Gregg D. Richie, PMP, MCTS, CNP, Managing Principal, P8, LLC