MN601 Case Study: Project Management & Ethical Issues in Project A

This case study delves into the ethical dilemmas encountered during the execution of 'Project A,' highlighting failures in leadership, risk assessment, and adherence to the PMI Code of Ethics. The regional director's inadequate initial research and subsequent delegation of re-evaluation to an accountant, rather than qualified project managers, led to significant ethical breaches and financial miscalculations. The analysis uses the PMI Ethical Decision-Making Framework to propose alternative actions, emphasizing the importance of proper project re-evaluation by designated personnel and adherence to ethical guidelines to ensure fairness and accountability to stakeholders. The document concludes by advocating for a revaluation of Project A by the regional director and a competent team, within a constricted budget and time-frame, to rectify the initial mismanagement and ethical lapses.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Project Management and Ethical Issues
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Project Management Leadership............................................................................................................2
Project Management Execution..............................................................................................................2
Project Management Risk Analysis.........................................................................................................3
Ethics Assessment...................................................................................................................................3
Ethics Alternatives...................................................................................................................................3
Ethics Analysis.........................................................................................................................................4
Ethics Applications..................................................................................................................................5
Ethics Action............................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................5
References...................................................................................................................................................6

2PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Introduction
The proper development of any project depends on the project leaders, project directors,
project managers and all the stakeholders in the organization associated with the project. The proper
conduct of everyone associated with the project can only be considered as feasible when the project
team abides by their responsibilities, both managerial and ethical [1]. These ethical issues in a project
would thus be identified through the analysis of a series of Project Management methodologies which
would eventually bring out the ethical issues that are prevailing in the case study. Thus it would be
easier to conclude that ethical issues do prevail in the behavioural responsibility of an individual in the
project.
Project Management Leadership
Leadership skill in a project management is justified when the participants of the project are
clear about their goals and know the proper way of proceedings with the responsibilities they are
allotted in the project [2]. The case study describes in details about a project called Project A, where the
regional director has been informed about the delay in delivery of the project. He, being irritated about
the matter has ordered the accountant to look into the matter and analyze the situation henceforth. The
regional director was ignorant about the difficulty that the project location can produce in the project
and hence the delivery was delayed. Thus, the leadership skills of the Regional Director are not justified
for this project.
Project Management Execution
The execution of a project only becomes wholesome when all the aspects of a project are
analyzed well. In this case, however; the project execution has been facing a lot of problems since the
initial research on the project was not done properly [3]. The project had been reported to go beyond
the projected delivery time, and when the matter was looked upon it was found that the project
location was faulty and not at all feasible to carry on with the task. When investigated further, it had
also been found that the regional director was only selected based on the region he served and has not
been very responsible with the project. There had been ranges of difficulties that had not been looked
upon, therefore, hampering the project execution on time. It would have been better if the project had
researched upon the project location and the feasible conditions to carry on the tasks.

3PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Project Management Risk Analysis
Risk analysis of any sort of project is the procedure to find any incompatibility in the project that
might harm it by creating issues in project propagation. Risks can be from any aspect of a program based
on the project planning, team selection, budget and others [4]. However, in this case the project had
faltered in researching about the location of the project where it was about to start. While commencing
work on the site, the project team had faced several difficulties making it sure that the project
deliverables would not arrive in time. This was a major risk issue that had the capability to affect the
project by time and money. The remodelling of the entire project has been estimated to reach a certain
limit of 7 to 10 million GBP. The risk can be mitigated only by remodelling the project, although there
would be loss of capital.
Ethics Assessment
As per the records, the first and foremost approach of the project re-evaluation does not abide
by the legal procedures. The project evaluation process has been handed to the qualified accountant in
practise by the Regional Director, who has been in position. Nevertheless, the accountant had reported
that the initial stages of the project itself had been faulty and did not follow the Ethics and Codes of
Conduct as per PMI. The choosing of the wrong project location had affected the time of project
deliverables and remodelling the entire project would need a heavy monetary value of 7 to 10 million
GBP.
The project team’s financial director had stated that the reports conducted had no reliable
estimates. The PMI codes of ethics and laws states that every person appointed with their
responsibilities should deliver the personified tasks within the given deadline properly [5]. Therefore,
the case study clearly states that the conducts were not according to the law as well as the PMI codes of
ethics and laws.
Ethics Alternatives
The possible alternatives that the Regional Director could have gone through are by either
handling the proper researches about the project location by him or would have revaluated the project
delay by him. In addition, the cost estimation for the project remodelling could have been based on a
better reliable source.

4PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
There are many advantages to the possible alternative as researching about the project location
could instantly make the project shift to a better feasible location and thus there would have been no
problems regarding the delay in project deliverables altogether [6]. However, if the Regional Director
revaluated the project by himself, there would have been same consequences except for the illegal
conduct that was done by appointing the accountant for the revaluation process.
Ethics Analysis
The ethical analysis of the project misconducts would be evaluated with the help of PMI Ethical
Decision-Making Framework as the following:
Steps for Decision-
Making Ethical Decisions taken
1. Assessment
The qualified accountant have been in a dilemma that have put him in a position
that makes out the fault in the project as well as estimates a huge amount of
fund for remodelling the project.
2. Alternatives
The Regional Director could have researched well about the project or could
have estimated the delay in the project by himself, that way the analysis would
have had better credibility.
3. Analysis The Regional Director and Project Manager would have been a better choice for
the revaluation process.
4. Application Applying the alternative process, the project could have been abiding the PMI
Codes of Ethics and Laws.
5. Action
The only decision that could have been made in this situation is the revaluation
process is conducted again by the Regional Director himself and not by any
undesignated alternative person.
Table 1: PMI Ethical Decision-Making Framework
(Source: Created by Author)

5PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Ethics Applications
Since the decisions taken previously were not abiding the PMI codes of ethics and laws, the
evaluation and remodelling estimations had low credibility. However, the new decision taken can result
into further delay in starting the task. Nevertheless, the project had already delayed in delivering, so
incurring more time would be problematic, but it would be for the greater good [7]. The choice would be
fair and justified to the stakeholders of the organization as well as the client.
Ethics Action
The final decision that must be taken in this regard is the revaluation of the Project A by the
Regional Director himself with an effective team with constricted budget and time. The budget should
also be kept in mind so that the remodelling cost does not affect the normal cash flow of the company
[8]. The remedial actions would only be justified if a designated person is appointed for the task.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that the Ethical Conduct in Project A has not been justified
according to the case study. The implications had been brought about right at the beginning of the task
where the Regional Director has asked the accountant to look into the issues that had been in the
project regarding the delay in project deliverables. This has resulted into several other findings that have
not been abiding the PMI Code of Ethics and Laws. Such as the accountant making an estimation of a
huge amount of extra funds as well as the finding of the faulty project location hampering the
progression of the project. The ethical analysis has been effective in finding out the possible alternatives
by which the project could have progressed further.

6PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ETHICAL ISSUES
References
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Modern Christians", Journal of Applied Econometrics, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 1043-1053, 2016.
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Management Journal, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 5-16, 2018.
[3]L. Walker, "Ethics in Project Management Research on Values-Based Leadership in Project Driven
Arenas", Organization, technology and management in construction: An international journal, vol. 6, no.
3, 2014.
[4]T. Olugbenga Oladinrin and C. Ho, "Strategies for Improving Codes of Ethics Implementation in
Construction Organizations", Project Management Journal, vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 15-26, 2014.
[5]J. Elegido, "Management Ethics: Placing Ethics at the Core of Good Management (by Domènec
Melé)", African Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 8, no. 2, 2015.
[6]J. Davidson Frame, "Reconstructing Project Management", Project Management Journal, vol. 45, no.
1, pp. e2-e2, 2014.
[7]H. Hydari, "Project Ethics", Project Management Journal, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. e3-e3, 2013.
[8]K. Rose, "Personal Effectiveness in Project Management: Tools, Tips & Strategies to Improve your
Decision-making, Motivation, Confidence, Risk-taking, Achievement and Sustainability", Project
Management Journal, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. e1-e1, 2014.