Ethical Dilemma in Project Management

This assignment presents a case study about unethical decisions made by project managers. Students must analyze the situation, identify the stakeholders involved, assess the ethical violations based on project management codes, and propose recommendations for addressing the ethical issues. The analysis should focus on the potential consequences of these decisions and emphasize the importance of ethical conduct in project management.

Running Head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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Name of the University
Name of the student
Author Note

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Executive summary
In the following assignment, the main findings and case study briefing has been mentioned in
the introduction section of the report. The scope as well as the purpose of the project has been
mentioned. In the analysis section, the pm ethical issues have been highlighted. The potential
risks associated with every stakeholder decision have been highlighted and the breaches of
the PMI code have been highlighted. Proper recommendations have been provided to address
the issue in the best way possible.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Purpose of the report..............................................................................................................3
Scope of the report.................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the case study..........................................................................................................3
Identification of the ethical issues..........................................................................................3
Potential risks and consequences related to stakeholders......................................................4
Potential breaches of the PMI................................................................................................5
Recommendations..................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
In the following assignment, a case study has been provided about Occidental
Engineering where software engineer worked. He was chosen as a test engineer for a
government project. The company was reluctant on getting the project completed by the
deadline to avoid penalties and job loss. But the company launched a faulty software that was
later patched up by the mentioned company after the deadline. The report is based on
evaluating the decisions taken by several stakeholders on an ethical perspective.
Purpose of the report
The purpose of the report is to assess the given case study with proper ethical
standards.
Scope of the report
The scope of the report can extend to different types of real life scenarios from
construction to technical projects where higher level authorities take difficult decisions in the
name of the company’s wellbeing.
Analysis of the case study
Identification of the ethical issues
There are several ethical issues that has been raised in the mentioned case study. First
was the situation of Deborah Shepherd when Wayne Davidson went to address him about the
mentioned issue. When Wayne found out that the prototype failed to detect an aircraft during
peak hours, he rushed to tell it to his boss, Deborah but she immediately rejected the offer by
assuring him that the glitch will be patched up later. A forgotten aircraft could result in the

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loss of hundreds of lives but Deborah failed to understand the seriousness of the issue and
told him to deliver the project.
The second ethical issue can be pointed to Wayne Davidson himself as he failed to
carry out his professional duty effectively. As per the Professional code of ethics, a
professional should do his or her duty diligently without any external influence of judgement
(Phillips, 2013). Despite knowing the seriousness of the issue, he came around when his boss
assured him that everything will be fine.
Potential risks and consequences related to stakeholders
The stakeholder in this situation can be identified as Deborah Shepherd and Wayne
Davidson. The potential consequences of Deborah’s decision could have resulted in a flight
accident or a lot of person could have been affected due to her actions. Despite knowing that
the system was not efficient at peak conditions and the disadvantages of patches, she duped
the FCC by saying the product as complete and ready for testing. The test facility was small
hence the testing went successfully but considering the lives of others, her word of faith could
have resulted in loss of lives and could have destroyed the reputation of the company forever
as well as number of lawsuits against it (Rendtorff, 2015).
The potential consequence of the decision taken by Wayne Davidson had the potential
to destroy the reputation of the company. Being a test engineer, his duty was to check for
problems during the simulations and despite knowing that he could fix the problem in a
month or more, he decided to follow the order of Deborah Shepherd, his boss. If a disaster
struck during the initial month of the testing, he could have faced multiple lawsuits and could
have lost his reputation as well as the organization he was working in.

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Potential breaches of the PMI
The PMI code specifically mentions that a person should take responsibility for his or
her actions. For a specific situation, the best course of action needs to be taken that needs to
be supported by knowledge. The code needs to be upheld at any cost and the regulations and
applicable laws need to be complied with. Moreover, before taking any major business
decision the stakeholders related to the project needs to be addressed regarding the conflict
and needs to be negotiated with suppliers and customers in good faith (Dean & Pollard,
2013). For personal enrichment, no step should be taken. The decisions need to be taken in a
transparent manner and the person making the decision needs to act impartially and provide
equal access to opportunity and information. Professional sensitivity needs to be maintained
at all cost and conflicts of interests need to be avoided (Reamer, 2013). Deborah Shepherd
may have acted to keep his company and jobs from falling apart but she should have
identified the impact that could have been potentially possible. Instead of consulting with the
concerned stakeholders she decided to handle the situation herself which was against the
public interest (Mason, 2017). Her actions also violated the code of enhancing the quality of
life where her professional decision neglected the safety of the public (Trevino & Nelson,
2016). Wayne Davidson was also responsible for failing to maintain the code of honesty. As
per the profession asks from him, he should have refrained from any type of inducement and
should have rejected the offer of signing that the prototype was without any glitches (Krueger
& Casey, 2014). He should have been able to distinguish between the personal advices and
professional choices.
Recommendations
Wayne should have made his boss understand about the consequences of her action
and the lives she is putting at jeopardy due to the technical glitch. If the glitch was

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discovered, his employees would have lost their jobs anyways as the company was facing
financial situations. Deborah on the other hand should have listened to the advice of the
technical experts that she has hired for instead of relying on her own personal opinions. She
should have spoken with the FAA about the situation and should have taken some more time
to complete the work effectively.
Conclusion
To conclude the report, a case study has been provided that is evaluated on an ethical
basis. The discussion section of the report includes the cases study analysis and the ethical
situations that arise in the case study are evaluated and discussed. The stakeholders related to
the case study are identifies and the potential consequences of their decisions are assessed
from an ethical point of view. The issues are assessed from the codes mentioned in the PMI
and proper recommendations are provided to address the ethical issues.

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References
Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2013). The demand control schema: Interpreting as a practice
profession. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace. Hillson, David, ed. The Risk
Management
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2014). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research.
Sage publications.
Mason, R. O. (2017). Four ethical issues of the information age. In Computer Ethics (pp. 41-
48). Routledge. Broad, Charlie Dunbar. Five types of ethical theory. Routledge, 2014.
Phillips, J. (2013). PMP, Project Management Professional (Certification Study Guides).
McGraw-Hill Osborne Media.
Reamer, F. G. (2013). Social work values and ethics. Columbia University Press.
Rendtorff, J. D. (2015). Case studies, ethics, philosophy, and liberal learning for the
management profession. Journal of Management Education, 39(1), 36-55.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to
do it right. John Wiley & Sons.