Ashley Miller

PMG 321

June 18, 2023

Project Leadership With Ethics

Project leadership with ethics and professional conduct in project management envelope

the principles and practices that direct project managers to lead and manage projects with

integrity and professionalism. Upholding ethical values and professional standards is paramount

throughout the project lifecycle, as it involves demonstrating integrity, accountability, fairness,

and respect toward stakeholders and team members. Adherence to these principles ensures that

project managers act responsibly and make decisions that align with moral and ethical principles.

Ethics are essential in project management, as they provide a structure for the behavior and

decision-making processes of project managers and their teams. It is the responsibility of project

managers to ensure that projects are executed with integrity, transparency, and fairness, while

considering the needs and interests of all stakeholders involved. Furthermore, projects must

standardize the values and objectives of the organization they are conducted within.

Typically, a project manager is responsible for project completion without being directly

responsible for the professional behavior of the team members. This presents a complex dynamic

where the perspective of the project manager can be much different from the various

stakeholders, people, and organizations that are invested in the completion of the project. Since a

project can cross many different professions and geographies and may involve people from

different backgrounds this is a situation that is ripe for problems. When different professions

come together there is a risk of conflicting and different rules and company policies. What may
be ok at one workplace is not ok at another. Furthermore, people push boundaries and engage in

risky behavior because they feel that their part in the project is temporary and then they will

return to their regular life and job after. Ultimately this puts an immense amount of pressure on

the project manager, they must be acutely aware while leading in the time of everything needing

to be cheaper and faster. “The challenge is to be aware of those circumstances and to determine

the most appropriate ways to deal with such occurrences.” (Kliem, 2012) While this is certainly

not an easy role, there will always be a host of competing priorities in the workplace, and it is

crucial for the project manager to be nimble in ensuring a project is compliant with its standard

for business ethics and conduct.

A project manager must be vigilantly aware of any allegations of harassment, conflicts of

interest, and conduct that fail to uphold a company's mission and values as well as economic and

environmental commitments. As a result, hard and soft ethical issues can arise. “Hard ethical

issues can have legal and financial repercussions and are often quite obvious when a

transgression occurs.” (Kliem, 2012) Legal non-compliance runs a huge risk for stakeholders,

and it becomes paramount to avoid penalties and negative public relations. Project managers

should adhere to high moral and professional standards, being honest, truthful, and transparent in

their actions and communications.

Social media and the internet pose unique challenges for a project. Anything posted

online can be misconstrued and what is shared is permanent. A twenty-year-old me learned this

lesson the hard way another lifetime ago. My first job was as a salesperson at Nordstrom, and I

loved it very much. The internet was just starting to take off and I had a myspace profile. Under

employer, I listed “Slave for Nordstrom.” A poor choice of words- but an idiom nonetheless

playing off the saying “slave for fashion.” As a result, I was invited into my human resources
department and fired on the spot for defamation of the brand. While I don’t think throwing

around the word slave is appropriate or professional it was a harsh consequence as well as a

learning experience about how I carry myself in this public domain. Nearly twenty years later the

same stands true, on a much larger scale. At my current employer, we have a department that is

dedicated to monitoring social media engagement on the internet from partners. Investigations

regularly open and result in termination when somebody posts a video on TikTok showing

information they did not realize was proprietary, such as a drink for a new recipe. When baristas

are hired, this is included in their training, and they sign a policy agreement. A manager I know

was let go recently for saying she didn’t like her new apartment as much. In passing she

mentioned she was living in an uptight neighborhood and missed living “in the hood” where

people weren’t as worried about filing complaints about her laundry outside air drying or her

occasional dogs barking. While her comments are insensitive and inappropriate, they weren’t

meant to cause harm and weren’t a great representation of her character. Unfortunately, an ethics

investigation was opened after the company received complaints and Helena was let go. With

ethics and compliance, Starbucks saw an ethical issue that did not align with the company's

culture. “Hard ethical issues can have legal and financial ramifications and are often quite

apparent when a transgression occurs.” Legal noncompliance runs a huge risk for stakeholders,

and it becomes paramount to avoid penalties and bad PR. While I knew I had made a mistake

when I was let go from my first job, it was hurtful. I felt like a criminal and technically I hadn’t

done anything illegal. With Helena, no crimes were committed but she was still accused of being

racist. While these examples don’t violate any laws, they are a perfect example of how behavior

can be problematic for a company. A project needs to have a foundation of good business ethics

that defines what behavior is acceptable and not acceptable and it is up to the leadership to be
aware of conduct that violates these measures and put the project at risk. These comments made

may not have directly harmed anyone, but they could have led to legal ramifications. At best, not

addressing problematic behavior as such could lead to a weakened reputation, turnover and

retention issues, and impacted credibility.

The intensity of the response depends on the sensitivity of the issue and leadership needs

to not make assumptions when gathering all the information and acting. As a project manager, it

is imperative to be extremely aware and execute standards and procedures that prevent illegal

and unethical behavior. As seen in the #MeToo movement we have seen how decades of abuse,

negligence, power dynamics, and complicity have resulted in a toxic and dangerous working

environment. Today, when people speak up and don’t get support they speak out. Speaking out

can have legal implications as well as other consequences that ultimately may lead to a project’s

failure. This is a prime example of why ethics exist and the repercussions of what can happen

when they are not upheld. Employee safety and rights are legal issues, and a project has the

obligation to ensure that employee safety always comes first. From a business standpoint, this

can make the completion of a project costly or even impact it to the point of failure. While

#MeToo exposed decades of sexual harassment in the workplace it has amplified the need for

accountability and reform in many industries and is a prime example of why business Ethics

exist.

Upon exploring the importance of Ethics and Compliance in the workplace, and the role

of the project leader we must also examine how perspective and bias make the responsibility of

making ethical decisions more difficult. A project manager needs to be able to subjectively gather

and examine facts and data and use this to determine right from wrong. Leaders are products of

their environment, and we all have implicit biases that can make decision-making murky which
intensifies the need to be impartial and objective. Recently, a partner confided to me how

obvious it was that a coworker liked another coworker. I asked her why she thought that, and she

said they talked about it from time to time. I asked her questions like if this made her

uncomfortable, and if she had told the partner to stop. The partner said no but that they just found

it amusing or awkward at times. I told her I would investigate it and asked that she stopped

having these conversations with the partner, speak up if it makes them uncomfortable, and that

my door is open if she needs my support. I followed up with the three people involved separately

and asked them some questions. The allegations were denied, and it became a battle of he said,

she said. I never saw any inappropriate behavior with my own eyes, and saw this matter start to

take the form of workplace gossip. I requested that everyone please disengage from

conversations of this nature reemphasized telling someone to stop if behaviors made them

uncomfortable and got everyone to commit to carrying one more professionally. This raised

some red flags for me, but I was never able to gather any concrete data, and instead just had to

decipher through a lot of half-truths from these individuals. After all, I am leading in an entry-

level position with seventeen-year-olds! Two months later, I was informed there was an active

investigation from Ethics and Compliance, that they received reports of sexual harassment, I was

not the subject of the investigation, but they wanted to know my part in whether anyone had

reported harassment to me. All that was ever reported to me was that this person had a crush on

this person, and it became a full-blown investigation of ethics. While I don’t think I handled this

inappropriately, I do think that my bias and experience got the best of me in this situation. I

associated this with workplace gossip, and teenagers being teenagers. I did not report it to my

superior, or document any of the conversations. I did not think it was important at the time but

wish I would have had the added support while undergoing an investigation. This is why it's so
important for a project manager to use resources, communicate vertically and horizontally and be

aware of the project and their perceptions of things happening around them. Project managers

should take responsibility for their decisions and actions, being accountable for the outcomes and

results of the project. They should be transparent about progress, risks, and issues, and be willing

to address and rectify mistakes or shortcomings. Fortunately, this is not a reported incident that

warranted attention upon investigation, but I am always looking to learn and grow from

uncomfortable situations. I saw in this scenario that time got the best of me and can see how time

will be a big deterrent in a successful project. There will always be competing priorities but its

crucial to not make assumptions, communicate, and make time to cover all your bases to avoid

any problems in the future.

These examples illustrate the importance of ethics and compliance in a business as well

as treating all stakeholders and partners with respect and dignity. We have seen the degree by

which so many different scenarios can arise- be it the #MeToo movement, not following social

media guidelines, conversations that don’t uphold a positive company culture, and in the last

example, varying perspectives and grey areas leading to ethical trouble. Project managers need to

be fair and reasonable problem solvers and treat conflict resolution the same for everyone. By

embracing ethical principles in project management, professionals can enhance trust, credibility,

and stakeholder satisfaction, ultimately contributing to the success of projects and the overall

reputation of the organization. By creating a project culture thats inclusive and supportive and

valuing and leveraging the contributions of all team members a leader will ensure their project is

successful. All projects must uphold compliance with Laws and Regulations and must ensure that

projects comply with relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards. Project managers should
lead by example, promoting ethical behavior and fostering a culture of integrity within the

project team.

Works Cited

Code of ethics | Project Management Institute. (n.d.). https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code

Kliem, R. L. (2012). Ethics and Project Management. CRC Press.