The Project Manager’s Duty of Care
| “I’ve got a problem and I don’t know what to do,” she said. “You’re the ethicist, maybe you have an idea!” “Please go on, my child” replied Petra with a smile (she is all of 12 days older). “How can I help?” “You know I’ve been given the JKL Tower project, right? It’s the biggest project in the city right now, and I’m wondering if I’m up to it. The architectural team has defined certain required tolerances for the building – the specifics aren’t important – but they far exceed what is required by the relevant regulations.” “Well, that makes sense,” interjected Petra. “Sort of a belt and braces approach, right?” As a project manager, you will face situations that would require making a difficult choice between two courses of action, neither of which might be acceptable nor preferable. The Syama mine in Mali is set to be the world's first fully automated underground mine. Today, there are also a reasonable number of mining company’s globally working towards achieving 100% automation and project managers leading these projects may encounter ethical dilemmas relating to technology, stakeholders, or communities. These ethical dilemmas arise when situations conflict with the Project Manager's Professional Standards or moral values. In terms of doing what is right for society, stakeholders, and adhering to local content laws to ensure a project fulfills its social responsibility and welfare commitments while keeping the organization's long-term goals in mind. Some ethical issues PMs on these projects may face include: Employee and Community Anxiety One of the significant reasons people wonder if automation is ethical is Automation anxiety, anxiety amongst employees who fear they might be replaced with robots or technology. When automated technology is first introduced, employees question their job security, and chances are it will cause panic and stress, dipping morale and affecting their output. Worst case scenario, some might jump ship, affecting completion of the project. As a project manager, you must assure your team of their role and responsibilities on the project. Clearly state the purpose of installing automation software or technology as an assistant and not a replacement for team members. Transitioning into 100% automation is usually a decision made by the top management of the company. You might incur the community's anger or wrath and get torn between fulfilling directives from management and fulfilling your corporate social responsibility of training people within the community to take up primary roles in the company. You need to earn the people's trust and reassure them of your commitment to the community's development and growth. Lawful Conduct It would be helpful to look at the country of operation's constitution to understand it’s regulatory requirements regarding the scope of your project. Many third world countries have laws that often take into account regulations that guarantee inclusiveness, protection of employment of unskilled and semi-skilled persons within the local communities of operations. How does a project manager leading a full automation project within this environment go around his or her work? These are tough situations that require good ethical decision making. Fairness Do not misrepresent an employee's performance or activities in favor of technology. Even among your team members, do not play favorites when it comes to performance appraisals. Being human, you might have personal preferences for some technology interventions but over manual labor. The project manager must ensure that all these choices of technology over manpower are made in a fair and responsible manner. Transparency and accountability There are a number of times where project managers find themselves in dilemmas where manpower must be retrenched in favor of technology to maximize ROI. Every decision that a project manager makes in situations like this have consequences, positive or negative.be that as it may, one must always remain transparent and accountable for those decision and action. It is common for project managers to give the impression that everything is going as planned in such situations, which is wrong. When a client or a stakeholder wants to know how things are going, be open and let them know whether you face difficulties, a few minor problems, or even when there is bad news. At times, you may also be tempted to conceal your own mistakes and oversights, but such acts are unethical. Instead, be open and own up to your actions and inactions. In conclusion, you might face these and other ethical dilemmas, but you can reach the best decisions in such instances using an ethical framework as a guide. An ethical framework allows for consistency and makes you competent. A quick search online might be handy- you can start with a global standard such as the Project Management Institute's (PMIs) Ethical Decision-Making Framework (EDMF). Going the ethical way has long term benefits that can boost your career and reputation. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/ethics/ethical-decision-making-framework.pdf "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly 98 million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea..." - Douglas Adams |
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Petra and Tracy are former university classmates and friends. After graduation, Petra became a philosophy professor and Tracy went into construction project management. In recent years they have taken a long walk each morning before starting their days. Sometimes they talk about life and family, and sometimes about work. Today, Tracy was clearly troubled and needed Petra’s perspective.
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