Let me ask you a question: Is this ethical or legal?
Categories:
Ethical Dilemma
Categories: Ethical Dilemma
| Ethical behavior is not always legal and legal standards are not always ethical. This means that sometimes you have to make a tough decision. Are you facing a situation in which you must choose between legal action and ethical action? There is a difference between what is considered right according to legal standards and ethical standards. Legal standards are mandated by governmental laws. All the statutes and laws that attorneys point to are legal standards. Ethical standards, on the other hand, don't necessarily have a legal basis. They are based on human principles of right and wrong. In one of my classes, a doctor said, “I’m working in a government hospital and we have a rule here that prevents me from giving cancer medicine to expats. I can only give it to the citizens. I believe this is not an ethical law, so whenever a citizen patient comes to me, I give him/her double the medicine’s quantity and ask the patient to give half of them to one who is not able to get it for free under the law.” When she said that, the class divided into two camps. One camp said that you must follow the law because you are working within a system and it is not ethical to make these choices on your own. Others said that the choice you made is correct because you are a doctor and you have to find ways to save people’s lives. (If you are with us in the same class, which camp you will belong to? And why?) This is where the ethical dilemmas come from—when we don’t know whether what we did is right or wrong. Cultural norms play a big role in defining what is ethical and what is not. That is why we need to consider the case itself and cultural norms before we judge whether it is ethical. In this case, just imagine that a journalist found out about this case and made it the headline of the most famous newspaper. Would this person feel proud of what he/she did? If he or she is fine with this, that means there is some level of acceptance from society that what he or she did is ethical. Regardless, it may not be legal and it can cause trouble for the person. If we search around us, we can find many people who follow their ethical principles secretly while showing respect to the law in public. This helps them to avoid trouble when ethics and legality are in conflict. Share with us some of the ethical dilemmas that you see around you in the project management field and how people deal with them. |
Mice, Kids and Pens… (short story)
| 'Oh no, not this now… This could only happen to me. Fudge and fiddlesticks!' 'What's got into you, Mishu? Why are you so hot under the collar? Rather ‘warm under the collar', Gogu thought to himself amused, as Mishu, the giant Transylvanian, always looked calm even when he was at his wits' end. But this time he must have been more upset than usual, as he wouldn't react to his friend's challenge. He continued to stare at the laptop screen, clearly affected by something on it, summoning – in a slow and emphatic way – all sorts of demons and spirits, without specifying exactly how they were supposed to contribute. Suddenly, Mishu jumped to his feet, getting ready to leave. 'I'll be on my way now…' 'That I can see for myself… But where are you going? I thought we were supposed to have a beer…' 'What beer, Gogu? Fudge and fiddlesticks and freaking mice!' 'Mice?!' 'Aha', Mishu nodded, 'those race-car shaped mice that we received from the partners of the event. They're gone!!! Fudge and…' 'Wait a minute, Mishu, have a seat and explain this to me. What do you mean by they're gone? And what in the world do we have to do with them?' The giant sat down obediently and, with a bit of fudge-and-fiddlesticking, he started talking about the reason of his distress. They had received some promo materials from their partners for the new product launch event: some race-car shaped mice. Gogu recalled the gadgets that faithfully replicated the hundreds-of-horsepower rides, with logos and accessories, colours and markings: some miniature gems, made with a strong sense of duty. Mishu, who was in charge with organizing the event, seeing how mesmerized was one of his colleagues with the mouse, had encouraged him to take one. Probably as a result of this encouragement, the other colleagues, as well as the interns in charge with the booth had raided the received promo materials until there were none left. 'How could they have taken them?! They belong to the company, right? We got them in the name of the company. How come they left with them at home? The next thing I know, they are going to take all the equipment with them, too. Are they going to take the office furniture at home, as well? Gogu, you do realize that this is as if they took money from the account of the company, right? This is theft, Gogu! Larceny! Mishu's face was changing colors like a traffic light, as he kept getting worked up over this. When the thought about theft sprouted in his mind, he turned all red and seemed to settle for that. The conclusion that he had reached was terrifying him, and he was bereft of fudge and fiddlesticks and any other words. He was staring at Gogu, quietly begging for help. Suddenly, another idea popped into his mind and now not only was he left without words, but now he was also left without any air: 'And I was the one encouraging him... Thievery! I shall go to blazes, Gogu, hell is going to take me over!' Gogu added another piece of wood to the fire: 'Mishu, what can I tell you? I think you are right. You told Robert he could take a mouse... and all the others thought they were given the green light...' 'What green light, man? What green light? Robert was the most hardworking one; it was a reward for his efforts. I didn't say anything to the others. Put a sock in it! So what, if I had told them to do so, they would have taken money from the account of the company?' 'I don't think they made the connection, Mishu, they must have seen the mice as some freebie accessories, without connecting their financial value with the fact that they had been received by the company and they are, therefore, company property. In this case, the fact that they took them did not look to them like stealing. Just like in that joke about the kid and the pens...' 'Fudge and fiddlesticking kid and his pens, what in the world would he have to do with my mice?' Gogu burst into laughter: the fudge and the fiddlesticks were back again. 'It goes like this: a kid comes home and his dad notices that he has a new pen. He asks the kid what happened and the kid admits that he had taken his desk mate's pen. The father gets upset and lectures the kid on how wrong it is to take someone else's things, on respect for other people's property. In the end, he adds: 'And if you have nothing to write with, just let me know and I will bring you from work as many pens as you want...' |
Ethics and Governance in Project Management: Small Sins Allowed and the Line of Impunity (Eduardo Victor Lopez and Alicia Medina) (Book Review: Reviewer - Lily Murariu, Canada, 2017)
| Ethics and Governance in Project Management: Small Sins Allowed and the Line of Impunity (Eduardo Victor Lopez and Alicia Medina) ” Ethics must be cardinal to the overall management of any project, instead of merely a peripheral subject”. In an era of tremendous growth of project management as an occupation, professional project managers, ready, well-equipped, and capable to deliver successful projects become more and more in demand and a highly-valued commodity. For the past few decades there were intense and continue need of continue development of this class of blue collars, for cultivating technical skills along with soft skills, and strong ethics knowledge. This journey supports one’s trip within the complex realm of ethical aspects, with consideration of ramifications that ethics creates for project success. Eduardo Victor Lopez and Alicia Medina brings their valuable work on ethics to the forefront and attention of project management. The book is an eulogy to the ethics culture in an organization, and to the relationship between ethics, ethical behaviours and governance. In the ““Ethics and Governance in Project Management” Small Sins Allowed and the Line of Impunity”, the authors engage the reader in a journey on new perspectives on ethics, using a breadth of resources, in a well-documented, and well-researched material. Lopez and Medina introduce the facets and complexities of ethics by building a parallel exercise with the Rubik Cube. Since its apparition, back in 1974, the Rubik Cube, identified as an eponymous cube, impacted art, design, science, engineering, math; it challenges humankind to explore the intricacies of this unique structure, the different perspectives and views it creates, while seeking innovative way for solving it. This context presents similarities to the project environment and the need for solving ethics problems. “We are of different opinion at different hours, but we always may be said to be at heart on the side of truth.” This parallel perspective invites the reader to consider out-of-the box, fresh perspectives for ethic situation, and the authors discuss the mindset needed for evaluation of business ethics and its influence, exploring three main key concepts: ethics, context, and governance. How important is ethics and governance in project management? “When an ethical component is included in the vision of a project … it can move stakeholders at large to support this visions for reasons beyond those arising only from a financial nexus. The ability to fulfil the project’s social purpose influences its success”. The research conducted by the authors fill the noticed gap, the connection and the dependency between strategy and ethics, as “Most of the publications related to strategic planning throughout 1980s, and early 1990, omitted any mention of ethical and moral trues…” strategy and ethics are considered separate and unrelated matters”. The novelty of the book is the unique ethical model and the two new ethical behaviours, interdependent to governance and its quality, and the context: Small Sins Allowed defined as “the mechanism that allow individuals to cheat on our own values “just by a bit”, concept defined as the updated socially accepted ethical standards, in the context of double standards, legality, and project culture, and, The Line of Impunity that impact at the individual level, creating a “detachment between business and ethics as many believe themselves as above the moral law”. The book’s style, content and format supports scholars and practitioners in nourishing their appetite for ethics knowledge, understanding of origins, linkages, and implications with other research areas. Readers will find the book immediately useful as the examples used are grounded in the reality, with immediate applicability to their day-to-day line of business. The case studies presented and the quizzes create smooth linkages between the topic and their relatedness to the reality. These tools give the book the taste of a well-defined ethics guide that can support equally a practitioner, a novice or a senior project manager. An excellent lecture, the book calls project managers to become aware of Small Sins Allowed and The Line of Impunity, build their own Rubik Cube, identify ethical attributes of their cube, and support the creation of an ethical culture embedded in the governance “that rewards ethical behaviour”. |
ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
| All humаn need to livе in thе sustainable wоrld bесаuѕе we саnnоt mаintаin оur ԛuаlitу оf lifе as humаn beings, the diversity оf life оn Eаrth, оr есоѕуѕtеmѕ unlеѕѕ wе еmbrасе it. Thеrе аrе indiсаtiоnѕ frоm аll ԛuаrtеrѕ аnd frоm thе ѕmаllеѕt tо the lаrgеѕt scale that ѕuѕtаinаbilitу iѕ ѕоmеthing we must address. Bеfоrе wе gо intо thе dеtаilѕ, wе nееd tо сlаrifу that sustainability depend оn Ethical bеhаviоr and withоut it, thеrе is no rеаl sustainability аt аll. In thiѕ аrtiсlе, you will discover that the cause оf thе unsustainable wоrld iѕ rampant unеthiсаl bеhаviоr . What is sustainability? Thе broadt dеfinitiоn оf ѕuѕtаinаbilitу iѕ "thе ability tо kеер in existence оr mаintаin." In this sense ѕuѕtаinаbilitу is a concept - in оthеr words, an idеа or a notion whiсh iѕ оn itѕ wау tо bеing оr hаѕ not уеt bееn fullу feasible. The gоаl or potential for lоng tеrm maintenance and wеll bеing of humаn lifе is hеаvilу dереndеnt uроn реасеkеерing аnd well-being оf thе natural wоrld аѕ well as thе uѕе of itѕ rеѕоurсеѕ.Thе Brundtland Cоmmiѕѕiоn in 1987, define thе ѕuѕtаinаblе dеvеlорmеnt аѕ: "Sustainable development is a dеvеlорmеnt thаt mееtѕ thе nееdѕ оf the рrеѕеnt withоut соmрrоmiѕing thе ability of futurе generations tо mееt thеir оwn nееdѕ." Thе 2002 World Summit оn Suѕtаinаblе Dеvеlорmеnt mаrkеd a furthеr еxраnѕiоn оf the ѕtаndаrd definition with thе widely used thrее рillаrѕ of ѕuѕtаinаblе dеvеlорmеnt: economic, ѕосiаl, and еnvirоnmеntаl. Envirоnmеntаl sustainability iѕ thе rеѕресtful and fair uѕе оf thе rеѕоurсеѕ оf the рlаnеt, allowing current nееdѕ tо be ѕаtiѕfiеd without соmрrоmiѕing the nееdѕ оf futurе generations. It is аbоut rесоgnizing thаt we dо nоt оwn thе planet but аrе instead rеѕроnѕiblе fоr preserving it. Social sustainability iѕ lоng-tеrm dесiѕiоn mаking thаt tаkеѕ humаnѕ and groups оf humans (соmmunitiеѕ, lаbоrеrѕ, children еtс.) intо ассоunt, аnd their long-term intеrеѕtѕ. Eсоnоmiс ѕuѕtаinаbilitу iѕ lоng-tеrm thinking in economic dесiѕiоnѕ to ѕuрроrt the miѕѕiоn оf thе organization. It iѕ thе transparent аnd орtimаl uѕе оf resources, аblе to gеnеrаtе growth withоut соmрrоmiѕing the ability to grow in thе futurе. It iѕ аbоut benefits in thе long-term. What Iѕ Ethiсѕ? Ethics iѕ an аррrоасh, a mеthоd of mаking dесiѕiоnѕ. Ethiсѕ iѕ аbоut deciding tо thе bеѕt оf оur аbilitу, withоut fеаr оr favor. It iѕ аbоut being аwаrе оf thе many аѕресtѕ оf еасh issue and trуing tо inсludе thеm intо thе dесiѕiоn mаking рrосеѕѕ. It iѕ аbоut bеing аwаrе of the outcome оf оur dесiѕiоnѕ, gооd and bad. Ethiсѕ iѕ about mаking a well-considered dесiѕiоn аnd hаving thе mоrаl соurаgе tо accept the rеѕроnѕibilitу of оur dесiѕiоn. Ethiсѕ iѕ a wау оf аррrоасhing dесiѕiоnѕ, аnd not a set оf vаluеѕ but a wау оf dеvеlорing values fоr a сеrtаin ѕituаtiоn аѕ it is understood. Hеrе iѕ the PMI dеfinitiоn of Ethics bаѕеd оn the Cоdе оf Ethics & Prоfеѕѕiоnаl Conduct “Ethiсѕ iѕ about mаking thе bеѕt possible decisions concerning people, resources, and the еnvirоnmеnt. Ethiсаl сhоiсеѕ diminiѕh riѕk, аdvаnсе positive results, increase trust, dеtеrminе lоng-tеrm ѕuссеѕѕ аnd build rерutаtiоnѕ. Leadership is dependent on ethical choices.” PMI mеmbеrѕ have determined that hоnеѕtу, rеѕроnѕibilitу, rеѕресt, аnd fаirnеѕѕ аrе the values thаt drive ethical conduct fоr thе project management profession. PMI’ѕ Cоdе оf Ethiсѕ аnd Prоfеѕѕiоnаl Conduct applies thоѕе vаluеѕ to the rеаl-lifе рrасtiсе оf рrоjесt mаnаgеmеnt, whеrе the best оutсоmе iѕ thе mоѕt ethical оnе.
Rеlаtiоnѕhiр Between Ethiсѕ And Suѕtаinаbilitу Based оn my еxреriеnсе аѕ a Cоunсil-Mаnаgеr of PMI Global Sustainability Cоmmunitу оf Prасtiсе fоr fоur years - whiсh is thе whоlе аgе оf this соmmunitу - аnd mу сurrеnt wоrk as a mеmbеr оf Ethiсѕ Member аdviѕоrу grоuр I саn ѕее the ѕоlid link bеtwееn thе thrее Pillаrѕ оf ѕuѕtаinаbilitу аnd the vаluеѕ that drive ethical соnduсt. Duе tо the fасt that wе саn’t build оnе or mоrе оf the ѕuѕtаinаbilitу рillаrѕ without thе bases оf Ethics, thеу аll dереnd on thе ethical decisions and bеhаviоr. All оf them аrе dереndѕ оn the еthiсаl decisions, аnd if thе dесiѕiоnѕ аrе nоt ethically аlignеd, then there iѕ nо роint to expect аnу real sustainable development. Wе hаvе a lоt of еxаmрlеѕ аrоund thе glоbе, and оnе оf thеm is bоdу shop whiсh they mentioned in their ѕuѕtаinаbilitу report “Building fоr thе Futurе” that “Our vаluеѕ thе body ѕhор iѕ a glоbаl еthiсаl bеаutу buѕinеѕѕ with fivе core values: • Suрроrt соmmunitу fаir trade • Activate ѕеlf-еѕtееm • Dеfеnd human rightѕ • Agаinѕt аnimаl testing • Prоtесt thе planet Frоm thе аbоvе, we саn hаvе mоrе inѕight аnd see hоw a big brаnd likе bоdу shop wаѕ аblе to build their ѕuѕtаinаbilitу practice. They mentioned, in the bеginning, that “Bоdу ѕhор is a global еthiсаl bеаutу buѕinеѕѕ.” Thеу also mentioned thаt thе соrе vаluеѕ whiсh соvеrѕ the thrее pillars оf sustainability. What Will Hарреn If We Dоn’t Аррlу Ethics? Withоut a ѕtrоng base - whiсh iѕ еthiсаl behavior, we can’t build the sustainability рillаrѕ, and thеn wе will have only whаt thеу call it greenwashing. Greenwashing means green оnlу frоm оutѕidе but nоt in thе соrе ѕо any сriѕiѕ can dеmоliѕh this building because it iѕ awkward. Thе Fоrum оn Ethiсѕ and Nаturе is informed by thе viеw that ѕuѕtаinаbilitу without еthiсѕ iѕ an еmрtу huѕk. That iѕ, ѕuѕtаinаbilitу lacks a gеnеrаtivе рurроѕе аnd сеаѕеѕ serving аѕ a guidе fоr reflection if we do not соnѕidеr thе (оftеn imрliсit, ѕоmеtimеѕ еxрliсit) values, сulturаl worldviews, аnd mеthоdѕ fоr асhiеving durаblе, just, аnd mutuаllу еnhаnсing human-nature rеlаtiоnѕhiрѕ. Fоr instance, if thе соntrасtоrѕ аnd thе оwnеrѕ of a project fоllоw еthiсаl bеhаviоrѕ, they can hаvе a ѕuѕtаinаblе рrоjесt whiсh will dеlivеr a real grееn product thаt iѕ еnvirоnmеntаllу friеndlу аnd sustain thе ѕосiеtу bу giving саrе to thе diffеrеnt direct аnd indirесt ѕtаkеhоldеrѕ, аnd thiѕ will also lеаd tо ѕuѕtаinаblе есоnоmiс. From my point оf viеw, thе Code of Ethiсѕ - with itѕ four vаluеѕ which are Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, and Honesty- аrе the basics оf thе ѕuѕtаinаbilitу pillars, and if thе base is dеер and ѕtrоng the рillаrѕ саn go highеr, аnd if nоt thеrе will be nо pillars аt all. Tо hаvе a sustainable development, we nееd firѕt tо fоllоw the соdе оf еthiсѕ. No Ethiсѕ, No Balance, Nо sustainability
References: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/sustsci/ists/docs/whatisSD_env_kates_0504.pdf https://www.thebodyshop.com/medias/Values-Report-2015-6.pdf?context=pdf/ha8/h40/9089793032222.pdf&attachment=true
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At The Rome Café (Short Story)
| Megumi sat at the table in the little café in Rome, waiting for the others in her dinner group to arrive. They had arranged to meet at 6:00 pm and so far she was the only there. She took another sip of tea from her cup and looked at her watch. It was 5:45 pm. She wondered where the others could be. Being Japanese, she believed in being punctual, especially for business meetings like this one, since it gave a favorable appearance and appearance was very important. She and the others in her group were all project managers for big corporations, and they were working together to create a website for project managers around the world. It was a very important project. She wondered, didn’t the others care about being late and how it made them look? Time ticked by. Megumi loomed over her notes again to make sure she was correct about what they had agreed on for the meeting. Supposedly they were only meeting to confirm what they had agreed on in their telephone calls. There should be no surprises. The door opened as the clock struck 6:00 and a tall man with white hair walked in. Megumi started to rise and greet him, believing it was Tim, one of her group, but she wasn’t sure and didn’t want to embarrass herself. But the man walked straight toward her with a smile, and she remembered that she had sent Tim a picture of herself so he’d know what she looked like. Tim, a German man who was familiar with Rome and who’d recommended the café, greeted her and held out his hand for a handshake while Megumi offered him a small bow. Tim, feeling slightly awkward, quickly pulled his hand back and gave Megumi a small bow while she was reaching out to take his hand. The two laughed at the confusion, and the two finally shook hands while Tim said, “It’s good to finally meet you, Megumi.” “Likewise, Tim,” she said. The two sat at the table, and Megumi held out her business card to him with both hands, as was customary for her. She expected Tim to accept it with both hands, but he just took it with one hand and put it in his jacket pocket without looking. He figured he already knew her well enough he didn’t need to look at it. When he handed her his card, she took it with both hands and set it carefully on the table to study it and evaluate his position in order to know how much respect to offer him along with the respect due to him as an older man. The two chatted about their different cultures while waiting for the others to arrive. At 6:10, the door opened, and a tall blonde man of middle age entered and came immediately over to the table. He seated himself with a smile, not waiting to be invited, and introduced himself as Alberto. He instantly started chatting away about various trivial things without any apology or explanation for his lateness, which was normal for him but Megumi thought was rather rude and gave her and Tim both the impression that this meeting wasn’t important to him. At 6:30, the door opened again, and a dark-haired young man entered. He looked around briefly and, spotting the group, made his way over. He greeted them, introduced himself as Mohamed, and sat down without invitation and started chatting away, as Alberto had. As with Alberto, Tim and Megumi felt him rude and that he didn’t take the meeting seriously. The chatting continued for a while, and Tim finally had enough of it. “It’s getting late,” he announced, interrupting Alberto and Mohamed, “and we didn’t come here for idle chitchat that shows no respect to the seriousness of our meeting. Let’s get this meeting started already, shall we?” Megumi was startled at his gruffness. She felt he could have handled it a bit more diplomatically. But Alberto and Mohamed apologized and explained they were used to doing things that way in their cultures. Tim apologized for his gruffness, and the meeting at last began. As they went over the different items, Mohamed announced new ideas he had for the site, and Tim asked for data backing up how is ideas would better it. He didn’t have any. Alberto told them he liked Mohamed’s ideas and was willing to go along with them, but Megumi, who hadn’t expected new ideas to be introduced, didn’t want to agree with making changes without discussing it with the others in Japan first. The group went back and forth over it for a while, and Alberto, frustrated, finally said, “You know why we can’t reach an agreement? It’s because we’re from different cultures with different views on respect and responsibility. I think if we could understand each other and our differences better, this meeting would go better because we’d know what to expect from each other.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a couple of business cards. “By the way, here’s my card,” he said. He handed one to Tim and then handed one to Megumi with both hands. “I didn’t bring any business cards,” Mohamed said, “since to me we are friends and not just business partners, and felt I didn’t need to bring any cards.” Tim and Megumi stared at them for a moment then looked at each other. With a slight nod to each other, they turned back to their companions and voiced their agreement to Alberto’s statement. The meeting resumed with everyone willing to be more understanding of each other, and in the end, by working together, they were able to come to a decision that satisfied everyone. Respect is a very important value, especially when working in an international environment; in PMI’s Code of Ethics and professional conduct is clearly defined as: “An environment of respect engenders trust, confidence, and performance excellence by fostering mutual cooperation—an environment where diverse perspectives and views are encouraged and valued”. This kind of environment will make the team performing more efficiently, in a highly trusted workplace. |
