Lily MurariuResearch Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council CanadaCantley, Quebec, Canada
You are the project manager and your project is not going well. Not only your project is having cost and schedule problems, but also the customer is not satisfied with the quality of the products your team has produced so far. One of the major problems is a subcontractor who is responsible for a key subsystem.
Your brother-in-law owns a company that does exactly that kind of work and you know that he and his team would probably do better than your current contractor would.
How do you proceed? Saving Changes...
Valerie Denney Associate Professor| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University- WorldwideCleveland, Sc, United States
Thank you for this wonderful discussion. This is a realistic scenario for sure! As a project manager there are countless decision points and opportunities (for success and failure). The first thing that comes to mind is the real or perceived conflict of interest. A lot would depend on the current contracting environment. I can image one extreme that ou currently have a government contract to perform this work (pick which government-- most are pretty rigid in regulation). Here you probably have a written, signed contract with some sort of termination liability. If the process is properly followed, you might be able to use your brother-in-law.... after termination liability payoff and conducting a proper re-proposal... yet... that issue of conflict of interest... at least the perception of, still abounds.
I would tell my brother in law that I would love to use him, but explain the conflict of interest concern and how you would would need to remove yourself from the selection process.
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1 reply by Lily Murariu
Apr 20, 2019 11:41 PM
Lily Murariu
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@Valerie Denney, thank you for your feedback and for the valid points you are bringing. Projects success is key however a full consideration to the realm of the conflict of interest is important. Also, procurement processes and practices in public sector versus private sector may fully disengage one's intentions towards any actions that may be considered as favoritism, and non transparent. Also, decision making process and the governance structure is to be considered for decisions related to such situations.
Saving Changes...
Greg GithensAuthor, "How to Think Strategically." Executive & Leadership Coach| Catalyst & Cadre LLCLakewood Ranch, Fl, United States
As additional emphasis to the excellent answer provided by Amany Nuseibeh, I'd dig into the situation with the subcontractor. Since project requirements are a top cause of project frustrations and failure, I'd assess the correctness and (more importantly) the completeness. Competent contractors can be stymied bad project initiation.
Too, often all people adopt the "blame frame." Typically, there are a lot of details that need to be understood in the narrative. Saving Changes...
Anything like this would be strictly prohibited within our organization. Even the appearance of a potential COI is to be avoided. To help staff within our organization with issues such as these we are all required to attend yearly "Ethics Cascades" to remind us of these types of situations. I was once told as while working as a consultant for my present organization (federal government) many years ago that I could do work for a company that was preparing a response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) even though I was not working at the time for the entity requesting the RFP within our organization. Saving Changes...
Lily MurariuResearch Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council CanadaCantley, Quebec, Canada
@Steve Ratkaj, thanks for your feedback. We note differences in the approaches and perspectives of public and private sector and this may pose some challenges. Saving Changes...
Lily MurariuResearch Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council CanadaCantley, Quebec, Canada
Apr 18, 2019 11:30 AM
Replying to Valerie Denney
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Thank you for this wonderful discussion. This is a realistic scenario for sure! As a project manager there are countless decision points and opportunities (for success and failure). The first thing that comes to mind is the real or perceived conflict of interest. A lot would depend on the current contracting environment. I can image one extreme that ou currently have a government contract to perform this work (pick which government-- most are pretty rigid in regulation). Here you probably have a written, signed contract with some sort of termination liability. If the process is properly followed, you might be able to use your brother-in-law.... after termination liability payoff and conducting a proper re-proposal... yet... that issue of conflict of interest... at least the perception of, still abounds.
I would tell my brother in law that I would love to use him, but explain the conflict of interest concern and how you would would need to remove yourself from the selection process.
@Valerie Denney, thank you for your feedback and for the valid points you are bringing. Projects success is key however a full consideration to the realm of the conflict of interest is important. Also, procurement processes and practices in public sector versus private sector may fully disengage one's intentions towards any actions that may be considered as favoritism, and non transparent. Also, decision making process and the governance structure is to be considered for decisions related to such situations. Saving Changes...
Lily MurariuResearch Council Officer Program Advisor| National Research Council CanadaCantley, Quebec, Canada
@Greg Githens, thank you for your reply and your views. Indeed, the contractual stipulations are to be explored and the accountability of the parties involved needs to be fully taken into consideration. Proper, consistent and well conducted tracking and monitoring of the projects should also be strong indicators of potential risks that need to be addressed and mitigated in the early stage. Saving Changes...
