I've studied the new PMI talent triangle quite a bit over the past few days. It applies to all of us that wish to maintain our PMI certifications.
The major categories are of course 1) Leadership 2) Strategic and business management and 3) Technical Project Management. Below that, there are listed 31 detailed aspects of each leg of the triangle.
What strikes me as odd is that there is *no mention* of ethics or professional responsibility anywhere. We don't seem to be required to think about this, stay current on it, or earn any PDUs on the topic. Yet, it seems that now more than ever this may be more important topic.
There are new and modern security issues, identity protection concerns, personal data privacy, encryption, decryption and more.
So, I'd like to discuss why there are NO Ethics or Professional Responsibility requirements to maintain our certifications, in - as PMI so accurately states: "today's increasingly complex and competitive global marketplace"
Al TaylorI.T. Contractor| IndependentWaterloo, Ontario, Canada
Good discussion!...
Once, at a car dealer, I was introduced by the service manager to one of the sales managers.
During the two minute walk from service to the manager's office the service manager told me twice "He is as honest as the day is long"
I thought that was kind of funny Saving Changes...
Steven WalterLead, Systems Engineer| L3Harris TechnologiesFort Wayne, In, United States
Sergio and Stephen,
Ethics are rules of behavior and conduct endorsed by communities to which people belong, such as their place of business, religious organization, professional societies, and neighborhood associations. One of the issues that make it difficult to behave ethically is that ethical codes can conflict with each other, as well as conflict with people’s morals and in some cases, legal constraints. An extreme example is that most ethical codes forbid harming or killing another person. However, soldiers and law enforcement personnel may have an ethical responsibility to kill another person if it minimizes total casualties, or in the case of the military, advances the military objective or mission.
Company ethical codes primarily focus on an employee’s responsibility to the company, not their responsibility to society, their country, the environment, and their profession. Therefore, the PMI Code of Ethics was not intended to supersede a company’s code of ethics but rather to complement it. Thus, the PMI Code of Ethics does not take a position on what constitutes a project manager’s ethical responsibility to their company, but rather their responsibility to the larger world in which they practice their profession.
Since every project manager will eventually face at least one situation where there will be pressure to breach or skirt legal, safety or environmental standards in order to satisfy time and schedule constraints, it is important for PMI to develop and promote their own ethical code.
Finally, I believe that Dave has made an important point; if PMI is serious about its Code of Ethics, ethics should have an explicit place on the Talent Triangle. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Steven: 1-in my company, the code of ethics is focused in company´s employees and the the environment. 2-the reason because an organization has a code of ethics is because it is needed to get the status of a recognized organization, no more than that. 3-PMI´s code of ethic is not actionable for the reasons you have expressed above but is needed. So, in my opion, it has no sence to put it inside something that is about talent, not duties. Saving Changes...
Steven WalterLead, Systems Engineer| L3Harris TechnologiesFort Wayne, In, United States
Sergio,
Regarding point 2: There are many reasons why companies spend the time to develop and disseminate codes of ethics. For example, most companies use their codes of the ethics to discourage unethical behavior due to the financial and market risk inherent in unethical behavior. While codes of ethics do not always work, as is apparent from the VW managers that developed and deployed a cheat mechanism in their diesel emission control systems, or the BP managers that pushed schedule and cost at the expense of safety at Platform Deepwater, codes of ethics can help mitigate the proliferation of hidden risks.
Regarding point 3, “Talent” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a special ability to do things well.” While we can agree to disagree, I would argue that practicing ethical management in a resource-constrained environment is as much of a talent as technical management, leadership, and strategic management. All of these activities require expert knowledge, good judgement and competence. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
What I tried to pointed out is that ethic must be debatable in other environments, like phylosophy and epistemology, is we want to have a serious debate.
Stephen: what you state in the first point is fully debatable. Do you know the code of ethic of VW or BP? And that is my point: the problem with ethic is you have to take into account the context. The same you can find with ENRON for example. About your second point, here comes the problem again: what does means "well"?.
As I tried to pointed out: this is an ancient discussion inside the phylosophy area. That is because the law exists.
...
1 reply by Steven Walter
Feb 21, 2016 11:26 AM
Steven Walter
...
Sergio,
While the origins of the theory of ethics can be traced to ancient times, there have been a number of recent innovations in ethical theory such as behavioral ethics, which is a descriptive theory rooted in behavioral economics.
Again, I will reiterate that I agree with Dave Maynard. It makes as much sense for PMI to ignore the need for project management professionals to study and think about ethics because it falls within the purview of philosophy, as it would be for PMI to pass up the opportunity to learn more about corporate and organizational financial systems because they fall within the realm of business and accounting.
One thing to think about here is the purpose of the triangle. I don't believe it's intended to describe in complete detail the talents a Project Manager should have. I believe it's purpose is to illustrate what areas we, as certified practitioners should continue to study, develop and spend time considering -- or, more bluntly to EARN PDUS in order to maintain our certifications.
So, clearly it is PMI's intent that we are not obligated to study, develop or spend time thinking about ethics, yet we are 31 other specific areas. This struck me as odd even sad in a way. Saving Changes...
Steven WalterLead, Systems Engineer| L3Harris TechnologiesFort Wayne, In, United States
Feb 19, 2016 2:49 PM
Replying to Sergio Luis Conte
...
What I tried to pointed out is that ethic must be debatable in other environments, like phylosophy and epistemology, is we want to have a serious debate.
Stephen: what you state in the first point is fully debatable. Do you know the code of ethic of VW or BP? And that is my point: the problem with ethic is you have to take into account the context. The same you can find with ENRON for example. About your second point, here comes the problem again: what does means "well"?.
As I tried to pointed out: this is an ancient discussion inside the phylosophy area. That is because the law exists.
Sergio,
While the origins of the theory of ethics can be traced to ancient times, there have been a number of recent innovations in ethical theory such as behavioral ethics, which is a descriptive theory rooted in behavioral economics.
Again, I will reiterate that I agree with Dave Maynard. It makes as much sense for PMI to ignore the need for project management professionals to study and think about ethics because it falls within the purview of philosophy, as it would be for PMI to pass up the opportunity to learn more about corporate and organizational financial systems because they fall within the realm of business and accounting.
