The Necessity for Ethical Behavior in the Project Management Essay

The Necessity for Ethical Behavior in the Project Management - Essay Example Therefore, ethical behaviors are crucial in the management of projects. Moral philosophy or ethics concerns the defense and recommendation of the concepts of wrong or right behavior. The philosophy of ethics is divided into operational areas such as normative ethics, applied ethics and meta-ethics. Meta-ethics involves the reference and theoretical meaning of moral values, and the determination of their truth (Ashrafi, 2007). Normative ethics involves the practical means of establishing a moral plan of action, while applied ethics involves the achievement of moral outcomes in different situations with different ethical requirements. The characteristics of ethical behaviors are fairness, honesty, and equity in professional, interpersonal and research, scholarly and academic relationships. Ethical behaviors compliment the diversity, rights and dignity of individuals or people in the society. The standards upheld in enhancing the attributes of responsibility and honesty is ethical behav iors. These standards are applicable to all individuals regardless of the facets of life, and the position held in commerce. The hallmark of ethical behavior is the application of these standards in situations that are inconvenient for their application (Long, & Spuma, 2005). Project Management Project management involves organizing, planning, managing, securing, controlling and leading resources towards the achievement of objectives and goals. Projects are provisional endeavors that have a defined starting and end points. They are mostly time and funding constrained. Projects are carried out to meet objectives and goals, characteristically for addition of value or for beneficial changes. Projects because of their temporary nature are in contrast to operations or businesses that are permanent and repetitive (Long, & Spuma, 2005). The management of projects is thus challenging and different and requires distinct management strategies and technical skills. The major challenge in proje ct management is the achievement of the objectives and goals while honoring or considering the preconceived limitations. Typical limitations are budget, scope and time. Another challenge with project management is the ability to maximize the allocation of inputs and incorporate the necessary inputs to meet the predefined goals and objectives (London, 2006). The management of projects involves elements, process groups and control systems. Regardless of terminology and methodology used, project management processes involve the same processes, with different ethical requirements. Project management involves the initiation of the project, planning for development, production and execution, monitoring and controlling, and the final phase which is the end or closure of the project. These phases in most cases are undertaken by one person-the project manager. Project management environment that require exploration; research and development must be supplemented with points for decision makin g. These points are essential for the continuation of the project as they involve debating and decision making. Ethical practices and behaviors are necessary to ensure the diligent and progressive completion of each phase, hence movement to the next phase. Ethical behaviors in project management involve the simultaneous management of the basic elements which are money, time, resources and scope. These elements, which are interrelated, must be effectively