Before Beginning This Discussion, Read PMI’s Code Of Ethics

Before beginning this discussion, read PMI’s Code of Ethics and Profess

Before beginning this discussion, read PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (Links to an external site.) for project managers, and read the Weekly Lecture. Imagine you are a project manager and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI). Alexia is a friend and colleague who works in the training department. She comes to you for advice about a potential ethical dilemma. Alexia is not a project manager or a member of PMI.

She is a member of a team that is creating a training program for new sales people. This training program will consist of in-house training and online technical training. The team is about to search for companies to purchase or create the online technical training needed. Alexia has been in the industry for many years and is an expert in the field. Given her experience, the project manager has asked Alexia to lead the team to define the requirements and come up with a list of vendors.

Alexia knows the vendors in this field, she worked for one of them for 10 years, and she is still close with many of the employees. Alexia’s sister is also in the industry; in fact, she is the local sales manager for a training company that will be a top contender for the job. Since Alexia has a family member and friends who work for two of the potential vendors, she has two potential conflicts of interest and has asked for your help in how to ethically navigate this situation. When she leaves your office, you pull out the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (Links to an external site.) and the ethical decision making framework provided in the Weekly Lecture. What potential ethical violations exist?

Share at least three potential recommendations for navigating the potential ethical violations, and walk through the ethical decision making framework to show your thought process. What is your final recommendation? Why? Your initial response should contain at least 200 words and be supported by at least one additional scholarly, peer-reviewed, and other credible source (Links to an external site.) (other than the textbook or required reading) to help explain and share what the best way to navigate this potential ethical dilemma in an ethical and emotionally intelligent way. You are encouraged to post your required replies early during the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse in this discussion.

Paper For Above instruction

The ethical dilemma presented in this scenario revolves around potential conflicts of interest that threaten the integrity of the procurement process for the training program. The core ethical violations include conflicts of interest, potential bias, and the risk of unethical influence in vendor selection. As a project manager aligned with PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, the primary obligation is to uphold the values of responsibility, integrity, and respect, ensuring that decisions are transparent and in the best interest of the organization.

Potential ethical violations in Alexia's case are substantial. First, her familial ties to a vendor could unduly influence her judgment, leading to favoritism or biased decision-making, which undermines fairness and objectivity. Second, her longstanding connections with certain vendors may compromise her impartiality, risking that vendor relationships could sway the evaluation process. Third, her familiarity with some vendors' internal workings could reveal confidential information or lead to conflicts of interest, harming the trustworthiness of the procurement process.

To navigate these conflicts ethically, several recommendations can be considered. The first recommendation is to disclose all relevant relationships and interests transparently to the project team and stakeholders, aligning with PMI’s emphasis on honesty and transparency (PMI, 2017). Transparency ensures that all parties are aware of potential biases, and decisions can be scrutinized for fairness.

The second recommendation involves recusing or removing Alexia from the vendor evaluation process to eliminate the bias and restore objectivity. As per ethical decision-making frameworks, separating individuals with conflicts from decision-making roles preserves fairness and integrity (Chua & Lee, 2016).

Third, implementing a structured, objective evaluation process based on defined criteria and scoring can help minimize subjective influences. Using standardized evaluation tools ensures all vendors are assessed equally, reducing the risk of favoritism driven by personal relationships or familiarity.

Applying the ethical decision-making framework involves recognizing the conflict of interest, evaluating the options, and considering the possible consequences. In this scenario, the best course of action is transparency followed by recusal for Alexia. These steps uphold ethical standards, safeguard the process’s integrity, and promote trust among stakeholders. Furthermore, establishing clear policies against conflicts of interest in procurement procedures reinforces organizational ethical culture (Hoch et al., 2017).

My final recommendation is that Alexia disclose her relationships explicitly, recuse from the vendor selection process, and revert to an impartial, criteria-based evaluation process. This approach aligns with PMI’s code of ethics, emphasizing responsibility, accountability, and integrity, and ensures that organizational decision-making remains fair and credible.

References

• Chua, C., & Lee, P. (2016). Ethical decision making in project management. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(2), 377–392.
• Hoch, J., et al. (2017). Managing conflicts of interest in procurement: Ethical considerations. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 8(4), 10-17.
• PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
• Schwalbe, K. (2017). An introduction to project management (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
• Hogan, M. (2016, June 28). How to fix three of the biggest project management problems your business faces. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mhogan/2016/06/28/how-to-fix-three-of-the-biggest-project-management-problems-your-business-faces/