Lola Simpson
Week 2 Assignment Orion Shield Project
Executive Summary:
Scientific Engineering Corporation (SEC) had decided to compete for Phase I of the Orion Shield Project. The Director of Engineering Henry Larsen, wanted to employ an engineer to the role of project manage instead of an experienced project manager. Enter Gary Allison an experiences Project Engineer with absolutely no formal Project management experience. Gary was known around the organization as a knowledgeable with numerous years of Project Engineer expertise. It appears Henry intentional wanted someone with limited Project Management knowledge in the hopes of being able to easily control the situation and to get his way without much resistance. The
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Gary only discovered this critical change when they were weeks from a crucial milestone. SPI understandable was not pleased unexpected change in the project. No one likes being caught off guard especially when you are paying for a service. This event also made Gary seem incompetent in leading this project to completion. All this could have been avoided if Henry would have followed protocol.
Another important unethical issue is Gary had concealed the short shelf life of five years of the new material to top management of SEC and client. In essence the client is not really getting what they are paying for. PMI notes the importance of conducting work in an ethical manner (Schwalbe, 2009, p. 23). This allows workers to develop confidence in the project which increases moral and performance. (Schwalbe, 2009, p. 23). A good project manager should be transparent and exhibit truthfulness in business dealings (Schwalbe, 2009, p. 23).
Contract issues:
A Cost-reimbursable contract would have been a better option for SEC. This contract would have required detailed budgets that indicate the intended use of the funds as this detail helps define appropriate and allowable expenditures. A Cost-reimbursable contract would have better motoring, accountability and incentive to meet deadlines.
SEC was offered a fixed price contract for ten months. The fixed contract as well as mis management caused the project to go over budget. Thus the risk was on
In standard 5, leaders should work with integrity and in an ethical manner. The challenge with this standard is understanding how to be fair in all instance and doing the things that are ethical. A lot of other influences can come in and influence leaders the wrong way so they must be able to work with integrity.
Anderson should have also contacted clients regarding the various change in fees that Paragon had apparently incurred.
Once everyone who wished to speak had a say, it was time to talk go through the consent calendar. A few of the consents were easily passed with unanimous consent, but one council member, Christopher Armenta, and the vice mayor, Gary Silbiger, had issues with C-5. On the calendar, this agenda item reads as the following, “Approval of Professional Services Agreements with Associated Soils Engineering, Inc., Geo-Environmental, Inc., and Zeiser-Kling Consultants for Geotechnical Engineering and Construction Services.” Councilman Armenta was worried that the council would not have any oversight over the process of awarding geotechnical service agreements to particular firms, and that the amounts given to a particular firm could wind up being an exorbitant amount of money. Vice mayor Silbiger had similar fears.
How a project manager should respond to varying "situational" standards of ethics as they are encountered from country to country.
ASC 730-20-25-7 – “An entity that incurs a liability to repay the other parties shall charge the research and development costs to expense as incurred. The amount of funds provided by the other parties might exceed the entity's liability.”
Nash also failed to consider the additional loss of consumer confidence and capital if the sale went through and Fledgling sued DAC for fraudulent misstatement about the condition of the property. Nash also failed to consider his social responsibility to the rest of the environment by not addressing the issue as soon as it was brought to his attention. Similarly the CEO failed to consider his responsibilities to the passengers that were flying on planes that could have lost power due to the malfunctioning product. I would have included these issues in a cost benefit analysis which would support my decision to management.
“Projects account for about one fourth of the U.S. and the world’s gross domestic product” (Schwalbe 2012). With that said, there are many challenges and issues that hinder the ultimate success or completion of a project. So is evident in the case of the Orion Shield Project, whose execution faced issues of technical, ethical, legal, contractual and interpersonal natures. Taking on a role that assumes responsibilities in stark contrast to newly appointed project manager Gary Allison’s professional background and experience doomed the project from the start. Not only did Gary not have the experience, he failed to research and prepare himself, prior to the project’s
Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The
Unaccustomed to consistent, disciplined process & standards. Viewed PMO as administrative overhead. Saw PMO as getting in the way of “real work”. “If we get too rigid, it will fail”. Knowledge barriers - little to no experience with formal project management practices. No consensus among senior management concerning the degree to which project management was an integral part of the change process. Director of Applications
Incorporating ethics in our daily lives is essential, particularly in Project Management. Project Managers are considered to have one of the most difficult jobs due to its distinctiveness. They encounter problems, such as, working with individuals who would rather bend or break the rules, and fail to follow the policies and procedures to achieve outstanding results.
This essay will describe about ethics in project management which will provide us an overview of the aspects how the organizations develop the ethics in an organization and about the differences in the ethical decision making among various professionals in their given field. In order to understand various aspects of the chosen topic various literature have been examined including peer reviewed articles which have been carefully chosen. In today’s world all the professional fields have adopted the ethical code of conduct in one way or another but there are differences in the decision making because of variation in company culture and the ethical values of a project manager and the employees.
ethical approach can be taken in the best interests of the company. Again, to maintain a strong
Ethics is an extremely relevant value in business and consulting. The presence of recognized ethics and/or ethical practices tends to diminish the need for informative or legal/contractual precautions in the formalization of relationships, for both of the parts involved in a
The objects of the Detailed Study Report was to decrease the cost of processing vouchers, reduce the number of staff needed for processing vouchers, reduce the amount of time it takes to pay out the vouchers, and “support systematic integration with transportation/logistics, purchasing, and accounts payable to better facilitate changes due to shifts in business procedures.” (DeHayes, et al) When beginning the Drafts Requirements Study, Linda Watkins was concerned with so many systems dependent on each other being changed at the same time. When she voiced her concerns, she was basically told ‘the show will go on.’ The last step was for the outline physical design group to take a look at the new system and get it set up. The original idea was for the PAS system to use the mainframe, but then an option of using a LAN was introduced. Using a LAN did cost quite a bit more than was budgeted. Just as the physical design report was being completed, Linda Watkins was in a car accident, leaving her with sever injuries and out of work for an extended amount of time.
Question You are a project management consultant assigned to a small manufacturing firm that has been experiencing a myriad of problems. After conducting interviews and fact-finding with key managers, you have observed the following: