The evolution of project management as a key and essential component of the process of organization management has brought about a host of new issues which are all in need of consideration. Project management is very crucial to the operations of organizations because it determines the place where organizational policy and strategy is headed. Policy and strategy success is well measured by the success that results from the implementation of projects. Regardless of the specific area where a project is being undertaken and there are many such areas issues that come with the implementation have remained more or less similar, and often require a similar approach at analyzing them. Project management is also very critical in the determination of the social welfare of not only the organizations employees but also the people living in the vicinity where the given project is being undertaken (Gary Larson 2008).
It is less unlikely that all projects are implemented within an organization or by an organization. Instead, certain projects have come to be undertaken by individuals, although this has become a rare occurrence. In discussing any issues of project management, then, it is usually a common practice to tie it however remotely to some organization and its overall management. In essence, organizational management and project management bear a very close semblance (Gary Larson 2008). This paper discusses some of the many issues that have been seeking to be attended to as project management has been evolving. They include leading the process of project management effectively and a general overview of the practice of project management as drawn from its Body of Knowledge (BOK).
Leadership in Project Management
Project management, just like organizational management, is greatly affected by the leadership. One of the most challenging aspects in the implementation of a given project is the role of leading or overseeing the project. The project manager is faced with some of the greatest challenges. The success or failure of the project will more often than not be determined solely by the actions of the leader or manager. This partly explains the current trend where organizations are investing heavily in project management (Longman Mullins 2004). They understand that a good project manager is as good as a successful project, and getting one is worth the cost. Whenever projects fail to yield what was expected of them or when they are not implemented successfully, then the great losses that result are able to impact negatively on the undertakers of the project. A lot of resources, including human labor, money and time, are wasted whenever a project is not carried on to its conclusive end. Usually, a staling of a given project will result if the project manager overlooks some of the key aspects of project management (Longman Mullins 2004).
The importance of having a good project manager also stems from the fact that such a manager points the way forward for the project, a way which all other people or participants in the project will follow The project manager is essentially the travelers compass without which there is no progress forward. Regardless of the direction that the project Manager leads the project to success or to failure it remains a requirement that all the other people follow hisher guidance. Reliability on the project manager is always a characteristic that every organization has to experience and learn to cope with (Longman Mullins 2004). The project manager is like the captain of the project. Heshe holds the life of the project in hisher hands.
How to Manage Projects
Owing to the great responsibilities bestowed upon the project manager, it is very important for organizations to ensure that a good management plan is in place (Gary Larson 2008). Finding a good project manager is not all there is about project management. Instead, it is about ensuring that the project as a whole is able to be implemented to its very end without any undue delays and unnecessary hitches. Project managers must be prepared to deliver what has been placed under their responsibility.
Qualities of a Good Project Manager
As all the other aspects of project management will depend on how well the project manager will be able to organize his work, the manager ought to exhibit certain characteristics and follow certain methodologies if the expectations of the stakeholders in the project on him are to be realized. The first attribute that a project manager ought to exhibit is an ability to be a good communicator (Longman Mullins 2004). Communication is like the fuel that gets machines moving forward. Without a good communication link between the project manager and the people heshe is leading in the project then the project is at the risk of failure. However, good and enhanced communication among all the people involved goes a long way in improving the success chances for the project (Longman Mullins 2004). The project manager must be able to communicate to the other people about the goals, performance, feedback, responsibilities, and the expectations. Openness on the part of the project manager is important because it is only thorough the project manager that the people will have any real link to the organization.
The project manager must have the capability to inspire a shared vision among the people (Longman Mullins 2004). In order to do this, the leader must be able to have deep within himher a vision of where heshe expects the organization to get to upon completion of the project, and having an ability to articulate this vision. It is the visionary nature of the project manager that will get people to so much believe in him and his vision that they will feel to be an integral part of the project and consequently put into the project their all.
Heshe ought to have the capability to empower the people so that they too can experience this vision.
The project manager must be a team builder, capable of bringing together all the people involved in the project to work together in unity. He must strive to resolve any emerging conflicts and to deal with people in a very humanely manner (Longman Mullins 2004). Conflicts are not to be viewed by the project manner as bad but as indicators that that they are moving somewhere. The project manager must have a capacity to handle emerging issue and to work under surging pressure. This is because projects will rarely be delivered as scheduled, and there are bound to be financial constraints. All these and many other factors are bound to bring about a lot of work-related pressure on the part of the project manager. However, heshe ought to be able to withstand all this if heshe expects the rest of the team to keep going and not give up.
The project manager ought to be competent enough too. This might no necessarily mean that the leader must have great expertise and training in the given project area but that he ought to offer a leadership role that is able to have others following behind himher. Competence differs from expertise in that it can be learnt on the job while the latter is through training (Longman Mullins 2004). Usually, a previously past record of success will be enough for a leader to be trusted by the stakeholders and to win the approval of the people (Longman Mullins 2004). Lack of competence, on the other hand, will keep people in doubt regarding the leaders capability, and this will in one way or another cause unnecessary conflicts.
Outsourcing
As the world changes and with the change comes new ways of doing business, even project implementation is taking on a completely new shape. Globalization the systematic integration of local and national economies and markets into one international market is particularly noted for the way it has and continues to affect the way projects are implemented (Gary Larson 2008). As nations and states open up their once tightly secured borders to allow foreign business operators and manpower into their territory to do business and trade without any undue restrictions, projects have become reviewed again with a view to understanding how best they can be dealt with. There is a consideration by project managers on how to increase the chances that the project will succeed, given the faith and trust that people and the organization have for himher (Kerzner Saladis 2009).
In the considerations of how best to undertake the project are issues of the cost of implementing the project from the very start to the end. The total costs of implementing the project locally are then compared with those of outsourcing the work to other places (Kerzner Saladis 2009). The tendency is to have the project undertaken optimally, and this has been done by comparing the costs of having an own team to do the work, or outsourcing. With the age of globalization, it is increasingly becoming cheaper for organization to outsource their project work. The outsourcing has often taken on two main approaches outsourcing locally and offshoring (Gary Larson 2008). The former is a case where the organization offers its projects to be undertaken locally by a different organization or consultant so that all the work needed to be done on the project is left for to the outsourced organization. This decision to outsource locally is usually taken after considering the benefits of outsourcing in relation to getting all the material and equipment needed for the project (Kerzner Saladis 2009). This is especially true for projects that are being implemented on a very large scale and which the hosting firm might not be able to undertake because of lack of capacity.
The other alternative, outsourcing, is very common nowadays. Projects are moved across shores to other lands, usually where labor costs and the costs of other factors of production are comparatively cheaper (Kerzner Saladis 2009). This is usually a decision that is hard to make, and indeed has only been made whenever the project implementers have been able to consult widely and to consider the pros and cons of doing this. Offshoring is no less important that outsourcing in fact both are critical to the entire process of project management as when approached well enough and carried effectively, they save a lot for the organization (Kerzner Saladis 2009). Outsourcing is never in need of very strict or close supervising as offshoring.
Outsourcing often entail giving over the entire project to another separate entity to carry out, wherein all that is done is never a concern to the organization that is outsourcing the project work. Instead, the organization will only have to meet its part of the contractual agreement and then, after agreeing on a specific time frame within which the project is to be completed, sitting back and waiting for the day the project will be finished and handed back. Sometimes, though, it is always a good practice to oversee and supervise the work on the project in order to avoid cases of poor project implementation. In offshoring, part of the management team might have to be relocated to personally oversee the work because quality is usually a major issue to consider while offshoring.
Social and Cultural Aspects of Project Management
Project management can never be dissociated from sociocultural matters. The correlation between project management and cultural and sociological matters stems from the fact that most of the projects undertaken by organizations are either carried out within the communities or for the benefit of the community. In certain instances, a project is undertaken for the community and by the community. That notwithstanding, communities are always affected by any projects (Gary Larson 2008). Therefore, it is critically important that sociological and cultural considerations are made before any project is implemented (Bucero 2002). Since the aim of the project is to benefit the people, whether those in the community or those within an organization, there is a need for project management programs to recognize these sociocultural aspects and address them appropriately.
Human Resources Management
One of the most critical aspects in the implementation of projects is the management of the people resources of the organization, and especially those who are involved in the undertaking of the project. People are usually the main elements in any projects, and they need to be managed well if all is to go well with the project. Human resources management as part of project management is important because people are the most valuable assets of any organization. It is the people in an organization who will spell the doom or success of a project. People are usually inclined to react negatively or indifferently to change in the organization, and yet projects are typical change agents. It is therefore very important to have a way to deal with people (Andrew 2007).
Finally, people are responsible for direct participation in the project processes from start to finish. As such, they ought to be managed well so that they will in turn be in a position to do their tasks well enough (Gary Larson 2008). Management of workers involved in a project is no less different from what is done in organizations. It essential involves ensuring that the people are given the kind of treatment that makes them feel that they indeed are important and are part of the organization and the project. Employees also need to be rewarded for their work in the project by either offering them with gifts or incentives like promotions or pay rises (Cowie 2003). It is only when employees work under tolerable and conducive conditions that they will have increased productivity.
Project Sponsorship
As project management has been evolving over time, another issue that has emerged is project sponsorship. This is usually the deliberate making of a decision by individuals or other organizations to offer one or more kinds of assistance to the project. Every project needs the support from people who might be well-wishers or owners of the project. Sponsors usually seek to promote a project so that its eventual success will be associated with their names. In the current world, every other project has a sponsor (David 2008). Although a relatively new issue, project sponsorship is a very important aspect in project management.
First of all, projects are usually in dire need of being cushioned from the risk of failure which comes mostly from mismanagement of or inadequate funding. Sponsors help mitigate this risk by offering the project financial as well as logistical support. Project sponsorship must be, however, sanctioned by the project managers and stakeholders in order to guard against misrepresentation, and the risk of the project being portrayed in the negative light (Gary Larson 2008). For effective project sponsorship to be realized there is also a need of ensuring that the need that is there for change is well communicated to both the team that is involved and to the entire society that will be affected in different ways by the project. The sponsor selected must also be able to understand the business needs of the project (Kerzner 2009).
The project Office
The project office is also an emerging issue in project management that needs to be given a lot of attention. A project office is the unit that is established to basically offer the necessary support to the project managers and the project itself, and to ensure that there is improvement in the way everything is conducted from the start to the end of the project (Gary Larson 2008). The project office is very important in project management because apart from ensuring the proper coordination and flow of every process being implemented under the project, it also serves as the means through which the management and support of the activities linked to the project are implemented (Meredith Mantel 2010). Project offices are also links between the organizations senior management and the manager in charge of the specific project. Such offices also aid the movement forward of the organization in the area of project management so that it becomes matured in it. It ensures that in the future, all matters regarding the management of projects are handled with the highest level of expertise.
As very important components of project management, project offices are required to do all that is possible to remain relevant if they have to keep delivering what is expected of them. They must be in a position to seek for the right information on their own if this relevancy is to be attained and sustained. Project offices must also be capable of varying project measurements systems so as to be effective. Project offices can also consider having a system of rewarding people or giving them incentives. The usual culture of the organization will have to be changed in order to accommodate the changes to the project office.
Governing Project Management
This is essentially the provision of the relevant and necessary structures through which the objectives, policies, and other organizational matters are communicated. Governing is very important in project management because it is critical in helping organizations and their project managers to avoid some of the commonest pitfalls in project implementation. Such pitfalls include a failure to have clear ties with the relevant and most important strategies, the inability to have a proper engagement with the most senior managers, the failure to understand the industry and especially the roles played individuals in the managerial and other senior levels, and the lack of a proper forum and avenue to engage stakeholders in discussing matters critical to the organization (Pinto 2007). Governance of management is usually made effective by the ensuring that there is an application of governance principles that are intelligent as well as the seeking to have a delegation of responsibility and duty that is proportionate combined with the close monitoring of control systems within the organization.
Ethics in Project Management
The management of projects will never be successful unless the ethical aspects of the project are carefully examined and dealt with or addressed conclusively. Ethics in project management entails the ensuring that there is a systematic approach in having the moral values and priorities, tastes and aspirations of all people addressed and respected (Gary Larson 2008). Different people subscribe to different moral and ethical values but certain ethics, like those required in an organization, are universal. The process of project management must seek to uphold those ethical and moral values that are deemed appropriate in the process (Kerzner 2006).
Ethics are important in project management because they save organizations and project implementers lots of money that would have otherwise been lost through legal challenges and other lawsuits that are sure to come up whenever during the implementation of a project there is a deliberate disregard of the ethical aspects of the project. That aside, other probable costs that can result from acting unethically include loss of the repute of the organization undertaking the project, the development of feelings of dislike between the project implementers and those treated unethically, and the loss of mutual trust between the two. There have been laid-down procedures on how to go about ensuring that there are good ethical practices during the undertaking of projects by organizations (Gary Larson 2008).
First, people ought to be provided with the information they require in order to help them play a more significant role in the process of making decisions on the ethical matters relevant to project implementation (Gary Larson 2008). The people must also be helped to understand the value of ethical behavior and practices, and to appreciate the value of its application. Another methodology that can help enforce ethical practices in organizations is to use employees as a kind of warning system who can raise the alarm whenever there are incidences of organizational show or display of unethical practices. Finally, peoples ability to become sensitive to moral and ethical matters ought to be increased so that all are aware of whatever behaviors are tantamount to acting unethically or immorally (Weiss 2006).
Project management has been evolving and with the evolution have emerged matters that are in need of being addressed. Some of them are discussed in this paper, including people, ethics, leadership, project office, project governance, project sponsorship, among others. All these and many more have great ramifications on the entire process of project management and ought to be addressed by organizations undertaking projects.
It is less unlikely that all projects are implemented within an organization or by an organization. Instead, certain projects have come to be undertaken by individuals, although this has become a rare occurrence. In discussing any issues of project management, then, it is usually a common practice to tie it however remotely to some organization and its overall management. In essence, organizational management and project management bear a very close semblance (Gary Larson 2008). This paper discusses some of the many issues that have been seeking to be attended to as project management has been evolving. They include leading the process of project management effectively and a general overview of the practice of project management as drawn from its Body of Knowledge (BOK).
Leadership in Project Management
Project management, just like organizational management, is greatly affected by the leadership. One of the most challenging aspects in the implementation of a given project is the role of leading or overseeing the project. The project manager is faced with some of the greatest challenges. The success or failure of the project will more often than not be determined solely by the actions of the leader or manager. This partly explains the current trend where organizations are investing heavily in project management (Longman Mullins 2004). They understand that a good project manager is as good as a successful project, and getting one is worth the cost. Whenever projects fail to yield what was expected of them or when they are not implemented successfully, then the great losses that result are able to impact negatively on the undertakers of the project. A lot of resources, including human labor, money and time, are wasted whenever a project is not carried on to its conclusive end. Usually, a staling of a given project will result if the project manager overlooks some of the key aspects of project management (Longman Mullins 2004).
The importance of having a good project manager also stems from the fact that such a manager points the way forward for the project, a way which all other people or participants in the project will follow The project manager is essentially the travelers compass without which there is no progress forward. Regardless of the direction that the project Manager leads the project to success or to failure it remains a requirement that all the other people follow hisher guidance. Reliability on the project manager is always a characteristic that every organization has to experience and learn to cope with (Longman Mullins 2004). The project manager is like the captain of the project. Heshe holds the life of the project in hisher hands.
How to Manage Projects
Owing to the great responsibilities bestowed upon the project manager, it is very important for organizations to ensure that a good management plan is in place (Gary Larson 2008). Finding a good project manager is not all there is about project management. Instead, it is about ensuring that the project as a whole is able to be implemented to its very end without any undue delays and unnecessary hitches. Project managers must be prepared to deliver what has been placed under their responsibility.
Qualities of a Good Project Manager
As all the other aspects of project management will depend on how well the project manager will be able to organize his work, the manager ought to exhibit certain characteristics and follow certain methodologies if the expectations of the stakeholders in the project on him are to be realized. The first attribute that a project manager ought to exhibit is an ability to be a good communicator (Longman Mullins 2004). Communication is like the fuel that gets machines moving forward. Without a good communication link between the project manager and the people heshe is leading in the project then the project is at the risk of failure. However, good and enhanced communication among all the people involved goes a long way in improving the success chances for the project (Longman Mullins 2004). The project manager must be able to communicate to the other people about the goals, performance, feedback, responsibilities, and the expectations. Openness on the part of the project manager is important because it is only thorough the project manager that the people will have any real link to the organization.
The project manager must have the capability to inspire a shared vision among the people (Longman Mullins 2004). In order to do this, the leader must be able to have deep within himher a vision of where heshe expects the organization to get to upon completion of the project, and having an ability to articulate this vision. It is the visionary nature of the project manager that will get people to so much believe in him and his vision that they will feel to be an integral part of the project and consequently put into the project their all.
Heshe ought to have the capability to empower the people so that they too can experience this vision.
The project manager must be a team builder, capable of bringing together all the people involved in the project to work together in unity. He must strive to resolve any emerging conflicts and to deal with people in a very humanely manner (Longman Mullins 2004). Conflicts are not to be viewed by the project manner as bad but as indicators that that they are moving somewhere. The project manager must have a capacity to handle emerging issue and to work under surging pressure. This is because projects will rarely be delivered as scheduled, and there are bound to be financial constraints. All these and many other factors are bound to bring about a lot of work-related pressure on the part of the project manager. However, heshe ought to be able to withstand all this if heshe expects the rest of the team to keep going and not give up.
The project manager ought to be competent enough too. This might no necessarily mean that the leader must have great expertise and training in the given project area but that he ought to offer a leadership role that is able to have others following behind himher. Competence differs from expertise in that it can be learnt on the job while the latter is through training (Longman Mullins 2004). Usually, a previously past record of success will be enough for a leader to be trusted by the stakeholders and to win the approval of the people (Longman Mullins 2004). Lack of competence, on the other hand, will keep people in doubt regarding the leaders capability, and this will in one way or another cause unnecessary conflicts.
Outsourcing
As the world changes and with the change comes new ways of doing business, even project implementation is taking on a completely new shape. Globalization the systematic integration of local and national economies and markets into one international market is particularly noted for the way it has and continues to affect the way projects are implemented (Gary Larson 2008). As nations and states open up their once tightly secured borders to allow foreign business operators and manpower into their territory to do business and trade without any undue restrictions, projects have become reviewed again with a view to understanding how best they can be dealt with. There is a consideration by project managers on how to increase the chances that the project will succeed, given the faith and trust that people and the organization have for himher (Kerzner Saladis 2009).
In the considerations of how best to undertake the project are issues of the cost of implementing the project from the very start to the end. The total costs of implementing the project locally are then compared with those of outsourcing the work to other places (Kerzner Saladis 2009). The tendency is to have the project undertaken optimally, and this has been done by comparing the costs of having an own team to do the work, or outsourcing. With the age of globalization, it is increasingly becoming cheaper for organization to outsource their project work. The outsourcing has often taken on two main approaches outsourcing locally and offshoring (Gary Larson 2008). The former is a case where the organization offers its projects to be undertaken locally by a different organization or consultant so that all the work needed to be done on the project is left for to the outsourced organization. This decision to outsource locally is usually taken after considering the benefits of outsourcing in relation to getting all the material and equipment needed for the project (Kerzner Saladis 2009). This is especially true for projects that are being implemented on a very large scale and which the hosting firm might not be able to undertake because of lack of capacity.
The other alternative, outsourcing, is very common nowadays. Projects are moved across shores to other lands, usually where labor costs and the costs of other factors of production are comparatively cheaper (Kerzner Saladis 2009). This is usually a decision that is hard to make, and indeed has only been made whenever the project implementers have been able to consult widely and to consider the pros and cons of doing this. Offshoring is no less important that outsourcing in fact both are critical to the entire process of project management as when approached well enough and carried effectively, they save a lot for the organization (Kerzner Saladis 2009). Outsourcing is never in need of very strict or close supervising as offshoring.
Outsourcing often entail giving over the entire project to another separate entity to carry out, wherein all that is done is never a concern to the organization that is outsourcing the project work. Instead, the organization will only have to meet its part of the contractual agreement and then, after agreeing on a specific time frame within which the project is to be completed, sitting back and waiting for the day the project will be finished and handed back. Sometimes, though, it is always a good practice to oversee and supervise the work on the project in order to avoid cases of poor project implementation. In offshoring, part of the management team might have to be relocated to personally oversee the work because quality is usually a major issue to consider while offshoring.
Social and Cultural Aspects of Project Management
Project management can never be dissociated from sociocultural matters. The correlation between project management and cultural and sociological matters stems from the fact that most of the projects undertaken by organizations are either carried out within the communities or for the benefit of the community. In certain instances, a project is undertaken for the community and by the community. That notwithstanding, communities are always affected by any projects (Gary Larson 2008). Therefore, it is critically important that sociological and cultural considerations are made before any project is implemented (Bucero 2002). Since the aim of the project is to benefit the people, whether those in the community or those within an organization, there is a need for project management programs to recognize these sociocultural aspects and address them appropriately.
Human Resources Management
One of the most critical aspects in the implementation of projects is the management of the people resources of the organization, and especially those who are involved in the undertaking of the project. People are usually the main elements in any projects, and they need to be managed well if all is to go well with the project. Human resources management as part of project management is important because people are the most valuable assets of any organization. It is the people in an organization who will spell the doom or success of a project. People are usually inclined to react negatively or indifferently to change in the organization, and yet projects are typical change agents. It is therefore very important to have a way to deal with people (Andrew 2007).
Finally, people are responsible for direct participation in the project processes from start to finish. As such, they ought to be managed well so that they will in turn be in a position to do their tasks well enough (Gary Larson 2008). Management of workers involved in a project is no less different from what is done in organizations. It essential involves ensuring that the people are given the kind of treatment that makes them feel that they indeed are important and are part of the organization and the project. Employees also need to be rewarded for their work in the project by either offering them with gifts or incentives like promotions or pay rises (Cowie 2003). It is only when employees work under tolerable and conducive conditions that they will have increased productivity.
Project Sponsorship
As project management has been evolving over time, another issue that has emerged is project sponsorship. This is usually the deliberate making of a decision by individuals or other organizations to offer one or more kinds of assistance to the project. Every project needs the support from people who might be well-wishers or owners of the project. Sponsors usually seek to promote a project so that its eventual success will be associated with their names. In the current world, every other project has a sponsor (David 2008). Although a relatively new issue, project sponsorship is a very important aspect in project management.
First of all, projects are usually in dire need of being cushioned from the risk of failure which comes mostly from mismanagement of or inadequate funding. Sponsors help mitigate this risk by offering the project financial as well as logistical support. Project sponsorship must be, however, sanctioned by the project managers and stakeholders in order to guard against misrepresentation, and the risk of the project being portrayed in the negative light (Gary Larson 2008). For effective project sponsorship to be realized there is also a need of ensuring that the need that is there for change is well communicated to both the team that is involved and to the entire society that will be affected in different ways by the project. The sponsor selected must also be able to understand the business needs of the project (Kerzner 2009).
The project Office
The project office is also an emerging issue in project management that needs to be given a lot of attention. A project office is the unit that is established to basically offer the necessary support to the project managers and the project itself, and to ensure that there is improvement in the way everything is conducted from the start to the end of the project (Gary Larson 2008). The project office is very important in project management because apart from ensuring the proper coordination and flow of every process being implemented under the project, it also serves as the means through which the management and support of the activities linked to the project are implemented (Meredith Mantel 2010). Project offices are also links between the organizations senior management and the manager in charge of the specific project. Such offices also aid the movement forward of the organization in the area of project management so that it becomes matured in it. It ensures that in the future, all matters regarding the management of projects are handled with the highest level of expertise.
As very important components of project management, project offices are required to do all that is possible to remain relevant if they have to keep delivering what is expected of them. They must be in a position to seek for the right information on their own if this relevancy is to be attained and sustained. Project offices must also be capable of varying project measurements systems so as to be effective. Project offices can also consider having a system of rewarding people or giving them incentives. The usual culture of the organization will have to be changed in order to accommodate the changes to the project office.
Governing Project Management
This is essentially the provision of the relevant and necessary structures through which the objectives, policies, and other organizational matters are communicated. Governing is very important in project management because it is critical in helping organizations and their project managers to avoid some of the commonest pitfalls in project implementation. Such pitfalls include a failure to have clear ties with the relevant and most important strategies, the inability to have a proper engagement with the most senior managers, the failure to understand the industry and especially the roles played individuals in the managerial and other senior levels, and the lack of a proper forum and avenue to engage stakeholders in discussing matters critical to the organization (Pinto 2007). Governance of management is usually made effective by the ensuring that there is an application of governance principles that are intelligent as well as the seeking to have a delegation of responsibility and duty that is proportionate combined with the close monitoring of control systems within the organization.
Ethics in Project Management
The management of projects will never be successful unless the ethical aspects of the project are carefully examined and dealt with or addressed conclusively. Ethics in project management entails the ensuring that there is a systematic approach in having the moral values and priorities, tastes and aspirations of all people addressed and respected (Gary Larson 2008). Different people subscribe to different moral and ethical values but certain ethics, like those required in an organization, are universal. The process of project management must seek to uphold those ethical and moral values that are deemed appropriate in the process (Kerzner 2006).
Ethics are important in project management because they save organizations and project implementers lots of money that would have otherwise been lost through legal challenges and other lawsuits that are sure to come up whenever during the implementation of a project there is a deliberate disregard of the ethical aspects of the project. That aside, other probable costs that can result from acting unethically include loss of the repute of the organization undertaking the project, the development of feelings of dislike between the project implementers and those treated unethically, and the loss of mutual trust between the two. There have been laid-down procedures on how to go about ensuring that there are good ethical practices during the undertaking of projects by organizations (Gary Larson 2008).
First, people ought to be provided with the information they require in order to help them play a more significant role in the process of making decisions on the ethical matters relevant to project implementation (Gary Larson 2008). The people must also be helped to understand the value of ethical behavior and practices, and to appreciate the value of its application. Another methodology that can help enforce ethical practices in organizations is to use employees as a kind of warning system who can raise the alarm whenever there are incidences of organizational show or display of unethical practices. Finally, peoples ability to become sensitive to moral and ethical matters ought to be increased so that all are aware of whatever behaviors are tantamount to acting unethically or immorally (Weiss 2006).
Project management has been evolving and with the evolution have emerged matters that are in need of being addressed. Some of them are discussed in this paper, including people, ethics, leadership, project office, project governance, project sponsorship, among others. All these and many more have great ramifications on the entire process of project management and ought to be addressed by organizations undertaking projects.
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