Ethics in Project Management

ethics

The idea of ethics has already arisen in my previous articles where I have discussed padding of cost and time estimations, exaggerating pay-offs of project proposals, and so forth. Ethical dilemmas involve situations where it is difficult to determine whether conduct is right or wrong. Is it acceptable to falsely assure customers that everything is…

Organizational Culture Implications on Projects

organizational culture implications

Project managers must be aware that their actions will have some organizational culture implications. First, they have to interact with the culture of their parent organization as well as the subcultures of various departments (e.g., marketing, accounting). Second, they have to interact with the project’s client or customer organizations. Finally, they have to interact in…

Organizational Culture, How to Define, Implement and Nurture

organizational structure

The decision for combining a discussion of project management structures (you can read it here) and organizational culture can be traced to a conversation I had with two project managers who work for a medium-sized IT firm. They were developing a new operating platform that would be critical to the future success of their company.…

How to Survive Your Organizational Structure

organizational structure

Understanding organizational styles is more than an academic exercise because choosing the right structure could provide a competitive advantage for a firm. But how does the organizational structure affect you as a project manager? Consider the following: Authority. Clearly, the difference between the organizational styles is that some favor projects while others favor ongoing operations.…

Organization Politics, How To Become The Puppet Master

Organization politics exist in every office and can have a significant influence on the portfolio management system when it comes to  which projects receive funding and high priority. This is especially true when the criteria and process for selecting projects are ill-defined and not aligned with the mission of the firm. Project selection may be based…