From the course: Project Management Foundations: Ethics

Assessing the respect value

From the course: Project Management Foundations: Ethics

Assessing the respect value

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- Psychologist and bestselling author, Harriet B. Braiker said, "Conflict can and should be handled constructively; when it is, relationships benefit." Embracing the ethical value of respect gives us the opportunity to manage conflict, maintain ethics, and enhance our relationships. Let's talk about how that can occur. PMI's definition of the respect value is, "A duty to show a high regard for ourselves, others, and the resources entrusted to us." PMI's mandatory standards include negotiating in good faith, not using our expertise or position to influence others to benefit personally at their expense, not acting in an abusive manner towards others, and respecting the property rights of others. Let's apply the PMI definition of respect to John's scenario regarding making a heavily discounted purchase outside his level of financial authority. For John to be trusted, he needs to demonstrate his willingness to adhere to his financial delegation limits. However, to achieve performance excellence, he would need to make the purchase to save the company money. These two elements are at odds with each other. The tricky part is bringing this all together in mutual cooperation. As John is unable to reach a manager with a necessary financial delegation authority, John needs to proceed on his own. To embrace mutual cooperation, John might want to seek another solution. Is it possible a smaller purchase could be made that's within his financial delegation to enable some savings for his company? If this approach is applied, John can be trusted within his financial delegation authority, while also embracing performance excellence. After this transaction is complete, it's possible his financial delegation could be increased to provide more flexibility with future purchases. Another approach to negotiate would be to request an extension of the sale price deadline, but with a smaller discount. This would enable John to stay within his financial delegation, and still provide some savings for the company. By closely examining and applying the respect value, you could feel confident you are employing ethical behavior on your projects, and quite possibly enhancing your relationships as well, as you'll be perceived as supporting your business and their rules and regulations.

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