Business Ethics in Program Management !1
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Business Ethics in Program Management
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Business Ethics in Program Management !2
Abstract
Many program managers can often be placed in difficult situations when running
projects. These situations often test ethical standards that managers must abide by. For example,
Jeffrey K. Skilling’s position as Enron’s Chief Operating Officer is largely credited with the
progression of Enron’s destruction. His employees had no choice but to go along with his
questionable decisions. Despite what a manager may believe outside of their job position, a
manager of a program should be required to follow a set of ethics within their job as a part of
their duty. The working conditions and fair treatment of employees, honesty and integrity toward
customers, and incorruptibility should be upheld in high esteem by the managers of any program
within a corporation. In the past, many program managers have failed at owning up to this
responsibility as seen at Abercrombie & Fitch, BP Oil, Bayer Corporation, McDonald’s, and
even large governmental bodies such as the Department of Energy. Moreover, much like honesty,
integrity, and impartiality of employees, a program manager that embraces professionalism and
properly motivates employees is one that is displaying and owning up to an ethical responsibility.
While it is admittedly arguable that a program manager should not necessarily be required to
have ethics, or that an individual’s ethical conduct may not need to be altered merely because of
their job position, it is still crucial for a company to have a program manager that embraces
ethics within their role.
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Business Ethics in Program Management !3
Economist Milton Friedman discusses and elaborates on an interesting and thought
provoking point as to what it means to be a program manager within a corporation in a New York
Times Magazine article...