Essay On Project Risk Finance And Monitoring

In the process of managing a project, there are various ethical issues associated with it. One of them is accountability. People involved in a project may not be accountable for their mistakes and, therefore, might find themselves blaming others for what they have done. This may become a considerable issue because it destroys the careers of the involved parties and destroys the official plans of the project by hiding the source of the problem. It's, therefore, the responsibility of the project manager to cover up for their own mistakes by accepting accountability or ensuring that those responsible for errors are relatively accountable.

 

Regarding the project of installing an interceptor at Brisbane River, there can be issues regarding who is accountable for budgeting the project. If, in any case, there is an issue with the budget, then the financial manager should account for every coin spent on the project (Walker and Lloyd-Walker, 2014). This can be monitored by looking at the account records and balance sheets to determine how the money was spent. Also, regarding ethical issues regarding corruption, it is good to have accountability by ensuring that there is proper  management of internal and external policies of the audit. 

 

Another ethical issue associated with the project is a conflict of interest. Since the project in Queen's land involves a large number of people to make it successful, there is a wide range of opportunities that may entice stakeholders of the project to put their interests to specific teams of companies. Therefore, the project manager should ensure that these conflict of interest from other people, such as vendors, is served in the best way possible by providing that everyone understands the company's standards regarding the selection of vendors and bidding. For example, in the Queens land project, the project managers should ensure that materials bought or selected for the projects are of the correct standard and meet the required budget (Müller et al., 2016). 

 

The other ethical issue in the project is the culture of the workplace. Even though most work areas have been made more perfect than in previous years, there is no specific company that has made their culture perfect. With regards to this, the project manager should monitor the company's code of conduct and make sure that the project members, such as suppliers, employees, and business partners, know what they are required to do. Due to the fact that the project in Queen's land involves the importation of some parts from other countries, the outside contractors should adopt the workplace culture of Australia and not view it as harassment to them (Müller et al., 2014). 

 

The other ethical issue that is of great concern is the health and safety issues. Sometimes it might be easy to ignore the health and safety standards of the project due to the nature of its complexity and the pressure kept on everyone. Therefore, the project manager has to monitor everything that goes on during the plastic collection in the ocean. If any health and safety standards are breached, employees and project members are protected immediately. During monitoring of these standards, it's vital to ensure that workers wear gloves during the waste removal, especially those dealing with the plastic waste directly. Also, there should be an emergency team to deal with anyone who might get injured in the process of waste collection (Marcelino-Sádaba et al., 2015). 

 

Amongst other ethical issues that might take place in the project is violations of the rights of the employees. The team leaders of the project might find themselves putting pressure on the members of the project, and as a result, they may be violating some of their rights. It's therefore very important to ensure that everyone working on the project is aware of their rights before starting the project. Apart from that, dire consequences should be kept upon violation of a worker's rights. 

 

To ensure that those rights are protected and monitored, the manager of the project will be the one receiving complaints from the employees and taking necessary actions. A suggestion box can also be availed in case someone shies away from raising their objections. The rights of the members of the project will include receiving a leave after a long period of working or in case of any injury at work. If such rights are not given to employees of the project, then their motivation for doing work might decrease over time. 

 

Another ethical issue that may highly affect the progress of the project is getting into shoddy deals by project managers. Big projects such as the one for the installation of the interceptor in Queen's land may attract people who may want to do money deals with the managers of the project. These deals may result in loss of money due to fraudulent activities taking place. Therefore, every project manager should ensure that necessary documentation is done in case of any transactions so that money can be tracked. The records should include receipts of materials so they can show evidence of their existence.

 

Placing the wrong people to do the work in the project might be another ethical issue of the project (Geraldi and Söderlund, 2018). Most project managers of the project have the habit of employing their family members and friends in the project even though they are not experts in their designated roles. This lack of skills may affect the efficiency of the project or even make errors or corrupt dealings in the project. Therefore, it is required that every team member of the project provide necessary documents for easy identification of the right people to include in the project. Relevant stakeholders should analyze the records of the members to avoid any favoritism in the project. 

 

Post-project repercussions are also some of the ethical problems that are likely to occur, which may affect the project's overall results. Since the project has never been done in Queen's land, it might not be easy to project whether everything will be done on time. This may put pressure on everyone working on the project, and as a result, people may try to find the shortest way possible to complete their tasks. In these rushing events, they may take steps that they think will shorten the time while, in a real sense, they are making the time longer. The best way to deal with this is to follow every task step by step and not worry about how long it will take as long as all elements required to achieve the project are involved. Project team leaders should also ensure that these tasks are completed to the correct standards. 

 

Since the project is involved various teams, there might be a variation in the working ideologies of the team members. For example, some team members may prefer working up to late hours to maximize their efficiency, while other members may prefer a balanced working schedule. In this case, the project manager must find a way to balance the interest of both sides. This may be through making everyone aware of the policies of the project and what is expected of every team member before even starting the project. In this way, they can be prepared psychologically. However, proper communication should be enhanced among them if need be (Brière et al., 2015). 

 

A project manager may also be the reason for the failure of the project. This may be an ethical issue because in any case where the project manager makes a mistake and doesn't account for it, somehow along the way, the team members of the project will realize, and as a result, their trust and transparency will deteriorate. If team members of the project compromise honesty, then everyone will go against the project's goals. Therefore, it is very important for the project manager to accept that they have made a mistake and account for it by finding the cause of the mistake and how it can be mitigated. 

 

The project manager may not be the only one who can lead to the project's failure alone. A member of the project may also make a mistake if the middle of the project by going against the ethical principles of the project, such as stealing. This doesn't mean that the project will stop however, how big the mistake is. It is the responsibility of the project manager to handle such situations in a calm and private manner without shifting the blame to anyone. The matter should remain private, and if the project manager is unsure what actions to take in such situations, he should consult other project stakeholders, such as the HR department. Being a project leader doesn't necessarily mean that one is perfect.

 

Regarding all these ethical issues, various recommendations need to be placed for the project to proceed to the next place. One of these recommendations is adopting a proactive approach. The project manager needs to implement knowledge and skills from their experience that they have gained from another project to ensure that they don't fail in the Queens land project. This is done by handling project team members concerning their roles in the project. In any case, the project manager doesn't have experience, and they should have a mentor alongside to give them proper directions when they are unsure of what to do. To implement a proactive approach, they can ensure that enough human resources and skills are implemented to avoid delays in the project. They can also prevent failure projects by ensuring that proper risk management, work planning, and communication are done. They can also avoid errors and confusion by not rushing into tasks of the project with the aim of finishing them faster.

 

It is also recommended that the project manager should make proper strategies and plans for the project since it's the most essential aspect. This includes how the project will start, how it will proceed, and how it will end without any failure. After doing the plans of the project, the project manager should make use of the Project Management Life Cycle to ensure that execution is taking place. The next thing recommended is managing the goals of the project and not controlling them. The project manager should not depend on memory or verbal agreements to implement the goals of the project. All the decisions, actions, and results should be documented at the start of the project, when it's in progress, and after it ends.

 

It's also important for the project's stakeholders to track the progress of the project. Knowing what point the project is or where the project should be will help improve plans and avoid future mistakes. In order to track where the project is, various considerations need to be confirmed. They include money spent, schedules and scope of the project. With such factors in place then the project can progress to the next level. Project managers should also ensure that risk factors are identified. Since there is no project that lacks risk factors, it is the responsibility of the project manager to identify them and respond to them appropriately. It will be better if the project manager identifies these factors early so that risk management can be done to avoid failure in the future (Turner, 2016). 

 

Using the correct methodology should also be considered for the project to proceed to the next step. The process will highly affect how the team members will perform, and therefore, it's good to choose an easier method. Since every method has various advantages and disadvantages, it is good to determine which method will be the best. Some of the methods that can be used include the waterfall method, agile, hybrid approach, Integrated Project Management Technique, and Critical Path Method. For the project manager to know which way is best for the project, it's good first to understand and analyze the requirements for the project. By doing all these activities, then the project can proceed to the next step (Badewi, 2016).

 

Badewi, A., 2016. The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM) practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance framework. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.761-778.

 

 

Bredillet, C., Tywoniak, S. and Dwivedula, R., 2015. What is a good project manager? An Aristotelian perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.254-266.

 

 

Brière, S., Proulx, D., Flores, O.N. and Laporte, M., 2015. Competencies of project managers in international NGOs: Perceptions of practitioners. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.116-125.

 

 

Geraldi, J. and Söderlund, J., 2018. Project studies: What it is, where it is going. International journal of project management, 36(1), pp.55-70.

 

 

Marcelino-Sádaba, S., González-Jaen, L.F. and Pérez-Ezcurdia, A., 2015. Using project management as a way to sustainability. From a comprehensive review to a framework definition. Journal of cleaner production, 99, pp.1-16.

 

 

Müller, R., Turner, R., Andersen, E.S., Shao, J. and Kvalnes, Ø., 2014. Ethics, trust, and governance in temporary organizations. Project Management Journal, 45(4), pp.39-54.

 

 

Müller, R., Turner, J.R., Andersen, E.S., Shao, J. and Kvalnes, Ø., 2016. Governance and ethics in temporary organizations: The mediating role of corporate governance. Project Management Journal, 47(6), pp.7-23.

 

 

Turner, M., 2016. Beyond the iron triangle: reflections of an early career academic. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.

 

 

Walker, D. and Lloyd-Walker, B., 2014. Client-side project management capabilities: dealing with ethical dilemmas. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.