Question

Identify one legal issue and one ethical issue in project management. Describe how these issues negatively affect the project, and what steps project managers can take to address these types of issues.

Answer 1

A business can not survive without good ethics or without the help of law. Both law and ethics helps in making importent decisons and sometimes they even makes it very easy because the manager has to just follow the clear business ethics and business law. But some of them are hard to follow and have negative affect on the proje ct sometimes. Some examples of such Business law or business ethics are mentioned below:

Legal issue in project management:

Project contract: A project contract includes many contracts that are prepared on the time of new project and with the help of lawers and after that all the decisions will be taken in front of legal team that can result in loss of creativity and time. And not to forget, thay cost alot and cost of the contract making keeps increasing on every decision making.

Ethical issue in project management:

Conflicts of Interest: Sometimes the conflict of intrest happens in between the project manager and the project team. That becomes a ethical issue because if the manager makes the decision wthout the team he failes as a leader and if he goes with the team's idea with half of the conviction, he is risking the projcet. This can happen between the owner and the managert too.

Negative affects of these issues are:

• Downfall in project quality: If a team is facing any kind of issue no matter if its legal or ethical, the quality of their work will get affected in a negative way.
• Hike in cost: both these issues results in hike of cost, but especially the legal issue.
• Morale break: facing the ethical issue like this will eventually result in a huge morale break of team and after that the manager's.

Ways to address these type of issues:

• Strong communication: while facing any business issue related management and team, communication is the key to solve that issue. The manager shold come clean to its team about the ethical dilemma he is facing.
• Business law is for the business benefit: This might come as the issue but all the law are for the long-term safety of the business, so what if it is costly or time taking, it is for the betterment of the business and project.
• Planning and review: Planning in advance about the project in open with the help of project team will solve many problems to begin with and other will be solved at the time of plan review.