Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

Ethics in Gap-Based Delivery

Ricardo I. Guido Lavalle, PgMP, PMP

I recently had the pleasure of watching a lecture by Prof. Clovis de Barros. He teaches Ethics at Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP ! Bra"il. I regret his production is in Portuguese. Prof. Clovis not only #nows about ethics$ he%s a superb! wonderful e&positor! an agile and engaging guy that can 'aintain interest for as long as two hours with the 'ost diverse attendance. Ethics is about the right actions. (hat%s the right thing to do in a certain situation) (hat%s the greatest value to be preserved) (e%ll see that 'any different views coe&ist at the sa'e ti'e in our societies and organi"ations! and that poses a challenge in our day*to*day decisions. (hile it has re+uired a nice a'ount of people burning their eyelashes in candle%s fla'es doing deep thin#ing and studying! Ethics is actually everywhere around us. It%s not about etereal or 'etaphysical 'atters! but about doing things. ,#! let-s 'ove on. Prof. Clovis depicted a landscape on Ethics history co'prising five 'ain 'o'ents and trends. /ree# ti'es! when ethics was about fitting oneself in the great cos'ological order. 01ight2 actions were those such that 'ade the Cos'os achieve its 'a&i'u' order. 3ro' this standpoint /ree# philosophers ('ainly 4ristotle assu'ed rigid! stable social layers where aristocracy had the 'ost part in the ga'e. Conse+uencialis'! whose spot*lighted leader was 5iccolo 6acchiavelli! strived to 'a&i'i"e prince-s power. 1ight actions were those that had achieved the 'ost power for the prince. 4ttention here! the right actions were considered right after they proved to be efficient for the sought end *power*. Call it (ild Prag'atis' if you want. Utilitarianis'! 'ostly proposed by Bentha' and 7ohn Stuart 6ills! is a great 8ustification for liberalis' and ai's for 0the greatest happiness of the greatest number 0. It is a si'ple and attractive standpoint! and it even fits with co''on de'ocratic views. However! it presents so'e issues regarding 'inorities! and the Holocaust is a 'a8or de'onstration of that. (ith I''anuel 9ant e'erges the inner spiritual origin of Ethics. 9ant contested the utilitarianis' with his deontology. 4n action was right if the very inspiration of it was good! regardless of the conse+uences. :he ulti'ate goal was to for' a corpus of universally valid actions! such they were valid in any conte&t! and forever. :he puritan ethics of duty and good purpose is an e&pression of this long*lasting and very successful ethical view a'ong sa&on*a'erican people. In contrast to all previous views! post*'odernist Ethics is about relativis'. Reason was de'onstrated not to be co'plete by /;del! the gree# Cosmos proved not to be organi"ed at

Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

all but a huge Chaos, and God! if at all present! showed no co''it'ent with hu'an affairs. :hus they are no longer used to establish an un'ovable univocal coordinate syste' for ethical decisions. Ethics beco'es transactional! an agree'ent between parties! were openness and transparency of purposes beco'es crucial. Botto'line! Post*'odern Ethics is the result of a Social Contract! and agree'ent inter pares. 4 serious warning is presented by 7ean Baudrillard. If you ran through 'y previous article! you will easily perceive that diverse! disguised si'ulation degrees can 8eopardi"e the opportunity to achieve valid agree'ents.

Ethics shows up at execution

Ethics is about the right thing to <o'ore than the right thing to thin# or a way of planning. (hile 'ost plans will consider in advance so'e ethical scenarios! 'ost ethical challenges occur when the action is actually ta#ing place. Progra's are about realizing visions! converting high*level vision into benefits. :his has direct relation with the so*called 0Strategy*E&ecution gap2. Is the organi"ation able to e&ecute such that what they wish is in fact reali"ed) :his is a CE, concern. ,n the downstrea'! progra' 'anagers are challenged to bridge the gap between current progra' status and final! desired benefit*harvesting progra' status. Progra' 'anager pri'ary duty is to bring about the opportunity for benefits to co'e in fact being reali"ed! and in doing so the progra' 'anager will be faced with several ethical challenges. :here are so'e 'anage'ent approaches that assu'e fro' start a certain ethical bias. 3or instance Mission Leadership (depicted in this article of 'ine is rather Consequencialist in its genesis. No, dont call me a military pedant; call me a business enthusiast. . Results abo!e all. I 'yself behave pretty Consequencialist in 'ost death*'arch pro8ects. 4llright! 6c9inney is prudent and proposes a way to bo& the pro8ects with non*passable bounds and rules o" engagement! so I do! but the spirit is noticebly prag'atic with a delicious bit of 9antian deontology *<uty. P6I code of ethics balances a'ong a +uest for gree# virtues (honor and fairness ! the good intentions (#.$.% &e ma'e commitments and promises, implied or e(plicit, in good "aith and controlled post*'odern ethics(%.).* &e proacti!ely and "ully disclose any real or potential con"licts o" interest to the appropriate sta'eholders. . Certain e&pressions sound #ind of utilitarian ($.$.* &e ma'e decisions and ta'e actions based on the best interests o" society, public sa"ety, and the en!ironment . :he whole Code spirit is 9antian! and it is natural to e&pect a code to want to be of universal applicability. 6ost 'a8or organi"ations are pri'arily gree# (+,m right because +-m the boss with different degrees of 9antianis' (don-t as' me "or results, + did the right thing . Start*ups often prefer Conse+uentialis' until they face the lawyers for the first ti'e. Politics revolves around Utilitarianis' for the 'asses! deontology for the debates and plain 'acchiavelis' in their bac# offices. 6ost =5orth> a'erican people has a healthy tendence to the values of duty and good 'otives. Puritan%s choice of 9antian Ethics*

Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

6ost adapted organi"ations and co'panies show a high degree of post*'odernist Ethics bias. Healt! Security and Environ'ent affiliations! non*discri'inatory hiring procedures! low*e'ission co''it'ents! all spea# of a good level of interactions and agree'ents between parties.

Gap-Based delivery ethics

I thin# it would be far easier if we had a uni+ue! univeresal ethical point of reference to wor# with. :hat way we have a single! always*wor#ing ruler to apply for every situation. 9ant%s categories were great because they sought :HE ulti'ate and always valid ethical laws. ?ou as a parent! you as a professional or you at the church! you would always #now what the thing to do was.
meanwhile, somewhere in the real world...

:he progra' we were assigned to co''and is going s'ooth and fine. 5obody really cares whether we are 9antian or Utilitarian or whatever! as long as we don%t 'a#e waves and disturb that incredible peace. 4lright! we 8ust don-t have noticeable challenges regarding Ethics. ?et. Suddenly a situation shows up. 4 che'ical you were using is reported as a potential danger to the environ'ent. 5obody is to bla'e. 4s a recent finding! its da'age potential hadn-t been assessed at planning ti'e. :he environ'ent protection authorities have not yet banned the che'ical! and even the report is not conclusive. ?ou could certainly deliver the involved progra' co'ponent with no har' for you or for your contract. 6oreover! not proceeding as planned could 'ean a severe da'age in the progra'-s financials. ,n the other hand! even when you are legally shielded! if the che'ical finally proves to be dangerous for people! both people and your co'pany will be negatively i'pacted. (hat is your advice on what to do ne&t) (ait! wait. :here%s not a uni+ue answer for 'ost relevant ethical proble's. :o 'a#e thin#s even 'ore co'plicated! all of us (including govern'ents! churches and co'panies declare we have this or that ethical code or preference! but we often change it according to e&ternal events or even to internal happenings. 4 good try on how to proceed was 'ade by the P6I Ethics 6anage'ent 4dvisory /roup! providing a guide to Ethical decisions! as 6ichel ,-Brochta puts in a recent post in a @in#edIn group.
For some, the topic seems rather black and white with clear rights and wrongs. For others, including several of the commenters, and including myself, the topic is filled with shades of gray. For those of us who encounter ethical dilemmas where we feel that no clear path is immediately obvious, we must rely on our own reasoned judgement. PMI has followed some of the leading organi ations in this regard by developing an !thical "ecision#Making Framework to help members think through their ethical dilemmas$ it is available in %% languages&http&''www.pmi.org'(bout#)s'!thics'!thics#*esources.asp+

Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

4n ethical profile can change because of value perception. +ndecent .roposal is about bending personal ethics (moral! actually in change for enough 'oney. So'e people will ris# their lives in order to save a penguin! but will not say a word for 'illions of chic#ens being #illed every day in order to feed the'. 4 detour will be 'ade in a highway in order to save an old oa# tree while giant tractors deforest the 4'a"onas and other forests. (hen I was a #id! every boy in the neighbor had a slingshot and so'eti'es a #nife in the belt. (e were all nor'al boys. :oday a boy with a slingshot is #ind of unthin#able! and a boy with a #nife is to be shot at first sight. I%' sure those people fro' uruguay that got lost in the 4ndes had a fir' Ethics with regard to cannibalis'! but they ulti'ately survived A 'onths in the snow with no Bell Soups at reach. 4n ethical profile can change depending who you are serving. Consider for instance the following actual e&a'ple. I witnessed it in the :B. In 4pril CDDE two otter hunters were detained by the police! and one of the' was su''arily shot by one of the cops. :he people in that town protested in front of the police station. :he :B reporter co''ented that people was angry because of the shooting and the abuse. :his sa'e reporter then recorded a version for so'e international networ#! C55 or 3o&! I don-t re'e'ber now. His co''ent about the tur'oil was 04ngry protests because of wild species endangering2. :he sa'e facts! the sa'e video recording! the sa'e people! the sa'e evidences! different values. (ell! and a little lie. (hen you get in 0gap*based delivery2 'ode it%s because so'ething in the plans (0the straight way2 cannot 'atch the tactical challenges the proble' poses. :he Plan includes certain provisions li#e 0attach to the contract letter2! 0follow the line of co''and2 and so on. However! as a seasoned progra' 'anager you perceive that so'ething is 'issing or that the current scenario is not what was assu'ed at planning ti'e. ?ou thus need to get tactical! you need to act and 'a#e a valid! on* the*field decision. In tactical! gap*based delivery 'ode! you are not only faced with a tough decision! but you also need to 'a#e it in a hurry while bo'bshells e&plode all around you. So 'aybe at last is it ti'e to get ride of that silly ethical burden) Certainly notF If decisions and their conse+uences were serious when things were rolling fine! your decisions in critical ti'es can branch out and propagate in horrible ways. ?ou need to stay cool and tactical! and to be #nowledgeable and agile enough as to detect the ethical ob8ections and conse+uences of your ne&t decisions. ,dds are you%ll need to 'a#e nasty decisions. However! nasty decisions aren%t necessarily the 'ost co'ple& ones. (hen a surgeon decides to a'putate a leg! that%s real nasty! but not a co'ple& one at all. we in average will accept the doctor%s word as a sufficient base for the action. (hen you fire so'eone! that%s nasty! but by 8ust invo#ing 0rightsi"ing needs2 or 0budget constraints2 you%ll be safe! for people see' to have accepted that #ind of nonsense. Even 'ore nasty is to send our own children to war and we do that in a proud spirit! for who will +uestion the need of defending the country) I 'ean! the very concept of 0right thing to do2 is a very elusive one. 4s a gap bridger you need to clearly and +uic#ly understand the 8ustification conte&t you are facing.

Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

3ro' a gap*based delivery perspective! there-s no ethical change between nor'al and critical ti'es! other than the te'porary nor's rela&ation due to urgency and fear. ?ou %ll be te'pted to paint your face and shout 0/eronimo0 1ill -em all02. :o play Play 1a'bo is great. ?ou feel you can in fact destroy all those co''ies and avoid every bullet. I already felt that! it%s aweso'e. :hey all will help paint your face and will pat your bac#. Past the urgency and dissappeared the fear! you%ll be accountable. :his! 1a'bo could never understand. 4 great perfor'er in hard ti'es was (inston Churchill$ he could certainly ta#e a progra' to success.
,ou ask, -hat is our policy. I will say$ /It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that 0od can give us& to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark lamentable catalogue of human crime. 1hat is our policy.2 ,ou ask, -hat is our aim. I can answer with one word& 3ictory4victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be$ for without victory there is no survival.

4s you probably #now! Sir (. Churchil had a rather poor political career after the (( II. So we need to distinguish between decisions that need to be 'ade in order to #eep the progra' on due course (Plan and those we need to 'a#e strictly in order to save the progra' fro' failure. ?ou can provo#e a 'a8or plan change in order to acco'odate a critical tactical situation. ?ou shouldn,t provo#e a tactical intervention unless there%s evidence of severe ris# of not succeeding with current Plan.

So what should I do?

3irst! you should congratulate yourself for having reached this point. Ethics is hard to read! harder to understand and e&tre'ely difficult to e&cercise on a regular basis. Second! I-' te'pted to play the guru and tell you what%s the path you should ta#e. But while I can tell you so'e tales on Ethics! I feel It would be dangerous to advice you on what to do when things get hot. ,n the other hand! I-' convinced not only that there are no final answers e&cept for si'ple situations! but I also thin# there shouldn-t be final answers. Ethical proble's are referred

Sharing thoughts on Gap-Based Delivery in Programs

to situations involving people! diverse people! in a very specific 'oral and values conte&t. 4 colleague fro' a great country I%' not telling now! recently told 'e how her 'other fed hi' 'ore than his sisters! so he could get strong and able to leave the countryto study in the U.S. :hat%s absolutely unthin#able in 'y neighbor! but it see's thay thought differently out there. ,n the other side! his fa'ily now receives a nice chec# fr' hi' each +uarter. 3or those that have a clear 'ind! I please write a boo# on what to do! and I-ll be the first to buy it. 4s a guideline! be sure your progra' has a diverse and well*built steering co''ittee! with 'ost organi"ation-s areas and 'ain sta#eholders represented in it. ?ou can even propose an advisory group including as 'any sta#eholders as advisable (and advisability is a balance a'ong consensus*reaching! diversity representation and ti'eliness . ?ou shouldn%t proceed with a progra' intended to 'a#e culture changes without including the people to be affected! 5on 3or Profit relevant organi"ations and #ey local representatives (when applicable . 4s a botto'line advice! try to 'a#e co''unications and trust possible. :rust has nothing to do with si'ilar Ethics but with the certainty of good faith. 4nd when you need to bridge the gap and stay tactical! re'e'ber to never surre.nder and to re'e'ber you%ll need to respond for your actions! sooner or later 6eanwhile!
If you are going to go through hell, keep going. -. 5hurchill 6# o ###
3isit http&''gbdelivery.blogspot.com.ar'