Author: Asare Bediako Adams
Bed. Social Studies
EMBA. Banking & Finance Introduction
Background
Project is defined as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service, temporary means that the project has a definite ending point, and unique means that the product or service differs in some distinguishing way from all similar products or services (PMI, 1996, as cited in Ackah, 2016). A project can be defined as an activity with a specific goal occupying a specific period of time (Wild, 2002 as cited in Asare et al, 2017). A project is a finite activity, not only in time, but also in the use of resources. Examples of projects include construction of a bridge, highway, power plant, repair and maintenance of an oil refinery or an air plane; design, development and marketing of a new product, research and development work, etc. (Asare et al, 2017). Project management encompasses the concepts of management and leadership. Although leadership and management research have made distinctions between the two concepts, the project management profession has integrated the two concepts, and project management refers to the leadership and management needed to lead and manage a project. A project manager leads people and manages work processes. There is nothing more important to the success of a project than the people who make up the project team (Newton, 2015). These activities vary from project to project depending on the nature of the project. For example, a cultural or social project or civil project such as the construction of a residential building, hospital, road and bridges or industrial projects are different in their characteristics. In our scope we will focus on industrial projects (El-Reedy, 2016)
A significant number of individuals from a variety of professions are becoming more involved in project management practices and they are learning to employ project management techniques to achieve the desired results. The professionals seeing to use project management in their workplace include engineers, architects, physicians, and nurses to name a few. The level of interest and emphasis in project management may be realized by the growth of professional associations. The Project Management Institute, headquartered in the United States, has experienced rapid growth in the past 5 years to now total more than 230,000 members. The International Project Management Association, headquartered in Switzerland, has 40 member associations with a total membership exceeding 100,000 individuals. The Japanese Project Management Forum, headquartered in Tokyo, has about 5,000 members (Cleland & Ireland, 2007 as cited in Asare et al, 2017). The Institute of Project Management Professionals, headquartered in Ghana also has over 200 members with few years of being in existence and is growing. (Asare et al, 2017)
There are many different definitions of ethics. Ethics refers to a systematic study of the norms and values that guide how humans should live their lives (Desjardins, 2006 as cited in Kliem, 2012). Ethics is the activity of understanding moral values, resolving moral issues, and justifying moral judgments. It is also the discipline or area of study resulting from that activity (Schinzinger and Martin, 2000 as cited in Kliem, 2012). Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with values that relate to the nature of human conduct and values associated with that conduct. (Twoney and Jennings, 2008 as cited in Kliem, 2012). “The study of ethics generally consists of examination of right, wrong, good, evil, virtue, duty, obligation, rights, justice, fairness, and so on, in human relationships with each other and other living things. (Cuilla, 1998 as cited in Kliem, 2012). Ethics involves judgments about the rightness or wrongness of human behavior (Johnson, 2007 as cited in Kliem, 2012). From the perspective of a project manager, ethics can therefore be defined as exercising objective judgment, after considering all options, on what is the right decision and response when dealing with ethical situations (Kliem, 2012). Ethical determinations are applied through the use of formal theories, approaches, and codes of conduct, such as codes that are developed for professions.
Effective program management depends on effective project management, which itself depends on a cadre of professionals including not only project managers, but also an array of technical specialties and disciplines within the project and program management profession, such as requirements development, cost and schedule estimation, and risk management (NAPA, 2015). Government’s policies are often translated into programs and projects. The projects are therefore seen as vehicles through which government’s policies and programs are achieved. The impact of government’s policies and programs are directly linked to the effective implementation of those projects under the program. Almost three decades ago that in Africa, for example, translating national development plans into operational programs and investment projects is not the difficulty, but the main crux of the matter lies in the effective implementation of those programs and projects.
Ghana is not an exception. Since independence there have been many examples of failed public and private sector projects in Ghana. The situation in Ghana is not the best and this was amply expressed by the former Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Professor Gyan Baffour, in his opening remarks at a ceremony for project managers, organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB, 2006), in Accra, Ghana. He indicated that Project Implementation Performance in the country has declined in all sectors of the economy and that it has led to the country incurring significant costs. He stressed that the situation calls for improvement and the responsibility lies with the bank and the government of Ghana to identify training needs (Daily Graphic, July 2006).
The concern has been that both the private and public sectors have lost substantial amounts of money as a result of failed projects and programs. Ghana has, over the years, attracted significant donor inflows for specific projects aimed to improve economic development. For example, Ghana had access to $547 million under the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) in 2006 (Republic of Ghana’s Ministry of Finance Report, 2007) and other similar donor inflows. Not much actual benefit has been realized out of all these projects (AfDB, 2006). In terms of donor support, Africa is generally affected by the economic downturn of the Western world namely the United States and Europe. Consequently, there is generally donor fatigue on the part of the western world and therefore judicious management of resources particularly funds for development cannot be over emphasized in Ghana.
