Ethical

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” _ Theodore Roosevelt,

Posted on by will598fall15

Preparing a blog post for the class was not an easy task to start with, as I am trying to write on something interesting and to reflect on it from my experience. I decided first to post about profitability and project management in the work place as profit is the major source for opening and operating any business. However, I changed my mind when I came across an article about “Being Ethical is profitable” as I heard from various resources that some managers always use short cuts to add more profits to their business regardless if it is ethical or not but when you read this article it would open a discussion about this issue.

Unethical behavior can be extremely profitable in the short run, but a business is supposed to create long term-customers and shareholders and these scams will not last for long as being ethical matters not just to your customers but to your employees and the team that work on any project. Project manager should work hard to be ethical as it is important for every project to fulfill its social responsibilities and welfare commitments. As an ethical project manager you would follow what is right for society, customers, and stakeholders, while keeping the organization’s long-term vision in mind. In addition, being ethical in projects pays future dividends as the team members feel very safe to share their thoughts and making innovation with no worries.

Why Being Ethical Matters:

The goal of any company is to generate revenue for the shareholders, creditors, employees, and society. Also, the responsibility of a business or project is to remain profitable. “Project managers should not resort to shortcuts and unethical means in order to generate profits because that will be disastrous for the project, client, and the organization in the long run” The author indicated that “Studies show that people are willing to pay a premium for an ethical company’s products and that ethical organizations have continued to survive and grow”

According to Deloitte’s fourth annual Millennial Survey, which includes 7,800 of tomorrow’s leaders from 29 countries, the value of strong business ethics is increasing. This stresses the fact that today’s young workforce also prefers to join ethical organizations that they can trust for their future growth.

I never worked in any unethical companies before but I could see it happened to big companies not only in the US but also abroad. Look at what happened to Enron scandal that the top project managers were stealing money and committed fraud that the economist and historian of the country will be writing about this scandal for years to come.

  • Does being Ethical pay?
  • Have you experienced something similar in your work place? What action have you taken and what advice would you like to share with unethical project manager?

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URL: http://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/300210/Being-Ethical-is-Profitable/

Will the Curse of the Billy Goat be Broken?

Posted on by izzydelly

“THE CUBS AIN’T GUNNA WIN NO MORE!”

This statement has actually held true for the last 67 years. The Curse of the Billy Goat was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs in 1945 when the owner of Billy Goat Tavern was asked to leave the stadium because his pet goat stunk. To this day, it has been 105 long, sad years since our very own Chicago Cubs have won a World Series.

 

 

Can the curse be broken? It was announced Monday that the Cubs have come to an agreement with the city for a $500 million privately financed renovation of the historic Wrigley Field. They plan to use this money to redesign the locker rooms, revamp the food services, and build a new hotel and office building. They also said this renovation would bring jobs to the city and a better experience for the fans. Team Chairman Tom Ricketts even went further to say, “If this plan is approved, we will win the World Series.” As owner of this organization, Ricketts must make a change in order to keep the team alive.  They cannot continue with their same routines and expect to become a better team.

 The picture to the left shows owner of Billy Goat Tavern William “Billy” Sianis and his pet goat being denied into the game

 

The question that remains is do we want this renovation to take place or not? Is upper management making a cost effective and efficient decision? Or does this project contain too much risk that it could ruin the organization completely? I believe this could be a cost effective decision if the team starts winning some games. If the players are somehow motivated by a new stadium and can play more cohesively as a team, more people will attend the games, revenues will boost, and therefore this project would be worth it. This project can also contain a great amount of risk. If the team does not do well, many fans would be upset that the historical Wrigley Field was renovated for nothing.

As a Wrigleyville resident, I believe that the renovations would be somewhat of a nuisance. All of that construction going on right in my backyard is something I would not like to deal with. Management would have to find a way to keep the residence of Wrigleyville happy. On the other hand, if what they say is true and these renovations will bring jobs to the city and therefore boost the economy, I would not be opposed to that.

 

 

Another aspect to consider is the view of Tom Ricketts. As owner, he has a duty to create a successful team. What have the managers and owners done so wrong that this team has not been able to win for so long? Is there even any fault to be put on the managers and owners? I believe at least some of the fault can be put on the managers, but the players as well. It is their job as professional baseball players to win games.

 The picture to the right shows possible renovation ideas

 

The bottom line is that the Cubs need to win a World Series. How are they going to do this? What steps must management take in order for this project to work? Will renovating the field finally kill the Curse of the Billy Goat? Or will the curse live on…

SOURCES:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324485004578425101880334958.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews

Citation:
Barrett, Joe. “Cubs Owner: Wrigley Plan ‘Will Win the World Series’.” Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc, 15 Apr 2013. Web. 17 Apr 2013.

http://www.billygoattavern.com/legend/curse/