Shelby Cortez

OGL 321

Module 6 Paper

This weeks’ scenario was the most challenging yet. We had a mandatory shortened

timeframe, with the highest scope available, which didn’t give us much flexibility. I ran through

the simulation probably around ten, or more times, and although I would like to say that I

improved every single time, this was not the case. I ultimately ended up with the highest score

being 705. Even after I got the score of 705, I continued playing to try different approaches, but

my score seemed to drop further with each new attempt. In the beginning, I continued to focus

on getting the tasks completed. Originally, I had too many people hired, and my budget was too

high for the project, and this affected my score. Then I found that it was best to have four

medium-high skilled people, while also having some outsourcing done. When I had extensive

outsourcing, although it helped keep the budget low, our tasks were getting done at a slower

rate, so I adjusted the outsourcing to only some primary tasks, and I was able to get the budget

close enough, while also getting the tasks performed on time. Four medium-high skilled

employees with some primary tasks outsourced was good for our budget, and we were able to

accomplish a lot of the tasks, but this wasn’t enough to complete the project on the timeline,

while also still keeping the budget low. So I tried something completely new, and it worked. For

the final week on the project, I added twelve medium-high skilled employees, and I continued

with some primary tasks outsourced. I also continued to have no prototypes, with my normal

weekly one-on-one’s, daily standups, and status reviews. Once I added so many extra people to

our team, we were able to finish the project two weeks ahead of schedule, so instead of

completing the project at 12 weeks, we finished it within 10 weeks. If this was real life, I’m not
sure how realistic this would be for us to hire an additional eight people for just the final week.

Since I’m not familiar with being on an actual project at an organization, I’m not familiar

enough to know if this is a tactic that some project managers do, when leading a project. In the

simulation, I was able to keep my cost as close as I could to the budget, and this is also the

closest that I have been able to get it to the budget, during the entire simulation, so it makes

me wonder if this is actually a practice that occurs on regular projects, in real organizations.

When I think about hiring an additional eight people for only the final week of the

project, I immediately think of the ethical dilemma that I am facing. On the one hand, I am able

to come as close that I can to keeping the budget close to the projected budget, but on the

other hand, it seems so unethical. In the article, “Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct”, they

discuss the role of ethics further. It states that “ethics is about making the best possible

decisions concerning people, resources, and the environment” (PMI). In this exact scenario,

although the budget is at the forefront of the decisions, I don’t think I would be utilizing all of

my resources, or my environment, and these are also factoring that are important to consider

when being the project leader. In the book, “Ethics and Project Management”, they describe

that there are two different types of ethical issues, which are hard and soft issues. Hard ethical

issues “can have legal and financial ramifications and are often quite apparent when a

transgression occurs” (Kliem, pg. 24-25). Soft ethical issues on the other hand, “can also have

financial and legal consequences but are often difficult to determine in their occurrence and

how to deal with them” (Kliem, pg. 25). In this scenario with me hiring an additional eight

people towards the end of my project, although there are no legal consequences, there are

financial ones. The first one is that it costs the project more to get completed, but on a broader
outlook, I could also lose these employees down the road if they feel that they aren’t being

fairly utilized, which could ultimately cost the organization a lot of money. It is highly unethical,

but I am curious if projects use this approach, since it scored so well in the project. In the blog

“Lessons Learned in Project Management”, the author discusses the that every project manager

learns lessons as they go, and this is certainly the case with this scenario. “Lessons learned help

you manage a project more effectively, because you learn from what happened in the past”

(Harrin, 2019). Although I know that this could potentially work in the game, in real life the

lesson would be to figure out an alternative way to meet our scope projection, budget, and

morale. I wouldn’t want to lose good employees by taking advantage of them, and if I added an

additional eight people in the final weeks of my project, I fear that the impact would be far

greater than just completing the project. If I was an employee who only got brought on for a

few weeks, I would feel used; but on the opposite side of this, if this wasn’t common, it would

also be a good way to get your foot in the door for further visibility, and to show what I can

bring to the table. It just wouldn’t be ethical if it was a regular occurrence. In the blog, “Bloat is

not ‘good’: Stick to the numbers when discussing scope/time/cost dynamic”, there is a quote

that is: “You can have two of these three: good, fast, cheap” (Hardin, 2013). This sure has been

the case for almost every scenario, thus far. I can either finish on time, but my budget is too

high, or I finish way behind schedule, and my budget is below the goal. I would assume that my

product would suffer under certain scenarios, but we don’t see too much of that. What I have

determined is that the budget needs to take a back seat with most scenarios, because although

it brings down my score, my score is even lower when I come in off the timeline.
 In conclusion, ethical issues and being ethical, should be at the heart of what a project

manager’s decisions. In the article “Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct”, it states that

“ethical choices diminish risk, advance positive results, increase trust, determine long term

success, and build reputations” (PMI). This is true of every project manager, but also of every

team member in an organization. Although it is not illegal for me to bring extra people to the

end of my project, it is highly unethical, and this could potential have negative results, and long-

term damage to the organization.

References:
“About Us.” PMI, https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code.

Hardin, Ken. “Bloat Is Not 'Good': Stick to the Numbers When Discussing Scope/Time/Cost

Dynamic.” TechRepublic, TechRepublic, 5 Mar. 2013,

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-consultant/bloat-is-not-good-stick-to-the-numbers-

when-discussing-scope-time-cost-dynamic/.

Harrin, Elizabeth. “Lessons Learned in Project Management • Girl's Guide to Project

Management.” Girl's Guide to Project Management, 9 May 2019,

https://www.girlsguidetopm.com/lessons-learned-in-project-management/.

Kliem, PMP, Ralph L.. Ethics and Project Management, Auerbach Publications, 2011. ProQuest

Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/lib/asulib-

ebooks/detail.action?docID=777157.