6 Ethical Communities Worksheet 1

OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:
PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the four ethical communities
2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation
Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.
1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.
I am an associate project manager for the billing team at Zelle. My team makes
maintenance and enhancement software upgrades to the organizations billing interface which
generates all of the back-end invoices for our products. My product owner, main stakeholder
and customer are the same person – I will refer to them as the “business”, which they
represent. They hold a Sr. level title. My job as a project manager is to leverage relationships
in my team to implement organization structures, remove blockers and facilitate the planning,
design, testing and execution of our deliverables to ensure they remain in scope, on schedule
and in budget. Our root problem lies in improper communication and collaboration standards
which leave a lack of clear and mutual understanding of requirements being handed down
from my stakeholder to the development team. From it stems a myriad of symptom issues.
To address the root of our problems I had to train the business on how to submit formal
user stories. Which are formal descriptions of the feature they would like the development
team to build from the perspective of the end user. Implementing them provides us the
necessary clarity surrounding work packages to reduce re-work, improve testing pre-
conditions/acceptance criteria, along with planning facilitation to mitigate schedule crashing.
To implement, I held multiple walk-down meetings and training workshop sessions that
discussed the procedure, value add, reporting metrics, and key performance indicators for
user story submission. Due dates and schedule cadence were determined collaboratively. All
seemed well until our first due date passed. No stories had been submitted and we entered
into a state of non complianc. In the days following attempts were made verbally, and
formally in team meetings, to garner compliance. My product owner assured me he would
get it done – but to no avail. I chose to wait until our next monthly on-site working session to
start a second strategically planned user-story workshop. It went swimmingly. The team and
I walked the business through a few user story submissions and it was quickly made evident
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to me that my initial training was not enough for the business to feel comfortable and
confident using the tool.
Ultimately that day I finally received compliance but it remains to be seen if compliance will
be held in the future, or if the avenue taken to implement the process was the most viable.
2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.
Ethics played a big part and significantly influenced the situation described,
specifically in terms of communication standards, accountability, and organizational
responses to non-compliance. At Zelle we have policy and procedure that emulate a set of
values and normas that are suppose to guide employee norms, behaviors and decision-
making processes. Our core belief or soul lies in our ability to win as one, make big
things happen and take ownership of outcomes. However, there is a lack of clear
communication and collaboration standards within the organization. Because of this I
think there is a gap between espoused values and actual practices facilitating undermined
trust and effectiveness in project management efforts. Likely due to the fact that our
Project Management Organization (a governance department) was decentralized. I
personally believe that effective communication and collaboration are essential for
ensuring transparency and accountability. Failure to establish clear stadnards in these
areas reflects a deficiency in upholding ethical principles within the organization.
Moreover, the failure of my product owner to comply to agreed-upon procedure

for submitting these user stories highlights another potential gap in ethical behavior
regarding accountability. As a senior-level stakeholder, they have a responsibility to
fullfill their commitments to the project team, yet their non-compliance undermines the
effectiveness of the project management process and erodes trust within our tigh-knit
team. Additionally the organizations response to the situation – being my resource
manager who is very non-confrontational – has me raising questions about his (and the
organization as a whole) commitment to uploading ethical standards. From my
perspective there is a lack of consequences or accountability standards with little
measures to listed in policy or procedure to handle non-compliance. Again, this shows
me there is a disconnect between our organizations values such as that of our imperative
to win as one and take ownership of the outcome, affecting the otherall ethical climate at
Zelle. Overall the influence of organizational ethics on this situation underscores the
importance of aligning values with actions while fostering a culture of transparency,
accountability and integrity to support effective project management practices.
3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for an alternative
course of action regarding your case.
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Firstly, I would apply the ethic of justice from the ethical community framework.
Doing so offers guidance for an alternative course of action in my non-compliance
scenario because justice emphasizes fairness, equality, and impartiality, suggesting the
need for an inclusive approach that ensures equal treatment and opprotunities for
everyone involved in the project (Bolman & Deal, 2021). Specifically to address these
challenges and gain compliance on user-story submissions by the business, a justice-
oriented approach would prioritize comprehensive training and resources accessible to all
stakeholder, regardless of their position within the organization. Perhaps I myself could
get back to my own basics and restructure my training to provide on-going support,
documented expected deliverables and comprehensive guides for future references by the
team. In doing this I think that stakeholders would feel empowered and confident using
the tool.
In line with these a training restructure, I would also be sure to incorporate

mechanisms for feedback and continuous improvement because they enhance fairness
and transparency of the process (Bolman & Deal, 2021). Ironic when you consider that I
am trying to address a variety of symptom issues stemming from a lack of process
transparency elsewhere in the team. Therefore, to implement this correctly I would solicit
input from all stakeholders on their training needs, challenges and suggestions for
improvement. Doing this would help to identify areas for refinement within my
restructure and ensure the process remains responsive to the diverse needs of the team.
By prioritizing justice in the implementation of user story submission, the organization
can foster a culture of inclusivity, collaboration, and mutual respect. Ultimately
contributing to the success of the project and well being of all stakeholders involved
4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about ethics.
Reflecting on this situation from the lens of ethics prompts me to reconsider my

approach to project and conflict management as I realize I need to be certain not to beget
ambiguity with ambiguity. I cannot wish to implement greater communication and
collaboration standards without first upholding them myself. I cannot wish to foster a
sense of clear and mutual understanding without ensuring it is shared outside of myself.
If I were to do it all over again I would prioritize culture facilitation – of accountability
and team organization - before training workshop facilitation. I would clearly define
expectations and conequences for non,compliance. I would ensure all stakeholders
understand their responsibilities and hold people more accountable by implementing
visibility through weekly “looking ahead” emails and reminders up to expected
implementation dates. By establishing a culture of accountability I can foster a sense of
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visibility through influence which will promote trust and integrity within the team
ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of project management efforts.
Additionally I would strive to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable approach to

training and onboarding stakeholders. Rahter than assuming that initial training efforts
were sufficient, I would actively seek feedback from stakeholders to identify any gaps or
ghallenges in their understanding of the process. Perhaps I could conduct follow-up
training sessions where I provide additional resources and support. This would create
opprounities for hands-on practice and learning. By prioritizing inclusivity and equity
within my trianings and onboarding processes I could ensure that all stakeholders feel
valued, empowered and equipped to contribute to the success of the project and team
deliverables. This week provided me with a lot of valueable lessons and insights about
ethics in regards to my approach to project and conflict management. I have the ability to
better navigate compelx challenges, foster a more inclusive and accountable team cutlture
and ultimately drive positive outcomes for the organization and its stakeholders.
Reference or References
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and
Leadership (7th ed.). Wiley.

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OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

Moreover, the failure of my product owner to comply to agreed-upon procedure

In line with these a training restructure, I would also be sure to incorporate

Reflecting on this situation from the lens of ethics prompts me to reconsider my

Additionally I would strive to cultivate a more inclusive and equitable approach to

Leadership (7th ed.). Wiley.

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