Ethical Responsibility of Financiers

Abstract

This chapter will address the ethical responsibility aspects of funders, from the perspective of project management, with the government context as the focus. From this perspective, the managers face significant challenges and dilemmas, since they are required to conduct themselves professionally and make decisions regarding ethical performance on a day-to-day basis, which is not easy to manage, even less so when.

On the one hand, there is no common ethical action guide for the institutions – public and private – with which projects are linked and articulated; and on the other hand, in the existing documents or ethical frameworks to which they must be subjected, they are not considered situations or circumstances in which they must exercise their judgment. It is understood that it is through public projects with the social value that the future is outlined for the benefit of citizens, where governmental organizations, companies, economic, material, human, and intellectual resources are also articulated.

In the current context in which projects are developed, the resulting social value does not coincide with the expected value; the initial requirements diverge from the results regarding compliance with the technical and management standards required; also, the motivations and conduct of the people involved in the projects could be incompatible about social conscience, the common good, and the adoption of codes of ethics.

Most of the projects and their management have not yet managed to offer the expected value or satisfy the expectations. The results of these projects kind, often, carry on tremendous economic, financial, political, and social impact. Therefore, the field of project management has faced for years, and since its creation, questions related to the contrast between theory and rigor of practice, technical relevance, organizational philosophy, behavior, and social consciousness of practitioners.

Due to the above, this chapter devotes attention to the standard in project management, the ethics code, and action guides linked to the public sector.