Ethics: A Missing Link for Contemporary Project Success

Abstract

Over time, there has been a progressive paradigm shift in measuring project success from the traditional iron triangle that focused on technical requirements to the inclusion of non-technical facets that include the different processes of achieving the business objective. This has demanded project management practitioners not only to carry out their projects efficiently but within an expected moral character. This paper discusses the relevance of ethics in achieving contemporary project success. It analyses arguments and challenges on the relevance of ethics in contemporary project success. In so doing, it underscores gaps in conceding the role and relevance of ethics in project management. The paper adopted a critical analysis of peer reviewed germane papers on project and project management success, ethics and critical success factors and their practicality. The study accentuated a great relevance of ethics in achieving project success and predicts a trend towards including project ethics as a critical bond in attaining contemporary project success. The study adds to the body of knowledge by triggering more debate on relevance of ethics in project management processes that will enhance contemporary project success; a goal of all project practitioners.