quantmleap

Wikipedia defines “Environmental economics” as the science that undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of the economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world.

I would like to suggest that in the context of Project Management there should be an undertaking to study the impact of various modes of management on the human environment. Whereas economic behavior can affect environmental policies, management – or more specifically bad management – can impact team members and, although indirectly, their families and friends.

Economic models suggest that humans, as rational animals, will perform in various ways depending on a complex set of incentive based rules. The greater the incentive towards behaving in a particular way, the greater the chance that this option will be selected. The way we treat our team members reflect the same economic model where our behavior is dependent on the set of incentives to which we as project managers are exposed.

The problem is that in the corporate environment we are mostly governed by conflicting and mostly differing sets of incentives. As individuals we are motivated by a different set of incentives and values than the ones driving us in our corporate capacity.

The only way these two sets of values can be reconciled is by applying the same methods we apply on all other project management disciplines, by incorporating this requirement into the project management code of conduct while incorporating this into the project management body of knowledge.

Related posts:

1. Project objectives and human values – are they in conflict?
2. Importance of project communication
3. DISC Assessment Model and Project Management