Back with my Questoins !!!!!!!!!!! Need Justification/explanation
The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with ABC Bank, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in ABC Bank to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act?
Choice 1 Do nothing and continue to work as before
Choice 2 Take appropriate person in ABC Bank into confidence and discuss this issue with her
Choice 3 Disclose the evaluation criteria to your (seller) organization and help their business growth
Choice 4 Remove yourself from the project
Justificaiton/Explanation please.....
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 08:27
Permalink
Question 2 this is a nice one, thought of sharing it...
Question 2
As a project manager, achieving customer satisfaction is an important objective for you. Which of the following will help you in attaining your objective?
Choice 1 Defining requirements
Choice 2 Providing more features than what the customer has asked for
Choice 3 Identifying project related risks
Choice 4 Providing project justification
The PMP Guru
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 09:15
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Answer's For Q,1 and Q,2
The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with ABC Bank, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in ABC Bank to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act?
Answer: The Question is related to The PMI Code Of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Specifically Conflict Of Interest.
Choice 1 Do nothing and continue to work as before
This is against PMI Code Of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. (Eliminated)
Choice 2 Take appropriate person in ABC Bank into confidence and discuss this issue with her
The First step in this kind of Scenario is remember to take your company in Confidence not the Buyer or the opposite company. (Eliminated)
Choice 3 Disclose the evaluation criteria to your (seller) organization and help their business growth
This is again against PMI Code Of Ethics and Professional Responsibility. (Eliminated)
Choice 4 Remove yourself from the project
Since the Question didn't state that you have to take some one in your organization in confidence So (This is The Correct Choice)
Question 2
As a project manager, achieving customer satisfaction is an important objective for you. Which of the following will help you in attaining your objective?
Answer:
Choice 1 Defining requirements
If you want a delighted customer then you need to determine there requirements in the Initial state of the project and keep them informed and updated. (Correct)
Choice 2 Providing more features than what the customer has asked for
Gold Plating (PMI is strictly against Gold Plating and Scope Creep) (Eliminated)
Choice 3 Identifying project related risks
When you collect all the requirements from the Stakeholder only then you can Judge this very Important Part of the Project.(Eliminated)
Choice 4 Providing project justification
You don't need as a PM to Justify the Project, This is already done by the sponsor while selecting th e Poject. (Eliminated)
I hope it's clear.
The PMP Guru
http://thepmpguru.wordpress.com/
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 09:44
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Q2 is right and Q1 is wrong
Thanks for the detailed explanation for both the questions... u are right on Q2, but wrong on Q1...same mistake that I did...will wait for others justification....
BR
Bad...
pradeepsodha
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:45
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Reply to comment
Question is not on customer satisaction. Question is on what will help PM in attaining the objectives.
Answer-2 is gold platting which is wrong
Answer-3 will help in dealing with risk and preparing risk response and contigency planning. Not correct answer
Answer-4 Project justification is to get approval of project and preparing project charter. Not correct answer.
Answer-1 is correct choce because defining requirement will lead to project scope statement which is used to prepare WBS and many other thing and that all will help PM in attaining project objectives.
Pradeep Sodha
manuspmp
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 15:09
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Correct option A
As a project manager, achieving customer satisfaction is an important objective for you. Which of the following will help you in attaining your objective?
Choice 1 Defining requirements --- Correct Option
Choice 2 Providing more features than what the customer has asked for
Choice 3 Identifying project related risks
Choice 4 Providing project justification
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:03
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Q-1- I will go with Choice
Q-1- I will go with Choice 2
Option 1- Doing nothing is always wrong, You are deliberately suppressing potential conflict of interest and outrightly violating ethical standards
Option 3: You are favoring your organization and again violating the ethics by doing the customer a disservice and your integrity will be questioned sooner or later that will cost you and your organization - WRONG!
Option 4: Removing yourself - again you are doing disservice to both the customer and your organization by depriving your valuable services and not leading and helping the project successfully with your expertise.
Option 2: YES! Not only because of the weakness of other choices, but also because of the strength in this approach! You should be loyal to the customer and maintain the highest and unquestionable integrity. By disclosing upfront to a proper authority in the customer chain, you are exhibiting that and let the customer make a call. Inspite of that if the customer wants you, proceed. Customer already factored your prior knowledge but - may be the procedures changed- may be the customer's top priority is succesful project execution, may be the customer thinks a known devil is better than an unknown angel - whatever- You are clean and allowed to proceed. Go for it!
Chandra
The PMP Guru
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:16
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Come On Guys
How Can you go to Customer without taking your own Organization in Confidence.
Yes I agree with Chandra and Thanks for the Explanation. But What my Understanding for these types of Questions is:
Talk to your department first, Take them into confidence. (But the Question Didn't state that).
Then:
Refrain yourself from the bidding or whatever.
...................
pradeepsodha
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 11:41
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Reply to comment - ABC bank
I would go with Answer-3.
You left one organisation and you gained some knowledge and experience. There is nothing wrong in applying those learnings in new organisation. Option 1 is eliminated becasue you are not faithful to your new employer as you know something and don't tell to your employeer. Option 2 eliminated as you don't have to discuss the matter with your earlier organisation. Option 4 is also eliminated. Why one should remove him/her self from the project if he/she is not doing anything wrong and there is no conflict of interest.
Pradeep Sodha
The PMP Guru
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 12:33
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Reply To Pradeep
@ PradeepSodha,
I would back this Answer 3 with you too only If there was something about the NDA. For Questions like that if you have Not signed NDA then you can use the Previous company experience or whatever but here we don't see that word.
Thats why this option was Eliminated by Me. Please check again and back your answer to back me for it.
Second is I am insisting again as if I recall some of my Old Books that I read for my PMP and I will try to get the authentic sources to you as well.
whenever there is Conflict of interest, the first thing is to Talk to your management or Organization and if thats not possible refrain your self from it.
SO as we see in this question, The First option was not available instead in place of Your own Organization, The opposite Organization was mentioned So I prefer to Choose the other Option.
Kind regards,
The PMP Guru
pradeepsodha
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 12:43
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Dear PMP Guru, We will wait
Dear PMP Guru,
We will wait for Badhring to give correct answer. As I mentioned earlier, I am seeing any conflict of interest here so there is no question of disclosing or any thing else. Practically no body will sign NDA after or while he/she is leaving the organisation. So I am not considering. As NDA is not mentioned, we can assume there is no NDA between employee and and the organisation which he/she is leaving. One can certainly apply what ever he has learnt and what ever he know about previous organisation.
Today, this is one of the best stretegy to know customer's / supplier's stregety, hire employee from that organisation and you will get enough information!!!
Pradeep Sodha
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 13:05
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Q-1 Discussion continued...
We have 2 follow PMIism while preparing/answering PMP exam - not the real world practices. PMI promotes ideal, highly ethical and moral practices. There should not be unfair advantage to one party, no internal trading. All the sweep stakes have a fine print, all the employement application forms and all the bidding documents ask to explicitly state /disclose your affliation with employees of the bidding organization, whether you ever worked for them or for their sister concerns any time. You have a moral obligation to disclose that upfront. You sign that all the statements are true and you did not suppress any information intentionally- while bidding or while applying. You also sign that the employer/buyer has the right to terminate employment/contract if any statements, disclosures found false. All these will not be detailed in the question as NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT but they are implicit. By playing game straight with the customer, you are building trust and relationships that will go a long way for you and your organization in winning bids NOW and in FUTURE! Customer is paying you and your organization. You should be 100% loyal to your customer even it may hurt you/your organization in the short term.
Chandra
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 13:46
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Answers and explanation as given by the website....
Q1:
The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with ABC Bank, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in ABC Bank to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act?
Correct Choice : 2
Justification :
Option 2: This is the correct answer. Since the evaluation criteria are proprietary information of ABC Bank, it is important for you to discuss the matter directly with the appropriate person in the ABC Bank.
Option 1: This introduces conflict of interest as to whether to act or not in favor of your current employer.
Option 3: This is unethical, because proprietary information of the buyer should not be disclosed.
Option 4: This is an extreme step that could be taken only if required after talking to the buyer.
---------------------------------------
Q2:
As a project manager, achieving customer satisfaction is an important objective for you. Which of the following will help you in attaining your objective?
Correct Choice : 1
Justification :
Option 1 is the best answer. Defining requirements will help the customer be clear on the functionalities she is going to find in the final product. For the project team, defining requirements is very critical, because it will help in scope definition and scope verification.
Option 2: Providing more features than what the customer has asked for is "gold plating" which is not approved by PMI.
Option 3: Identifying project related risks definitely has to be done by the project team and some high probability and high impact risks should be communicated to the customers. But defining requirements results in a higher degree of customer satisfaction than identification of risks.
Option 4: Providing project justification is a part of the project charter and is more relevant for the business to evaluate future trade-offs.
Now we can start debating...please explain Q1 in detail...I'am still confused with the answer...
BR
Bad...
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 14:18
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@badrig:For Q-1:
@badrig:
For Q-1: I already provided a detailed explanation in couple of my responses. Pl. let me know where you disagree/unconvinced/confused as far as my approach is concerned. The I will try to present in a different perspective.
Chandra
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 14:30
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My confusion here is, why
My confusion here is, why will I go and speak with any1 when there is a potential conflict of interest...
Scenario1: I'am a seller, I know the selection criteria of the buyer for the product or service that my company is intrested in. I go and speak with the buyer as I know some1 there, I do not speak anything about the contract, it might be a general talk...Still if for some reason the contract is not getting materialised, and if my company (seller) comes to know that I had spoken with some1 in the buyer company... who is to be blamed.. rather than giving room to such scenarios, I will prefer to remove myself from the project...
Please confirm if my understanding is incorrect...once I'am clear with this mind blockof mine, I'll post the next scenario..
BR
Bad...
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 15:13
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As I posted earlier, you/your
As I posted earlier, you/your organization is signing the terms and conditions of buyer organization for bidding the contract and that will cover all aspects/practices of buyer and though the question does not state explictly the standard verbage of the buyer's bidding document template includes disclosure of potential known conflict of interest, affliations of the seller/seller's employees with the buyer's organization etc, penalty clauses of false information, suppression of information etc. So always play the game straight. Again pay attention to PMIism. It is like Gandhiism as far as PMP exam is concerned. Do not think real world dilemmas, implications while answering PMP exam. Take the HIGHEST possible moral and ethical stand- That is what PMI is trying to promote by dedicating good chunk of Qs on social responsibility and avoid ENRONs, SATHYAMs and various other corporate abuses
Chandra
manuspmp
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 15:07
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Correct option D
The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with ABC Bank, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in ABC Bank to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act?
Choice 1 Do nothing and continue to work as before
Choice 2 Take appropriate person in ABC Bank into confidence and discuss this issue with her
Choice 3 Disclose the evaluation criteria to your (seller) organization and help their business growth
Choice 4 Remove yourself from the project ----------- Correct Option
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 15:19
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Manuspmp: By removing
Manuspmp:
By removing yourself you are doing disservice to both buyer and seller. Both are losing your valuable services and expertise that can far outweigh your prior knowledge of ABC bank as former employee. WITHDRAWAL is the worst way of problem solving technique. Always CONFRONT! Build TRUST and relationship by being truthful upfront and avoid long term repurcussions
Chandra
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 16:44
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HI Chandra: I get what you
HI Chandra:
I get what you are trying to say, but still not convinced, why should I go and speak with the person from the buyer company...
Scenario2: Let us say that the buyer was my previous organization and the seller is my current organization, what will I speak with the buyer? Rather if I speak with the seller which is my current organization, atleast I can say what will be the selection criteria of the buyer organization. But it is in violation to the code of ethics. And knowing for a fact that either way if I speak with the buyer or the seller it will be in violation to the code of ethics...
Please correct me if I'am wrong...I'am not trying 2 debate, but trying to get things clear straight into my mind. :)
BR
Bad...
badhrig
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:01
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I think I've broken the
I think I've broken the ICE....
Let us break down the question "The seller`s project is undertaken on contract " this means that the contract is already signed between the buyer & the seller, so your first step is to speak with some one from the buyer organisation...if after speaking with them you find any potential conflict of intrest, then either remove yourself from the project or speak with your management and c what can be done next...
This is wat I've understood after reading this question over 100 times...if my view is incorrect please correct me...
BR.,
Badhri...
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 17:12
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Re: I think I've broken ICE
Nope! The contract is not yet awarded! Choice C - Disclose the evaluation criteria and help your organization business growth - indicates that the project is still in bidding stage. You are still in the Select Seller process
Chandra
The PMP Guru
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 18:21
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Re: I think I've broken ICE
@Chandra:
You have been given some excellent answer's BUT your last question is very Vague.
You cannot Judge and you should never Judge the Questions based on the Choice Given,
You should always look at the Question and all the information given in the Question should be kept in mind not the Choices given.
"This is what I have been beleiving since Long"
If yes there is a Contract then all the Guys who advocated for Talking to Customer is I guess right but am still not convinced...
Kind regards,
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 18:51
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PMP Guru, Pl. pay attention
PMP Guru,
Pl. pay attention to the wording" " could be potential conflict of interest situation" in the question. The contract is still not awarded (and is confirmed in choice 3) and any info the former employee of ABC Bank can provide as a seller's employee gives undue and unfair advantage to the seller. You can not look question & answer choices in isolation and answer the question purely based on the question as the answer choices are a form of interpretation/interpolation/extrapolation of the question. That is one advantage of multiple choices. If the answer does not contradict the info provided in the question, keep it as a potential answer. Even if you do not know the correct answer, keep eliminating the choices you believe are wrong. Nothing restricts you. Luckily PMP has no penalty for wrong answers unlike SAT etc where you lose 1/4 point for wrong answers. Just like PMP tries to stump us by giving close/fairly close/anticipating potential pitfalls, you have to beat the system by looking at the answer choices, interpret the examiner's mindset and beat him/her in their game with your own. Everything is fair in multiple choice questions. You have the probability of 25% of getting it correct and you are allowed to increase it by substitution/elimination
Sorry don't agree with you!
Chandra
ChandraR
Thu, 05/13/2010 - 20:22
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Re: Hi Chandra what you ...
Hi Badri,
Pl. refer PMI CODE OF ETHICS, Section 4.3. I am pasting it here for everyone's benefit:
**********************************************************************************************
4.3 Fairness: Mandatory Standards
As practitioners in the global project management community, we require the following of ourselves and our fellow practitioners:
Conflict of Interest Situations
4.3.1 We proactively and fully disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest to the appropriate stakeholders.
4.3.2 When we realize that we have a real or potential conflict of interest, we refrain from engaging in the decision-making process or otherwise attempting to influence outcomes, unless or until: we have made full disclosure to the affected stakeholders; we have an approved mitigation plan; and we have obtained the consent of the stakeholders to proceed.
************************************************************************************************
Here customer is a stakeholder and is entitled to know your prior knowledge of your affliation with ABC company. 4.3.1 clearly states: "appropriate stakeholders"
4.3.2 states you can refrain until/unless you made full disclosures to the affected stakeholders.
i. e. Once you made the disclosures to the customer, you are not influencing the decision making process
I hope now every one disagreeing until now on this issue agree
Chandra
The PMP Guru
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 07:53
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Chandra
Hmmmmmmm, Thanks Chandra.
Much appreciated....
I think we have to Dis-agree with you and other's in order to push them till they bring up with such Prove's and Concepts that other are Speechless..... :)
I think we are moving towards a very healthy and conceptual PMP.
Kind regards,
The PMP Guru.
badhrig
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 08:25
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Chandra I'am ready to agree
Chandra I'am ready to agree with you, provided you can justify that the 2 scenarios that I've present is not worthy
or they cannot/will not affect any1 in any way...else I stick with my answer and justification...
please share your view of the sentence "has undertaken a contract", if you go by this, then optoin 3 does not seem to be valid at allu can straight away omit that option as it is irrelevent to the question...and you cant presume the question with the answers all the time
No hard feelings please...just trying to get things right straight through to my head...
ChandraR
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 12:56
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Badhri: Absolutely no hard
Badhri:
Absolutely no hard feelings! Just a healthy debate of parsing the information and dismantling the sentence structure to get to the bolts and nuts and joints
"You have undertaken a project" does not mean "You are awarded the contract". If you are already awarded the project, there is no need of former ABC employee's inside knowledge of evaluation criteria and no conflict of interest. The following sentence states: " evaluation criteria to select sellers" what does it mean: ABC has not yet selected seller and your organization was not yet awarded the contract.
It is likethis: You can undertake a project to get PMP certification and you put in application. Does it convey that you are a PMP. PMI has to approve and award you to proceed further. They use their evaluation criteria to approve your application first but their evaluation criteria of your deliverables is not confidential and you don't need any inside knowledge.
Once contract is awarded, the P.O/contract documents explicitly state evaluation criteria for acceptance of deliverables. When you read the whole question, ask yourself: Where am I in the procurement process? Am I in the "Select Sellers/Conduct procurements" process? or Execution Process? I interpret - purely based on the question in its entirety- not on the answer choices- that we are in "Conduct procurements" process and waiting for the output of Select seller list
Chandra