Free PMP Exam Sample Question
Question:
You are the project manager on the construction of a new sewage treatment plant. Part of the work for this project is ensuring that an effective waste water disposal plan is also created and executed. Since you don't have the internal expertise to develop and execute the activities required to dispose of the waste water, you hold a bidder conference to outsource this work. One of the stipulations for consideration of a potential vendor for this work is that they have no EPA violations, and you communicate this to all the potential vendors. You are about to award the contract to a vendor but determine through your own research that this vendor was cited five years ago by the EPA for illegal dumping of waste water. However, this vendor did not communicate this information to you during the procurement process. What is your best course of action in this scenario?
Question Options (possible answers)
A) Don't award the contract because of the possible effect of illegal dumping of waste water by them in the future.
B) Award the contract because the illegal dumping of waste water happened five years ago.
C) Don't award the contract because the vendor did not follow the stipulations given during the bidding process.
D) Ask your project sponsor to decide whether or not to award the contract to this potential vendor.
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Hint: Which of the answer choices represents your ultimate responsibility as a project manager?
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Answer and Explanation:
The Correct Answer is A - Identify Risks
Hopefully you were able to see that the contract should not be awarded in this scenario, and also that you as the project manager are responsible for making this decision, not the project sponsor. However, the best reason for not awarding the contract to this vendor may have been a bit more difficult to determine.
Although the vendor did not follow the stipulations given during the bidding process (and also lied), a more important reason for not awarding the contract is the fact that the vendor was previously cited for illegal waste water dumping by the EPA, and may actually do this again. Section 2.2.1 of the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct states 'We make decisions and take actions based on the best interests of society, public safety, and the environment'.
Because selecting this vendor may have an adverse impact on the environment based on their past history, it is your ultimate responsibility as the project manager not to award this contract in order to protect the environment.