Doubt in Gift and Professional Responsibility

Submitted by nirupamasai on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 10:04

Hi,

I am really confused under what circumstances the gifts can be accepted by a project manager, i was attending a test in which a question is as follows.

One of your subcontractors sends a costly new year Gift to you. What should you do?

 

I thought accepting gift is a bribe and it is against the professional practice and chose answer, reject the gift, but the correct answer given was Confirm accepting gift is against your company's policy. Could anyone give reasoning for this answer and also brief underwhat circumstances gift can be accepted and under what circumstances it should be rejected.

 

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admin

Sun, 09/12/2010 - 05:33

In most circumstances accepting a costly gift would not be appropriate as it will bias you in future against the vendor or sub-contractor.  Small gifts which are customary are generally acceptable behavior like giving some gift for your festival or birthday.

In case you have received an expensive gift its better to check with your company policy / management , if you company policy says no , then its clear you cannot accept it, if there is no mention in your company policy then it will be a pointer to your management to add rules and guidelines for such behaviour in future.

In short there is no black and white against accepting expensive gifts, it depends on situation and context. If the person is expecting a return favor or some gain then you should not accept it, If its just for relationship building then its fine.

nirupamasai

Sun, 09/12/2010 - 08:10

Hi,

 

Thank you for y our reply, in examination condition how to decide whether a PM can accept gifts are not?

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admin

Mon, 09/13/2010 - 04:30

When it comes to gifts, first thing to check is what does the company policy say , if there is nothing in company policy and if its a small gift you can accept it , If its expensive gift then check with your management .


As I said the answer will depend upon context and the choices .


As per code of conduct "A PMP must not accept any form of inappropriate gifts. Similarly a PMP must not offer inappropriate compensation for personal gains. ".. The keyword here is " Inappropriate " and "Personal Gains", hence it needs to be evaluated depending upon the context.


 


 

nirupamasai

Mon, 09/13/2010 - 05:48

Thank you, now i could get clarity

feezino

Sun, 08/21/2011 - 13:57

Help heck this qst on gifts:

QST: You are working in the vendor management department of your company and are responsible for sourcing grinding machines from manufacturers. You recently visited a marketing conference of a leading grinding machine manufacturer, where you were offered a gift-voucher of $ 450 for attending the conference. You should:

·        Accept the gift, because it is compensation for attending the conference  

·        Accept the gift and also inform your manager  

·        Return the gift, because it could be construed as personal gain  

·        Accept the gift, because it is for a small amount and was given to everyone in the conference

 

The ans says :Return the gift, because it could be construed as personal gain 

I think the ans should be Accept the gift and also inform your manager.

 

Kindly give your opinion PMP GURUS.

 

Thanks

vishalharshvardhan

Sun, 08/21/2011 - 23:24

The answer is obvoius C. DO NOT ACCEPT. Period!

Michael Brooks

Wed, 01/30/2019 - 17:47

Thank you, now i could get clarity.
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