MEM 612 Project Management

Chapter 2

The Manager, the Organization, and the Team

MEM 612 Project Management

THE PM’S ROLES

MEM 612 Project Management

Facilitator

• Manager-as-supervisor versus manager-as-facilitator

• Systems approach versus analytical approach– Suboptimization

• Must ensure project team members have appropriate knowledge and resources

• Micromanagement

MEM 612 Project Management

Communicator

Figure 2-1 Communication Paths Between a Project’s Parties-At-Interest

MEM 612 Project Management

Key Duties for PM• Planning is an essential duty of a project manager. • An iterative process that takes place throughout the life of

the project.• Some key planning duties include: Define and clarify project scope Develop the project plan Develop the project schedule Develop policies and procedures to support the

achievement of the project objectives

MEM 612 Project Management

Key Duties for PM• Organizing is about setting up the project team's

structure. A major driver in this aspect is the company's existing structure. Companies are usually set up as functional, matrix, or projectized organizations.

• When organizing your project, you will need to take the company's structure into account.

• Some of the key organizing duties include: Determine the organizational structure of the project team Identify roles and positions Identify services to be provided by external companies Staff project positions

MEM 612 Project Management

Key Duties for PM• Leading refers to carrying out the project plan in order to

achieve the project objectives. It involves a lot of "soft skills."

• Skills such as communicating clearly, team motivation, negotiation, persuasion and conflict resolution.

• Some key duties for leading projects include: Setting team direction Coordinating activities across different organizational

functions Motivating team members Assigning work

MEM 612 Project Management

Key Duties for PM

• Controlling is all about keeping the project on track. Project control can be performed using a three-step process:

I. Measuring: Checking project progress toward meeting its objectives

II. Evaluating: Determining the cause of deviations from the plan

III.Correcting: Taking corrective actions to address deviations

• Some key controlling duties include: Defining project baselines Tracking project progress Project status reporting Determining and taking corrective actions

MEM 612 Project Management

Virtual Project Manager

• Geographically dispersed projects

• Communication via– Email– Web– Telephone– Video conferencing

• “Never let the boss be surprised!”

MEM 612 Project Management

THE PM’S RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE

PROJECT

MEM 612 Project Management

Three Overriding Responsibilities• Acquiring resources

– Getting necessary quantity and quality can be key challenge

– “Irrational optimism”

• Fighting fires and obstacles

• Leadership and making trade-offs

MEM 612 Project Management

Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, and Persuasion• Necessary to meet three overriding

responsibilities

MEM 612 Project Management

SELECTION OF A PROJECT MANAGER

MEM 612 Project Management

Key Criteria

• Credibility - The PM is believable– technical credibility– administrative credibility

• Sensitivity - Politically astute and aware of interpersonal conflict

• Leadership, Style, Ethics - Ability to direct project in ethical manner

MEM 612 Project Management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AS A PROFESSION

MEM 612 Project Management

Project Management as a Profession• Project Management Institute

– More than 64,000 members

• Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

• Project-oriented organization

MEM 612 Project Management

FITTING PROJECTS IN THE PARENT ORGANIZATION

MEM 612 Project Management

More on “Why Projects?”

• Emphasis on time-to-market

• Need for specialized knowledge from a variety of areas

• Explosive rate of technological change

• Accountability and control

MEM 612 Project Management

Figure 2-2 The Pure Project Organization

MEM 612 Project Management

Projectized Organization

The following are a few characteristics of a projectized organization structure:

The project manager has full power and authority over resources to be utilized in the project. He controls the budget, resources, and work assignments.

The project manager has full-time team members working under his control who directly report to him.

When the project is completed the team is disbanded, and team members and all other resources are released.

MEM 612 Project Management

Projectized Org. Advantages

A clear line of authority. This reduces conflict, and makes decision making faster and more flexible.

Shorter lines of communication which creates strong and effective communication within the project management team.

Fast response to stakeholders’ concerns.

Due to a sense of urgency, milestones, good communication, and cooperation, the learning curve is faster for any new member.

Team members become versatile and flexible due to experience in different kinds of projects.

MEM 612 Project Management

Projectized Org. DrawbacksA few disadvantages of a projectized organization structure are as follows:

Arrogant project managers due to abundance of power.

In projects, there is always a deadline and usually a tight schedule, which makes the work environment stressful.

If the organization has multiple projects, there can be poor communication among them, causing resources to be duplicated.

A sense of insecurity among the team members, because once the project is completed, they feel that they may lose their jobs. Therefore, they tend to be less loyal towards the organization.

The cost of employees and equipment can be higher because you may be hiring skilled people and specialized equipment for a shorter period of time.

MEM 612 Project Management

The Pure Project Organization

• Advantages– Effective and efficient for large projects– Resources available as needed– Broad range of specialists– short lines of communication

• Drawbacks– Expensive for small projects– Specialists may have limited technological depth– May require high levels of duplication for certain

specialties

MEM 612 Project Management

Figure 2-3 Functional Project Organization

MEM 612 Project Management

Functional OrganizationA hierarchical type of organization structure wherein people are grouped as per their area of specialization.

These people are supervised by a functional manager who has expertise in the same field, which helps him to effectively utilize the skills of employees.

Each department will have its own department head, and he will be responsible for the performance of his section. This helps the organization control the quality and uniformity of performance.

All authority (i.e. budget allocation, resource allocation, decision making, etc.) stays with the functional manager.

Usually the position of the project manager does not exist in this type of organization structure. Even if this position exists, the role of the project manager will be very limited and he will need permission from the functional manager to fulfill his requirements. The project manager may have the title of a coordinator or an expediter.

MEM 612 Project Management

Functional Org. AdvantagesEmployees are grouped as per their knowledge and skills, which helps achieve the highest degree of performance (very skilled and efficient).

The hierarchy is very clear, and employees don’t have to report to multiple bosses. Each employee reports to his functional manager, which reduces the communication channels.

There is no duplication of work because each department and each employee has a fixed job responsibility.

Employees feel secure, and therefore they perform well without any fear.

Since there is a sense of job security, employees tend to be loyal to the organization.

Employees have a clear career growth path.

Within the department, cooperation and communication is excellent.

MEM 612 Project Management

Functional Org. DrawbacksEmployees may feel bored and become lazy due to the monotonous work.

If the performance appraisal system is not managed properly, conflicts may arise. For example, an employee may feel demoralized when a lower performing employee is promoted.

The cost of high skilled employee is higher.

The departments have a self-centered mentality. The functional manager pays more attention to only his department; he usually doesn’t care about other departments.

Communication is not good among the departments, which causes poor inter-department coordination. This decreases flexibility and innovation. Moreover, there is a lack of teamwork among different departments.

.

MEM 612 Project Management

Functional Org. DrawbacksEmployees may have little concerns and knowledge about anything happening outside their department. This causes obstacles in communication and cooperation.

The functional structure is rigid, and therefore is slow to adapt to changes.

Due to bureaucratic hierarchy, delays happen in decision making.

Generally the functional manager makes decisions autocratically without consulting the team members, hence it may not always work in favor of the organization.

When the organization becomes larger, functional areas can become difficult to manage due to their size. Each department will start behaving like a small company with its own facilities, culture and management style.

Functional departments may be distracted by their own goals, and focus on them rather than the organization’s goal

MEM 612 Project Management

Functional Project Organization• Advantages

– technological depth

• Drawbacks– lines of communication outside functional

department slow– technological breadth– project rarely given high priority

MEM 612 Project Management

Figure 2-4 Matrix Project Organization

MEM 612 Project Management

Matrix Organization

A combination of two or more types of organization structure, such as the projectized organization structure and the functional organization structure.

These two types of organization structures represent the two extreme points of a string, while the matrix organization structure is a balance of these two.

The authority of a functional manager flows vertically downwards, and the authority of the project manager flows sideways.

This combination helps organizations to achieve higher efficiency, readiness, and quick market adaptation.

Moreover, they can respond faster to market or customer demand, and decrease the lead time to produce a new product.

This type of structure is most suitable for organizations operating in a dynamic environment.

MEM 612 Project Management

Matrix Org. AdvantagesHighly skilled and capable resources can be shared between the functional units and projects.

The matrix structure is more dynamic than the functional structure because it allows employees to communicate more readily across the boundaries, creating a good working and cooperative environment which helps in integrating the organization.

Employees can learn and widen their skills and knowledge areas by participating in different kind of projects. The matrix structure provides a good environment for professionals to learn and grow their career.

Since there is a sense of job security, employees tend to be loyal to the organization and perform well, and hence the efficiency of a matrix organization is higher.

MEM 612 Project Management

Matrix Org. DisadvantagesEmployees may have to report to two bosses (equal authority and power), which adds confusion and may cause conflict.

If the priorities are not defined clearly, employees may be confused about their role and responsibility, especially when they are assigned a task which is different from what they were doing.

If any resource is scarce there might be competition to use it, which may cause hostility within the workplace and could affect the operation.

Higher overhead cost.

A matrix structure is expensive to maintain. Organizations have to pay extra to keep resources because not all resources will be occupied at all times. Some resources are needed only for a short duration.

MEM 612 Project Management

Matrix Project Organization• Advantages

– flexibility in way it can interface with parent organization– strong focus on the project itself– contact with functional groups minimizes projectitis– ability to manage fundamental trade-offs across several

projects

• Drawbacks– violation of the unity of command principle– complexity of managing full set of projects– conflict

MEM 612 Project Management

Figure 2-5 Mixed Project Organization

MEM 612 Project Management

THE PROJECT TEAM

MEM 612 Project Management

Characteristics of Effective Project Team Members• Technically competent

• Politically sensitive

• Problem orientation

• Goal orientation

• High self-esteem

MEM 612 Project Management

Matrix Team Problems

• Weak (functional) matrix– PM has no direct reports– Ability to communicate directly with team

members important

• Matrix projects– Important to maintain good morale– Project office

MEM 612 Project Management

Intrateam Conflict

• Life cycle phase and source of conflict

• Name-only team

• Interpersonal conflict

MEM 612 Project Management

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