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INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Broad Contents
- Management
- Key management concepts
- Functions of management
- Comparison of 20th
and 21st
century organizations
1.1 What is Management?
Managing
is an art of getting things done through and with people in formally organized
groups.
Management
is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals,
working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims towards any
project. It is the
art of creating an environment in which people can perform as individuals and
yet cooperate
towards the attainment of group goals.
1.1.1 Management as a Process:
According to this, management is the process of using organizational
resources to
achieve the organization’s goals through
planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling. It is thus, a set of activities directed at an
organization’s resources with the
aim of achieving organizational goals in an
efficient
and
effective
manner.
1.1.2 Management as People:
This refers to a group of people who engage in “Process of Management”.
1.2 Key Management Concepts:
- Project Organization: It comprises of people working
together and coordinating their actions to achieve specific goals.
- Goal:
A desired future condition that the organization seeks to achieve.
- Resource:
An asset, competency, process, skill, or knowledge controlled by
organization.
Various types of resources that an organization possesses are as follows:
- People
- Information
- Machinery
- Financial capital
- Raw Materials
A resource is strength, if it provides an organization with a competitive
advantage. On the
contrary, a resource is a weakness; if it is something the organization does
poorly or does not
have capacity to do. Organizational resources include: Human, Physical,
Financial,
Technological, and Information.
1.3 Evolution of Management Concept in Modern Era:
a) Frederick Taylor – Father of Scientific Management
was a Mechanical Engineer. He
invented high speed steel cutting tools. He got the opportunity to know first
hand problems
and attitudes of the workers. Based on these he identified that in order to
improve the
quality of management, the major concern was to
increase efficiency in production, lower
cost, raise profits through higher productivity, and also increase the
pays/salaries of the
workforce.
His message of management was to give people their best opportunities to be
productive,
and in turn reward workers for their individual productivity. This increase
in labor
productivity is not possible without the following:
- Providing ample rewards
- Adequate trainings
- Continuous managerial support
Thus, Fredrick Taylor concluded that
“low productivity in any project is matter of
ignorance on part of labor and management”.
b) Henry L. Gantt
stressed the importance of
“developing understanding of systems both for
labor as well as management.”
He emphasized that in all problems of management, human
element is the most important one.
Gantt gave graphic methods of describing project plans in order to have
better managerial
control. He highlighted the importance of time and cost in planning and
controlling projects.
He made the famous Gantt chart which is the forerunner of PERT.
1.4 Key Aspects of the Management Process:
The key aspects of the Management Process can be explained with the help of
the following
diagram:
1.5 Functions of Management:
The process of management consists of four basic managerial functions. These
are:
a) Planning:
Planning is the process of setting objectives in any project and then
determining what
should be done to accomplish them. It is a capstone activity of management.
Managers at
every level do planning. Planning activities determine an organization’s
objective and based
on these helps it in establishing appropriate strategies for achieving them.
These strategies
provide the organization with the direction and serves to obtain a match
between the
external environment and internal capabilities. The strategies are intended
to achieve a
sustained competitive advantage over the competitors.
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b) Organizing:
Organizing is the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources, and
arranging coordinated
activities to implement plans. It involves establishing intentional structure
of roles for
people to fill in organizations.
c) Leading:
Leading is the process of arousing enthusiasm and directing human resource
efforts toward
project and organizational goals. It involves influencing people so that they
contribute
towards organizational and group goals. Leadership predominantly is concerned
with the
interpersonal aspect of managing.
In projects most important problems arise from people in terms of their
desires, attitudes,
and behavior (as individuals as well as in groups). Thus, effective project
managers also
need to be effective leaders.
Leadership implies follower-ship and people tend to follow those who offer
means of
satisfying their own needs, wishes, and desires.
d) Controlling
Controlling is the process of measuring performance and taking actions to
ensure desired
results in any project. It involves measuring and correcting individual as
well as
organizational performance to ensure that events conform to plans.
Controlling facilitates accomplishment of plans. There are three basic
elements that are
involved in controlling. These are:
1. Management should establish standards of performance.
2. Performance should be assessed periodically and information should be
updated that
indicates deviation between actual versus the established standards.
3. Actions should be taken to correct performance that does not conform to
the standards.
1.6 Management Functions: Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling:
1.7 Managerial Functions in Organizations Undertaking Projects:
Figure 1.3:
Managerial Functions
Organizations are arranged in ways that try to maximize
synergy, i.e. the ability of the whole to
equal more than the sum of its parts. This means that an
organization ought to be able to
achieve its goals more effectively and efficiently than would be possible if
the parts operated
separately. Organizations comprise of various levels. These are depicted in
the following figure:
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1.8 Comparison of 20th
And 21st
Century Organizations:
20th
Century Organizations 21st
Century Organizations
Structure
- Bureaucratic
- Multi-leveled
- Organized with the expectation that senior management will manage
- Characterized by policies and procedures that create many complicated internal interdependencies
Structure
- Not bureaucratic, with fewer rules and employees
- Limited to fewer levels
- Organized with the expectation that management will lead, and lower-level employees will manage.
- Characterized by policies and procedures that produce the minimal internal interdependence needed to serve customers.
Systems
- Depend on few performance information systems.
- Distribute performance data to executives only
- Offer management training and support systems to senior people only
Systems
• Depend on many performance information
system, providing data on customers
especially
• Distribute performance data widely
• Offer management training and support
systems to many people
Culture
- Inwardly focused
- Centralized
- Slow to make decisions
- Political
- Risk averse
Culture
- Externally oriented
- Empowering
- Quick to make decisions
- Open and candid
- More risk tolerant
1.9 Economic And Social Forces Driving Need For Major Changes in
Organizations:
This is illustrated in the following figure:
Economic and Social changes driving change
In order to have large scale changes in organizations, there are some
distinctive transformation
processes. These are as follows:
- Reengineering
- Restructuring
- Quality programs
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Strategic changes
- Cultural changes
1.10 Paradigm Shifts:
From
Industrial Society
Forced Technology
National Economy
Short Term
Centralization
Institutional Help
Representative Democracy Hierarchies
North
Either/OR
To
Information Society
High Tech/High Touch
World Economy
Long Term
Decentralization
Self-Help
Participatory Democracy
South
Multiple Option |