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INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Broad Contents, Functions of Management

CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS AND NATURE OF PROJECTS:Why Projects are initiated?, Project Participants >>
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Project Management ­MGMT627
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LESSON 01
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:
o  People
o  Information
o  Machinery
o  Financial capital
o  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.
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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:
Figure 1.1: Management Process Aspects
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:
Figure 1.2: Management Functions
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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:
Figure 1.4: Various organizational levels
Figure 1.5: A model for organizational environment
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Comparison of 20th And 21st Century Organizations:
1.8
20th Century Organizations
21st Century Organizations
Structure
Structure
·  Bureaucratic
·  Not bureaucratic, with fewer rules and
·  Multi-leveled
employees
·  Limited to fewer levels
·  Organized with the expectation that senior
·  Organized with the expectation that
management will manage
·  Characterized by policies and procedures
management will lead, and lower-level
employees will manage.
that create many complicated internal
·  Characterized by policies and procedures that
interdependencies
produce the minimal internal interdependence
needed to serve customers.
Systems
Systems
·  Depend on few performance information
·  Depend on many performance information
systems.
system, providing data on customers
·  Distribute performance data to executives
especially
·  Distribute performance data widely
only
·  Offer management training and support
·  Offer management training and support
systems to many people
systems to senior people only
Culture
Culture
·  Inwardly focused
·  Externally oriented
·  Centralized
·  Empowering
·  Slow to make decisions
·  Quick to make decisions
·  Political
·  Open and candid
·  Risk averse
·  More risk tolerant
1.9
Economic And Social Forces Driving Need For Major Changes in Organizations:
This is illustrated in the following figure:
Figure 1.6: Economic and Social changes driving change
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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:
To
From
Information Society
Industrial Society
High Tech/High Touch
Forced Technology
World Economy
National Economy
Long Term
Short Term
Decentralization
Centralization
Self-Help
Institutional Help
Participatory Democracy
Representative Democracy Hierarchies
South
North
Multiple Option
Either/OR
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Broad Contents, Functions of Management
  2. CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS AND NATURE OF PROJECTS:Why Projects are initiated?, Project Participants
  3. CONCEPTS OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT:THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, Managerial Skills
  4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES:Systems, Programs, and Projects
  5. PROJECT LIFE CYCLES:Conceptual Phase, Implementation Phase, Engineering Project
  6. THE PROJECT MANAGER:Team Building Skills, Conflict Resolution Skills, Organizing
  7. THE PROJECT MANAGER (CONTD.):Project Champions, Project Authority Breakdown
  8. PROJECT CONCEPTION AND PROJECT FEASIBILITY:Feasibility Analysis
  9. PROJECT FEASIBILITY (CONTD.):Scope of Feasibility Analysis, Project Impacts
  10. PROJECT FEASIBILITY (CONTD.):Operations and Production, Sales and Marketing
  11. PROJECT SELECTION:Modeling, The Operating Necessity, The Competitive Necessity
  12. PROJECT SELECTION (CONTD.):Payback Period, Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
  13. PROJECT PROPOSAL:Preparation for Future Proposal, Proposal Effort
  14. PROJECT PROPOSAL (CONTD.):Background on the Opportunity, Costs, Resources Required
  15. PROJECT PLANNING:Planning of Execution, Operations, Installation and Use
  16. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):Outside Clients, Quality Control Planning
  17. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):Elements of a Project Plan, Potential Problems
  18. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):Sorting Out Project, Project Mission, Categories of Planning
  19. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):Identifying Strategic Project Variables, Competitive Resources
  20. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):Responsibilities of Key Players, Line manager will define
  21. PROJECT PLANNING (CONTD.):The Statement of Work (Sow)
  22. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE:Characteristics of Work Package
  23. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE:Why Do Plans Fail?
  24. SCHEDULES AND CHARTS:Master Production Scheduling, Program Plan
  25. TOTAL PROJECT PLANNING:Management Control, Project Fast-Tracking
  26. PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT:Why is Scope Important?, Scope Management Plan
  27. PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT:Project Scope Definition, Scope Change Control
  28. NETWORK SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES:Historical Evolution of Networks, Dummy Activities
  29. NETWORK SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES:Slack Time Calculation, Network Re-planning
  30. NETWORK SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES:Total PERT/CPM Planning, PERT/CPM Problem Areas
  31. PRICING AND ESTIMATION:GLOBAL PRICING STRATEGIES, TYPES OF ESTIMATES
  32. PRICING AND ESTIMATION (CONTD.):LABOR DISTRIBUTIONS, OVERHEAD RATES
  33. PRICING AND ESTIMATION (CONTD.):MATERIALS/SUPPORT COSTS, PRICING OUT THE WORK
  34. QUALITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Value-Based Perspective, Customer-Driven Quality
  35. QUALITY IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT (CONTD.):Total Quality Management
  36. PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL QUALITY:EMPOWERMENT, COST OF QUALITY
  37. CUSTOMER FOCUSED PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Threshold Attributes
  38. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TOOLS:Data Tables, Identify the problem, Random method
  39. PROJECT EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY:Messages of Productivity, Productivity Improvement
  40. COST MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL IN PROJECTS:Project benefits, Understanding Control
  41. COST MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL IN PROJECTS:Variance, Depreciation
  42. PROJECT MANAGEMENT THROUGH LEADERSHIP:The Tasks of Leadership, The Job of a Leader
  43. COMMUNICATION IN THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Cost of Correspondence, CHANNEL
  44. PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT:Components of Risk, Categories of Risk, Risk Planning
  45. PROJECT PROCUREMENT, CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, AND ETHICS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT:Procurement Cycles