Page 11 - DMGT302_FUNDAMENTALS_OF_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Fundamentals of Project Management
Notes
6 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
1.5 Fitting Projects into Parent Organisation
Earlier in this unit we referred several times to problems caused by the way projects are organized
and fit in as a part of the parent organization. It is now time to deal with this subject. It would be
most unusual for a PM to have any influence over the interface between the project and the
parent organization. This arrangement is a matter of company policy and usually is decided by
senior management. The nature of the interface, however, has a major impact on the PM’s life,
and it is necessary that the PM understand why senior managers make what appears to be the
worst of all possible choices for the interface.
More on “Why Projects?”
Before examining the alternative ways in which a project can interface with the organization, it
is useful to add to our understanding of just why organizations choose to conduct so much of
their work as projects. We spoke above of project-oriented firms. In addition to the managerial
reasons that caused the rapid spread of such organizations, there were also strong economic
reasons. First, devising product development programs by integrating product design,
engineering, manufacturing, and marketing functions in one team not only improved the product,
it also allowed significant cuts in the time-to-market for the product.
Example: In the 1990s Chrysler Motors (now owned by Fiat) cut almost 18 months from
the new product development time required for design-to-street and produced designs that
were widely rated as outstanding. This brought new Chrysler models to market much faster
than normal in the automotive industry. Quite apart from the value of good design, the economic
value of the time saved is immense and derives from both reduced design labor and overhead,
plus earlier sales and return on the investment— in this case amounting to hundreds of millions
of dollars. The same methods were used to enable General Motors to redesign and reimage their
Cadillac and Buick models in response to the sharp decline in demand during the steep business
downturn of 2008. This same process also allows a firm to tailor special versions of standard
products for individual clients.
Did u know? Are you doing a project? A project is a temporary endeavor with a specific
result or objective. If your project has no end in sight and/or no clear scope, then what
ever it is you’re doing may be important, but it’s not a project. You’ll have a hard time
showing your team that they’re being successful.
1.6 Project Management Team
We have mentioned the project team several times in the foregoing sections. Effective team
members have some characteristics in common. Only the first of these is usually taken into
account.
1. They must be technically competent. This is so obvious that it is often the only criterion
applied. While the functional departments will always remain the ultimate source of
technological problem-solving for the project, it requires a technically competent person
to know exactly when additional technical knowledge may be required by the project.
2. Senior members of the project team must be politically sensitive. It is rarely possible to
complete a project of reasonable size and complexity without incurring problems that
require aid from the upper echelons of executive row; that is, from a project champion (Pinto
and Slevin, 1989). Getting such aid depends on the PM’s ability to proceed without