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Unit 1: Introduction to Projects

threatening, insulting, or bullying important people in the functional groups. To ensure Notes
co-operation and assistance, there is a delicate balance of power that must be maintained
between the project and the functional departments, and between one project and others.
3. Members of the project team need a strong problem orientation. This characteristic will be
explained in more detail shortly. For now, take the phrase to mean that the team’s members
should be concerned about solving any problems posed by the project, not merely about
those sub-problems that concern their individual academic or technical training.
4. Team members need a strong goal orientation. Projects are uncomfortable environments
for people with a 9-to-5 view of work. In particular, neither project teams nor PMs can
succeed if their focus is on activity rather than results. On the other hand, the project will
not be successful if the project team dies from overwork. One project team member of our
acquaintance was bemoaning a series of 60+ hour weeks. “They told me that I would work
about 50 hours in an average week. I’ve been on this project almost 18 months, and we
haven’t had an average week yet.”
5. Project workers need high self-esteem. Project members who hide mistakes and failure are
disasters waiting to happen. Team members must be sufficiently self-confident and have
sufficient trust in their fellow team members (Lencioni, 2002) that they can immediately
acknowledge their own errors and point out problems caused by the errors of others. PMs
should note that “shooting the messenger” who brings bad news will instantly stop the
flow of negative information. The result is that the golden rule we stated above, “Never
let the boss be surprised,” will be violated, too.

1.7 Project Model

Of the two basic types of selection models, numeric and non-numeric, non-numeric models are
older and simpler and have only a few sub-types to consider.

1.7.1 Non-numeric Models

The Sacred Cow: In this case the project is suggested by a senior and powerful official in the
organization. Often the project is initiated with a simple comment such as, “If you have a chance,
why don’t you took into....” and there follows an undeveloped idea for a new product, for the
development of a new market, for the design and adoption of a global data base and information
system, or for some other project requiring an investment of the firm’s resources. The immediate
result of this bland statement is the creation of a project to investigate whatever the boss has
suggested. The project is sacred in the sense that it will be maintained until successfully concluded,
or until the boss, personally, recognizes the idea as a failure and terminates it.

The Operating Necessity: If a flood is threatening the plant, a project to build a protective dike
does not require much formal evaluation, in an example of this scenario. Republic Steel
Corporation (now a part of LTV Corp.) has used this criterion (and the following criterion also)
in evaluating potential projects. If the project is required in order to keep the system operating,
the primary question becomes: Is the system worth saving at the estimated cost of the project? If
the answer is yes, project costs will be examined to make sure they are kept as low as is consistent
with project success, but the project will be funded.

The Competitive Necessity: Using this criterion, Republic Steel undertook a major plant rebuilding
project in the late 1960s in its steel bar manufacturing facilities near Chicago. It had become
apparent to Republic’s management that the company’s bar mill needed modernization if the
firm was to maintain its competitive position in the Chicago market area. Although the planning
process for the project was quite sophisticated, the decision to undertake the project was based
on a desire to maintain the company’s competitive position in that market.

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