Project Management
Project Management, Section 1
Name: KERSHNEE NUNDLALL
Summative Assessment instruction (read carefully)
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Guidelines to this Assessment
This assessment must be submitted within the study period.
No assessments will be accepted after the end of your study period.
Questions
4.1 In your own words briefly describe what a project is. Please do not use the definition given in the notes. (10)
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A project is when a business, organization or individual plan a specific activity which is finite.
In this activity tasks are set out that interrelate to one another.
Their purpose is to have specific realistic goals and set out to achieve these goals, taking into consideration financial and human resources available to accomplish the aim or goal.
Projects have a beginning and an end.
Projects are unique, innovative and temporary in nature.
As projects involve managing people with diverse personalities, skills and planning they become a complex endeavour
In order to achieve a desired goal, service or result or a unique produce, certain requirements have to be followed such as the tasks have to be done within a specific time frame, within budget constraints and other limitations
Projects are collective, run by teams and involve various stakeholders.
Projects always involves uncertainty, therefore is associated with risk.
Projects create change.
4.2 Briefly describe what you believe to be the major differences between projects and business-as-usual functions. (10)
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Projects are unique and temporary done over a finite period of time to meet a specific goal while BAU is ongoing and repetitive day to day activities for an existing service or product.
Projects fit work to constraints while BAU fixes constraints to work.
Projects risks can be managed while BAU alleviates risks.
Projects are unpredictable and require problem solving and flexible thinking while BAU is predictable and automated.
Projects involve a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal BAU involve a group of people with a common functional expertise working toward shared objectives.
Projects, are started by organizations for an assortment of reasons, for example, to change activities, items and administrations to address new issues, increase upper hand and react to new markets while BAU are lasting undertakings to deliver long haul, dull yields.
Projects obtain its objective and then terminate while BAU is to sustain the business.
Projects concludes when its specific objectives have been reached while BAU Adopt a new set of objectives and the work continues.
Projects have a fixed budget while BAU have to make a profit in so that the business ca run.
Projects change the Business; BAU Identifies change.
4.3 Give five examples of projects avoiding those already given in the notes. (5)
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Mail data management
Implementation of a Financial Management System
Change of Telecommunications Service Provider
Scientific process enhancements
Expansion of Business into Far East Markets
4.4 Is the project management approach to implementing organisational strategy bottom-up or top-down? Briefly explain your answer. (10)
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The project management approach to implementing organisational strategy is top down
due to the following:
Objectives and company orders stream from higher management to the lower employees below in the form of a strategic plan.
The strategic plan progresses onto next level which is the tactical plan.
The tactical plans are then separated into operational plans for every one of the organization’s operational units.
From the operational plans, each line supervisor can characterize the particular targets, shares, and efficiency objectives for their operational unit.
Subordinates are not involved in the planning process.
This process unifies a company behind one purpose having one direction, command and standard.
Instructions are given from top level and spread throughout the organization.
There is a unity of command, while preventing confusion in a crisis.
With its authority structure, the top-down approach empowers submission.The employees are gathered into divisions to encourage work and asset sharing
It separates employees by function.
In a crisis-situation top down offers quick nature of decision-making.
Under critical situations, a top-down approach is appropriate. Crisis calls for immediate and fast solutions, which is exactly what a top-down approach offers. In these situations, once the plan is defined by the top management, there is no turning back, as there is only one bullet in the gun, meaning only one chance to implement it. If there is great pressure to produce quick results, the organization can be paternalistic towards its employees who would more likely be reduced to helpless recipients of a crisis. Where employees are given directions and specific paths to follow and the employees are expected to follow exactly as told, without disagreement. This would make use of valuable time for vital activities rather than spending time gathering the various ideas from the lower level of the organization and consolidating them into one functioning whole.
When objectives are high, time is short and only few elements are currently available, top down is the suitable approach to change management. If the company does not want to be overrun by irrelevant details brought about by a participative decision-making advocated by the bottom-up approach, and especially in situations where timing is crucial to the success of implementing change, it is best that the organization adapt a top-down approach to change management. With the quick nature of decision-making required of a crisis situation which is characteristic of the top-down approach
https://bizfluent.com/info-8388938-topdown-management.htmlby Ron Price; Updated September 26, 2017
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/topdown-approach-business-66018.htmlby Sophie Johnson
by Nick Anderson | Jun 23, 2016 | Change Management
