StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Project Management and Sociocultural Aspects - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Project Management and Sociocultural Aspects" discusses that it is necessary to have clear idea about the differences in the design and production of binocular and optical scopes for hunting rifles to develop a clear strategy about the kind of team to be prepared…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.6% of users find it useful
Project Management and Sociocultural Aspects
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Project Management and Sociocultural Aspects"

? Project Management Review I The technical dimension represents the ‘science’ of the project while the sociocultural dimension represents the art of managing the project. In other words, the former indicates the technical skills while the latter indicates social skills. The successful implementation of the project requires meeting both the technical and sociocultural aspects. The technical side includes identifying the scope of the projects, WBS, schedules, resource allocation, baseline budgets, and status reports. On the other hand, sociocultural aspects are leadership, problem solving, teamwork, negotiation, policies, and customer expectation. While the former deals with system, the latter is related to environment and culture. It is necessary to develop a clear project scope statement that connects the project and customer. In addition, it is necessary for planning and control. Thereafter, there is proper work breakdown that will enable proper planning and monitoring of the progress of the project. As a result, the project and its changes will be properly documented and traceable. On the other hand, as Larson, and Gray, point out, the sociocultural aspects deal with developing a social system that incorporates the talents of various people working together to complete a project (14). It is the sociocultural aspect that develops a project culture that enhances teamwork and ensures high level of motivation. In addition, it should ensure provisions to quickly solve problems. Also, the dimension takes into consideration the interaction between the project and external environment. In total, it is about developing conducive social network of skilled professionals. II The three main elements which are to be balanced continuously in a project are time, cost and performance. In fact, in a project, these three constraints are not independent. Instead, they interact each other. For example, if resources are added to shorten the time period, there will be a rise in the project cost. For example, every project is evaluated according to “accomplishment, cost, and time period” (Larson, and Gray, 5). So, it becomes the most important function of a project management to balance the tradeoffs between time, cost and performance as a way to satisfy the customer in the end. III There are three basic ways to organize a project team. They are functional organization, dedicated project teams, and matrix structure. In the functional organization, the project is managed within the traditional, functional departments of an organization. Some examples are the departments of R&D and IT. This form is usually selected when the number of functional departments in the project is just one or two. In addition, in this system, one department is mainly responsible for implementation and it is this department that plays the most important role in the project. However, this system many not be suitable when a project is complex that requires a lot of independent decision making. However, a dedicated project team is usually an independent organizational unit, and it has members who devote their full time effort on the project. This team is suitable when the project is complex and large which requires a considerable number of functional disciplines, often more than six. The last one is matrix structure of organization. For this team, multiple functional units within the company are incorporated for people to be team members as needed. This form is often adopted when the project size is medium; that is bigger for the traditional functional organization and smaller for a full time dedicated team. In other words, when there are four to six functional disciples in a project, the matrix system is favored. The advantages of the traditional functional organization are flexibility, in-depth expertise, easy project transition, and lack of changes. However, the issues associated with this form are lack of focus due to fewer obligations, poor interaction among functional units, slow speed, and lack of motivation and responsibility. The advantages of dedicated team are simplicity, speed, cohesion, and better cross-functional integration. However, the issues associated with the structure are many. The first one is the difficulty in post-project transition as the members who worked full-time on the project may be left jobless. Also, there are issues like high expenditure, internal strife, and less technological expertise. In the case of matrix structure, the advantages are efficiency, better project focus, better post-project transition, and flexibility. However, on the other side, as Larson and Gray remind, there are issues like dysfunctional conflict, infighting, stress, and less speed (66-67). IV In all projects, there are four phases, namely ‘definition, planning, execution and delivery’ (Larson and Gray, 6). In the definition stage, the specifications of the project are defined, project objectives are established, teams are formed, and important responsibilities are assigned. In the second, planning stage, the project reaches its second level where the scheduling, quality level, project outcome, beneficiaries, cost, and all other specifications are set. The third stage is executing stage. At this stage, the actual work takes place. The product is produced. Time, cost, and specifications are all used to control the production. At this stage, the success of the project is assessed including cost, time, and quality. The last stage is delivery. Here, the product reaches the customer. This may also involve customer training and transferring documents. IV The three project type classifications are organizing projects within the functional organization, organizing as dedicated teams, and organizing in matrix arrangement. The first one is arranged within the existing functional department hierarchy of the organization. However, when there are more than one functional specialty skills, it would require delegating different parts of project to different functional departments. Here, there will be established channels for communication and coordination. The responsibility of the total project will be vested in the unit that has the greatest role in the project. This is used when a single functional area plays a central role in the project. The second is organizing project team as dedicated teams. This is often adopted when the work spreads over a number of various departments. This form of project organization is often called a ‘pure’ project organization, and this form of organization often has a full time project manager to lead the group; and this kind of teams is often seen in construction firms, consulting firms and advertising agencies (“Lecture Notes”). In the matrix type, a horizontal project management structure is developed along with the standard vertical hierarchy of functional departments. This form of organization is often used when it becomes necessary to establish a new manufacturing facility for which it is necessary to smarten up an existing production system, which involve, ‘design, procurement, installation, test, and start-up support’ (“Lecture Notes”). VI According to the given information the LL Company has been manufacturing optical scopes for hunting rifles for the past 20 years. In addition, LL Company is the market leader at present. For the company, starting the production of a top quality binocular is like adding one more product to the existing range of products. In this case, the best form of project management will be matrix management. This is especially so because it is said that matrix is the best form of organizational structure for the development of a new product within an existing product line. From the information provided, it seems that the company may temporarily require the cooperation of a number of various skills from its three or four functional disciplines, to reach the stage of execution. Thereafter, some of the project members will be freed from the task. So, it seems that as the requirement is temporary for some of the members, and as the project requires only three or four functional disciplines, the structure for the team would be matrix. In addition, even if it is necessary to develop a new manufacturing facility for which the entire procedure ranging from ‘design, procurement, installation, test, and start up’ are to be refurbished, the best structure for the project team is matrix (“Lecture Notes”). However, it is necessary to have clear idea about the differences in the design and production of binocular and optical scopes for hunting rifles to develop a clear strategy about the kind of team to be prepared. Without proper understanding of the various functional disciples involved in the production of optical scopes and binoculars, it is rather difficult to make a final decision on the structure of the project team. Works Cited Larson, Erik. W and Gray, Clifford, F. Project Management: The Managerial Process. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2008. Print.  Lecture Notes. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Project Management Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/management/1427783-project-management-review
(Project Management Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/management/1427783-project-management-review.
“Project Management Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1427783-project-management-review.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Project Management and Sociocultural Aspects

Leading and managing remotely

This project will integrate vital national and regional sociocultural environments across the five continents to supplement the scanty information available from different sources.... Using a fair representation of global business information collected by a team of researchers, the following project debrief explains how the database construction proceeds amid the virtual management challenges after dispatch to various locations in the world (Majchrzak Malhotra and Rosen 2007, p62)....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Positive Impact of Tourism on the Environment

12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Xerox Corporation Company

PEST analysis, comprising of Political, Economical, sociocultural and technological factors, according to which the marketing environment is made up of three aspects, internal environment, microenvironment, macro environment, etc.... The macro environment consists of Political and legal forces, economic forces, sociocultural forces, and technological forces, etc.... In order to analyze the change of management in Xerox, it is necessary to adopt many management theories to analyze friction by friction....
9 Pages (2250 words) Case Study

PCL Construction Paper 1

Additionally, the company fulfills its corporate duties by employing six key aspects or values.... Most of these companies have joined and formed the PCL Construction whose objectives is to carry out construction activities in the… As a result of their expansive operations including engaging in complex facilities, the companies have enjoyed high revenue and profits....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

External analysis for Ameresco Inc. (AMRC)

The external environment has significant influence on the performance of companies through economic, technological, political-legal, and sociocultural factors.... Political aspects influencing performance of organizations emanate mainly from taxes.... This implies that innovations along the lines of green energy are likely to receive positive reception from political aspects.... Sociocultural issues mainly focus on demographics and cultural aspects of the market hence allowing businesses to determine consumer needs....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper

Report on Market Compatibility

In this report, how Centrum vitamins might fare, in terms of consumer demand, is better addressed through critical review on the status of each country from political to economic and legal aspects.... n sociocultural and legal matters, Sweden and Brazil maintain a positive attitude towards integrating supplements for sustenance of well-being while improving local manufacturing and import of pharmaceutical goods....
6 Pages (1500 words) Report

Project Management - Organizing a Talent Show

This project report "Project Management - Organizing a Talent Show" briefly describes the tools and techniques used during the management and execution of a talent show program, a group tasked project conducted as part of the learning phase during MS Project Management program.... The first section carries out critical analysis if techniques used like SWOT analysis and PESTLE analysis and Gantt chart and effects of their applications on the project.... the section presents a critical reflection of teamwork, key skills of project managers and skills and competencies gained during the project....
17 Pages (4250 words) Literature review

Solarizing of Telecom Towers in India

The paper “Solarizing of Telecom Towers in India” will identify the current situational factors of the green energy industry including internal dynamics, opportunities, and obstacles Vis a Vis the innovation and provide actionable recommendations to a client for dealing with the innovation....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us