Free Custom «Project Management Issues» Essay Paper

Introduction

Managing a project in a new environment can often prove to be a daunting task, particularly in a new environment. This may be complicated by the presence of an authoritarian boss. However, it offers a person the chance to create a lasting impression on the supervisor and, thus, improve this person’s chances of selection to manage critical projects in the future.  Such an opportunity being allowed, there are certain measures I would take to ensure the project is successful in the long run (Kerzner, 2009).  This entails ensuring that there is a proper linkage between the program manager and the proper utilization of the resources. Success of the entire program is dependent on the synchrony between the stakeholders, the team members and the project manager’s ability to device an appropriate schedule of handling the risks involved.

General Preparation

The first stage in the project management process will be the selection of the right project. I have to understand the company’s goals and objectives in initiating the project so as to come up with the precise project. This will entail a cost benefit analysis to identify the project that adds the best value within manageable costs. I will consider the opportunity cost of the project to avoid any instances of an alternative project with better value. With the project known, definition of my responsibilities within the project should then follow. This will enable me to avoid any chances of overlooking vital details in the future of the project. Among my responsibilities will be the duty of convincing the stakeholders on the reasons for the choice of the project. However, presence of the authoritarian boss may limit my ability to make the best choice of the project. This should not in any way interfere with the successful management of whatever project is agreed upon.

 

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Stakeholders. These are the key people to whom the project is intended. They include the project sponsors and the customers. Therefore, my initial goal is to ensure I identify the stakeholders in the project. This would help me to find the ways of ensuring that the stakeholders are engaged openly and effectively in all the matters relating to the project. Moreover, it ensures all the future plans of the projects are in line with their expectations, which helps to avoid resource wasting. Knowing the customers may help in testing the project prototype, should it be a software or consumable product. The essence of the prototype is to gain additional knowledge concerning the product from the consumers’ perspective. The added knowledge could result in the dropping or adoption of a particular idea as may be deemed appropriate. In the course of the project, conflicts are bound to arise between me and the stakeholders. I will ensure any conflicting matters are recognized, kept from the open but managed in the best way possible. This will ensure the project team does not lose faith in me or feel the project may be futile. I will update the stakeholders on all the events of the project as they arise to ensure they do not have any surprises on the date of product delivery. The risks involved in the entire process of the project will be recorded and the key assumptions will be made. The stakeholders will also be aware of these risks for better comprehension of the project.

Schedule. Planning is the most important part of the project. I have to determine all the project requirements, their prices and the locations to obtain them. This will be achieved with the assistance of the experts involved. Such information is appropriate in evaluating the time of delivery of each product and will assist me in making the relevant arrangements to ensure that everything is delivered in time. Understanding the speed the team members work at is also vital in determining the time frame of the project. I will employ the use of gaunt charts to distribute the time available for all the project programs. The time and cost determination should be made by the use of unbiased but accurate deterministic methods. Setting up the relevant systems to monitor the time and cost information to ensure everything is kept under control will then follow. The schedules should be understandable and easy to follow through. Depending of the project concerned, I may choose using a simulated life cycle.  Appropriate gates will be instituted at the start of the project, after the planning stage, one after the action and, finally, one after the follow through. The gates will serve as the actual evaluation (Heerkens, 2007). This evaluation of deliverables at each stage will be done to ensure they meet expectation and any relevant changes being made are appropriate. All the project’s specifics that do not deliver value will be cancelled at the onset.

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Project team These are people who ensure the goals of the project are realized. They form a vital part of the process. I will ensure I have the right team with the right mindset. To recruit the team, I will define the relevant skills and interview the potential candidates. Maintaining honesty about the gaps that may exist between the teams will be crucial and can be eliminated by encouraging each of them to create time to learn how to get the things done right. The members should be self motivated and with the right expertise. Hiring people with inadequate skills will prolong the duration of the project, which could result in extra costs against the wishes of the stakeholders.

I will then define the responsibilities of each member and ensure they are effectively communicated. This fosters accountability among them and, thus, increasing productivity. In addition, encouraging corrective action and creating a rapport with the team to ensure they share the opinions freely will form a crucial ingredient of the management adopted. Each member will be furnished with the project expectations that will subject to review upon delivery. Constant communication will foster feedback collection which will, in turn, facilitate the formulation of the relevant changes to ensure the project is successful

Follow through process. Analysis of the project deliverables will be based on customer satisfaction and the realization of the company’s goals and objectives. I will encourage all the errors and success to be viewed as opportunities to learn how to deliver a better job (Heerkens, 2007).  At the end of the project, I will compile all the information and lessons learnt in the process for future reference.

Dealing with the Authoritarian boss.An authoritarian boss has the tendency to do what he considers appropriate and more often than not does not consult his staff. However, it is common he has an assistant who understands how to deal will the staff. I will generally avoid dealing with him directly and, instead, deal with his assist. This will reduce the instances of conflicts that may arise in the process. However, I will do the best to ensure no occurrence is held personally. Should there be instances of intimidation, visiting him in his office to ensure he is aware of what kind of conduct is acceptable and may be appropriate. However, no conflicts linked to poor performance of my duties should arise.

Conclusion

The measures taken under each project may vary form project to project. However, the above precautions will apply for almost all the projects assigned to me. Once the project is completed successfully, I can get better chances of selection, should the opportunity arise in the future.