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Project management intro

Project management is an act of looking at available resources and


trying to find the most efficient way to assign them to the various
tasks in the project workflow. Resource planning takes both
significant understanding of the skills of team members and the
tools they have available to do their jobs. But when done well, it can
be highly rewarding.

Project Management Challenges within Corporate Projects


1. Deadline - Setting excessively idealistic due dates so as to
keep customers glad is a genuine mistake. The manager must
take into account the unavoidable actuality that due dates slip
for some reason. The key is dealing with those progressions
adequately and knowing the careful status of your undertaking
at any one time this can be a problem with Indian managers as
they dont know how to say no when its required. They may
say "we will try our LEVEL best". Whereas the American
managers may decline the project at instance if the project
deadline is not so suitable according to their company as
company image is also a factor to be taken care of
2. Undefined Goals It means whenever goals are not stated
clearly, the entire project and team can be into problem, thats
why it is the most common challenge. For ex in India When
upper management fails to agree to or support undefined
goals, then the entire project can be in question which will
have no chance of success. This can hamper the decision
making of a manager as he may fail to identify the key team
roles of the multicultural project .Hence it is the responsibility
of project manager to understand the clear objective of the
project and then layout the plan and execute it according to
the team he has. Belbin (1981) has nine team roles which must
be identified by the project manager for the efficiency of the
project which can be very helpful.
3. Scope Changes which is also known as scope creep, this
happens when project management permits the venture's
extension to augment past its unique destinations. Customers
and directors may request changes to a project as may be the

client is not sure of what he wants so his Requirements are


unclear and it takes a solid project manager to assess every
solicitation and choose how and if to execute it, while
conveying the consequences for spending plan and due dates
to all stakeholders. In Indian manager may work hard on the
data given by the client and present the data but will not like
any kind of changes in other words he may resist to that while
an American manager would try to take the anticipate a future
change in advance as end users are not involved from the
beginning in the scope definition.
4. Inadequate Skills for the Project A project or a process
sometimes will require a skillset that the project's team is not
aware of. This creates a challenge for Project management
training to invest time and money in order to gain that skill. For
example an online portal like Expedia would like to outsource
their air ticketing team to a manager in India where the skill
software is Sabre. Now a project leader will determine the
needed competencies, assess the total available workers and
suggest the skill training, or outsourcing or hiring additional
staff, keeping in mind the errors the new staff is going to make
or the higher salaries he has to afford for trained staff has to
be judged because the service delivery agreement (SLA) is the
most important thing to generate revenue
5.

Improper Risk Management It


is very important to learn to deal with and plan for the risk in project
management. It is to be understood that projects rarely go exactly
to plan. Most of the time the risk evaluation is not finalised in the
initial phase of the project when the plan and goals are set. Indian
Managers may gather input according to their understanding and
may ignore the risk factors involved with it which may develop lack
of trust. Also knowing which parts of a project are most likely to veer
off course are key issues of the project manager's job. Risk
tolerance is therefore a typical desirable project manager
characteristic because it can hamper the entire project whereas the
American managers may include the expertise to predict the future
and anticipate the risk in this dynamic world.

6.

Poor Communication Project


managers provide direction at every step of the project, so each
team leader knows what's expected. Effective communication to

everyone involved in the project is crucial to its successful


completion.
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Project management training includes an emphasis on


written and oral communication skills

Proper communication can help increase morale by


establishing clear expectations

Good project managers keep communication and


feedback flowing between upper management and team leaders
Managing Expectations: An Important Project Manager Attribute

8.

Resource Deprivation In order for a project to be run


efficiently and effectively, management must provide sufficient
resources. Project management training shows how to define needs
and obtain approval up front, and helps project managers assign and
prioritize resources throughout the duration of a project.

9.

Lack of Stakeholder Engagement A disinterested team


member, client, CEO or vendor can destroy a project. A skilled
project manager communicates openly and encourages feedback at
every step to create greater engagement among participants.
10.
Lack of Accountability A project manager's leadership
qualities can shine when each member of the team takes
responsibility for his or her role in achieving project success.
Conversely, a lack of accountability can bring a project to a
complete halt. Finger-pointing and avoiding blame are
unproductive, but all-too-common features of flawed project
management. Learning to direct teams toward a common goal
is an important aspect of project management training.
11.
Ambiguous Contingency Plans It's important for project
managers to know what direction to take in pre-defined "whatif" scenarios. If contingencies are not identified, the entire
project can become mired in an unexpected set of problems.
Asking others to identify potential problem areas can lead to a
smoothe and successful project.

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