STUDENT(S) DETAILS

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5

Student ID Number(s) 101912106

Family Name(s) Tran

Given name (s) Ngoc Tue

PROGRAM TITLE
Master of Project Management
SUBJECT DETAILS
Subject Code INF60017 Subject Title Project Leadership and Governance

Lecturer’s Name Darryl Carlton

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
Title or Topic Addressed Reflection Journal 1

Due Date 10th April 2018 Date Received

DECLARATION
1. I/We hold a photocopy or electronic copy of this assignment which can be produced if the original is lost/damaged;
2. To the best of my/our belief, no part of this assignment has been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except
where acknowledgement is made in the text;
3. No part of this assignment has been written for me/us by any other person except where such collaboration has been authorised by the
lecturer concerned and where acknowledgement is made in the text;
4. No part of this assignment has been previously submitted as an assessable item, except where authorised by the lecturer concerned and
where acknowledgement is made in the text;
I / We accept that electronic submission of this cover sheet will be taken as consent to the terms outlined in Points 1 to 4 of the above
declaration by the student/submitting this assignment.

Student Signature(s) Tue

MARKER’S MAIN COMMENTS

Marker’s Signature Date Grade/Mark

Table of Contents
1. Reasons to have chosen Project Leadership and Governance ........3

2. Aspects to be investigated ...............................................................4

3. Skills to be accomplished ................................................................4

4. Benefits for chosen career ...............................................................5

5. Reference .........................................................................................6

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 REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

Before starting my journey to Swinburne, I was the co-founder and project manager of
EXTRIM, a shoe care service company in Vietnam which has been active for almost three
year with 25 staffs. We entered the vast shoe cleaning and customizing market with the
ambition of shifting the manual approach to a self-serving one which was called ‘Project 0’.
We have accessible technology and equipment that allow consumers to register and pay for
service options online and then come to our branch to have their shoes washed at real time in
a guaranteed 7-minute time. However, for the first two years, we chose the manual approach
as our market entry strategy to attract consumers because we wanted to have a stable
consumer base and more time investment to the initial project. Heading into our third year,
we executed ‘Project 0’ as a new option for our service. This was when things fell apart as
our consumers were reluctant to change and the employees were underperforming. Therefore,
I took a break and came to Australia to pursue my degree.

1. Reasons to have chosen Project Leadership and

Governance
At first, I treated Project Leadership and Governance plainly as a compulsory course of
my degree but eventually, this course grew on me. I can reflect upon the plunge I experienced
with EXTRIM. We are provided with interesting reading materials and numerous real-life
cases in classes and I found one of which so astonishing. The case of Microsoft and Google
Docs opened my mind about finding the gap in the marketplace with Blue Ocean strategy and
having innovative ideas were not adequate. As we operated in a complex and dynamic
environment, questions should always be asked to probe for changes. Moreover, I am
exposed to the difference between management and leadership in which management focuses
on controlling and accomplishing goal-oriented objectives while leadership emphasizes on
the analysis of people-oriented activities and conducting the right and adaptive direction
(Bennis & Nanus 1985). I have realized that with EXTRIM, we were lack of the ‘leadership’
elements to precisely perform situational balance rather than being overambitious in
obtaining the initial ‘Project 0’. Therefore, this course to me has an interesting and relatable
appeal.

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 2. Aspects to be investigated
I have identified three specific areas that I hope to make most out of this unit.
Firstly, in-depth exposure to the mentioned leadership elements should be accomplished.
In the start-up environment, especially EXTRIM, the balance between external focus which is
on raising venture funds for the business and project development and internal view which is
service delivery, should be maintained. We failed to build the distinctive value proposition
because the consumers were aware of the solutions that our service brings regardless of the
approach, which led to overestimation of project scope. Therefore, having the right direction
for the organization is essential and it takes certain competences and leadership styles to have
the capabilities to carry out the balance between inward and outward focuses (Dulewicz &
Higgs 2005, p. 105-123).
Secondly, I am eager have accessibility to the principles of governance mechanism that
applies to the coexisting between the project management process and corporate governance
framework. I think this guidelines would help me review the value system, responsibilities
and policies that enable a project to reach the organizational objectives and stimulate
implementation acting in the best interests of all stakeholders from internal environment such
as employees and external scope such as consumers and other intermediary parties (Müller
2017).
Thirdly, this is of a few occasions that I am fascinated about assignments. We have an
individual assignment about promoting a disruptive and innovative business idea and a class
activity to build a business model canvas. As I have worked on this business idea during my
Bachelor program, this assignment is an opportunity for me to continue my craft, practice
creating and transforming a business model and push myself to further extent. I look forward
to constructive critiques from the lecturer and my group members when we propose our
business ideas for the group assignment.

3. Skills to be accomplished
I will benefit from each of the three proposed areas.
Firstly, it is significant to have the ability to identify the suitable leadership styles
depending on the project types. As for the case of EXTRIM, it is an organizational change
project so a project leader should actively adapt to required dynamics for changes, engage
communication from internal and external sources by being accessible and approachable for
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each audience category and motivate relevant stakeholders to accomplish objectives.
Therefore, the skill to apply the advanced knowledge and channel the suitable styles as a
project leader.
Secondly, the guideline of governance mechanism is an effective tool to critically
evaluate the transparency which is the disclosure of timely and accurate information to
relevant stakeholders, the accountability which displays thorough understanding of rights and
roles, the responsibility which ensures the execution of tasks within scope and the fairness
which proposes ethical principles (Müller, Zhai & Wang 2017, p. 378-392). Good
governance helps the project leader to well allocate roles of interdisciplinary departments and
key stakeholders to support project management process and business operation.
Thirdly, conducting the assignments enables me to shift from an ideation stage to
implement the business model. Successfully applying the academic knowledge to real project
using the project management practices is a difficult task so these assignments are practical
for me to communicate and act proficiently as a member of a project team.

4. Benefits for chosen career

The failure of EXTRIM’s ‘Project 0’ was a remarkable milestone for a fresh graduate like
myself, which completely changed my perspectives of conducting a project. This course
would provide the fundamentals of effectively creating, building and implementing a
business idea in the start-up world, which are the answers for the critical aspect of ‘Project 0’.
Furthermore, the subjective benefit of mastering the critical role of project leadership and
governance in project management is that it gives the project leaders confidence. Being one
of the project managers for EXTRIM, I found myself hesitant and unconfident which cause
emotional instability and adaptive response to unexpected events. Therefore, this course
would act as a supporting role to enhance my technical skills and train my emotional
intelligence.

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 5. Reference
Bennis, W & Nanus, B 1985, The strategies for taking charge, Leaders, New York: Harper.
Row.
Dulewicz, V & Higgs, M 2005, ‘Assessing leadership styles and organizational context’,
Journal of Managerial Psychology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 105-123.
Müller, R 2017, Project Governance, Gower Publishing, Routledge.
Müller, R, Zhai, L & Wang, A 2017, ‘Governance and governmentality in projects: Profiles
and relationships with success’, International Journal of Project Management, vol. 35, no. 3,
pp. 378-392.

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