FACULTY OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

REG NUMBER : R181967R

18/30
NAME : TENDAI JAMES

PROGRAMME : BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MODE OF ENTRY : VISITING HARARE WEEKEND

LEVEL : 3:1

MODULE : PROJECT MANAGEMENT (BM404)

ASSIGNMENT : 01

DUE DATE : 03/04/2020

 a) EXPLAIN WHAT PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS AND WHY IS IT DIFEERENT TO OTHER
FORMS OF MANAGEMENT

Project management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements. “Project managers must not only strive to meet
specific scope, schedule, cost, resource, risk, and quality requirements of projects, they must
also facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of the people involved in
or affected by project activities.

It is a collection of linked activities, carried out in an organized manner with a clearly defined
starting point and finishing point to achieve some specific results that satisfy the needs of an
organization as derived from the current business plans.

b) It is organization of people and resources to meet objectives

c) It is the investment of capital in a time – bound intervention to create productive assets.

The dynamic process utilizing the appropriate resources of the organization in a controlled and
structured manner, employed to achieve a change clearly defined with specific objectives
identified as strategic needs. Project management is a tool for management to manage
organization:

Project management is the practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing
the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified
time. The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within
the given constraints.[1] The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget.[2] The
secondary—and more ambitious—challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs
and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives. Project management is the application of
processes, methods, skills, knowledge and experience to achieve specific project objectives
according to the project acceptance criteria within agreed parameters. Project management
has final deliverables that are constrained to a finite timescale and budget.
A key factor that distinguishes project management from just 'management' is that it has this
final deliverable and a finite timespan, unlike management which is an ongoing process.
Because of this a project professional needs a wide range of skills; often technical skills, and
certainly people management skills and good business awareness.

The objective of project management is to produce a complete project which complies with the
client's objectives. In many cases the objective of project management is also to shape or
reform the client's brief to feasibly address the client's objectives. Once the client's objectives
are clearly established they should influence all decisions made by other people involved in the
project – for example project managers, designers, contractors and sub-contractors. Ill-defined
or too tightly prescribed project management objectives are detrimental to decision making.

A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with
a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or
staffing) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial
change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as
usual (or operations),[5] which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional
activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of such distinct
production approaches requires the development of distinct technical skills and management
strategies. The difference between project management and general management which can
be called operations is that operations are ongoing, continuous and repetitive activities in an
organization such as accounting, finance, or production. On the other hand, projects are
specific tasks that have a beginning and an end such as working on developing a new product.
Examples of projects in Zimbabwe are rural school development programme, youth and women
empowerment project, lack harvest aquaculture expansion and many others.
Agate on project management.com says, “From my experience differences between general
management and project management is the latter’s emphasis on scheduling”. Project
managers are more specialists and focus on a particular project (could be both strategic and
tactical). General Managers on the other hand may not have light deadlines and are generalists
and tend to focus on operations (though they can overlook/mange individual projects. The
project manager’s job is not very easy because of his/her social/political realities in the
organizational structure. Usually, general managers carry a large political burden while project
managers carry a much smaller political overhead. Herzner H 1984:9 puts it this way
“Managers (project) may have increasing responsibility but very little authority. This lack of
authority can force them to “negotiate” with upper-level management as well as functional
management for control of company resources… They may often be treated as outsides by the
format organization”. In short the general manager macro-manages while the project manager
micro-manages. That is, a good general manager macro manages, empowers and delegates,
and demonstrates situational leadership skills. A good project manager micro manages, plans
and controls, and demonstrates process and best practice leadership skills.

Jucan G. on www.projectmanagement.com says there are issues which differentiates project

management and general management. He says a project manager assembles a competent
team of people, sometimes drawn from different departments of the organization a team
which can be disbanded even in few weeks at the end of the project. Line managers do work
with staff members established in his/her department competent or not for “eternity”. The
project manager lacks authority to discipline staff under his control but the line manager does
have such power.

Juncan G. goes on to say project management do not usually have such powers; those powers
may be versed in other departments such as the buying department. Line mangers do not have
control over the human resources costs because they have people assigned to them eight hours
a day no matter what, so they only have to give them something to do. On the other hand
projectmanagers need to make efficient use of all material and human resources, as everything
becomes a project cost.

The differences between general management and project have to do with roles of the project
manager and general manager. Though, these people should always have overlapping
responsibility. In a matrix organization the role of a project manager is to focus on the needs of
the project and the general manager is to focus on the capacity of the team.

Project management is different to general management in the sense that projects are initiated
by general management (general managers) and hand over to project managers. Kerzner says
“the project manager actually works for the line managers, not vice versa. Whenever the
project succeeds credit goes to the line managers who are continually pressured to make better
use of their resources. The project manager is simply the agent through whom this is
accomplished.” So, general management entails management of several projects of the
organization while project management manages a single particular project of the organization.

CONCLUSION

The author had attempted to differentiate between project and general management. Had
identified that project management is micro-management of the organization. The project
manager had limited resources such as money, personnel etcetera, resources which he is
“loaned” by general or line managers. The project managers lacks authority over his staff while
the general manager had unlimited authority. However, project management needs managers
with peculiar skills, to solve problems, to cure and heal while general management needs
managers with general management skills to supervise a number of projects.
 b) Explain how project management can be applied to your company’s project

A Project is a temporary, unique and progressive attempt or endeavor made to produce some
kind of a tangible or intangible result (a unique product, service, benefit, competitive
advantage, etc.). It usually includes a series of interrelated tasks that are planned for execution
over a fixed period of time and within certain requirements and limitations such as cost, quality,
performance, others. Project has five stages or processes which are project initiating, project
planning, project execution, project monitoring and project closure.

Project initiation

This is the start of the project, and the goal of this phase is to define the project at a broad
level. This phase usually begins with a business case. This is when you will research whether the
project is feasible and if it should be undertaken. If feasibility testing needs to be done, this is
the stage of the project in which that will be completed.

Important stakeholders will do their due diligence to help decide if the project is a “go.” If it is
given the green light, you will need to create a project charter or a project initiation document
(PID) that outlines the purpose and requirements of the project. It should include business
needs, stakeholders, and the business case. During this phase, the project is conceptualized and
feasibility is determined. According to SME Toolkit, some activities that should be performed
during this process include defining the project goal; defining the project scope; identifying the
project manager and the key stakeholders; identifying potential risks; and producing an
estimated budget and timeline.in my company ‘s case we were constructing a motor vehicle
workshop as a project .

Planning

Next, the project manager will create a blueprint to guide the entire project from ideation
through completion. This blueprint will map out the project’s scope; resources required to
create the deliverables; estimated time and financial commitments; communication strategy to
ensure stakeholders are kept up to date and involved; execution plan; and proposal for ongoing
maintenance. If the project has not yet been approved, this blueprint will serve as a critical part
of the pitch. This phase is key to successful project management and focuses on developing a
roadmap that everyone will follow. This phase typically begins with setting goals. Two of the
more popular methods for setting goals are S.M.A.R.T. and CLEAR

S.M.A.R.T. Goals – This method helps ensure that the goals have been thoroughly vetted. It also
provides a way to clearly understand the implications of the goal-setting process.

Specific – To set specific goals, answer the following questions: who, what, where, when, which,
and why. These questions helps a lot in our workshop construction .as each individual involved
is given a task and targets are set.

Measurable – Create criteria that you can use to measure the success of a goal.

Attainable – Identify the most important goals and what it will take to achieve them.

Realistic – You should be willing and able to work toward a particular goal.

Timely – Create a timeframe to achieve the goal.

C.L.E.A.R. Goals – A newer method for setting goals that takes into consideration the
environment of today’s fast-paced businesses.

Collaborative – The goal should encourage employees to work together.

Limited – They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.

Emotional – Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an
emotional connection to. This can optimize the quality of work.

Appreciable – Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.

Refinable – As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

During this phase, the scope of the project is defined and a project management plan is
developed. It involves identifying the cost, quality, available resources, and a realistic timetable.
The project plans also includes establishing baselines or performance measures. These are
generated using the scope, schedule and cost of a project. A baseline is essential to determine if
a project is on track.

At this time, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, so everyone involved knows what
they are accountable for. Here are some of the documents a Project Manager will create during
this phase to ensure the project will stay on track:

Scope Statement – A document that clearly defines the business need, benefits of the project,
objectives, deliverables, and key milestones. A scope statement may change during the project,
but it shouldn’t be done without the approval of the project manager and the sponsor.
Milestones – Identify high-level goals that need to be met throughout the project and include
them in the Gantt chart.

Gantt Chart – A visual timeline that you can use to plan out tasks and visualize your project
timeline. Communication Plan – This is of particular importance if your project involves outside
stakeholders. Develop the proper messaging around the project and create a schedule of when
to communicate with team members based on deliverables and milestones.

Risk Management Plan – Identify all foreseeable risks. Common risks include unrealistic time
and cost estimates, customer review cycle, budget cuts, changing requirements, and lack of
committed resources.

Executing

During this phase, the project manager will conduct the procurement required for the project
as well as staff the team. Further, execution of the project objectives requires effective
management of the team members on the ground. PMs are responsible for delegating and
overseeing the work on the project while maintaining good relationships with all team
members and keeping the entire project on time and on budget. The PM must therefore be
highly organized and an exceptional leader. That’s because they’ll need to address team
concerns and any issues that arise along the way, requiring frequent and open communication
with all team members and stakeholders. This is the phase where deliverables are developed
and completed. This often feels like the meat of the project since a lot is happening during this
time, like status reports and meetings, development updates, and performance reports. A
“kick-off” meeting usually marks the start of the Project Execution phase where the teams
involved are informed of their responsibilities.

Tasks completed during the Execution Phase include:

Develop team ,Assign resources, Execute project management plans, Procurement

management if needed,Project Manager directs and manages project execution Set up tracking
systems, Task assignments are executed, Status meetings Update project schedule and Modify
project plans as needed. While the project monitoring phase has a different set of
requirements, these two phases often occur simultaneously.

Monitoring and control

During this process group, project managers will closely measure the progress of the project to
ensure it is developing properly. Documentation such as data collection and verbal and written
status reports may be used. “Monitoring and controlling is closely related to project planning.
While planning determines what is to be done, monitoring and controlling establish how well it
has been done,” explains SME Toolkit. “Monitoring will detect any necessary corrective action
or change in the project to keep the project on track.” This is all about measuring project
progression and performance and ensuring that everything happening aligns with the project
management plan. Project managers will use key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine if
the project is on track. A Project Manager will typically pick two to five of these KPIs to measure
project performance:

Project Objectives: Measuring if a project is on schedule and budget is an indication if the

project will meet stakeholder objectives.

Quality Deliverables: This determines if specific task deliverables are being met.

Effort and Cost Tracking: Project Managers will account for the effort and cost of resources to
see if the budget is on track. This type of tracking informs if a project will meet its completion
date based on current performance. Project Performance: This monitors changes in the project.
It takes into consideration the amount and types of issues that arise and how quickly they are
addressed. These can occur from unforeseen hurdles and scope changes.

During this time, Project Managers may need to adjust schedules and resources to ensure the
project is on track

Closing

The closing process group occurs once the project deliverables have been produced and the
stakeholders validate and approve them. During this phase, the project manager will close
contracts with suppliers, external vendors, consultants, and other third-party providers. All
documentation will be archived and a final project report will be produced. Further, the final
part of the project plan — the plan for troubleshooting and maintenance — will kick into place.
This phase represents the completed project. Contractors hired to work specifically on the
project are terminated at this time. Valuable team members are recognized. Some Project
Managers even organize small work events for people who participated in the project to thank
them for their efforts. Once a project is complete, a Project Manager will often hold a meeting –
sometimes referred to as a “post mortem” – to evaluate what went well in a project and
identify project failures. This is especially helpful to understand lessons learned so that
improvements can be made for future projects.

Once the project is complete, Project Managers still have a few tasks to complete. They will
need to create a project punch list of things that didn’t get accomplished during the project and
work with team members to complete them. Perform a final project budget and prepare a final
project report. Finally, they will need to collect all project documents and deliverables and store
them in a single place.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA, 26.

Gray, R. M., Cook, M. B., Natera, M. T., Inglis, M. M., & Dodge, M. L. (2008). Project
Management: The. In Managerial Process”, McGraw-Hill.

King, W. R., & Cleland, D. I. (Eds.). (1988). Project management handbook. Van Nostrand
Reinhold.

Kerner H, 1983, Project Management A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and

controlling, 2nd Edition, CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt Ltd

www.projectmanagement.com/discusson-topic/7318 Project-vs-General-Management

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/project-management

www.pmi.org/about-us-wha-is-project-management.aspx

www.amp.org.uk/contant/whats-difference-between-manager-and-project-manager

Schwalbe, K. (2008). Information Technology Project Management, Reprint. Cengage Learning.