Project Organisation 121

Chapter

5 Project Organisation

5.1 MEANING OF PROEJCT MANAGER

A project manager is the person responsible for leading a project from its inception to
execution. This includes planning, execution and managing the people, resources and scope
of the project. Project managers must have the discipline to create clear and attainable
objectives and to see them through to successful completion. The project manager has full
responsibility and authority to complete the assigned project.
A project manager's responsibilities include overall management, but he or she is
seldom directly involved with the activities that actually produce the end result. The position
also oversees any associated products and services, project tools and techniques to help
ensure good practices. In addition, project managers are responsible for recruiting and
building project teams, and making projections about the project's risks and uncertainties.
The roles and responsibility of project manager to make sure that the customer is
satisfied and the work scope is completed in a quality manner, using budget, and on time. The
Project Manager has primary responsibility for providing leadership in planning, organizing
and controlling the work effort t.
In other words, the project manager provides the leadership to project team to
accomplish the project objective. The project manager coordinates the activities of various
team members to ensure that they perform the right tasks at the proper time, as a cohesive
group. to accomplish the project objectives.

5.2. ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT (MMS MUMBAI

UNIVERSITY NOV 2018)
1. Planning
Planning is an essential duty of a project manager. Determining what needs to be done,
who is going to do it, and when it needs to be done are all part of the planning process. Keep
in mind that planning is an iterative process that takes place throughout the life of the project.
Some key planning duties include...
⚫ Define and clarify project scope
⚫ Develop the project plan
⚫ Develop the project schedule
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⚫ Develop policies and procedures to support the achievement of the project
objectives
2. Organizing
Organizing is about setting up the project team's structure. A major driver in this aspect
is the company's existing structure. Companies are usually set up as functional, matrix, or
projectized organizations. When organizing your project, you will need to take the company's
structure into account.
Some of the key organizing duties include...
⚫ Determine the organizational structure of the project team
⚫ Identify roles and positions
⚫ Identify services to be provided by external companies
⚫ Staff project positions
3. Leading
Leading refers to carrying out the project plan in order to achieve the project objectives.
Leading the project is one of the more challenging aspects for new project managers because
it involves a lot of "soft skills." Skills such as communicating clearly, team motivation, and
conflict resolution.
Some key duties for leading projects include...
⚫ Setting team direction
⚫ Coordinating activities across different organizational functions
⚫ Motivating team members
⚫ Assigning work
4. Controlling
Controlling is all about keeping the project on track. Project control can be performed
using a three-step process...
⚫ Measuring: Checking project progress toward meeting its objectives
⚫ Evaluating: Determining the cause of deviations from the plan
⚫ Correcting: Taking corrective actions to address deviations
Some key controlling duties include...
⚫ Defining project baselines
⚫ Tracking project progress
⚫ Project status reporting
⚫ Determining and taking corrective actions

5.3 TEAM DEVELOPMNET MODEL IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Specifically the five stages a team goes through as it develops. The stages a team
generally goes through are: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. As a
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project manager, a good understanding of these stages will help you guide a team from
infancy to maturity.
1. Forming:
The initial stage is the forming stage. At this point, team members are generally
concerned about their role in the team and who calls the shots. As a project manager,
you will have a dominant role in team building and people will be looking to you for
guidance and reassurance. This stage can be relatively short in comparison to the other
stages and may only last a meeting or two.
2. Storming:
At this stage, the team addresses the problems they are going to solve and how they are
going to function as a unit. Team members will become more open with each other as
they express their own ideas and thoughts and will often confront the project manager
about certain aspects of the project.
3 .Norming:
Team members will begin to settle to the task at hand. Conflicts will be resolved and
they will develop “norms” around how they work together. A hierarchy is established
and the project will start to progress at greater pace with less emphasis placed on team
development.
4. Performing:
At this stage, the project manager’s job is easier. Team members will work together as
a unit and significant progress will be made. Project management will focus on the
delegation of work and on future team building. Less supervision will be required as the
team will be highly motivated and independent.
5. Adjourning:
The final stage is adjourning or as it’s sometimes referred to as, “mourning”. This is
when the team is finished its project and is expected to break apart. The project manager
should afford the team members time to celebrate a (hopefully) successful project. It is
likely that there will be sadness and anxiety in a successful group who must finish their
time together.

5.4 SOURCES OF CONFLICTS

(MMS MUMBAI UNIVERSITY NOV 2018)

Conflicts are a way of life in a project structure and can generally occur at any level in
the organization. The project manager has often been described as a conflict manager. In
many organizations the project manager continually fights fires and crises evolving from
conflicts, and delegates the day-to-day responsibility of running the project to the project
team members. Although this is not the best situation, it cannot always be prevented,
124 Project Management (M.M.S. Sem. IV)
especially after organizational restructuring or the initiation of projects requiring new
resources.
A well run project can be positively inspiring, especially for staff who have an interest in
new challenges. However, the added pressure of project constraints such as multiple
deadlines and scope changes mean greater likelihood for conflict. Before we can explore
conflict management for project managers, we need to understand the causes of conflict.

Sources of conflict are as follows:

1. Different Stakeholder Interests:
The manufacturing stakeholder advocates for a simple, standardized product that
will be easy to manufacture reliably. The marketing stakeholder advocates for a
complex product that allows for extensive customization by customers. At first
glance, these stakeholders appear locked in conflict.
2. Project Manager Management Style:
Consider the case of a project manager who takes a disciplined approach to managing
projects and holds staff accountable. Depending on HOW this management style is
communicated, unproductive tension and conflict could threaten the project`s
success.
3. Project Team History:
Have you ever worked with someone that puts you on edge? Or perhaps a person who
has a very confrontational, zero sum world view on work? In these cases, conflict is
part of the project team from day one.
4. Scope Changes:
Imagine you have put three weeks into building a plan to install network
infrastructure in a new office building. Then you receive a scope change specifying
you need to switch to a new type of equipment (and vendor). Your first reaction may
well be anger at the stakeholder – after all, you now have to redo all of the work!

5. Schedule Changes:
Crashing is a a technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least
incremental cost by adding resources. In practice, crashing can mean overtime work.
Absent support and planning, a crashing schedule changes will trigger conflict.
6. Project Failure (or Cancellation):
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Even if a project fails or is cancelled due to external conditions (e.g. regulatory

change, change in financing costs), blame are inevitable. Project cancellation may
cause significant conflict between the sponsor and the project manager.
7. Declined Change Requests:
Change requests are an important tool in managing projects. What if somebody on
the project team submits a change request to request additional resources and it is
declined? That team member may be angry at having to make do with limited
resources.
8. Disagreements With Vendors:
Many projects rely on vendors to deliver vital products and services. In many cases,
the vendor and project team have different interpretations. Resolving these
disagreements is time consuming and throws the project behind schedule. Whether
you disagree about quality requirements, warranties or liability, vendor
disagreements are a common source of project conflict.
9. Disagreement over communication methods:
For many professionals, there is a sharp line between listeners, who prefer obtaining
information through conversation, and readers, who prefer written communication.
Disagreements over how often, style and content of communication can be a major
source of project conflict.

5.5 CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1. Exercise power
Yes, power is a way to solve conflict! However, this approach is best used sparingly or
in situations where there are very high risks or dangers, such as staff safety. It begins with
simply issuing a command to solve a conflict—and rests on the authority and confidence you
wield in your position.
2. Withdraw/avoid
The PMBOK Guide’s conflict management guidance includes “withdraw/avoid conflict
management.” In view, avoidance tends not to solve the problem very often. However, this
approach is suggested for situations when you’ll have a better result by withdrawing in order
to be better prepared. Withdrawing or avoiding gives you time to calm down and think
clearly about the problem.
3. Compromise
Compromise is one of the most popular ways to solve conflicts on projects. Each party
gets their interests satisfied to a degree if the compromise is successful.
4. Call in the sponsor
If you truly feel the conflict is beyond your capability to solve, ask your project sponsor
for help. Before any meeting, brief your sponsor on the situation and come prepared with at
least two solutions of your own.
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6. Solve the underlying problem, not the symptom
Not all conflicts are what they appear. When you’re presented with a conflict, take the
time to thoroughly understand what is causing it. For example, instead of repeatedly solving
conflicts over late delivery, you can look for a systematic cause (e.g., lack of training, poor
communication, unclear expectations or goals).
7. Delegate
As the project manager, you have a great deal of work and responsibility to manage. By
delegating conflict resolution to a trusted manager, you give that person a chance to grow. Of
course, delegation does not eliminate your responsibility, so choose wisely.
8. Acknowledge the person first
Some conflicts occur because a person’s ideas and feelings are not being acknowledged
as important. By taking the time to acknowledge your team member’s problem, you could
prevent any ensuing conflict from occurring. Try not to cut off people before they’re able to
express their feelings. Slow down!
9. Call a meeting
With the right preparation and ground rules, meetings are an effective way to solve
project conflict. You can ask each party to present their side or make a short presentation.
The formal structure of a meeting helps people structure their thoughts. By getting everyone
in the same room you have a better chance of coming to a resolution sooner than later.
Conflict in the workplace is an ever-present fact. By implementing effective conflict
management practices, you can turn your challenges and disagreements into positive
resolutions for everyone.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Write a note on project manager as entrepreneur. (MMM/ MFM MUMBAI UNIVERSITY 2017/
16 /15)
2 Explain the role and responsibility of project manager. (MMS MUMBAI UNIVERSITY 2018)
3. Explain team development model in project management.
4. Explain sources of conflicts in Project Management . (MMS MUMBAI UNIVERSITY 2018)
5. Explain Conflict resolution in project management.

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