MODULE 4

The Project Manager

MGT 3203 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the module, the students should be able to:
• Recognize project management as a career opportunity
• Identify the different key skills of a project manager.
• Differentiate functional manager from project manager
• Characterize the essential characteristics in the selection of a project manager
• Determine the responsibilities of a project manager towards his team
• Internalize the essential characteristics of becoming an effective project team
member
The Career of a Project Manager
 The career path of a PM starts with participation in small projects,
and later in larger projects, until he/she is given command over
small projects, and then larger projects.
 The experience as a PM is seen as a desirable step on the way up
the corporate ladder.
 PMs should continue to develop their project management skills
and obtain certification in the field. They must keep themselves
abreast and be trained of the latest technologies.
 Key Skills of a Project Manager

Organizational Skill to develop Communication Interpersonal

Skill people skill skill

Management
Skill to handle Problem-solving
and leadership Technical skill
stress skill
skill
 Functional Manager vs Project Manager
FUNCTIONAL MANAGER PROJECT MANAGER
• Analytically oriented • Systems oriented
(skilled in synthesis)
• Specialist
• Generalist
• Direct, technical
supervisor • Facilitator
• Has authority for
technical decisions • Responsible for the
project
• Knowledgeable of the
processes being managed • Knowledgeable in
project management
Important Characteristics in the Selection of
Project Manager

Leadership Ethics and Ability to Handle

Credibility Sensitivity
Management Style Stress
• Technical credibility • Sensitive to • Intellectual • Self-aware
• Administrative interpersonal • Managerial • Can spot the danger
credibility conflict • Emotional signals early
• Sensitive set of
technical sensor
Responsibilities of a Project Manager
Responsibility to the parent organization

Responsibility to the project and client

Responsibility to the members of the project team

Special Demands on the Project Manager
Acquiring Adequate Acquiring and Dealing with
Resources Motivating Personnel Obstacles

Making Project Goal Maintaining a Breadth of

Trade-offs Balanced Outlook Communication

Negotiation
 Dealing with Obstacles:
The PM should understand the way teams develop.
Phases of Team Development
 Forming Tuckman Ladder: A Model of Team Development
(Team members come together for the first time and begin learning
about their roles and responsibilities.)
 Storming
(Work on the project begins, but initially the team members tend to
work independently, which often lead to conflict.)
 Norming
(Team members begin to establish team norms and team cohesiveness
develops. They reconcile their behaviors to support the overall team,
and trust develops.)
 Performing
(Team members come together for the first time and begin learning
about their roles and responsibilities.)
 Adjourning
(The work of the project is completed and the team members return to
their functional departments or move on to another project.)
Dealing with Obstacles
What differentiates successful PMs from their Approaches to handling complex
counterparts are their problem-finding ability. projects:
At any stage of the project life cycle, there will 1. Effective communication
be obstacles and PMs should be prepared to with all stakeholders
“scramble”.
2. Client knowledge
3. Leadership
Making Project Goal Trade-Offs
Trade-offs:
1. Trade-offs between the project
goals of cost, time and scope
2. Trade-offs between project
progress and process (technical
vs managerial function)

The precise nature of

trade-offs vary
depending on the stage
of the project life cycle.
Maintaining a Balanced Outlook
The PM must cope with Why maintain the
the alternating period of balanced outlook among
elation and despair, and its team members?

the task is not simple.

Maintaining a balanced,
positive outlook among
team members is a
delicate job.
Responsibilities of a Project Manager
1. Create the project plan
2. Deal with the project stakeholders
3. Supervise communication
4. Direct the project team
5. Handle the project risk
6. Control the project schedule
7. Cope with the project budget
8. Handle the project conflicts
9. Direct the project delivery
Tasks of a Project Manager
1. Describe the scope of the project accurately
2. Set up the project schedule and revise the same as it progress
3. Recommend the project cost and administer the project to avoid cost overruns
4. Ensure that the project team has the supplies and resources required to get the
project done on time and on cost
5. Identify and reduce possible risks to the project timeframe and cost
6. Ensure that all the project team members understand their responsibilities
7. Communicate the project development to the management
8. Guarantee the quality of the team’s work and the supplies/materials used for the
project
 Leadership Roles of
the Project Manager
Interpersonal Informational Decisional

3
Roles Roles Roles

Mintzberg’s Managerial Roles

Traits of a Good Project
Consultant/Manager
A. Project Management Skills
◦ - ability to define objectives and outcomes C. Relationship-Building Skills
◦ - ability to develop formal plans ◦ - ability to build rapport and trust
◦ - ability to sequence and prioritize tasks ◦ - ability to question effectively
◦ - ability to manage financial resources ◦ - ability to communicate ideas
◦ - ability to recognize the human expertise needed ◦ - ability to negotiate objectives
◦ - ability to manage personal time and outcomes
◦ - ability to convince
B. Analytical Skills
◦ - ability to use information to
◦ - ability to identify what information is available make a case for a particular
◦ - ability to identify what information is needed course of action
◦ - ability to process information and identify relationships within it ◦ - ability to develop selling
◦ - ability to draw meaning from the information and use it for strategies
decision-making
◦ Ability to work as a member
◦ - ability to recognize SWOT, capabilities and challenges
◦ - ability to demonstrate
◦ - ability to assess financial situation, markets, business internal leadership
conditions
◦ - ability to analyze the ways in which decision-making occurs
Important Characteristics of an Effective
Project Team Member

Team Player Self-starter Influential Motivational Skilled and

Experienced

Dependable Good Committed Creative Supportive

Communicator
References
Flores, M. & Camilar-Serrano, A. O. (2015). Project Management.
Philippines: Unlimited Books Library Services and Publishing, Inc.

Kloppenborg, T.J., Anantatmula, V., & Wells, K.N. (2019). Contemporary

Project Management. USA: Cengage Learning.

Meredith, Jack R., Mantel, Jr., Samuel J., and Shafer, Scott M. (2016). Project
Management: A Managerial Approach. 9th ed. Asia: John Wiley & Sons
(Asia) Pte Ltd.