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PMO Recommendations

Student's Name

Department, Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor's Name

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Section 3: Project Management Office (PMO) Recommendations

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For big companies, a PMO is a strategy engine that can streamline their project

management procedures and increase the return on investment (ROI). The Project Management

Institute emphasises that project outcomes and other stages of project management are directed

by the standards and strategies developed by project management, which are improved by PMO

(Taylor & Mead, 2016). Earlier in this project, I argued that Volkswagen (VW) is a prime

example of a business that could greatly profit from establishing a PMO. When considering

income, Volkswagen is presently the industry leader. The organization is a corporation made up

of many smaller businesses. For example, it manufactures bikes under the Ducati name and holds

the rights to make Porsche, Audi, VW, Skoda, MAN, and Bentley vehicles. The firm provides

services in energy management, vehicle maintenance, and funding and leasing. A PMO would be

invaluable to the business because of the difficulty in handling tasks in such varied areas,

especially in ensuring continuity and cutting down on overhead expenses. Listed below are

suggestions for the planned Volkswagen PMO.

PMO Type

VW can benefit from a broad range of PMOs recognized by the Project Management

Institute (PMI). Hansen & Svejvig, (2022) described PMOs could be grouped according to their

level of authority or impact within a company. A company may have personal, divisional, or

corporate/enterprise PMOs, depending on the nature of the employee's role. PMO can be either

individual, which aids a single complicated project, division, which helps several projects at

once; or business, which aids the entire company. A PMO's degree of impact may fall into one of

three categories: helpful, domineering, or authoritative. Supportive PMOs offer advisory services

to project teams while regulating PMOs guarantee company-wide conformance. By contrast,

authoritative PMOs can fully oversee all aspects of a project's administration.

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Volkswagen could benefit from establishing a company-wide PMO. This particular PMO

model is appropriate for the business for various factors. According to the Project Management

Institute (PMI), a helpful PMO offers consulting services to multiple project teams. It gives them

access to resources like project plans, standards, best practices, and relevant information. In

addition, the PMO provides education for all involved parties to guarantee that tasks are

completed to the business standards. In addition, they supply teams with knowledge about the

company and the project, as well as insights gained from other initiatives that can be applied to

improve the results of the current one. At the company level, a helpful PMO develops best

practices, methods, standards, and processes to enhance initiatives from start to finish (Wedekind

& Philbin, 2018). They are accountable for distributing company resources among various

industries based on their requirements.

There is no doubt that Volkswagen should hire a willing company PMO. Earlier, we

established that this firm is the biggest manufacturer on the planet. Given its scale, the firm

routinely completes a substantial number of annual tasks to satisfy the requirements of its

clientele. A well-established team that can guarantee the project's alignment with company

objectives is required for such an endeavour. In contrast to many other manufacturers,

Volkswagen is a corporation comprising many separate businesses. Examples include

Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, and Skoda. Traton, on the other hand, produces buses, lorries, and

large industrial vehicles under the brand names MAN, VW Commercial Vehicles, and Scania.

There are both low-end and high-end offerings from this business, and electricity and banking

services. Highly authoritative and controlling PMOs regulate project execution and ensure

conformance with established standards (Wedekind & Philbin, 2018). In reality, highly

prescriptive PMOs take project management to an extreme by doing so themselves. Volkswagen

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Group's wide range of services, goods, and clients make the establishment of commanding or

prescriptive PMOs unfeasible. For this reason, a corporate PMO that is both effective and

efficient is the only viable option for the business.

Each Volkswagen Group subsidiary has its departments. Each of these departments and

their associated tasks have varying requirements that can only be met through the execution of

projects. For instance, Traton or one of its companies may advertise to keep their goods in

demand. Each division also creates a new product every year as a separate initiative. Volkswagen

Group cannot set up separate PMOs for each area. Volkswagen Group would need excessive

PMOs for each unique project it undertakes while creating divisional PMOs would require

several PMOs per company. Costing too much money and failing to achieve absolute uniformity

across the company, regional and individual PMOs are not an option for the Volkswagen Group

(Hansen & Svejvig, 2022). Considering everything, it's unavoidable that the Volkswagen Group

will establish a helpful company PMO. Such a PMO is the best option for satisfying PMO

requirements while fitting the company's size, character, and demands. Darling and Whitty

(2016) argue that a contemporary PMO's primary function is to normalize project management

and introduce economies of repeat, both of which have the potential to save money and

guarantee uniformity within an organization. Only a helpful corporate PMO can ensure that all of

Volkswagen Group's divisions and affiliates are executing projects in ways that are consistent

with the company's strategic objectives.

PMO Structure

The organizational framework of a project management office depends closely on the sort

of PMO it is. This is so because considering the PMO's makeup is a top suggestion for how

businesses should organize their PMO. Furthermore, the company should consider how the PMO
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fits into the larger organizational scheme (Sandhu, Al Ameri, & Wikström, 2019). Types of

PMOs are grouped in the same way that various functions and party positions do. As a result,

PMO arrangements can be either authoritative (i.e., commanding) or helpful. When PMO

organizations are fully incorporated into the dominant mindset of an organization, as is often the

case, they exert absolute authority over a wide range of sub-departments (Darling & Whitty,

2016). However, the degree to which the PMO can exert its influence on a given project will be

significantly influenced by the nature of the project itself. It's also possible that the PMO has as

much sway over other roles or divisions and lower-level employees in the company as the

management team does. To achieve this, the PMO should be tightly coupled with other

functional areas, such as operations, that are essential to the smooth functioning of projects.

On the other hand, directive PMO structures are thoroughly embedded in the company's

ethos. A directive PMO framework allows for the seamless integration of PMO functions into

existing corporate networks (Taylor & Mead, 2016). Strategic administration, supervision,

surveillance, and staffing are all examples of tasks that fall under this category. Simultaneously,

the helpful PMO structure is another type of PMO that mimics the structure of the first. As

opposed to being fully immersed in and incorporated into the company's business culture,

supportive PMO frameworks emphasise consulting positions, in which the PMO serves as an

expert to coordinate all initiatives outside the company (Gomes Silva et al., 2022). The

Volkswagen Group's project management office would benefit most from adopting the

collaborative PMO framework.

PMO Culture

An organisation's mindset and the project management office within that organization is

one of the essential components. It is more likely that an important purpose, vision, and success
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in a variety of initiatives will be improved through the use of a PMO mindset that is well-

controlled and consistent. According to Sandhu, Al Ameri, and Wikstrom (2019), most

businesses have cultures congruent with those of their PMO, which helps reduce the influence

and effect of managing the organization's various projects. PMO societies have that one thing

that binds everyone together, making internal collaboration more productive. This indicates a

greater likelihood that the project standard will improve, leading to improved project results and

outcomes.

Nevertheless, let's say that a company does a poor job of preserving a consistent PMO

mindset. In that situation, the organization's projects will not only stray from the business's

organisational goals and strategies but will also produce several inconsistencies in the projects

themselves. PMO culture encompasses five essential pillars: vision, attitude, principles,

adaptability, and skills. Developing robust cultures within the PMO leads to more significant

accomplishments, objectives, and culture for the entire organization and the PMO, which

increases the likelihood that coordinated efforts will be improved.

Nevertheless, there are several suggestions that the Volkswagen Group should think about

to establish and preserve a robust culture in the project management office. One of the things that

the organization ought to consider is ensuring that it possesses capable executives and an

efficient leadership model. The ability to provide their project managers and other subordinate

employees working within the PMO with direction will be available to leaders who adhere to a

successful leadership model. In addition, executives can teach their staff members the

significance of vision, attitude, values, adaptability, and skills, the five foundations supporting

PMO culture. Additionally, the company must seriously consider the critical function of chief

procurement officers, who must always have access to essential company information and the
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business's overall strategies (Gomes Silva et al., 2022). This is the case because their opinions

are significant and should be considered whenever decisions are made, even though they do not

considerably influence them. The agency in charge of project management needs to establish

crystal-clear objectives and goals for the undertaking. Given that both the CPO and the PMO

have access to the strategic objectives and goals of the corporation, as well as any other pertinent

information, the collaboration between the two improves the ease with which it is possible to

develop clear objectives and goals that are in alignment with the entirety of the organization.

The PMO needs to work on improving a collection of best practices to control the

behavior of the employees successfully. Even though the company's PMO has some substantial

independence levels apart from the organization's corporate framework, PMO personnel should

match themselves with the principles and standards of behaviour established by the Volkswagen

Group's human resource director. Recruiting and employing new personnel for the PMO would

fall under the purview of the human resource manager, who would work closely with the Chief

Procurement Officer (CPO). As a result of this, the collaboration and consultation that takes

place between the HRO and the CPO will ensure that the recruitment, selection, and hiring of

PMO employees can work within the PMO environment and working conditions, as well as

uphold the PMO culture that exists within the organization (Darling & Whitty, 2016).

PMO Project Methods

As one of the most prominent PMO project methods, the lean process at VW ranks high

on the list. Shingo (2019) coined the term "lean methodology" to describe a procedure whose

main objective is optimising the speed with which project resources are used and the value

created. As a PMO strategy, lean methodology stresses continuous improvement to aid

companies and project managers in minimizing waste and optimizing the value of their projects.
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The Toyota Production System (TPS) exemplifies how lean methods can reduce time and

material loss by centralizing operations and coordinating the movement of primary materials,

people, and market demand (Shingo, 2019). But Volkswagen's PMO will modify the lean

methodology to be applied across the company's subsidiaries.

Employing the lean methodology places the onus on project managers to establish long-

term goals for their projects that align with the company's overarching goals. They will then

research and formulate comprehensive strategies to estimate the time, money, and resources

required to accomplish their goals. Project administrators are responsible for coordinating the

many moving parts of a project so that it can be completed as rapidly as feasible (Harris, 2021).

Establishing a streamlined supply chain and operating system is necessary to maintain constant

output. To produce the correct quantity of products, all departments must work together and

adapt to market demands. As stated in the first milestone, VW faces the risk of overproduction,

constrained operating capital, and insufficient resources and may be forced to sell obsolete goods

due to backorders. By lowering overproduction and minimizing defects, VW will significantly

reduce running costs, boost revenue, and provide more value to customers.

VW additionally makes use of the six sigma PMP methodology. Six sigma, like lean, is

based on continuously bettering a product or service. As defined by Pyzdek and Keller (2019),

six sigma is a methodology that aims to minimize the consequences of errors by detecting and

correcting them quickly. Before setting best practices, rules, or standards for project

management, the Chief Project Officer (CPO) must gain a firm grasp of the situation. By taking

this route, we can ensure that everything we do is necessary for VW and will benefit the

company and its partners the most. In the next stage, we take readings from several points in the

procedure. Quantities of time, resources, and money could be approximated. This process could
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help project teams ensure their work will be lucrative for the company. Here, we will also

carefully monitor the project's development. Finally, analyzing the information gathered

throughout the process's finished stages can help find any faults in the procedure. The fourth

stage will consist of a comprehensive upgrade with the single goal of fixing the errors. Last but

not least, process management entails making changes across the board in the impacted division,

location, or company to eliminate the recurring nature of the problem.

The lean and six sigma approaches work best when implemented in a looping process.

For the next iteration to commence, the old one must finish. Due to the continuous pressure to

release groundbreaking new car models, VW can significantly benefit from this. Incorporating

last year's project results as a starting point for this year's work will allow the company to deliver

improved models consistently. Moreover, the business might save money by coordinating these

periods.

PMO Project Tools

Project management office tools are cross-functional resources that help to simplify

processes. Gomes Silva et al., 2022 describe how PMO software can help manage a project's

funds, duties, issues, demand, timetable, and resources, as well as ease reporting and business

data insights. VW may employ Dashboards and Gantt plans, two of the most critical instruments.

Gantt plans should be used for all tasks handled by VW project supervisors. According to the

PMI (2018), a Gantt chart is a project management instrument that graphically shows the

project's goals, duties, ordering, and expected finish time. The time it takes to complete a project

can be reduced by using Gantt charts, which can be made to assist project managers in

monitoring their duties. Using the Gantt chart for project management, VW will save money

because completing a job on time saves both labour and capital. However, the company will earn
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more money because the project will run more frequently. A dashboard, on the other hand, is a

method for tracking Metrics that assists project administrators in evaluating progress and

identifying issue areas (PMI, 2018). In this case, project managers require a uniform system to

track everything from assignment and milestone state to the capability of their teams, the

pressures on their resources, and the production of their work. The tools used to keep track of

tasks should be automated to save money and effort. Automation will also assist in the early

discovery of errors by giving prior alerts and boosting project managers' reactions.

PMO Governance

PMO administration is critical if it establishes a systematic hierarchy of power,

accountability, and decision-making. Governance, as defined by the Project Management

Institute (2018), includes the rules, policies, functions, protocols, duties, and processes that aid in

initiating, administrating, and controlling projects. PMO oversight will be implemented at

Volkswagen Group to oversee PMO collaboration with the rest of the company, guarantee proper

decision-making, and hold all parties to account.

As was previously mentioned, the PMO will be led by a Chief Planning Officer. The

Chief Operating Officer (COO) will create the PMO, but they will not have full authority over

the PMO or the Chief Planning Officer (CPO). The CPO will have more leeway and power over

the PMO. The chief operating officer (COO) will assemble the company's long-term objectives,

while the chief project officer (CPO) will develop and spread best practices for the company's

project managers. However, the project manager's ability to influence the outcomes of their

goods and the companies' ability to act as proprietors and supporters of those outcomes will not

be affected in any way by this. Instead, the CPO's role will be to act as a watchdog, safeguarding
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the parent company's best interests and helping the project managers maximize the value for both

their organizations and the parent.

PMO Risk Management

Managing potential threats is a crucial part of any project's lifecycle. The Project

Management Institute (2018) defines PMO as finding, evaluating, and reacting correctly to

unclear circumstances or occurrences that could harm the project. Resistance to change, merger

difficulties, risk shortage, conflicts, and scope increases in different projects executed across the

company are all typical risks in PMO. These hazards can best be handled at Volkswagen Group

by being avoided or reduced.

We will always try to avoid or take advantage of a situation when feasible. As defined by

the Project Management Institute (2018), preventing risk means eliminating it entirely. In this

instance, the PMO will assist project managers in determining what hazards there might be, how

likely they are to appear, and what might be causing them. Potential dangers and successful

avoidance strategies should be easily identified thanks to the PMO’s requirement to draw on the

lessons learned from other projects with project managers. When dealing with a positive risk,

project managers will be given the tools they need to eliminate doubts and make sure favourable

events take place to

Risk avoidance in Volkswagen Group initiatives is ideal, but mitigation and improvement

are acceptable alternatives. The Project Management Institute (2018) defines risk minimization

as “minimizing exposure to the negative effects of project ambiguity and unforeseen

occurrences." Volkswagen project managers will be strongly urged to create prototypes and

conduct preliminary tests on a smaller scale before committing substantial resources to their

projects. It will be encouraged to perform the in-depth study, staff projects with qualified
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individuals, and solicit input from all parties involved. Project managers will also learn how to

increase the likelihood of and benefit from favourable hazards.

PMO Business Integration

Integrating PMOs into a company's business processes is crucial to ensure continuity and

maximize the success of its initiatives. The Project Management Institute (2018) states that all

PMOs should establish objectives and ideals consistent with the rest of the company. The PMO

should also share the same values as the rest of the company. The PMO's role in the company's

administration should also be clear.

The planned PMO will incorporate many aspects of Volkswagen Group's operations.

Before anything else, the PMO will collaborate with the company's upper-level leadership to

ensure everyone is working toward the same objectives. As was previously mentioned, a

complicated organization like Volkswagen Group needs a high degree of autonomy for a helpful

business PMO to be created that can satisfy the requirements of all project teams without

sacrificing the independence of any of the companies. While the Chief Privacy Officer will

report to the Chief Operating Officer, their position will have considerable autonomy. In

addition, it has been established that the CPO will be an integral part of the executive team and

participate fully in all discussions and decision-making. Incorporating these procedures into the

PMO will help to guarantee that all of its activities are consistent with those of the Volkswagen

Group. The PMO will operate effectively as an independent component of Volkswagen thanks to

the CPO's establishment of goals, aims, standards, and best practices that support the company

strategy and can be implemented across all levels and sectors of the business. The PMO will

create a mindset that aligns with that of Volkswagen Group, provide on-demand training to staff,

and hold regular meetings to improve communication and coordination company-wide.

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PMO Global Challenges

An exponential increase in global problems confronting an organization's PMO is

particularly probable, given that the latter's scope of responsibility is becoming increasingly

global. In this particular scenario, the absence of assistance from the VW Group leadership is

one of the difficulties affiliated with the business. Consequently, the PMO might be unable to

carry out its responsibilities, leading to confusion regarding the appropriate course of action.

Even if the company has corporate strategies, it may be difficult for the organization to develop

replicable steps and objectives across other subsidiaries and departments due to the autonomous

operations of the subsidiaries (Sandhu, Al Ameri, & Wikstrom, 2019). This may make it difficult

for the organization to develop replicable steps and objectives. Inconsistent mindset and

inadequate collaboration between the PMO and the organization are two additional factors

contributing to PMOs' failure.

Other Relevant PMO Considerations

Establishing a PMO can be broken down into five phases to guarantee a controlled

implementation of a PMO with the least amount of change impact and the highest possible level

of involvement with the principal stakeholders. Coordination in single-manufacturer project

teams is founded on numerous unarticulated groups of knowledge developed throughout the

company's existence. When projects are done as collaborative undertakings by more than one

company, the dangers of confusion are high if the players do not make significant efforts to make

themselves obvious. Such an endeavor is expensive and difficult to accurately assess because it

contradicts the members' desire to safeguard their knowledge and expertise.

Conclusion
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The Volkswagen Group is one of the world's most well-known and successful

transnational vehicle manufacturer. However, for the company to keep its current and higher

competitive leverage over competitors such as Toyota and General; and to cement its long-term

position in the automobile industry, it should have a PMO nthat is mandated to develop

replicable standards for the entire organization and lower the costs for its future projects. Due to

the complicated character of Volkswagen as a technology and manufacturing business, the

collaborative enterprise PMO is the form of PMO that will be the most appropriate for the

company. The organization ought to ensure that it possesses a robust PMO culture and distinct

PMO objectives, which should be aligned with the business to guarantee uniformity in its project

management.

Volkswagen Group has overtaken Toyota Motor Corporation as the most prominent

manufacturer globally. The company should establish a PMO to reduce the costs of its projects

and develop standards that can be replicated throughout the organization. This will allow the

company to firmly establish its position in the market and maintain its advantage in the face of

competitors like Toyota and Tesla. Due to the company's complexity, a supportive enterprise

PMO is the most appropriate organizational structure for VW Group. To guarantee uniformity,

the PMO needs to establish crystal-clear objectives and a robust culture congruent with the rest

of the organization.
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References

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308.

Gomes Silva, F. J., Kirytopoulos, K., Pinto Ferreira, L., Sá, J. C., Santos, G., & Cancela

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Hansen, L. K., & Svejvig, P. (2022). Seven Decades of Project Portfolio Management Research

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