By: Annabelle Vivien Alonzo, MM-1

 THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO DP

 THE TOP-DOWN APPROACH

 ADVANTAGES OF USING TDA

 DISADVANTAGES OF USING TDA

 TOP-DOWN
 BOTTOM-UP
 COLLABORATIVE (MIXED)
 OTHER APPROACHES
 a method of planning, defining objectives and ways to achieve them through the
top down.
 First, global (framework) goals are set, and ways how to achieve them. They are
gradually moved to lower and lower levels of the organizational hierarchy to be
developed and specified. It is therefore a divergent approach.
 Project objectives are established by the top management. Top managers provide
guidelines, information, plans and fund processes. Following this approach,
certainty opens the door for potential failure of the project.
 focused on keeping the decision making process at the senior level.
 goals and quotas are established at the highest level, and those at the top are not
often willing to take advice or any guidance from lower level employees.
 senior-level managers need to be as specific as possible when laying out
expectations since those following the plan are not involved in the planning
process.
 because employees are not included in any of the decision making process and are
often only motivated through either fear or incentives, moral can become an issue.
 With top-down planning, management must choose techniques to align projects
and goals. Management holds the sole responsibility for the plans set forth and for
the end result. This way of thinking assumes that management knows best how to
plan and carry out a project, thus not taking advantage of talented employees who
may have more experience with certain aspects of the project. Some see the top-
down planning process as a way to make a plan, and not about who develops the
plan. It allows management to divide a project into steps, and then into still smaller
steps. This continues until the steps can be studied, due-dates can be accurately
assigned, and then parts of the project can be assigned to an employee. However,
the focus is on long-term goals, and the here-and-now goals can get lost. Often, this
approach is applied best to very small projects.
advantages
 The advantage of this approach is that decisions can be made and implemented
very quickly. This is particularly important when time is limited.
 The other benefit of top-down project planning is that it helps align the project
goals with the organization’s strategic goals as upper management is giving the
directions.
disadvantages
 Because the team is not involved in the project planning, they might feel left out and
as if they can’t voice their opinions.
 Furthermore, the prerequisite for top-down projects planning to work is that
communication is clear. Unspecific requirements and expectations can quickly lead to
misunderstandings which can ultimately result in the project failing. Remember that
the team is not involved in the planning and thus, does not know the details of the
project. It’s the project manager’s responsibility to communicate the goals that upper
management has set.
 The disadvantage is a unidirectional process, so in the planning system lacks
feedback. Experience shows that this top-down management often results in reduced
productivity and causes bottlenecks or so-called lockdowns.
 Such lockdowns can lead to unnecessary pain and significantly slow down a project’s
completion.
1. Does your company use the Top-down Approach?
2. What companies use the Top-down Approach?
 Trump Organization
 Helmsley Hotels
 Martha Stewart Living
 Highly regulated industries (b/fi)
- Günther Wöhe