Discussion Post: Project Management
• Because of the individuality of people, there always exist differing views of what management is all about. Below are lists of possible perspectives and a selected group of organizational members. For each individual select the possible ways that this individual might view project management:
o Individuals
o Upper-level manager
o Project manager
o Functional manager
o Project team member
o Scientist and consultant
o Perspectives
o A threat to established authority
o A source for future general managers
o A cause of unwanted change in ongoing procedures
o A means to an end
o A significant market for their services
o A place to build an empire
o A necessary evil to traditional management
o An opportunity for growth and advancement
o A better way to motivate people toward an objective
o A source of frustration in authority
o A way of introducing controlled changes
o An area of research
o A vehicle for introducing creativity
o A means of coordinating functional units
o A means of deep satisfaction
o A way of life
• Will project management work in all companies? If not, identify those companies in which project management may not be applicable and defend your answers.
• What attributes should a project manager have? Can an individual be trained to become a project manager? If a company were changing over to a project management structure, would it be better to promote and train from within or hire from the outside?
• What types of projects might be more appropriate for functional management rather than project management, and vice versa?
• Do you think that there would be a shift in the relative degree of importance of the following terms in a project management environment as opposed to a traditional management environment?
o Time management
o Communications
o Motivation.
The response should include a reference list. One-inch margins, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space and APA style of writing and citations.