BUS402: Project Management

This chapter aims to give an overview of organizational structure from several points of view, including culture, communications, and management. Consider the convergence of cultures between team members, stakeholders, and you, the project manager. How do you engage the team? What issues can adversely affect the project when dealing with different cultures and expectations?

Watch this video, which covers the organizational issues that management must discuss before starting a project and strategies for identifying and preventing these issues to prevent project failure. How might the point of view of the professor differ from yours, culturally? What effect does technology have in this area?

As you read, note how a project management professional's communication style, personality type, and leadership style can affect how they interact with the project team members. What communication style or personality type do you prefer in a manager? Is there a certain type of leader you work best with? Think about the type of communicator and leader you would like to be.

Read the first section of this chapter on why people management matters to the successful delivery of projects. This chapter demonstrates the importance of managing people for the success of a project. You will read other sections from this chapter later on.

Watch this video, which covers how to select the right personnel for project implementations and tips on identifying the right people and resources such as facilities, funding, and other needs to carry out project tasks.

This video focuses on how to get buy-in from your team members and stakeholders. Part of that is how you make hiring decisions. Can you think of some examples from your work or volunteer experience where you had to make a teambuilding decision?

Creating a good working team with a group culture that benefits all members is vital to a project team's smooth functioning. Think about times when you had positive or negative interactions with team members on a project. What can you attribute these moments to? How was the project ultimately affected? Attempt the exercises at the end of the chapter.

Read this section, which discusses how to build an effective team of high performers for successful project implementation.

Watch this lecture, which discusses the importance of identifying the right resources in project teams, team-building tactics, and the effect of leadership on outcomes.

This video posits that one of the benefits of building diverse teams is interdisciplinarity, or the thinking and creating across disciplines that can happen when team members have diverse perspectives, points of view, or backgrounds. Can you think of any additional benefits of this kind of collaboration? Are there drawbacks?

Read this article, which discusses why project managers must communicate effectively. Spend some time on the activity. Record your reflections in your notes.

Managing conflict can mean more than just settling disputes among the project team members. Project managers may have to settle conflicts with their clients. In this section, you will consider the project manager's role in settling issues around competing interests, making decisions to revise previous decisions, and dealing with the client's concerns.

Read this section, which discusses why political skills will be necessary to make deals and resolve conflicts with stakeholders who project managers may have little formal authority over.