Benchmarking Bernard Lester

Mid Course Exercise

Hillery Hunkins

University of Phoenix

MBA/590

Strategic Implementation and Alignment

Dr. J. Greg Gimba

June 28, 2007

Week 5

Question1:

What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way projects are managed? What has been the impact of these forces on the management of projects?

The environment in which any business operates influences the outcome of its activities. Prevailing forces within that environment require varying degrees of manipulation or control to effect the desired result. The forces that are brought to bear on the management of projects are of two types; internal forces and external forces. Much more control can be exercised over the internal forces as they are within the scope of managerial authority. This is very much unlike the external forces over which management has little control and seriously influence the way projects are managed.

Among the main forces are the economic factors, the organization's culture and psychology, globalization, regulatory issues, technological advances and as appropriate time to market. Each of these forces not only uniquely impacts the project but affect its outcome and dictates aspects of management's policy. Although each force is critical to project management success, pivotal to that process is an understanding of the culture that defines the behavior of the people one would encounter in administering the project. That awareness, "whether inter-country or within a company," will help you get where you are going more smoothly.

Culture as defined by Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams is "a series of rules and methods which a society or organization has evolved to deal with the regular problems that face it . . . Culture is to the organization what personality is to the individual - a hidden yet unifying theme that provides meaning, direction and mobilization that can exert a decisive influence on the overall ability of the organization to deal with the challenges it faces"

Awareness of the organization's culture provides certain leverage for mobility and ultimate success. Elizabeth Harrin (2006) puts it nicely. She recommends that, "Being aware of the preferred style of your team will help you relate to them and will help you understand how to get the best from them." This in turn has a positive effect on the management of project.

Understanding culture has a particular connection to organization psychology as organization psychology concerns itself with behavior in the workplace. Guion (1965) defines Industrial and Organizational Psychology as "the scientific study of the relationship between man and the world of work:... in the process of making a living" (p. 817) Another writer, Muchinsky, in addressing the practical side of organizational psychology, asserts the knowledge can help to achieve four specific goals;

"To hire better employees, reduce absenteeism, improve communication increase job satisfaction" and I add a fifth, to create synergy. Synergy fuels group cohesion an important ingredient in project management and influences how projects are managed.

Other factors within the environment that impact project management include regulatory issues. These are external forces over which management has little control. They could be considered legal and political turbulences which must be carefully negotiated to avoid derailment or deviation from the vision and mission. In some instances it calls for the integration of these issues into the management plan. A typical example of this was revealed in an attempt to develop a variety of maze that was insect resistant for Africa. The project was called IRMA11. The need to increase production could not eclipse the importance of compliance with the regulatory issues.

A report by the CIMMYT (International Maize and wheat Improvement Centre) indicated that, "In the course of implementation of IRMA II it became clear that the regulatory issues were not exhaustively covered in the original project plan," In response to this, advice was sought and plans put in place for compliance. The report further indicated that, "In June 2004, consultant Willy De Greef provided IRMA parties with an overview of regulatory issues related to transgenic crops. At that special IRMA Steering Committee meeting, a working group was established to formulate and oversee IRMA II strategies for fulfilling regulatory regimens." www.cimmyt.org. Such regulations force the organization to adapt if it were to successfully achieve its objectives. Failure could easily result in fine and represent ethical and moral breaches. Thus regulatory issues force organizations to rethink certain approaches to project.

Technological advances forces companies to make adjustments in a similar vein to regulations. These advances cam play a role in projects being delivered on time and on budget. The converse is also true. The organization must be well positioned to take advantage of the new advancement and to ensure that efficiency and creativity are not being compromised. Being in a position to take advantage of the advances in technology may at times occasion a paradigm shift and help management to realize that usual business is not always business as usual. Failure to recognize this can result in stagnation if not regression.

Stagnation and regression can also result from a company's inability or unwillingness to respond to global market forces. The reality of a single market space or globalization as it is more popularly known has changed business and project management culture. Copenhagen Business School in an article captioned Strategic Risk Management Project shared the view that. "Across different industrial environments, the competitive situation is characterized by increasing dynamism, complexity, and turbulence as reflective of Ð''hypercompetitive' conditions that continuously challenge the strategic resolve of commercial enterprise. At the same time society is faced with the challenges of potential systemic risks embedded in interacting global markets, worldwide climatic changes, and threats of international terrorism. This accentuates the need for effective strategic risk management practices to deal with these phenomena both at corporate management and public policy levels."

The impact of globalization on project management could not have been