SECTION A 6 Marks

1. What is a Project?
The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project as A temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product or service (PMI, 2000).
Examples of Projects:

Creation of Placement Brochure for Krupanidhi College

Construction of a Residential Complex for employees of Mysore University

Development & Test Firing of a new Point to point Missile by Indian Army

Features of Project:

Specific The result of a project is known

Involves Multiple disciplines (usually)

Part of overall programs, and can be broken down into tasks and subtasks, if desired

Sponsor Projects normally have an identified sponsor who derives a benefit out of the
project

Conflict - Projects normally experience conflicts of schedule, budget, specifications etc

2. Differentiate between a Project and a Program with an example (Mysore University, December
2011)
Projects are part of a larger entity called Program. Example:- A Program to develop a new
automobile has several parts like Project to develop Engine, Project to develop an Improved
suspension system etc.
The differences may be classified under the main headings
i.

Scope: Program is the parent under which Projects fall. Each sub division of a program
can be a project. Thus Programs have wider scope when compared to projects

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

ii.

Breakdown: - Program can be broken down into constituent projects. A Project can be
broken down into Tasks, which can be broken down into Subtasks, which can be broken
down further still. The purpose of these subdivisions is to allow the Project to be viewed
at various levels of detail.

Examples: TCS has secured a contract to manage the IT infrastructure of Oxford University. This
is a Program
As part of this agreement, TCS may have several projects as below
Manage the IT infrastructure and networks
Establish Cloud controlled Networks
Creation of a Grants Monitoring System
Maintenance of Salary System
3. What are Nonprojects? How is it different from a Project.
An activity that is routine, has no specific deliverable, and does not have a specific due date is
not a project and is called a Nonproject.
For example, the routine couselling given to students in a Vocational College is a Nonproject.
Instead, a Couselling exercise to facilitate the Introduction of a New course in the current year
targeted can be termed as a project.
Differences between Projects and Nonprojects can be based on:

Uniqueness: - A unique activtivity is a project, whereas a routine one is normally a

nonproject

Deliverable Project always has a deliverable or a result to be submitted, whereas a

non project does not have a deliverable

Due date Project has a Due date or submission date attached to it, whereas non
project activities are continuous and have no dates attached to them

4. What are the three goals of a Project? Is there a fourth goal?

The three goals of a Project determine the success of a Project. These are as follows:i.

Performance The end result or acceptable criteria are laid down by the customer. The
project must meet the agreed upon specifications to the satisfaction of the customer.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

ii.

Cost Project must be either on or under budget. It should not cross the budget laid
down.

iii.

Schedule The Project must be delivered within the Time agreed upon. It should not
extend beyond the Finishing Time laid down.

Fourth Goal? Some authors argue that Quality is a distinct goal separate from the above three,
but quality of deliverables is very much a part of the Performance goal.

Performance

Required Performance

Performance

Cost

Budget Limit
Due Date
Time
(Schedule)

5. Who are the various Stakeholders

in a Project (ICFAI Unvty, 2011)
(
A breakdown of the definition of a stakeholder from the Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBoK) is:
A person or organisation:

Actively involved in the project

Whose interests may be positively or negatively affected either by the work of the project or the
outputs from the project OR
Who may exert influence over the project or its deliverables

Stakeholders can be grouped in two categories:

1. Internal
2. External
Internal Stakeholders are internal to the organization:

Sponsor : This is the unit that spends money on the project. This is often the cost center,
department under whose budget the project receives funds
internal customer or client: This is the unit that derives the benefit of the project, or atleast is
benefitted partly because of the project

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

Project team: This includes the Project manager who heads the project, Project Lead, various
skilled staff whose skills are used in the project, support staff if any etc
Program manager : This is the overall Head of the project and similar projects for the same
client, or same category etc
Portfolio manager : Portfolio Manager heads all programs falling under the Portfolio
Management : They refer to the higher management who monitor the projects and track the
profitability
Others groups manager internal to organization; e.g. functional manager, operational manager,
and admin manger etc.

External Stakeholders are external to the organization:

External customer or client : This is the main party for whom the project gives primary benefits,
or solves a problem. The requirements of the project are shaped by the needs of the client
End users of projects outcome : Some times, the client may be the front end for the real user.
Although the primary need comes from the end user, the sign off authority for the work may be
the customer.
Supplier : Suppliers of various components, parts, service required during any phaase of the
project
Sub-contractors : Parties to whom all or part of the deliverable work can be assigned
Government : Local bodies, agencies, institutions, etc who need to sanction, approve or support
various stages. Eg: Municipalities, Police, Revenue and Tax authorities etc
Local communities : The resident bodies living in the area where the project is based
Media etc.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

6. List the factors leading to the increased use of project management (Mysore Unvty, December
2011)
There are several factors responsible for the increased popularity of Projects as an approach of
handling work. Following are some of these reasons.
(i) Increasing size of Investments: The extent of funds involved in creation of new infrastructure is
on a higher trend. This is so because of the use of complex technology, inflation, international
suppliers and customers etc. Investments of this large volume need specialized handling and
management
(ii) Need for Specialized and Industry relevant Professional Skills: Rapid technological advances and
Practices in every industry calls for professional managers possessing those skills. Management
of these dynamic businesses need professionals who can adapt to these changes at a fast pace
and efficiently manage them. Example, industries like semi conductors, microprocessors need
specialized professionals with experience in the same industry to fill the higher positions.
(iii) Increasing Risk and Complexities in projects: Risk of competition, loss of revenues if higher in
todays businesses. These can be dealt with by developing suitable Risk Mitigation and
Minimization plans which again need a professional approach of a Project manager.
(iv) Focus on Time Factor - Project management approaches help in handling assignments in a
specified time frame with definite start and completion points .Example handling customer
orders by Industries involved in production of capital goods.
(v) Task Orientation:- Project management approaches provide task orientation to personnel in an
Organization in handling assignments. Example: Organizations in IT sector handling software
development assignments for clients.
(i) New product/service: Creation of a new product or development of a new service to meet the
unfulfilled demand of customers. This is especially true as several new sectors of existing
industries are evolving. Examples are Real Estate (villa, gated communities etc), Hospitality
(serviced apartments), software (SOA, Cloud, emerging verticals like aerospace, high tech etc).
As the market gets more complex, there is a wider scope for new ideas, products and services.
(ii) Export potential to take advantage of exchange rate differences: Projects may be required to
exploit the export potential of a product or service. This has to do with the differences in
exchange rates between two currencies. For example it is profitable to serve the US and
European markets because there is significant difference between Rupee and Dollar or Rupee
and Euro. The other reason is the popularity of a domestic product in foreign markets.
(iii) Investments involving state-of-the-art facilities: Whenever a large scale investment is required in
the creation or development of facilities, this is often managed as a new project, rather than
extension to the existing facility.
(iv) Untapped market: There are several sectors or regions that have not been explored and which
offer potential for expansion. There exist emerging needs of existing customers. New projects
are needed to meet the unmet demands and un-served territories.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

(v) High profit margin: Customers or Territories that yield a high margin of profit need additional
investment in the form of newer projects. This is comparatively less risky than new customers
and is a definite means for the company to attain faster growth.
(vi) Developing an underdeveloped area: This applies to new Geographies and smaller markets. New
projects are started to serve an underdeveloped region in a better manner. These projects
involve entire development of the region and not just the setting up of a plant or office.
(vii) Influence of Industrial Policy: Industrial policy has several aspects that keep changing according
to the dynamics of changing business conditions. For example industrial policy change can be
change of Export ceiling, setting up of Special economic zones (SEZs), industrial parks, tax
holidays, Permitted and Exempted Lists etc.
(viii) Dissatisfied customers with the existing product/service: Existing Product/ service may be
suffering from defects or deviations from acceptable standards. A new project may be
undertaken to correct, modify or improve the existing product.
7. What is a Matrix Structure Organization? What are the various classification available under a
Matrix structure. (ICFAI Unvty 2011)
In order to capture the advantages of both the pure project and the functionally organized
project as well as to avoid the problems associated with each type, a new type of project
organizationmore accurately, a combination of the twowas developed. To form a matrix
organized project; a pure project is superimposed on a functionally organized system.
In a matrix project, there is a Program manager who has many projects under him. Each project
is headed by a Project manager who reports to the Program manager. The Program manager
has to coordinate and monitor the activities of several or all of the projects.
These projects may or may not be related, but they all demand the parents resources, that is
they share the resources of Functional departments like Manufacturing, R&D, Finance,
Personnel etc. The use of resources must be coordinated, if not the projects themselves. This
method of organizing the interface between projects and the parent organization succeeds in
capturing the major advantages of both pure and functional projects.
The figure below shows the number of resources or the number of resource hours of each
functional department being used in the project

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

Classification of Matrix Project

Matrix projects can be classified in different ways using the different combinations of pure
projects and functional projects.
1. Strong matrix or a Project matrix: - If the matrix project closely resembles the pure
project with many individuals assigned full-time to the project, it is referred to as a
strong matrix or a project matrix.
2. Weak matrix or a Functional matrix:- If functional departments assign resource capacity
to the project rather than people, the matrix is referred to as a weak matrix or a
functional matrix.
3. Balanced matrix:- If the project has some people and some capacity assigned to it, it is
referred to as a balanced matrix.

Example of Matrix project - A firm manufacturing household oven cleaners might borrow chemists
from the R&D department to develop cleaning compounds that could dissolve baked-on grease. The
project might also test whether such products were toxic to humans by using the capacity of the firms
Toxicity Laboratory rather than having individual toxicity testers assigned to the project team.
The project organizations appropriate for different types of projects are summarized below.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

SECTION B 10 marks
1. Do projects have a Life Cycle. Give some examples.
A Projects lifecycle measures Project completion as a function of either time (schedule) or
Resources (Budget). This life cycle must be understood because the managerial focus
required by the PM shifts or varies at different stages of the cycle.
There are two different paths (Life Cycles) along which projects progress from start to finish.
One is S- shaped and the other is J-shaped. It is an important distinction because
identifying the different life cycles helps the PM to focus attention on appropriate matters
to ensure successful project completion.
S shaped project life cycle curve:
We can explain this with an example. Take the example of a Residential complex
construction.
i.
Planning Phase - This is characterised by a slow start with a lot of discussion and
planning.
ii.
Construction Phase - Then construction begins and the progress is rapid.
iii.
End Phase - When the house is built, but not finished inside, the progress is slowed
down, the next set of activities like the painting, plumbing, interior finishes etc.
happen in a slow pace.
So the progress can be inferred to be in a pattern Slow Fast Slow. i.e, Slow Start, Quick momentum,
slow finish.This approach is the traditional pattern for most projects and is called the S Curve.

Slow
Finish

Percentage Project completion

Slow
start

Quick
Momentum

Time

The other types of projects are those that require a lot preparation in terms of the constituents and
components, and once the components are ready, the mixing or assembling of these components to get
Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

the final product happens at a faster rate. In J type cycle path the progress in beginning is slow and as
the time moves on the progress of the project improves at fast rate.
Example, in a developing an energy plantation. In this the land preparation progresses slowly and as
soon as the land and seedling are ready, transplantation is under taken. Other examples are Computer
Software creation, chemical engineering projects etc.
The various stages in a J curved project are as follows:
(i) Initiation:- In these types of projects, the PMs job begins with great attention to having all the
correct resources at hand, and readily available when needed.
(ii) Integration:- Once the Assembling or Production is underway, it involves the integration of
various sets of codes or chemicals, as the case may be. At this stage one cannot add the missing
ingredients, if any.
(iii) Wind Up:- The crucial stage is to determine when the finished product is ready. At what point is
the project complete?. In the case of the chemical, it is the final compound that is according to
the specifications, and for the software, it is the fully defect free software.

Project managers Role:i.

ii.

iii.

Planning phase - The objective of the project manager is to ensure that the project plan reflects
the needs of the client as well as the abilities of the project team and is designed to be
consistent with the goals and objectives of the parent firm.
Construction/ Implementation phase As the project goes into the implementation stage of its
life cycle, the PMs attention turns to the job of keeping the project on budget and schedule and
to negotiate appropriate tradeoffs to ensure the progress of the project.
End Phase/ Wind up phase PM has to ensure that the delivered project meets the client
requirements, to close out the financial aspects of the project, and adherence to quality by
closing out all defects and open issues.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

2. Explain in detail the various phases of a project life cycle with reference to a civil
construction project. (Mysore Unvty, December 2011)
--- Explain the S Curve as given in the previous question -Consider the construction of a football stadium or a shopping mall. Following are the detailed
steps that fall in the sequence of the projects life cycle.
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Land acquisition as per Draft plan and the design approval from the requisite authorities
A competitive bid to find a contractor
Assigning a project manager and a team of construction specialists to the project
Development of a set of plans for each specialty area like main structure, electrical systems,
mechanicals, parking and landscaping etc, by each specialist architect
(v) Procurement and timely delivery of external infrastructure like arranging of cranes, earth
movers, excavation equipment, lumber, cement, brick, and other materials
(vi) Hiring a suitable number of local construction workers with the appropriate skills
(vii) Construction
(viii)
Finishing
(ix) Comparison with design and modification for changes required
(x) Signoff by customer

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

3. Explain the benefits of project portfolio Management. (Mysore Unvty, December 2011)
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is the centralized management of processes, methods,
and technologies used by project managers and project management offices (PMOs) to
analyze and collectively manage a group of current or proposed projects based on
numerous key characteristics. The objectives of PPM are to determine the optimal resource
mix for delivery and to schedule activities to best achieve an organizations operational and
financial goals while honouring constraints imposed by customers, strategic objectives, or
external real-world factors.
The steps in this process generally follow those described in Longman, Sandahl, and Speir
(1999) and Englund and Graham (2000).
Following are some of the benefits of PPM

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

vi.

vii.
viii.

Prioritize the right projects and programs: PPM can guide decision-makers to strategically
prioritize, plan, and control enterprise portfolios. It also ensures the organization continues to
increase productivity and on-time delivery - adding value, strengthening performance, and
ultimately improving bottom-line results.
Eliminates surprises: Formal portfolio project oversight provides managers and executives with a
process to identify potential problems earlier in the project lifecycle, and the visibility to take
corrective action before they impact financial results.
Build contingencies into the overall portfolio: Flexibility often exists within individual projects
but, by integrating contingency planning across the entire portfolio of investments,
organizations can have greater flexibility around how, where, and when they need to allocate
resources, alongside the flexibility to adjust those resources in response to a crisis.
Maintain response flexibility: with in-depth visibility into resource allocation, organizations can
quickly respond to escalating emergencies by maneuvering resources from other activities,
while calculating the impact this will have on the wider business.
Do more with less: For organisations to systematically review project management processes
while cutting out inefficiencies and automating those workflows and to ensure a consistent
approach to all projects, programs, and portfolios while reducing costs.
Ensure informed decisions and governance: By bringing together all project collaborators, data
points, and processes in a single, integrated solution, a unified view of project, program, and
portfolio status can be achieved within a framework of rigorous control and governance to
ensure all projects consistently adhere to business objectives.
Extend best practice enterprise-wide: organizations can continuously vet project management
processes and capture best practices, providing exponential degrees of efficiency as a result.
Understand future resource needs: by aligning the right resources to the right projects at the
right time, organizations can ensure individual resources are fully leveraged and requirements
are clearly understood. PPM also allows an organization to establish complete project capacity
at any point in time.

4. What are the measures taken by an organization to align its projects with the overall
organizational strategy?
OR
How do you align Project structures to suit organizational structure and mode of
functioning? (ICFAI Unvty 2011)

The project organization structure defines the relationships between team members and organization
members. Often the organization structure is communicated as a visual structure (organization chart).
The objective in designing a project structure is to provide a formal environment that the project
manager can use to influence team members to do their best in completing their assignments and
duties.
Tools to align Project Structure to Organizational Strategy

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

i.

Create a Vision Statement: Vision is the foundation of aligning projects to organizational

needs. This is one of the first things you should do in your project. A vision and vision statement
that is understood by the entire team is essential to aligning project work to the needs of your
organization. Every project leader should have a clear, powerful vision and vision statement
that communicates the purpose and values of the organization.

ii.

Create a Project Charter

The project charter should include the project goal, high-level budget requirements, and project
scope. The project goal should align with the organizational needs and referred to through all
phases of the project to ensure the alignment with the original business needs. The charter must
be reviewed and signed by all stakeholders

iii.

Create a Project Organization Structure

The project organization structure defines the relationships between team members and organization
members. Often the organization structure is communicated as a visual structure (organization chart).
The objective in designing a project structure is to provide a formal environment that the project
manager can use to influence team members to do their best in completing their assignments and
duties.
Different types of organization
Traditional organizations: These are built in a vertical setting providing more for up and
down pattern of authority and communications. These organizations are slow to respond to changes in
organizational environment. On the other hand projects are characterized by horizontalness providing
for direct communication cutting across lines of authority. This structure for projects provide for faster
response to external changes. Project organizations incorporate horizontal relations into the formal
structure.
Divisional Organization: Here a separate division is set up to implement the projects. The
project manager who heads the project is provided with the required personnel over whom the project
manager has full line authority. He has total control to co-ordinate the various functions and activities.
Divisional project organization facilitate planning and control and integration of efforts by all groups.
However this form of Organization has a draw back in the sense that it may lead to duplication of
specialists in a company handling multiple projects. The set up may lead to inefficient use of resources.
Matrix Organization: A matrix is represented by rows and columns where the line functions
or departments are shown in rows and projects in columns. Employees in the organization belong to a
row or a line function or department and move to the column when they are required for a project.
When the team members work is completed in the project the project manager returns the person to
the line function.
In a matrix organization the personnel working in the project report to the functional head as
well as the project manager. This form of organization involves that the authority is shared between the
functional head and the project manager. Matrix organizations facilitate effective utilization of
resources. Matrix organizations may also involve inherent conflict situations.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

5. Explain the following as related to project management with a suitable example for each.
i.
Bread and butter projects.
ii.
Pearls
iii.
Oysters
iv.
White Elephant
(Mysore Unvty, December 2011)
These are all various categories of projects as used in the Portfolio Mapping technique. Various graphing
and charting techniques generally used to portray the "balance" of a portfolio of projects by displaying
how the various projects perform on two or more dimensions or criteria. The most popular portfolio
mapping diagram displays project risk and rewardthe y-axis is labeled probability of success and the xaxis is labeled payoff or reward. Projects are plotted on the diagram according to their estimated
success probabilities and payoffs (if successful).
A bubble diagram is a popular variant of portfolio mapping that uses a circle or ellipse to identify each
project instead of a single point. The size, shape, color or shading of the circle is varied to provide
additional information about the corresponding project like funding and resources. For example, the size
of the circle may represent the initial cost of the project. Given fixed funding or resources for all the
projects, the combined areas of the bubbles must remain constant. (If a project is added or increased in
size, then others must be dropped or decreased.)
In one popular version of the risk-reward portfolio mapping, projects are categorized according the
quadrant that they fall into. The 4 quadrants of the diagram are labeled "pearls," "oysters," "bread &
butter," and "white elephants."

(i) Pearls have a high probability of success and yield high payoffs These are the projects that
every company wants high likelihood of success and high rewards.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

(ii) Oysters have a lower success likelihood because of technical or other difficulties, but are worth
pursuing because of the high potential reward. These are long shots, but with high payoffs.
(iii) Bread & butter are low-risk projects with low reward These are the most common types of
projects. Benefits are low to moderate, but the success is high, usually because of the ease of
implementation. Too many bread and butter projects however distract resources from other
profitable projects.
(iv) White elephants are projects with low likelihood of success and low payoff. It is not the best bet
for a company to invest resources in such projects. Mostly it is because already there has been
some effort and money invested in the project. At times of resource crunch, white elephants are
culled off from the project portfolio.

6. A major Indian NGO is running a program in Central Africa in collaboration with human rights
association to provide basic amenities such as food and shelter to the starving natives
Explain the phases of program management life cycle of this project (ICFAI Unvty 2011)
7.

Write short notes on the following (JNTU Hyderabad, February 2012)

a) Suitable Organisation Structure for Projects
b) Stakeholder Management
---Refer Question number 4 (Section B) and Question number 5 (Section A)----

8.

What are the approaches in Project Screening & Selection? (JNTU Hyderabad, February
2012)

SECTION C 15 marks
(ICFAI Unvty, 2011)
Syngenta is a world-leading plant science business. Syngenta was formed in 2000 from the merger of
the agricultural divisions of Novartis and Zeneca. The company has a wide range of product lines
both in crop protection (selective herbicides, non- selective herbicides, fungicides, insecticides) and
professional products (including lawn and turf products) and seeds ifield crops, vegetables) and garden
plants. It is committed* to promoting sustainable agriculture through innovative research and
technology. Its purpose is to bring plant potential to life. Syngenta currently employs more than
24,000 people in over 90 countries. Its customers range from farmers to governments Well-qualified
innovative scientists are core strength of the business. A strong focus on recruiting and developing
its employees helps Syngenta remain a major player in a highly competitive market. The business
prides itself on attracting motivated, talented and involved employees. Once people are recruited, it
fully utilizes the breadth and depth of their available talent
To fulfill its mission effectively, Syngenta needs to operate within a structure best suited to its
purposes. Traditionally large businesses divide the organization up into functional areas.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

The'functions of Syngenta include Research and Development (R & D), global supply (including
manufacturing), Human Resources (HR), sales and marketing, finance, and Information Systems (IS).
Within any organization there are likely to be several layers of authority. The number of levels
depends upon whether the business has a hierarchical or flat structure. Syngenta is committed to
empowering its staff and a hierarchical structure is not suited to its innovative style. Like many large
businesses working in both national and international markets, Syngenta has adopted a matrix
structure. A matrix structure is often referred to as Project team structure. In this approach, team
leaders manage specific tasks, and projects. Each team will consist of members from different
departments, each with their own specialisms and expertise related to the project. It takes
employees out of their usual functional areas to work with other employees with different expertise
and specialisms. This ensures the project has all the skills it needs to achieve its target. It also means
the employees may benefit from each others abilities. Some teams are only formed for a short
period of time. They disband when their projects have been completed and the team members are
redeployed on other projects. Other teams have a longer or sometimes permanent remit. Tbe matrix
structure is not an alternative to functional management but works alongside it. Syngenta's project
teams support one or more of its business strategies.
Syngenta has a culture of empowering its workers. This enables them to be in control of their work.
To fulfill Syngenta's aims and objectives, employees must aiso demonstrate specific skills and
competencies. Dr Kathryn Brocklehurst explains what this means for her: As a manager and scientist,
time management, planning and communication are key skills. I manage a research team and it is vital that
our work meets deadlines in order to get products developed for our customers.

Kathryns planning skills are essential as delays could mean that competitors bring out new products
first. As a result, Syngenta could lose business. Investment costs are high in the research area. Large
research projects can run for 10 years, costing up to 100 million per project. Clear leadership is
essential to make this product development work as efficiently as possible. Leadership skills at this
level'take time to develop. Kathryns career has taken her through many different areas of the
business. This experience has helped her develop her understanding of good practice throughout the
business. It has allowed her to appreciate what other departments have to offer, enabling her to
select the right people for her projects.
Syngenta is a forward-looking company. It wants its people and leaders to be very much passionate
about achieving the company's goals. To reach the goals the employees of Syngenta are expected
to be very much focused on the essential areas such as developing new products to deadlines,
developing new skills and expertise to ensure that the highest standards are maintained. The
employees are also expected to be recognized and celebrated for their achievements and creative
and innovative in the work they accomplish. Syngenta's HR team provides training and
development opportunities for all staff. Balancing risk and reward is an important aspect of
Syngenta's management approach. It is committed to research and development to keep ahead of
the competition. It is not afraid of mistakes but expects employees and managers to learn from
them and use them to motivate people The company presents annual awards to employees whose
achievements have helped drive the business forwards. These awards have inspired further
innovations and helped employees focus on generating new ideas to help the company perform even
better.
Syngenta is a global business operating in a competitive market. It relies heavily on its scientists to
research and develop new products. These products enable countries throughout the world to grow
sufficient food to feed the ever-increasing world population. With over 24,000 staff working in 90
countries, Syngenta must organize its resources and use the talents of its people effectively It uses
a matrix management structure, as this is best suited to bringing together people with diverse skills
into project teams. This works better than having a tall hierarchical structure with many layers. Team
leaders in charge of project teams are trained and supported to help their teams perform to the

highest standards.
Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal

Syngenta has a commitment to recruiting people with skills and abilities which the business can
develop long-term This benefits employees by providing more challenging role opportunities and it
benefits the company by ensuring it has the right talent resources in place for future growth.

Questions

1. To fulfill its mission effectively, Sygenta needs to operate within a structure that best suits its
purpose. In this context, analyze the organizational structure of Sygenta.

2. According to Dr. Kathryn Brocklehurst, a manager and scientist - time management, planning and
communication are key skills. Evaluate the extent to which employee empowerment is essential
for Syngenta. Also explain how this has been accomplished by Syngenta.

Krupanidhi School of Management

Faculty: Rajasree Venugopal