Project Management

- A General Overview -

Problem Solving and Decision Making

Define the problem Look at potential causes for the problem Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem Select an approach to resolve the problem Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan) Monitor implementation of the plan Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

Approaches to Managing Projects

Agile Management PRINCE2 Project Portfolio Management Fusion Project Management

Five Project Management Traits to Master "the How"

A collaborative management style. Adaptability Figure-it-out resourcefulness Highly developed communication skills Flexibility

Leadership

Leadership is a process of giving purpose (meaningful direction) to collective effort, and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve purpose. (Jacobs & Jaques) Leadership is defined as the process of influencing the activities of an organized group toward goal achievement. (Rauch & Behling)

Management Styles

Autocratic: Leader makes all decisions unilaterally. Permissive: Leader permits subordinates to take part in decision making and also gives them a considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities.

Effective communication by leadership in three critical areas

Helping employees understand the company's overall business strategy Helping employees understand how they contribute to achieving key business objectives. Sharing information with employees on both how the company is doing and how an employee's own division is doing relative to strategic business objectives.

Directive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; closely supervises subordinates. Directive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; closely supervises subordinates. Permissive Democrat: Makes decisions participatively; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work. Permissive Autocrat: Makes decisions unilaterally; gives subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.

Quadrants of situational leadership

Telling: Works best when employees are neither willing nor able to do the job (high need of support and high need of guidance) Delegating: Works best when the employees are willing to do the job and know how to go about it (low need of support and low need of guidance) Participating: Works best when employees have the ability to do the job, but need a high amount of support (low need of guidance but high need of support) Selling: Works best when employees are willing to do the job, but don't know how to do it (low need of support but high need of guidance)