PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project Management

Application of Project Management

Introduction

Projects are non repetitious enterprises or long-term undertakings that have a definite beginning and an end. Because of the relentless and accelerating crunch of change, industry is taking on a new face, a project look, although repetitive-motion activities persist (Cicmil & Hodgson, 2006, Pp. 111-122). While bolt tightening at an auto plant is not a project, design and prototyping of a new four-wheel-drive roadster is as are continuous improvement activities, maintenance upgrades, production-line revamps, and the development of integrated project teams” to improve productivity. So while, production lines are processes by nature, it is projects that give them life and that keep them competitive by shortening the product cycle.

Activities in any organisation fall into one of the two categories: operations and projects. The activities in operations are characterised by repetition and day to day execution, like production, service or manufacturing. Projects, on the other hand are longer and complex activities that involve unparalleled, onetime initiatives, e.g. the launch of a new product, or extending the line of products or adding business units (Cicmil & Hodgson, 2006, Pp. 111-122). New ventures with other firms and improvement of products already existing might also be regarded as projects. In many instances, investments in the infrastructure of the company are also projected entities. Projects drive business innovation and change in fact, project is the single way in which organisations can 'change', carry out a strategy, innovate, or derive competitive advantage.

Project Management

Companies are proposing project management as a broad- brush approach for formulating plans and taking care of daily business. In other words, project management is becoming a piece of organisation managerial philosophy, like total quality or customer satisfaction or lean management (Besner & Hobbs, 2008, Pp. 16-33). It is becoming inbred, part of the fibre of the company, an accepted way for accomplishing goals. Enterprise project management is compatible with ongoing management philosophies such as client-focused management, quality movements and revamping of business processes.

Project management refers to all actions required to meet a definite need within the deadlines. Thus, as the project is a temporary action that has a beginning and end, using identified resources (human and material) during its execution, and that costs should be budgeted resources and a balance sheet separately from the company. "End products" refers to the expected outcomes of the project. The difficulty of managing a project is largely on the number of people involved. In fact, in contrast with personal or internal projects in small scale for which the need and the response to this need can be provided by the same person or a limited group of people, in a project in the professional sense, the term of need and satisfaction of this need is the responsibility of different people (Besner & Hobbs, 2008, Pp. 16-33). This increases the probability of conflict while managing the project; hence, it is said that “conflict during project management is inevitable”.

Effective project management requires efficient crisis management techniques; because while managing a project there ...