Business and management - Effective teams.
ASSIGNMENT
IN
BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED TO
MR. PETER MCINNES
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
5.01.2004
BY
FRANCIS IKERE
PAAL SVARSTAD
GARRY THOMSON
RITU KURUVILLA SAM
ADEMA KHAIRAKHMETOVA
Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................ 02
Group Dynamics..................................................... 03
Decision Making..................................................... 08
Management by Results........................................... 12
Successful Implementation (Project Management)......... 16
Conclusion............................................................ 22
References............................................................ 23
Appendix (Project Plan)............................................ 24
Introduction
The Business and Management course is a diverse mix of areas which contribute towards effective management of an organisation. The Business and Management area is surrounded by and interconnected with all business disciplines - Organisations and Human Resources Management, Business Policy and Business Planning, Accounting, Finance, Operations and Marketing Management, Knowledge Management and Learning Manager.
The relationship of Business and Management with these areas are presented by the following components which will be examined and analysed throughout the assignment: Managing in a Changing Environment, Organising: Differentiating and Integrating, Decision Making: Rationalist and Alternative Perspectives, Politics and Influencing People, Managing for Results and Making it Happen?Implementation.
The main role of Business Management within the above areas is to explore the contemporary business practice, examine their implications for an organisation and for an individual, and emphasise the relational and performance-related elements of managerial work. Emphasis must also be placed on exchanging and sharing ideas on 'good' practice in specific cultures, as well as establishing expectations of self and others and the role power plays in shaping these.1
The approach taken to explore concepts of the course has been to place emphasis on the continuous group work which proved to be the most efficient way of learning and gaining knowledge. Group exercises, discussions and academic reading have all been used as methods in order to develop a greater understanding of business and management as a whole.
The predominant areas to be analysed are Group Dynamics, Decision Making, Management by Results and Implementation/Project Management, theoretical and practical aspects of which are presented in the assignment.
Group Dynamics
The process by which people interact and behave in a group environment is called group dynamics. Group dynamics involves the influence of personality, power, and behaviour on the group process, as well as several other elements that have to be aligned in order to generate a desirable outcome.
Group members must be aware of the issues concerning group dynamics in order fulfil set objectives and take as much as possible from each task.
The issues concerning group dynamics are various and often complex involving internal, external and personal factors. The theory in this field is contradictory; and therefore generalising is impossible. One correct answer for all situations will never be found. With the latter in mind we will introduce the theory our group believe is relevant for our situation, assessed with relation to our group's experiences from the "Sonique Sound System" case. Elements of diversity, communication, expectations, leadership, norms, roles and cohesiveness are all important when group dynamics are to be analysed.
The task for our group was to solve daily exercises, produce presentations of our findings and present our results and solution to class. In the first meeting all group members stated their expectations of the course to the other group members, in order to set an agenda and agree on the targets through out the two weeks. Some members have worked together in earlier projects, which reduced the time that would be spent gauging each other's strengths and weaknesses. Clear and agreed stated goals are also emphasised in theory as an important aspect of being successful in group work. Clarification of key points and stages are vital in order for members to pursue, then realise, their and the group's objectives.
After the first week of working together we realized that our collaboration quickly moved from group work towards team based interaction. The definition of a team given by Greenberg (2001)2 and of a group given by George & Jones (2002)3 clarifies the differences between the two ways of cooperation. (Much has been made of the difference between a group and a team, however in this assignment, teams and groups will be used interchangeably.) Shared group leadership resulted in all group members immediately committing themselves to our cause. Our team-working attributes were emphasised by all members being held mutually responsible for their input, which in turn affected our group's output.
A task-oriented team will go through a five-step development4, including forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The members are formed by internal and external factors. This framework illustrates the dynamics in the team, i.e. how relationships are established, how responsibilities/roles are distributed, how norms of behaviour play an important part and how leadership should be handled in the different stages and different situations. The stages can also help a team to understand some of the problems that may arise and can thereby be solved before they turn into serious consequences for the overall performance.
Figure: Stages of group development
Other elements concerning the dynamics in teamwork:
Social loafing5: The "Ringelmann effect" which it originally was called, refers to tendency for individuals to lower their effort when working in groups because they think their effort not will make any difference for the final result anyway. Our team never experienced any kind of social loafing, but the probability of the occurrence is important to keep in mind.
Group thinking6: This refers to a situation where group pressure and conformity hinders a team to evaluate all the relevant alternatives in a decision making process and therefore the possibility for making a wrong decision occurs. Not applicable for our situation.
Roles: One of the characteristics of a team is an allocation of different roles amongst its members. Roles can be defined as sets of behaviours expected of a person in particular position (Graen, 1976). An effective team has members to fill all the roles and selected people to play these roles based on their skill and preferences. George and Jones (2002) also argued that roles also could be seen as a mechanism to control the behaviour of team members. Firstly, roles tell members what they should be doing. Secondly, roles not only enable a member to hold its members accountable for their behaviour but also provide a standard from which to evaluate behaviour. The possibility of 'role overload', 'role ambiguity' or 'role conflicts' are aspects both the leader and his/her subordinates must clarify in order to keep a healthy working climate in the long term.
Belbin's team role theory7 provides us with seven different roles a team should incorporate. The framework gives us a basis when trying to steer the dynamics of the team in order to operate as effectively as possible:
) Chairman: co-ordinates the group, clarify objectives and problems, encourages involvement
2) Shaper: achievement-oriented, brings competitive-drive to the team, shapes the team by driving and challenging
3) Plant: a source of idea and creative input
4) Monitor-evaluator: objective-focused, analyze ideas, offers measured criticism
5) Resource investigator: explores the environment outside the team, brings new ideas/contacts from outside
6) Completer-finisher: ensures the team efforts meet suitable standards, sees projects through, reduces tension
7) Company worker: practical application of ideas, turns decision into manageable tasks
Cohesiveness: The degree to which members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the team. In order to become more effective and achieve the objectives, some of the factors which are determining for the teams cohesiveness can be manipulated and control by the organization.
The figure below shows determinants of cohesiveness:
Team size Similarities/diversity of the members Competition with other teams
Success Exclusiveness
Diversity: It is wise to value and harness diversity in a team. Different types of personality will bring a wide variety of skills that will help in the overall effectiveness. In the Sonique case study, suggestions from the Glasgow site were adventurous and eventually discarded, although they were open-minded and broke the status quo. All suggestions can prove to be valuable, even the more extreme ones.
Robert Lynch, vice-president of The Miller Consulting Group in Atlanta, suggest looking for diversity when staffing a team. "Conflicts are a part of a good team, and disagreement is good". According to Lynch, different personalities that should exist in a team include:
* The action oriented type
* The analytical type
* The administrative type
* The visionary type
A more diverse group may take longer to reach peak performance due to the number of cultures, language differences, and interpretation of the tasks to be completed, but once they do develop, diverse groups are equally productive and may even be more creative in problem-solving because members have access to a broader base of ideas for solutions.
Communication: Effective communication is one of the most important aspects of successful teamwork. Open and constant communication both vertically and horizontally can decrease the number of misunderstandings and thereby also reduces conflicts within the team. Conflicts most often result due to misunderstandings between members of the team. Both conflicts and criticism will at some time occur and can be constructively solved through good communication.
An example of this occurred in our group during the interval of the Sonique Sound Systems board meeting. The two board members on the day were advised to be more assertive during the second half of the meeting and hadn't shown enough authority as chairpersons of the board in the opening half. Initially it appeared as though one member from the Glasgow site was the vocal and authoritative person. During the second half of the meeting our two chairpersons illustrated assertive and authoritative qualities which altered the tempo and direction of the conference. This would not have happened ...
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An example of this occurred in our group during the interval of the Sonique Sound Systems board meeting. The two board members on the day were advised to be more assertive during the second half of the meeting and hadn't shown enough authority as chairpersons of the board in the opening half. Initially it appeared as though one member from the Glasgow site was the vocal and authoritative person. During the second half of the meeting our two chairpersons illustrated assertive and authoritative qualities which altered the tempo and direction of the conference. This would not have happened without the help of the constructive feedback and criticism from fellow group members
Another very important aspect of communication is constructive feedback. Teams require information on the progress they are making in order to see what is effective and what is not.
Trust: High level of trust among the team members is crucial for conducting successful teamwork. Our team was fortunate, as all members had worked with each other previously on various assignments. Due to this we felt confident in the other members and their abilities for perform towards the predetermined objective.
A situation where trust was placed on other group members' shoulders occurred during our preparation of the Sonique Sound Systems case study. As a group we were given product and site information to study in order to come to decision of what electrical parts should be sent to each of our three European sites. As there was a time restriction, the most productive method we used was to split the group into two teams of two members in each. One team took note of the pros and cons of each product, while the other team looked at each European site's plus and minus points. By using this method, each team had complete confidence in the other team's decision, and trusted each team's judgement, although a downfall was that there was no 'expert' opinion.
Effective Teams: Effective teams do not just happen. They are meticulously put together consisting of a group of highly skilled, highly motivated individuals who have a clear picture of their goals and can receive clear and tangible evidence of their achievements. There must be an opportunity for individual success within the framework of the group's goals. There must be recognition of professionalism from co-workers, peers and the outside world. These are the factors that contribute to winning sports teams and there is no reason to think that other groups will respond any differently.
Decision Making
The work of managers, scientists, engineers and lawyers -- the work that steers the course of society and its economic and governmental organizations -- is largely the task of making decisions and solving problems. It is the task of choosing issues that require attention, setting goals, finding or designing suitable courses of action, and evaluating and choosing among alternative actions. The first three of these activities--fixing agendas, setting goals, and designing actions--are usually called problem solving. The last, evaluating and choosing, is usually called decision making.
Models of Decision Making
There are several models of decision making but in our study we have used the three which we feel are most applicable for our situation.
Rational Economic Model
The rational economic model assumes that decision making is and should be a rational process consisting of a sequence of steps that enhance the probability of attaining a desired outcome.8
Rational economic model of decision making 9
Referring to the work shop we did on Sonique Sound Systems, we, the Frankfurt site, decided to implement this model in our agenda. Although we did so, we found that the agenda was not being followed by the Glasgow site as they leapt directly into the third stage. Facilitation on our part was required during the whole meeting to avert deviation from the set agenda.
Comparison of the Rational Economic Model and Reality
The model assumes that all alternatives and their consequences will be considered. However this was not possible as there was no information on which sites manufactured which products, profits, who supplies material, what kind of skills employees have. Another assumption was that accurate information about alternatives was available at no cost but in reality, due to the fact that estimation process involved time and effort and available information being only partially relevant to the problem, we had to make decisions based on incomplete, insufficient and partly accurate information.
The final assumption of the model is that decision makers are rational beings, but in reality members lacked the mental capacity to store and process all the information relevant to a decision.
March and Simon's10 Administrative Model of Decision Making
March and Simon's administrative decision making model11 is descriptive, it explains how individuals actually make decisions. On the basis of a simplified and approximate account of the situation; the decision maker's definition of the situation, decision makers choose how to respond to problems and opportunities. They neither take into account all information appropriate to the problem or opportunity, nor do they consider all potential alternatives and their consequences. They may generate alternatives and consider the consequences of the alternatives and their own preferences. The information they consider is based on their definition of the situation as a result of psychological12 and sociological13 factors.
The model acknowledges that in reality, decision makers are restricted to their decision processes, and hence have to agree upon a less than an ideal solution. Bounded rationality14 limits the decision maker's ability to make optimal decisions.
Comparison of March and Simon's administrative decision making model and reality
The model assumes that the definition of a situation is likely to be incomplete and that it is impossible to generate all alternatives and forecast all their consequences. In our instance, due to lack of some critical information in the Sonique Sound Systems case, this assumption holds true.
Another assumption of the model is that final decisions are frequently predominated by personal and political factors. Individuals make decisions that are 'good enough' rather than 'ideal'. They 'satisfice'15 rather than 'maximize'16. In our case only the first part of this assumption holds true. Prior to the meeting, intimidating phrases such as "ready for a fight?" and "you stand no chance" were used and set the start of a hostile and confrontational atmosphere. Each member knew the history of the attendees, a Lyon member in particular went around seeking opinions of other group members. The Glasgow members used words of ridicule and constantly interrupted other members in order to gain predominance. During the coffee break, the Frankfurt and Lyon members decided to form a coalition in order to mobilize power and make the meeting more productive. The latter part of satisficing assumption, however contrasts with our situation where appropriate decisions were made as a result of comparing all the products with the different sites.
Four Frame Analysis
The Structural/Processual Frame
* Where is everyone involved in the formal & informal business structure?
* What is the decision process here?
* Will the structure change?
* Who is accountable?
The Symbolic Frame
* What role is each person playing?
* What history is attached to the way things are?
* What can & cannot be said 'on stage'? & 'off stage'.
The Political Frame
* Who will be the winners and losers?
* Who 'has' power here? Who will resist?
* What norms and practices are at issue?
* Who controls what resources?
The Strategic Frame
* What does this mean for the long term competencies of the company?
* What markets should the company target?
* Where can competitive advantage be generated?
Comparing Four Frame Analysis with Reality
The Structural/Processual Frame:
With reference to our meeting, we, the Frankfurt group, were entrusted with the responsibility of chairing the meeting and laying out an agenda. The meeting was informal and initially the process for selecting the best solution was by comparing each of the group's views and selecting the best one. In contrast, prior to negotiations the Glasgow group delved directly into the problems, completely deviating from the set agenda. Further, small conflicts emerged during the meeting and facilitation by the Frankfurt members was required throughout the entire meeting. As a result the whole structure was changed.
The Political Frame:
The Glasgow members came out, in our opinion, with completely absurd solutions and in spite of being convinced by the other groups, were not willing to change. They were of the attitude that "if you win, I lose" which disrupted the meaning of the meeting. Due to this, the Frankfurt and Lyon members decided that the only hope of arriving at a conclusion was to form a power-base by trading off each others views in order to overcome the Glasgow group.
The Symbolic Frame:
There was evidence of expressive body language17 throughout the meeting by all members in order to flaunt dominance. In addition, the Glasgow members used technical terms to illustrate their knowledge and gain supremacy over others. During the course of the meeting, members exercised bargaining and the Glasgow members, in particular, in order to hang on to their last straw of hope resorted to attempting to bribe the members of the other groups.
The Strategic Frame:
No strategy was implemented in the initial stages of the meeting. It was only after the coffee break that the Frankfurt and Lyon members agreed to design a strategy to predominate the Glasgow group. Decisions were made only for the short term18. The reason behind this was the lack of critical information in the case.
For the purpose of comparing we found that the four frames as an assessment tool was not of much logic. Although a strategy was framed, there is more likeliness of it being disrupted as a result of conflicts, negotiation and the 'never give up' attitude of members. Taking into account the process of the meeting, we arrived at a conclusion that it was very difficult to build guanxi19 among the members. In this specific case, we felt that had we implemented the four frames model in order to make a decision, we believed it would have resulted in wastage of time with futile outcomes.
Problems with group decision making
Personality factors: Traits such as shyness prevented some members offering their opinions and knowledge to the group. Some of the members from the Glasgow and Lyon groups were quiet most of the time either because they were shy or because they wanted to place responsibility on the other members.
Log rolling: The Glasgow group tried to bargain and bribe some of the members of the other groups when their decisions and interests were at stake.
Group brainstorming: This led to various differences of opinions and ideas. The Glasgow group in particular was not willing to divert from their opinion and consider the better opinions from other groups. This resulted in minor conflicts and forming of coalition between the Frankfurt and Lyon groups.
Groupthink: Imposition of intimidating phrases and words of ridicule by the Glasgow members and their refusal to accept other member's opinions resulted in voting and selecting the best decisions.
Managing for Results
A number of different performance management systems have been developed and are in use in a variety of different organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors.
* NRU LSP Performance Management Framework;
* The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM);
* The Balanced Score Card;
* ISO 9000 2000;
* Total Quality Management;
* Performance Assessment, Monitoring, Review.
The selection of the appropriate model is dependent on whether there is more focus on the performance management of individuals or as an organisation, as well as quantitative or qualitative indicators and measures are keys to make an effective assessment.
One of the listed models, Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Score Card approach reviews an organisational performance from four perspectives: ?Financial, Customer, ??Internal Business Process and ??Learning and Growth. Within these areas, Kaplan and Norton provide a number of suggestions for quantitative measures to assess organisational performance.
Financial
The financial area is split into three parts; Revenue Growth (Sales and market share, Number of new customers and markets, Number of new strategies), Cost Management (Revenue per employee, Unit cost reduction,) and Asset Utilisation (Inventory reduction, Cash-to-cash cycle, Return on capital, Productivity/Efficiency.)
Customer
Kaplan and Norton suggest that organisations must first identify the market segment that they aim to supply. For each segment, they must focus whether the type of measure that they implement fits the characteristics of the business.
Internal Business Processes
Kaplan and Norton acknowledge that, although improvements in internal business processes do not have any bearing on the management of business at the strategic level, they do contribute towards noticeable improvements in business in the long term.
Learning and Growth
The learning and growth area is concerned with infrastructure, i.e. the foundations
required to achieve objectives in other areas of the business.
These areas provide an indication of the degree to which the balanced scorecard broadens the scope of performance measurement. These ranges from traditional methods such as earnings per share to more applicable forms such as organisational strategy, goals and objectives.
Kaplan and Norton believe that the Balance Scorecard's enduring contribution to measuring and managing performance lies in the concise, holistic picture of the organisation that it provides. Through gathering input from many different sources, it is possible to develop a detailed map of the interconnections and interactions that occur between different areas of the organisation.
For the purpose of the performance review meeting conducted within context of the Business and Management Module, the most appropriate performance management technique to be applied is Management by Objectives (MBO). Although, as it will be evident from further analysis, this approach does not provide a solution to the problems encountered during the exercise.
The application of MBO was determined by its core concept of managing individual performance which was the main task of the group exercise.
An MBO system comprises of the following set of components, use of which will be evaluated through our group exercise:
. Development of role & mission statement
Basically this activity must be treated as crucial as it determines the whole performance process. Our performance management exercise has already been assigned with the meaning and mission. It should be noted however, that role and mission must be developed within or with participants of the performance management to ensure a clear understanding as well as its purpose and overall implication for the processes. This will enable us to establish a mutual thinking in the process and compliance to the mission of the performance management by all concerned.
2. Establishing strategic goals/strategic plan and defining key results areas
The same approach as above should be applied to this component of the performance management to ensure that those responsible for results are aware of the overall goals and strategy. It is noted from empirical studies that many organisations fail to communicate strategic goals and thus contribute towards performance failure.
3. Establishing indicators or effectiveness, goals, or organizational objectives
This was one of the vague areas of our exercise since no clear boundaries have been established on performance indicators and no knowledge was available on interpretation of overall indicators e.g. Personal Time was developed as a sum of personal and social time which was unknown to participants when group meeting took place. Another problem arose due to the lack of knowledge of the time basis, i.e. whether 24 hours were the basis for time allocation with time to be allocated for sleeping or whether another approach was taken in the calculation. This uncertainty has led to confusion among meeting members and further clarification has been sought. This in turn has led to lost unproductive time during the meeting. Nevertheless, this area is bound to be doubtful and difficult to understand as the development of Performance Indicators (PI) required thorough analysis of activities and understanding of their implications on the overall performance. Therefore, this clarification effort has provided meeting members with good understanding of provided KPIs. However, as outlined before, management should seek to develop performance indicators to ensure that understanding is developed between employees.
4. Establishing, or negotiating individual employee objectives
The main purpose of the meeting was to negotiate and establish objectives for group members to ensure high productivity. After careful examination of performance indicators and comparison of the past performance of the groups, meeting participants have successfully analysed the most important factors of productivity which will yield high results in the future. During this session benchmarking was widely used to determine a role model for the performance standards. During the negotiation process, the weighting of the indicators have been performed in order to allocate reasonable and realistic time for activities.
5. Establishing performance standards for each objective
The benchmarking and historical performance was widely used to establish standards for each objective. Along with these methods there were other factors which influenced the introduction of standards. These would qualify as factors of meeting dynamics such as politics and power use. In contrast to previous meetings, politics and power were not been so apparent, however did exist and thus influenced decisions on performance standards selection.
6. Action planning for each employee
After the meeting the group manager for the day (managerial duties were rotated every day) analysed the past performance with new set of standards with group members. Therefore we were able to develop a mutually agreed set of performance indicators' level to ensure high productivity. It was very valuable to conduct such a session with group members since it contributed to our overall understanding of the performance indicators and new standards set by group members. Due to this a comprehensive action plan was developed.
During this stage an appraisal of past results occurred in the group. The issue would appear to be a sensitive one. However, the honest feedback and analysis of individual performance and high commitment from each individual to reach set objectives have helped to conduct fair review to the satisfaction of all group members.
7. Periodic measurement and assessment of status of each objective/standard
This activity wasn't available to our group members due to the limit of time frame of the exercise. However, after our discussion it was agreed that this is a good mechanism to evaluate our individual performance for future activities.
8. Coaching/training to remediate deficits
This activity was applied by the group leader to explain the weak area of individual performance. There were a number of constraints exposed on the manager to coach individuals. These included lack of knowledge on previous performance, therefore the inability to create valuable feedback. In addition to this, it was difficult to implement a coaching and training environment due to the fact that the activity was perceived as a game and thus coaching seemed artificial. In real life performance management this is one of the most difficult tasks as a manager because he/she faces different backgrounds, personalities, cultures and thus should poses excellent people skills in order to provide feedback to employees.
The above sequence of steps are MBO components which were the most applicable to our performance management and appraisal of results exercise.
Different writers use different terminologies, or add, subtract or modify the sequence of steps. Some systems, for example, include the writing and maintenance of job descriptions, some do not do so explicitly.
Within an MBO system the performance management process pertains to the management of individuals, beginning with the assignment of individual objectives through to the final, formal assessment process. 20
Successful Implementation - Project Management
Project management can be described as the bringing together of individuals and groups to form a single, cohesive team working towards a common goal. (Nicholas 2001)
The four yardsticks (Stewart) to determine whether an undertaking requires project management are;
Scope: Project management can be applied to a one-time undertaking that is (i) definable in terms of a single, specific end result and (ii) bigger than the organization has previously undertaken successfully. A project must, by definition, end at an objective point in time, e.g. the handing in of an assignment, the date the new plant achieves full production. This project has four different parts to it, which are somewhat related and the scope is too big for one person or an unfocussed group.
Unfamiliarity: According to Merendith (1995) an undertaking is not a project unless it is a unique, or infrequent, effort by the existing management group. Lack of familiarity or precedence usually leads to disagreement or uncertainty as to how the undertaking should be managed. All assignments by students fall into this category because most of them are new and therefore unfamiliar.
Complexity: Frequently the decisive criterion of a project is the degree of interdependence among tasks. If a given task depends on the completion of other assignments in other functional areas, and if it will in turn, affect the cost or timing of subsequent tasks project management is then called for. If no one person can produce a detailed plan on which all those concerned can agree, if estimates repeatedly fail to withstand scrutiny, or if plans submitted by different departments prove difficult to reconcile or coordinate, then the critical mass of a project has been reached. The complexity of this particular assignment derives from the issue of group-based principle. Each group member does his/her own part, which makes it hard to reconcile the different parts of the assignment and make it one.
Stake: A final criterion that may favour project management is the company's stake in the outcome of the undertaking. If failure to complete the job on schedule or within the budget entails serious penalties, then it would be advisable to use project management.
PROJECT MANAGER
A project manager can be defined as a person with the overall responsibility for completing the project successfully. Perhaps a more apt description is the one given by McManus (1997) which describes a project manager as a person who is concerned with creating wealth through the optimisation and management of all organisational resources. Another definition is by Nicholas (2001) where a project manager is described as a person whose single, overriding responsibility is to plan, direct and integrate the work efforts of participants to achieve project goals.
The responsibilities of project managers can be classified into three categories (Harold Kerzner); interface management, resource management and planning and control management.
Managing Project Interfaces
Projects are, by definition, composed of several multidisciplinary tasks. The project manager must coordinate and integrate the activities of many contributors from a variety of functions. His prime responsibility is to ensure that the project is organized so that all components, parts, subsystems, functional units, and people fit together as an integrated whole according to the plan. Accomplishing this task requires managing all the interfaces that arise among personnel, organizations, and systems. The main task for the project at hand was to ensure that the work of the various individual was well coordinated and that it was delivered at the right time. Ensure also that each piece of individual work meets the set group standards. Only careful interface management can successfully integrate so many diverse functional groups. Good human resource skills are vital.
Good communication is the primary tool for managing project interfaces. The project manager must develop communications channels that are appropriate for the particular project. However, informal links almost always occur between all groups. The communication channels established were both formal and informal with a number of meetings scheduled to analyze and integrate the work of the various individuals.
Establishing and maintaining communication links may be the most difficult function for a project manager. They require people-handling skills that increase in complexity with project size and scope. Most project managers spend at least half their time obtaining, clarifying, and transferring information, delegating activities, and resolving conflicts. The project manager is the only person always in a position to manage and expedite communication links and eliminate communications barriers. The project manager had to keep in constant communication with all the different members, ensure attendance of meetings and also make sure there was communication between the different members. He was responsible for ensuring that each member had the right and up-to-date information on what the others were doing.
Adjusting, Allocating Resources
Resource management, the function most commonly associated with project managers, is primarily a technical role. The three primary constraints on a project are cost, duration and quality of the completed project. Any of the three constraints is adjusted by modifying either one or both of the remaining variables or the resources available. The project manager is responsible for making appropriate adjustments. For this project, duration refers to the time available to submission of the project, quality of the work is the other constrains and cost can be equated to the amount of time and resources each member and the whole group are putting in to the project.
Managing resources begins with conceptual planning to define what resources are required. Most projects do not receive unlimited resource allotments. Therefore, the project manager must allocate the available resources. The allocation of the resources/ task was done at the beginning of the project, at this stage the quality of the work was determined and each member was therefore required to submit work that measure up. The date when the work was expected was also determined, as was the number of meetings the group was to have.
The project manager also is responsible for planning the project in an effective way. This includes determining resource needs. These needs must be defined in sufficient quantities to support the project. Contingencies need to be included, but should not be larger than prudently required. The purpose is to define a workable plan with a realistic budget. Inflated or overstated contingencies only serve to kill a viable project.
Planning and Controlling Efforts
Planning and control management is the actual project implementation process. The project manager's responsibility here is to ensure the project is completed on time as efficiently and effectively as possible. Tasks that fall into this area include managing conflict and seeking project improvements. Both human resource and technical skills are needed to perform this role.
Kerzner describes project managers as conflict managers. Although they certainly should not be constantly fighting fires, conflicts are bound to occur when resources are drawn from departments and organizations that have different goals and objectives. The conflicts that occurred only related to the actual work and what direction to take. This was due to each member taking a part of the project. The conflicts were resolved by having group meetings to decide what was acceptable. The manager had the coordination and facilitation role in these meetings.
Priorities must be set to resolve or prevent conflicts. The needs of the project must be ranked with, and weighed against, overall company or organizational needs. The priorities for using project resources are determined by the project manager. In the project environment, these priorities must be handled in a way that promotes the integration of activities.
Striving to improve project performance is a role that most managers enjoy. Creativity can be applied to move up the date for completing the project or improve the quality of the effort. The project manager should always be on the lookout for new techniques, products, and technology that enhance quality and performance.
Improving productivity requires observing and analyzing current performance. Progress reports form the basis for measuring current performance, but for identifying possible improvements, observation and discussions with project personnel are better. A project manager more accurately ascertains project performance and morale by spending time with the project staff.
The project manager's diverse roles require a combination of human resource and technical skills similar to those necessary for general management. The well-rounded, well-prepared project manager directs people and technical processes equally well.
PROJECT INITIATION
Project prioritisation and selection are the first phases of a project initiation phase. The first stage in this process is the identification of a need and recognition of potential solutions to the need. When this has been done, project feasibility will then be carried out. Feasibility is the process of investigating a problem and developing a solution in sufficient detail to determine if it is economically viable and worthy of development. (Nicholas 2001). The feasibility study will involve:
* Deciding the scope and objectives of the project.
* Determining the project requirements
* Evaluating solutions
* Planning an implementation strategy
* Preparing a cost/ benefit analysis
Risk analysis is also be carried out. This involves two processes: identification of the risk factors, and the assessment of their effect on the project.
This stage was not carried out for the assignment since the 'project' had been determined by the tutor.
PROJECT PLANNING
This is the stage where the project manager accepts the task of delivering the required products. The processes addressed here include:
Setting project objectives, requirements and scope. For this stage we identified the extent of the assignment and also came to an understanding as to the expected requirements. We also determined the acceptable depth and breadth, the theory back-up that will be required and the length of the assignment.
The specific work activities, tasks or jobs to achieve objectives are broken down, defined and listed. For the purpose of this project, this is where the various parts of the assignments are identified, and also what needs to be done for each area.
Project organisation is created specifying the responsibilities of the various project team members. At this stage we divided the work into different sections and each member was allocated an area of responsibility.
A schedule is prepared showing the timing of work activities, deadlines and milestones (when and in what order?). For this stage we prepared a work schedule indicating all the expected activities and also the time within which they should be completed. Some of the various scheduling tools are:
* Gantt chart
* Events and milestones
* Work break-down structure.
* Network techniques: PERT, CPM
A forecast is prepared of time, cost, and performance projections for the completion of the project. This was only done in respect to time, how much time we had and the proposed date to complete the assignment.
Conclusion - Putting "theory into practice into theory"
For a group to carry out its work effectively it requires clear, agreed stated goals and clarification of key points and stages in order realise both the group and individual member's objectives. Shared leadership results in commitment of group members to the cause. It's important to harness the diversity in groups. This also calls for open-mindedness and ability to challenge the status quo. Open and constant communication, both vertically and horizontally helps to decrease misunderstandings and conflicts within teams. Constructive feedback gives teams information on the progress they are making in order to see what is effective and what is not. High level of trust amongst team members leads to successful teamwork by allowing division of the work into manageable tasks.
Effective teams have to be meticulously put together; this will result in teams that have a clear picture of their goals as well as clear and tangible evidence of their achievements
From the study we established the importance and effectiveness of coalition and networking amongst stakeholders as well as having valuable company and market information. Thorough preparation for meetings is essential i.e. stakeholders analysis. Open mindedness should be maintained throughout the decision making process. All suggestions are valuable, and ideas that challenge conventional approaches should be encouraged.
In order to effectively review performance, there should be emphasis on role development and mission statement. Strategic goals and plans should be established and key results areas defined. Organisational and individual employee objective and performance indicators should be established. Periodic measurement and assessment of each objective is vital, this will help in establishing training needs.
The project implementation involves coordination and integration of all the activities of various contributors. The prime responsibly is to ensure that the project is organised so that all components and people fit together as an integrated whole. The project manager must develop communication channels that are appropriate for the particular project. The three primary constrains on a project; cost, time and quality must be managed throughout the project. The manager also needs to ascertain project performance and boost staff morale by spending time with them.
References
* Huczynski, A. & Buchanan, D. Organizational Behaviour, 4th Ed, 2001
* Cummings, T. & Worley, C. Organization Development and Change, 7th Ed, South- Western College Publishing
* McInnes, P. Business and Management - Lecture Slides
* Mcmanus, J. The Role of the Project Manager., London, Pitman Publishing, 1997.
* Anderson, S.E, et al, Goal Directed Project Management, 2nd Ed, London, Kogan Page, 1995.
* Nicholas J.M. Project Management for Business and Technology, 2nd Ed, New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 2001.
* Merendith J. R, Project Management, 3rd Ed, New York, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1995.
* Baker S, Project Management, New York, Alpa Books, 1998.
* Ruston A, Ram, R, Effective Assignment Skills and Strategies, London, Cabinet Office. 1987.
* Group Dynamics Unit 10, www.cedresources.nf.net/pdf/groupdynamics.pdf (12th January 2004)
* Beech, N. & McKenna, E. Human Resources Management, 2002
Appendix
Project Plan - Time Table & Task Responsibility
PROJECT PLAN - GROUP 1
TIME TABLE AND TASK RESPONSIBILITY
Week 2 - Time schedule:
Task
2
3
4
5
6
Weekend Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Time
Responsibilities:
Garry - Group Dynamics and Editing
Paal - Group Dynamics and Editing
Sam - Decision Making
Adema - Managing for Results
Francis - Successful Implementation
Please remember to keep in touch with the rest of the group members during Week 2. Good communication will help us to streamline the process of this assignment in order to reach a desirable solution for all stakeholders. We must use the meetings to discuss the various issues/problems which will occur and to receive valuable views from the other members.
Best Regards - Your Manager
Lectures of P. McInnes
2 "A team is a group whose members have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose or set of performance goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable."
3 "A group is a set of two or more people who interact with each other to achieve certain goals or meet certain needs."
4 Based on Tuckman (1965), Tuckman & Jensen (1977) and Jones (1973)
Organisational Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D, page 298
5 Ringelmann. Max, Organisational Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D, page 352
6 Janis. Irving L, Organisational Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D, page 754
7 Belbin. Meredith R, Organisational Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D, page 329
8 Organisation Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D
9 Organisation Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D
0 March. J & Simon. H
1 A descriptive approach stressing that incomplete information, psychological and sociological processes, and the decision maker's cognitive abilities affect decision making and that decision makers often choose satisfactory, not optimal solutions- Organizational Behaviour, International Edition 2002, Prentice Hall, George. Jennifer M. & Jones. Gareth R.
2 Decision makers personality, knowledge, perceptions, ability and experiences.
3 Groups, organization and organizational and national culture of which the decision maker is a member.
4 An ability to reason that is constrained by the limitations of the human mind itself- Organizational Behaviour, International Edition 2002, Prentice Hall, George. Jennifer M. & Jones. Gareth R.
5 A decision making approach where the first solution that is judged to be 'good enough' is selected, and the search is then ended- Organisation Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D
6 A decision making approach where all alternatives are compared and evaluated in order to find the best solution to a problem- Organisation Behaviour, Fourth Edition 2001, Huczynski. A & Buchanan. D
7 Pointing of finger, playing with the chair, demonstrating the 'I'm not interested' attitude, and interruption of others speech.
8 Fluctuating rationality i.e. 1800 redundancies, agreement of figures and statistics at next meeting.
9 Long term relationships beneficial to one.
20 Robert Bacal, Performance Management - Why Doesn't It Work
GROUP 1 - MBM BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
