2.1 Project Phases and the Project Life Cycle | 2.2 Project Stakeholders | 2.3 Organizational Influences | 2.4 Key General Management Skills | 2.5 Social-Economic- Environmental Influences |
Integration | Scope | Time | Cost | Quality | Resource | Communications | Risk | Procurement |
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General management is a broad subject dealing with every aspect of managing an
ongoing enterprise. Among other topics, it includes:
Finance and accounting, sales and marketing, research and development,
manufacturing and distribution.
Strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning.
Organizational structures, organizational behavior, personnel
administration, compensation, benefits, and career paths.
Managing work relationships through motivation, delegation, supervision,
team building, conflict management, and other techniques.
Managing oneself through personal time management, stress management,
and other techniques.
General management skills provide much of the foundation for building project
management skills. They are often essential for the project manager. On any given
project, skill in any number of general management areas may be required. This
section describes key general management skills that are highly likely to affect most
projects and that are not covered elsewhere in this document. These skills are well
documented in the general management literature and their application is fundamentally the
same on a project.
2.4.1 Leading
Establishing direction—developing both a vision of the future and
strategies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision.
Aligning people—communicating the vision by words and deeds to all
those whose cooperation may be needed to achieve the vision.
Motivating and inspiring—helping people energize themselves to
overcome political, bureaucratic, and resource barriers to change.
On a project, particularly a larger project, the project manager is generally
expected to be the project's leader as well. Leadership is not, however, limited to the
project manager: it may be demonstrated by many different individuals at many
different times during the project. Leadership must be demonstrated at all levels of the
project (project leadership, technical leadership, team leadership).
2.4.2 Communicating
Written and oral, listening and speaking.
Internal (within the project) and external (to the customer, the media,
the public, etc.).
Formal (reports, briefings, etc.) and informal (memos, ad hoc
conversations, etc.).
Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers and
partner organization).
The general management skill of communicating is related to, but not the same
as, Project Communications Management (described in Chapter 10). Communicating
is the broader subject and involves a substantial body of knowledge that is not
unique to the project context, for example:
Sender-receiver models—feedback loops, barriers to communications,
etc.
Choice of media—when to communicate in writing, when to communicate
orally, when to write an informal memo, when to write a formal report, etc.
Writing style—active vs. passive voice, sentence structure, word
choice, etc.
Presentation techniques—body language, design of visual aids, etc.
Meeting management techniques—preparing an agenda, dealing with
conflict, etc.
Project Communications Management is the application of these broad concepts
to the specific needs of a project; for example, deciding how, when, in what form,
and to whom to report project performance.
2.4.3 Negotiating
Scope, cost, and schedule objectives.
Changes to scope, cost, or schedule.
Contract terms and conditions.
Assignments.
Resources.
2.4.4 Problem Solving
2.4.5 Influencing the Organization
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