Global Project Management: Discussion
The projects that are spread across nations and involve multi-culture team members of different organisations, speaking different languages are called global projects. Whereas, the application of project management skills and practices to these projects for their smooth functioning and the perfect result is called Global Project Management.
A good project manager must have a solid understanding of cultural dimensions and must possess leadership skills to co-ordinate various factors. Some of the personal traits are discussed below.
Communication
Communication is a two-way process of transferring information from one person or group of people to another. A project manager spends most of his time communicating with the team members about the project scope, completion status, and distributing important information to the stakeholders. Therefore, a project manager should be an active listener who can process the information correctly and then transfer the same to another person.
Leadership
Leadership is the process of influencing the behaviour of other people by providing purpose, direction and motivation to achieve a target. A competent project manager motivates the team members to take the initiative, shares authority and guides them to take responsibility. By this, he creates a team environment in the organisation and builds effective teams that strive to achieve high performances.
Managing
‘To manage is to forecast and to plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control’ (Henry Fayol, n.d.). Therefore, management means planning, organising, leading and controlling the activities of an organisation in order to achieve the desired goal. An effective project manager always tries to provide guidance to the team members
Project Background
‘Agile Ltd’ is an automobile manufacturing company in India. They are among the highest revenue generating companies. Now, they want to increase the sale of sedan cars by 20% in next quarter. For this, the project manager is required to thoroughly analyse the external environment, competitors, government policies. He also requires study of options available to increase sales such as offering discounts to customers and dealers, financial assistance to customers, advertisement, and adding free accessories.
Project Selection Method
Project selection models help to evaluate and compare the strategic plans and corporate mission by considering feasibility, cost, capability, and flexibility. They answer questions such as- will the project maximise profits by increasing market share, will it help to enter a new market, customer satisfaction etc.
For the above discussed project, the appropriate method to be used is the Benefit Measurement Method. Under this method, possible benefits will be calculated from all the available options and then a comparison of their outcomes will be made. The factors to be considered here is (a) the cost and benefit ratio (b) payback period (c) opportunity cost (d) the internal rate of return (Monnappa, 2020).
Furthermore, the best project process to be followed here is agile. This process divides the project into small parts to review the outcome after completing a part. Apart from this, it facilitates real time communication among the team members so that they should not deviate from the plan and motivate them for predicted adjustments in order to achieve the desired outcome (Layton, 2012).
References
Army Leadership (2012). Retrieved from: https://armypubs.us.army.mil/doctrine/index.html
Binder, J. (2009). The global project management framework: communication, collaboration, and management across borders. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2009—EMEA, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Layton, M.C. (2012). Agile Project Management For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
Monnappa, A. (2020). Project Selection Methods for Project Managemnt Professionals. Retrieved from: https://www.simplilearn.com/project-selection-methods-article
Project Management Institute. (2017b). Project manager competency development framework – third edition. Retrieved from:
https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/lib/think/detail.action?docID=5180853#
Project Management Institute. (2017a). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–sixth Edition. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.laureate.net.au/lib/think/detail.action?docID=5180849
The college of St. Scholastica, (2018). What is Global Project Management. The framework shaping the multicultural teams of future. Retrieved from: http://www.css.edu/the-sentinel-blog/what-is-global-project-management.html
Global Project Management: Response
I agree with you that the project manager always has the right combination of cultural and leadership skills. In the project management process, there is still a need to manage diversity, as stakeholders may come from different backgrounds. Therefore, by having excellent leadership skills, the difference can be made. I also agree with you that communication is an integral part of the project management process. Preciseness and clarity in the communication process are imperative to magnify the visibility of project management goals. You got the right ideas regarding leadership and its role (Burke and Barron, 2014). Influential behavior can indeed turn things around when leading a big project. The delegation in the project management process is crucial. However, the authority should be maintained. You elaborated the perfect definition of management Planning, leading, organizing, and controlling are main functions, which are to be carried out in every project process. Now, by setting this information as a base, you did it right by selecting the agile methodology. It is a fact that the project selection method is critical for the project manager. The agile approach is the best way to be consistent, flexible, cost-effective, and reliable. In the project background, you have mentioned some key project options. Project background analysis is helpful to depict good project method selection. I also agree with conclusive statements, as real-time communication is crucial to engage all team members effectively, and it is the way to gain success. I hope that effective communication and agile method may go in favor of this particular project (Layton, 2012).
References
Burke, R. and Barron, S. (2014) Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams, John Wiley & Sons.
Layton, M.C. (2012) Agile Project Management for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons.
