In this article we will discuss organizational influences on project management.
Every organization has its own culture, style, leadership approaches, and employee personalities that make it unique. These organizational characteristics greatly influence how projects are conducted and managed.
This module will focus on different organizational cultures and styles and their impact on projects. In addition, we will discuss communication within the organization and how different styles can affect the way projects are carried out, then we will review the impact that organizational structure has on the way projects are carried out, and finally we will examine the assets of the organizational process and the environmental factors of the company.
Organizational Cultures and Styles
Organizations are unique and create their own cultural norms and styles for conducting their operations. Norms and styles also impact project management, especially in the initiation and planning phases of the project. The culture of the organization will also influence how work gets done and who makes decisions for the project.
Cultures and operating styles are considered company environmental factors. We will discuss these factors and their importance in Module Four. Cultures and routine operating styles will affect the project’s ability to meet goals, stay within budget, and finish on time.
Project managers must understand the culture of the organization to effectively plan projects for success. Culture also plays a valuable role in project management, as many companies are now global and project teams are often made up of multiple cultures, so managers need to recognize these differences and bring the team together.
Organizational Communications
One of the most important elements of successful project management is communication. The communication style of the organization will have a great impact on the success or failure of potential projects. Project managers must recognize the organization’s communication style and determine the most effective approach, including email, instant messaging, face-to-face meetings, and social media. If there are virtual team members, a strong emphasis should be placed on how the team will work and communicate to ensure that everyone is kept informed of the status of the project and has access to all relevant information, both formal and informal.
Organizational structures
Organizations spend a lot of time deciding which operating structure will work best for them. The organizational structure is another environmental factor of the company. The structure is directly related to the availability of resources, decision making and the operational performance of project tasks.
There are three main types of organizational structures: functional, matrix, and project-based. The functional structure is usually described as a hierarchy. Employees have a clear superior and support staff are grouped by department or specialty. Each department has a certain function that it performs within the organization and often performs its work independently of other departments.
Matrix organizations are a mix of functional and project-based structures. Matrix organizations are divided into weak, balanced, and strong based on the level of authority of the project manager. In a weak matrix, the role of the project manager transforms into a project coordinator or expediter. These would be considered support roles and individuals would have very little control or authority.
The final organizational structure is the project-based structure. In this structure, team members are often physically together or virtually connected. In this structure, project managers have a high level of authority with team members collaborating and reporting to the project manager,
In some cases, organizations will combine these three structures into a composite organizational structure. The team will be made up of full-time workers from other departments who report to the project manager, however they will likely still go about their normal day-to-day activities.
Organizational Process Assets
Organizational process assets include plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to the organization performing the projects. These processes include the practices and knowledge that the organization has that can be used during the new phases of the project. Organizational processes often come from archived information about past projects and include risk data, schedules, and budget information. During new projects, project team members will add to these processes and knowledge base to help future projects.
Organizational process assets fall into two categories: processes and procedures and the corporate knowledge base.
Processes and procedures
Processes and procedures are the standard approaches the organization takes to projects, this includes project methodologies, standard approaches for types of tasks, and standard documentations. It must cover all phases of a project from initiation and planning, through execution, monitoring and control to final closure.
Corporate knowledge base
The corporate knowledge base contains the collected data and knowledge learned from previous projects. This information is typically archived and available for future project teams to review. The knowledge base may include the following:
- Configuration Management Knowledge Base This IS the baseline for an organization’s standards, policies, and procedures.
- project documents
These are records of past projects and include financial analyzes of results, lessons learned, and problem and defect management documentation and analysis.
- Action Item Results
This type of information contains analysis results for the project and project implementation details.
Company environmental factors
Enterprise environmental factors refer to conditions that are beyond the scope of the project team’s control. These factors must be considered during the planning phase of the project. These factors can have a positive or negative impact on the project depending on the factor and how it is managed by the project manager and the project team. Some of the factors include the following:
- Organizational culture, structure and governance
- Geographic distribution of project facilities, resources and equipment
- Communication strategies of the organization.
- market terms
- administration staff
- project management information system