Evil Alter Egos: Episode 5: Ms. Meetings
Deming's 3rd Point in Project Management
Inspection is a Tool for Improvement, Not a Whip
Deming's third point urges practitioners to design quality into processes, using inspection as an information-gathering tool to do so. In project management, the processes and systems make up a methodology. Does your organization have a consistent methodology, or does everyone run projects their own way?
Inspecting project performance through the lens of continuous improvement facilitates applying lessons learned to a consistent and ever-improving methodology. This can not be done effectively unless there is a consistent system of managing projects in the first place.
A Question of Ethics
Ethics has been the topic of several separate conversations I have had recently. One friend expressed near outrage about a discussion she overheard between two of her managers. It ended with one saying, “Well, your ethics aren’t necessarily mine!” Another friend found it amusing that he was able to avoid the company ethics meeting by lying about already attending.
Are You A Master?
The article is mostly based off a study done by Gartner Inc., in Stamford CT, USA. One sad but true statistic stated that 20-30% of IT executives "have a 'dismissive attitude' toward project management". Those are the same execs that suffer "from poor quality, late delivery and unrealistic project costs." I can related to this information from my personal experience, and would venture a guess that when you move into executives in operational areas, the dismissive attitude towards proper project management increases. The majority of IT execs seem to have seen the light and made the realization that there really is value to be delivered by well run projects by individuals who have the right skills to do so in a formal manner.
Stakeholder Management
Quantitative Risk
Management Styles
Management Styles: The Project Communications Management section of the exam may address the following management styles:
Authoritarian: Lets individuals know what is expected of them; gives specific guidance; expects adherence to rules and standardsCombative: Eager to fight or be disagreeable over any situation
Conciliatory: Friendly and agreeable; attempts to unite players into a compatible working team
Disruptive: Tends to disrupt unity and cause disorder
Ethical: Honest and sincere; presses for fair solutions; goes “by the book”
Facilitating: Does not interfere with day-to-day tasks, but is available for help and guidance when needed
Intimidating: Reprimands employees for the sake of a “tough guy” image
Judicial: Applies sound judgment
Promotional: Cultivates team spirit; rewards good work; encourages subordinates to realize their full potential
Secretive: Not open or outgoing in speech, activity, or purpose
Acquiring the Project Team
Recruiting Team Members - The project manager has to follow the rules of the host organization. The PM must be aware of, and work well with, the levels of authority. If the PM is working within a Functional matrix, then he must be prepared to allow the employee’s functional manager to determine things like availability and the PM must provide feedback to the functional manager regarding performance. The PM has little authority to perform these tasks.
PM Types of Authority
TYPES OF POWER
According to PMI®, the project manager can exert the following types of power:
The Powers of the Project Manager | |
Power | Definition |
Expert | The project manager is an expert with the goal the project focuses on. |
Reward | The project manager can reward the project team members. |
Coercive | The project manager can punish the project team members. |
Formal | The project manager is formally assigned to the role of the project manager. |
Referent | The project team knows the project manager. The project manager refers to the person that assigned them to the role of project manager. |
- Expert Power - Expert power can only be exercised by individuals who are held in particular esteem because of their special knowledge or skill. The project manager’s ability to use this power derives from reputation, knowledge, and experience.
- Reward Power - Reward power involves positive reinforcement and the ability to award people something of value in exchange for their cooperation. The project manager’s ability to use this power derives from his or her position in the organizational hierarchy and degree of control over the project.
- Coercive Power - Coercive power is predicated on fear (for example, subordinate fears being deprived of something for failing to do what the supervisor asks). The ability to use this power derives from the project manager’s control over the project and project personnel.
- Formal Power - Legitimate power is derived from the person’s formal position within the organization. The project manager’s ability to use this power derives from his or her position in the organizational hierarchy and his or her degree of control over the project, as modified by the organizational climate. Use of this power should be in conjunction with expert and reward power whenever possible.
- Referent Power - Referent power is based on citing the authority of a more powerful person (for example, one’s supervisor) as the basis for one’s own authority. The project manager’s ability to use this power derives from his or her position in the organizational hierarchy.