Principles of Project Management

This article discusses the principles of project management and explores the role of accountability and responsibility in successful project delivery. It also highlights the importance of strategic project management in adding value to an organization. The article provides insights and strategies for improving project performance and aligning projects with company strategy.

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PRINCIPLES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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Responsibility and Accountability
Research has shown that accountability is essential to any successful project. In
regard to Mawson Zoo drop in terms of the projects conveyed on time and within budget
means that the liability of the organisation is at stake. For Mawson Zoon to upturn the
number of projects delivered on time and within budget, it should go back to the drawing
board to look at its accountability and responsibilities. On the other hand, the decline of
Mawson Zoo Company in delivering of effective projects also indicates that the responsibility
by its project managers is to blame, hence there is need to re-evaluate its obligations. In this
sense, this part looks at various ways in which accountability will help to foster the delivery
of successful projects by Mawson Zoo. On the same note, this part will outline multiple ways
in which responsibilities will aid to improve Mawson Zoo project delivery.
Role of Accountability in the Mawson Zoo Project Delivery of Successful Project
Addressing accountability at the project kick-off meeting: The project leader have a
duty to make sure that before the project kick off there has to be a reception meeting to lay
out the big picture to outline the reason why the project is essential and the objectives and
goals to be attained (Kerzner, and Kerzner, 2017). The project director and project sponsor
outlines the project expectations during the project kick off; this is important because it
enables project members to know the direction in which the project should be run.
Consequently, setting accountability as a fundamental principle of the project is vital. The
sponsor of the project and the project director ought to clearly state their project expectations
at the kick-off meeting. In this sense, the project sponsor will hold the manager accountable;
therefore, it is the duty of the project leader and the project members to work and see to it that
accomplish the project according to the sponsor’s expectations. A clear outline of the

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project’s outlooks by the project supervisor to the team makes each individual to be held
accountable.
Outlining tasks that are interconnected: Normally, all projects consists of
interconnected tasks since certain things have to happen in a series to make the project
successful. In this essence, the project supervisor has to outline the details of the project to
the team by highlighting a task that is interconnected. In this case, the project manager will
develop a program on how the project should be delivered. The project manager trains the
team on how to make a decision regarding the approach in which each task of the project will
function. In this case, the project manager hold team members accountable for decision
making timeframes outlined in the work breakdown structure and the charter (Bourne, 2015).
At some point, several tasks run parallel; in such a situation, each team working on
subsequent tasks are held accountable by team members working on the preceding
operations. Indeed, through the project manager illustrating to project teams the way
functions are linked to each other and how every team should perform their work effectively
for the benefit of another team, this process motivates each project member to hold each other
accountable to avoid shifting of problems and ensuring swift project flow.
Provoke poor performance: In cases where the project team exhibits poor
performance, the project manager should deal with such issues swiftly and cautiously. When
other project teams observe tolerance to poor performance, it is likely to impact on their will
leading to a drop in the project performance (Badewi, 2016, p. 764). Nevertheless, Mawson
Zoo project managers should not be buzz saws to cut down weak performing teams for
failing to attain project expectations. Poor performance does not go away by itself, but it is all
about balancing the action between handling things swiftly and in a humanly way.
Role of Responsibility in Project management

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The project director is tasked with the responsibility of leading the project, which
means that the project director should make sure that the project is accomplished on time,
within budget, and it is delivered without any flaws to the client. Therefore, the project
manager has the responsibility to handle all project components from the inception to project
delivery. Subsequently, the project boss should have a well-structured strategic project
management plan to ensure that the project gets delivered successfully.
Strategic Project Management
Strategic project management (SPM) is delineated as the ability to utilise appropriate
project organisation skills, understanding implements and techniques in the context of the
organisation’s aims and objectives to see to it that the project deliverables add value to the
company in a manner which can be assessed. In addition to that these skills, familiarity,
implements and techniques helps to describe the process that considers the organisation’s
approach of doing things, enabling for the potential of a relevant payoff with lesser risks
(Kerzner, and Kerzner, 2017). Indeed, SPM is the process of picking the right instruments for
the organisation, which give assurance of optimal returns. While strategic project
management may sound simple, studies have shown that a majority of the organization have
ignored the significant part of lining up projects with company strategy. In this sense,
Stanleigh (2006) in the article From crisis to control: news standards for project
management, the scholar research to determine the reason as to why many organizations have
overlooked strategic project management. As a result, Stanleigh asserts that a very small
percentage of the project carried out by the organisation, which is approximately 3% have
been successful 100%. Subsequently, Stanleigh outlines the relevance of ensuring that the
only plan that is in line with the business’s strategic vision should be performed. Basically,
through Stanleigh’s research about “From Crisis to Control: New Standards for Project
Management”, the scholar highlight four pivotal strategic that play a key role in organisation

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recuperating control over their project and guaranteeing strategic fit. Indeed, these essential
strategies are also suitable in relation to the case of Mawson Zoo. The four central plan
include:
 Making sure that all tasks are purposefully aligned: Research has found that nearly
70% of organisations do not have a systematic approach that gives priority to the
connection between the project objectives and the company strategic goals.
 Develop a project management that is focused on the organisation culture: According
to Stanleigh, it is essential to define the necessity for a project management principles
to pervade the organisation starting from the top leadership down the chain of
command to the administrative assistants. In this regard, a focused culture makes it
easier to concentrate on the project activities because of the shared vision, which
helps in steering the project ahead.
 Implementing best strategic management project practices: The project management
offices within an organisation should put into consideration all the learned lessons
with a lot of significance in their entire mandate. Creating a strategic management system: The success of most projects is based on
tactically driven project measures like realising the scope needs, timely project
delivery, within budget, high quality and satisfying customer needs.
Strategic Project Management Framework
There is need to develop a basic framework for the execution of the strategic project
management methods within Mawson Zoo organisation, since the existence of this
framework together with the fundamental methodologies of project management, will play a
crucial role in aiding the company to successfully select and implement projects (Stanleigh,
2006, p. 4). The strategic project management framework practices such as strategic

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alignment of projects, fostering a project management culture, creating best practices,
tracking and assessment of the project outcomes and establishing an open communication
channel.
References List
Badewi, A., 2016. The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM)
practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance
framework. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.761-778.
Bourne, L., 2015. Making Projects Work: effective stakeholder and communication
management. Auerbach Publications.
Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Patanakul, P. and Shenhar, A.J., 2012. What project strategy really is: The fundamental
building block in strategic project management. Project Management Journal, 43(1),
pp.4-20.
Stanleigh, M., 2006. From crisis to control: New standards for project management. Ivey
Business Journal, 70(4), pp.1-4.

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