Strategy in Project Organisations

This document explores various aspects of strategy in project organizations, including frameworks for organizational change, a comparison of PMBOK organizational types, the chasm between strategy development and implementation, the application of strategic management practices to the public sector, and the evaluation of projects as vehicles of strategic change. It also discusses methods for ensuring linkages between projects and strategy.

Running head: STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
Strategy in Project Organisations
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
Table of Contents
1. Frameworks for organizational change in the context of strategy implementation.....................2
2. Compare and evaluate PMBOK organizational types and their impact on the project managers’
role and power.................................................................................................................................3
3. The chasm between strategy development and strategy implementation....................................7
4. Evaluate the application of strategic management practice to the public sector.........................7
5. Evaluate projects as vehicles of strategic change........................................................................8
6. Research and critically evaluate methods for ensuring linkages between projects and strategy.8
References......................................................................................................................................10

2STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
1. Frameworks for organizational change in the context of strategy implementation
There are many frameworks that can be used to conduct organisational change in the
context of strategy implementation. The McKinsey 7-S framework is one of these.
Figure 1: McKinsey 7-S framework
(Source: Gökdeniz, Kartal and Kömürcü 2017)
This framework can be divided into two broad segments, Hard Elements and Soft
Elements as under;

3STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
Figure 2: Hard and Soft Elements
(Source: Gökdeniz, Kartal and Kömürcü 2017)
The figure shows the elements divided between hard and soft elements. Hard elements
can be easily identified and managed. Management can directly influence these elements with
reporting lines, organisational charts, IT systems and formal processes. These are essential
elements while governing a change process at the organisational level. Similarly, soft elements
are difficult to be managed and have a higher influence of the organisational culture.
Nevertheless, if these elements are not managed effectively will affect the change process. There
are other frameworks as well like Okumus’s strategy implementation framework. This
framework is quite comprehensive as it binds an array of variables into a compact model. These
variables are divided between four broad categories like strategic content, internal context,
external context and organisational process.
2. Compare and evaluate PMBOK organizational types and their impact on the project
managers’ role and power
Organisational types Description Impact on Project

4STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
Managers’ Role
Organic or Simple  Promotes teamwork
 Improved
coordination between
team members
 Role-plays can be
adjusted with
changing
circumstances
 Part-time
 May not be a
designated job role
like coordinator
Functional (centralised)  Promotes the
formation of groups
based on similar skills
and knowledge
 Enhances operational
efficiency and the
productivity level as
well
 Part-time
 A designated job role
like coordinator may
be missed
Multi-divisional  Greater deal of control
over the tasks
 Allows flexibility to
the business
 Allow focusing on
specific areas of the
 May or may not enjoy
authority as a
coordinator used to
have

5STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
business
Matrix – strong  The project manager
holds the maximum
power
 Full-time like a
designated job role
Matrix – weak  One of the staff
members is provided
the role of project
expediter or
coordinator
 However, expediter
unlike a coordinator
cannot make any
decision
 Mainly part-time
 Is not responsible for
a designated job role
like a coordinator
used to have
Matrix – balanced  Power is shared
equally between
personnel in
horizontal and vertical
legs of the matrix
 Reporting to more
than one manager can
be challenging
 Mainly part-time
 Lack a designated job
role like a coordinator
used to have
 Despite this is
considered as playing
a functional skill
Project-oriented (composite,
hybrid)
 Functions are
controlled under a
 Full-time
 Designated job role as

6STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
management structure
 Project-based groups
take care of the
different activities
 Different managers
supervising diverse
organisational roles
that of a coordinator
Virtual  Flat organisation
 Informal
communication
 Power flexibility
 Customer-orientation
 Both part-time or full-
time
Hybrid  Promotes shared
mission
 Facilitates market
disruption
 Promotes scale of use
 Mixed
PMO  Mix of other types of
organisational
structure
 Full-time role
 Designated job role
Table 1: PMBOK organizational types
(Source: Ferraro and Iovanella 2016)
3. The chasm between strategy development and strategy implementation

7STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
There are certain reasons that cause a strategy implementation process to fail. These are
as under (Malysheva et al. 2016);
 There is no clear division between daily work activities and strategic breakthrough
activities
 Pre-occupied resources
 Mission statements lack an utmost deployment in the organisational practice
 Similarly, vision statement also does not have an appropriate deployment in the
organisational setting
 Lack of analysis of operational data while during the strategic planning sessions. This
compels to formulate strategies that appear solid on paper; however, not so in practice
 It also happens due to the lack of regular reviews of the process and the process
improvement
 Projects fail to align their strategic intent with their organisational values
4. Evaluate the application of strategic management practice to the public sector
Strategic management practices are also applicable to the public sector. For strategic
success in the public sector a robust alliances is needed to be built up comprising of both internal
and external resources. The public manager constantly faces challenges to provide and find
answers to a constant re-adaptation and development of range of organisational concerns. There
is inflexibility in the ownership of strategy by all levels of professionals. It is because of the
adoption of strategy that happens to occur on a tactical level. The strategic triangle can play the
role of a consultant, teacher or researcher in the public sector. These has few benefits and
drawbacks as listed under (Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015);

8STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
Benefits:
 Reduction of complexity
 Incremental flexibility
 Crates focus
 Easily understandable and communicable as well
Drawbacks:
 Focus can shift to other direction over time
 Lacks an appropriate representation of breadth and complexity of operations
5. Evaluate projects as vehicles of strategic change
Projects can be termed as vehicles of strategic change. One of the potential barriers of the
organisational change is the fear of the unknown facts that can affect the change process. On the
other hand, one of the advantages of project management is identifying and predicting the unseen
dangers and plan things accordingly to avoid the failure of the project. Again, ineffective
leadership is another barrier to the organisational change. On the contrary, project management
encourages a planned approach towards a change process leading to effective leadership from
project managers, coordinators and other stakeholders (Anderson 2016).
6. Research and critically evaluate methods for ensuring linkages between projects and
strategy
Project management is now increasingly used as a tool to implement strategies and bring
changes to one or more aspects of a business. Indeed, strategic project management acts as
vehicles of strategic change. Strategic project management has a direct and explicit linkage with

9STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
business strategy. Strategic projects provide flexibility to and promotes creativity in a change
process. It encourages the implementation of plans only when the strategies have been planned.
It encourages only to use the big picture. It encourages continual scanning of the stakeholders
leading to a wider control on the change process. It encourages to conduct uncertainty analysis
first and then go for planning the activities (Olson and Simerson 2015).

10STRATEGY IN PROJECT ORGANISATIONS
References
Anderson, D.L., 2016. Organization development: The process of leading organizational
change. Sage Publications.
Ferraro, G. and Iovanella, A., 2016. Revealing correlations between structure and innovation
attitude in inter-organisational innovation networks. International Journal of Computational
Economics and Econometrics, 6(1), pp.93-113.
Gökdeniz, I., Kartal, C. and Kömürcü, K., 2017. Strategic assessment based on 7S McKinsey
model for a business by using analytic network process (ANP). International Journal of
Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(6), pp.2222-6990.
Malysheva, T.V., Shinkevich, A.I., Kharisova, G.M., Nuretdinova, Y.V., Khasyanov, O.R.,
Nuretdinov, I.G., Zaitseva, N.A. and Kudryavtseva, S.S., 2016. The sustainable development of
competitive enterprises through the implementation of innovative development strategy.
International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 6(1), pp.185-191.
Olson, A.K. and Simerson, B.K., 2015. Leading with strategic thinking: Four ways effective
leaders gain insight, drive change, and get results. John Wiley & Sons.
Van Dooren, W., Bouckaert, G. and Halligan, J., 2015. Performance management in the public
sector. Routledge.