Leadership's Role in Project Management: Imperial College Event Study

This research proposal examines the critical role of leadership in project management, specifically within the context of Imperial College's annual event. The study aims to analyze the impact of leadership on project success, identify effective leadership styles, evaluate factors influencing project managers, and assess strategies for efficient project management. The literature review explores leadership theories, styles, and their application in project settings. The methodology outlines a case study approach, detailing research philosophy, design, data collection methods, sampling, and ethical considerations. The research questions focus on the key roles of project leaders, challenges faced, and effective management strategies. The study seeks to provide valuable insights into how leadership influences project outcomes and contributes to the successful execution of events, offering practical implications for project managers and event organizers. The report is a student contribution available on Desklib.

<University>
<Project Management Research Proposal>
by
<Your Name>
<Date>
<Lecturer’s Name and Course Number>
 <Your Name> 2017 1 of 22

Table of Contents
1: Introduction................................................................................................................4
1.1 Project case...........................................................................................................4
1.2 Aims and objectives.............................................................................................5
1.3 Research questions...............................................................................................5
1.4 Rationale of study.................................................................................................6
2: Literature review........................................................................................................6
2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................6
2.2 Importance of Leadership.....................................................................................7
2.3 Leadership styles for managing project................................................................8
2.4 Factors affecting leadership for managing project.............................................10
2.5 Strategies that support manager to lead the project towards success.................11
3: Research methodology.............................................................................................13
3.1 Research philosophy..........................................................................................13
3.2 Research approach..............................................................................................14
3.3 Research type.....................................................................................................14
3.4 Research Epistemology......................................................................................14
3.5 Research Design.................................................................................................15
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3.6 Data collection method.......................................................................................15
3.7 Sampling:...........................................................................................................16
3.8 Data analysis......................................................................................................16
3.9 Ethical Considerations:......................................................................................17
4: Timeline...................................................................................................................17
Reference List..............................................................................................................19
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Title: To identify the role of leadership in managing the project: A case study of
Imperial College annual event, London
1: Introduction
For managing the operations and process of events and organizational
functions the project management tools and techniques are used. These tools and
techniques help to maintain the smooth flow of activities and support to keep the
quality according to the required standards. Project management is an important
process used for managing small and big projects by using the elements like initiation,
planning, implementation, monitoring, and closing. The project manager considers
and applies different project management tools and techniques for managing the
project as per the needs and required standards of the client. It is the responsibility of
the project manager to collect the requirements, analyze them and plan the activities
by considering the availability of resources. The approach of manager and their team
members have a significant impact on the processing of operation and implementation
of a plan to achieve the goals and objectives. Moreover, the knowledge and skill level
of project manager plays a critical role in arrangement and utilization of resources as
well as the effective distribution of tasks according to capabilities of team members.
This kind of process has a significant impact on efficiency and proper management of
operations to meet the goals.
1.1 Project case
The current study will focus on the annual event of Imperial College, London.
The college management has organized the Alumni Weekend at Imperial Festival on
6th and 7th May 2017. The timing of the event was 10:00-17:00 at Imperial College,
London, South Kingston Campus Exhibition Road, London. The type of event was
festival and the entry ticket was available at the college campus. The main event
activities were involved the best science, engineering, entrepreneurship and creativity.
The attraction for guest requires demonstration of new science and engineering
products and services interactive talks and exhibition, workshops and performance by
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the students (About Imperial College event, 2017). The management expected to
invite 500 guests from their student and academic community. This was a free event
for all age people. Moreover, the registration fee for the adult was £5 per head. There
was no entry fee for children under 16 years. Now, it was the responsibility of project
manager to maintain the process of this event and manage the activities according to
the required standards of Imperial College. The proper collection of data and analysis
of requirement was beneficial for the manager to lead the team and meet the
objectives more professional manner.
1.2 Aims and objectives
Aim:
The aim of the study is to analyze the role of leadership in managing the project in
the case of Imperial College annual event.
Objectives:
• To critically analyze the importance of leadership regarding the project of Imperial
College
• To determine various leadership styles for managing the project of Imperial college
event appropriately.
• To evaluate the factors affecting leadership of the project manager and the project
of Imperial college.
• To assess the strategies which support the project manager for leading the project
of imperial college efficiently
1.3 Research questions
1. What are the major roles of the leader of the project of Imperial College?
2. What are the issues faced by the project manager in managing the project of
Imperial College?
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3. What are the strategies for managing the project of an event in Imperial
College?
1.4 Rationale of study
The study will analyze approach of managing event by the project team leader
at Imperial College. The event of Imperial College was held for two days and college
management has developed a plan for organizing the activities related to the event. It
was the responsibility of the project manager to plan the activities and maintain the
flow of operations to conduct the two days event in efficient manner. However, the
project manager has faced some issues like lack of managing human resources,
miscommunication of requirement and arrangement of resources for maintaining the
standards of the event. These issues have affected the operational and functional
actions of the project and lead to a delay in the delivery of services. The study will
focus on these issues and analyse the best ways to meet the objectives of the event by
using the proper leadership functions for a project manager. The project manager has
to be good in communication and distribution of resources to meet the objectives of
the project. The research will also focus on issues and styles that are required to be
considered for managing the project activities as well as ensure effective utilization of
resources.
2: Literature review
2.1 Introduction
Review of literature is about collecting the data and information from the past
researches and studies by having concern over the selected topic. It is an important
part of research that helps out researcher to gather the information regarding the
different aspects of study and help in building the strong theoretical background for
research. For the current study, this chapter will carry out the analysis of different
approaches, theories and styles of leadership and project management techniques
using the secondary sources. The researcher will collect information from secondary
sources like books, journals, online articles and past research that are similar to the
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topic. The major areas that are reviewed by the researcher for current study involve
the importance of leadership for managing project, leadership styles that are useful for
managing project activities of an event and issues that could affect the approach of the
project manager to maintain the project standards.
2.2 Importance of Leadership
According to Ciulla (2017), leadership is the process through which the
individual motivate people to achieve objectives of the task and leads the organization
in the organized and successful manner. It is the manner in which the individual
persuade a group or team member in order to achieve the desired common goals.
Leadership is a skill of handling and motivating the team to work as per capabilities.
It has been found that leader motivates the workers or team members for maintaining
a high level of contribution in operations and functions of the project and makes them
work to meet the requirements of a project specifically. Leadership is a widespread
concept, which includes various aspects and theories used for carrying out the
activities in an efficient manner. Acquiring the leadership qualities help an individual
to set direction and vision for the entire group and individual person working towards
a specific goal or project.
Kerzner and Kerzner, (2017) had stated that leadership plays an important role
in managing the project and making the activities more fruitful and successful.
Leadership helps in maximizing the effectiveness and efficiencies of the group or
individuals to reach the desired goals successfully. It helps in making plans and
decision in the critical situation and takes action to resolve the issues faced throughout
the project. Moreover, leadership influences the team members to maintain a flow of
activities or work assigned to them and make sure to accomplish the same within the
given time period. While managing the project, it is essential to meet the requirements
and criteria provided by the client and ensure to fulfil needs successfully.
It is important for the leader to acquire enhanced knowledge and
understanding about the leadership tactics and theories to lead the team appropriately.
Leadership is characterized as an interpersonal process, which drives a manager or
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leader into guiding and influencing the co-workers and motivates them to make their
best efforts towards the achievement of desired goals. It signifies to acquire the
qualities like maturity, responsible, intelligence and personality in a person. In the
opinion of Darling (2017), leadership is also considered as a group process, which
includes two or more individuals communicating with each other.
Leadership includes specific elements such as leader, followers,
communication and situation analysis. These elements could affect the action as well
as the management of the project specifically (Northouse, 2018). There are various
leadership theories that have been utilized by the leader in managing the project or
carrying out their leadership activities. The major theories include Trait, situational
contingency theories, Behaviroal, participative, transactional and transformational
leadership theories. These theories have been used for managing leadership tactics
and the choice of leader in the particular situation of the project. Leadership provides
a potential or capacity to an individual to influence the behaviour of people towards a
specific goal and lead them accordingly. It is important for the leader to develop the
vision and encourage the group of individuals to move towards the attainment of
targets and make their best efforts towards it (Ford and Harding, 2018). These tactics
also helps strengthen the vision and mission of any specific project and enhances the
probabilities of achieving success out of it.
2.3 Leadership styles for managing project
As per Ahmed and Anantatmula, (2017) the term leadership refers to
motivating, directing and organizing a group or individuals with the purpose to
perform the given tasks proficiently. It is important to acquire the quality of leading
people or team towards the right direction in a productive manner. Leadership in
managing project plays an important role to accomplish the tasks and reach towards
the final goals. Every individual leader acquires its own leadership style and these
styles differ from each individual to individual depending upon their philosophies,
experiences, and personalities. In other words, leadership styles are the behaviour of
leaders towards their team or group they are leading.
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A leader is good in moulding, improving and shaping the behaviour of the
team members towards the achievement of set aims and objectives of any project
specifically. However, it has been observed that there is no specific style of leadership
as every action is dependent upon the manner of tackling the real-time situation. As
per Anderson and Sun (2017), each different style lays a different effect on the results
produced by the team and the environment of the workplace. There are various types
of leadership styles which could be used such as autocratic, democratic,
transformational, transactional and situational as well as laissez-faire leadership
styles. These styles are been used by leaders in different project management.
As per Zhang and et al., (2018) the autocratic leadership style mainly focuses
on both the control of the followers and the command by the leader. According to this
style, the decision is developing by the leader itself and the manager. The leader
makes the decision itself and do not involve their subordinates in any situation. The
working environment of an autocratic leadership style normally acquires less or no
flexibility and is rarely supporting. The democratic style involves the subordinates,
but the final decision made with the leader only. Transactional leadership style
involves an exchange process where both the followers and leaders are involved. The
transformational leadership is highly concerned with the initiation of the change in
any organizations, groups, oneself and others (Romager and et al., 2017). This style
tends to have more committed and satisfied followers. Moreover, the laissez-faire
style provides the employees with authority to make decisions.
In order to meet the requirement of the current project, the leader could make
use of transformational leadership style. This is one of the most effective styles of
leadership. Moreover, it has been found that the leader with transformational
leadership style is tending to be more emotionally intelligent, passionate and
energetic. They are mostly committed to achieve the set goals and assist the group
members of the team successfully. This style allows in formulating the vision and
plans quickly, promotes enthusiasm and inspires people to enhance motivation among
them and make them work accordingly (Ford and Harding, 2018). On the contrary to
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this, the leader from this leadership style could face serious detail challenges, might
overlook reality and truth, bad decisions and failure.
2.4 Factors affecting leadership for managing project
In accordance with Hollenbeck and et al, (2018) managing the project requires
immense efforts, planning, and lead the group of people to work towards the set goals.
In spite of that, numerous factors could affect the leadership of managers while
managing a project. Working with the team of people from diversified areas makes
the situation's complex for the leader and influence to implement an effective
leadership tactic into it. Some of the most common factors that affect leadership in
managing the project are change resistance, diversified skill sets, lack of
responsibility, skills and knowledge, unclear goals, poor communication, lack of
coordination, guiding change and lack of motivation (Carnall, 2018). There are
several cases when the team members or the group of people resists accepting the
change and thus creates challenges for the leader to lead them towards a set goal. It is
very essential for a team to move in a similar direction and make the best efforts a
common goal.
Kerzner and Kerzner, (2017) had discussed that leadership helps the project
manager in initiating action, motivating and guiding people, developing confidence,
building work environment, coordination among the team and enhance work morale
at the workplace. It has been found that leadership is an effective process, which
highly contributes in achieving determined targets or goals in appropriate and efficient
manner. Moreover, a leader must possess strong leadership qualities to manage a
project and develop strategies to build competitive advantage. Accomplishing a
project includes efficient planning and leadership, which leads the entire team towards
specific activities and meet the requirements of the event successfully. It is essential
for the manager to manage an event and make appropriate plans and strategies to
complete it as per the given deadline and budget.
The manager has to make efforts to lead the people from diversified
background enabling them to communicate and coordinate with each other. It is
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important to develop trust and accountability among the team members so that to
make them work as per the set requirements. There could be issues in communicating
with the team members having less interest in accepting change and getting involved
in the same. Leadership is the quality, which directs and motivates the people
towards a set target and encourage people to work with better initiatives. There are
also some issues while establishing healthy communication and cooperation among
the team members and making them move towards the common goal. In the opinion
of Bartlett and Beamish, (2018) the leader come across the situation of disagreements
among team members over any situation which might lead towards serious conflicts at
the workplace.
In addition to this, the issues of leadership in managing the project also depict
the poor communication among the team members that restrict the potentialities of
individuals along with their efforts towards the set objectives specifically. Leadership
influences the team members to maintain a flow of activities or work assigned to them
and make sure to accomplish the same within the given time period. It is necessary to
meet the requirements and criteria of the project and ensure to fulfil the same
successfully.
2.5 Strategies that support manager to lead the project towards success
Sparrow (2017) had discussed that effective leadership plays a significant role
in accomplishing the project successfully. It is very important for the leader to
understand the project requirements and develop the plans accordingly. Leading
people efficiently towards the achievement of set goal highly contributes to ensuring
the success of the project. It is very important for the leader to acquire adequate
knowledge about the qualities and strategies of leadership so that to make better use
of it. In order to achieve success out of the project, it is essential for the leader to
establish strong communication within the team so that could converse each and every
small information and command among them (Novo and et al., 2017). Sharing a clear
vision helps in making the team members understand the goal and motivate them to
visualize the project easily. The leader must define the set vision, plan and goal to the
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team so that to make them understand the requirements and attain the objective
effectively.
While initiating the project, it is very essential to develop and execute
effective leadership styles so that to lead the teams in a productive way and extract
fruitful results out of it. Leadership in project management acquires a crucial role in
developing plans and making actions towards it. It is very important for the project
manager to have specified planning and goals so that to achieve the desired outcome
successfully (Bolman and Deal, 2017). Communication is also an important aspect of
leadership, which combines the team members and enhances the level of coordination
among the team members. Moreover, for the leader it is essential to acquire sufficient
knowledge and understanding about the leadership styles and manners so that to apply
in real time situations.
Creating visibility and empowering the project stakeholders would help the
leader specify the targets and making the individual clear about the thoughts.
Additionally, setting milestones also helps the leader to establish motivation among
the team members and making them feel more confident towards their skills and
knowledge. The initiative enhances the levels of interest and accountability among the
team members and ensures leading towards the success of the project eventually.
Buchholz and Sandler (2017) had stated that team management is also an important
aspect, as only leading teams would not work. Good leadership includes directing and
coordinating members of the team or group by delegating tasks, evaluating progress,
resolving conflicts, promoting teamwork and setting short-term milestones to
maintain the motivation levels extensively.
However, it has been observed that the project requires efficient planning and
leadership which leads the entire team towards specific activities and meet the
requirements of the event successfully. The leader must possess enhanced qualities of
leadership and must be able to establish suitable strategies to lead the project towards
success and achieve the goals effectively (Northouse, 2018). Furthermore, it is the
responsibility of the project manager to collect the requirements, analyze them and
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