The Relationship Between Competitive Advantage and Project Management

This report delves into the intricate relationship between competitive advantage and project management, emphasizing their crucial interplay in the business landscape. It begins by defining project management and competitive advantage, highlighting how strategic alignment and efficient resource allocation are pivotal for strengthening a firm's public image and gaining a competitive edge. The report then examines key concepts like decision-making processes, critical path analysis, and management control processes, illustrating how these elements contribute to effective project execution. It explores the roles of organizational structure, culture, and systems in controlling projects and achieving strategic goals, underscoring the importance of adaptability and stakeholder engagement. The analysis extends to the current competitive landscape, discussing ways to improve decision-making, the role of strategy, and the impact of globalization on business operations. The report concludes by synthesizing these insights, demonstrating how robust project management practices are essential for achieving and sustaining competitive advantage in a dynamic and challenging market environment.

Running head: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Relationship between Competitive Advantage and Project Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Concept of project management:...............................................................................................3
Definition of competitive advantage:.........................................................................................4
Ways of implementing decision:................................................................................................4
Critical path analysis:.................................................................................................................5
Overview of management control process:................................................................................7
Role of structure and culture in controlling an organisation:.....................................................8
Importance of system in an organisation:..................................................................................9
Importance of human resources in an organisation:................................................................10
Role of stakeholders in decision making process:...................................................................10
Current scenario of competitive landscape of the firms:.........................................................11
Ways of making better decision:..............................................................................................12
Role of strategy in strategic decision making:.........................................................................12
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................12
References:...............................................................................................................................13
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Introduction:
In the highly competitive business scenario, running business in proper direction is
one of the most significant ways of strengthening the public image of a firm, which is the key
of attaining competitive advantage. Strategic management is one of the most significant
aspects of running business by aligning all the resources in a systematic manner (Ram et al.
2014). The inclusion of appropriate strategy is one of the major aspects of running business in
a systematic manner as successful implementation of appropriate strategy plays a major role
in helping the firm to align all the resources in an appropriate manner. In the extremely
volatile business environment, managing project in an appropriate manner is one of the most
significant aspects in terms of attaining competitive advantage as it serves the firm with the
ability to strengthen their public image by keeping the customers loyal and attracted (Almarri
and Gardiner 2014). Present paper would shade light on the discussion of the relationship
between project management and competitive advantage.
Concept of project management:
Project management is regarded as the way of initiating, planning, controlling and
coordinating all the activities of a project and thus complete within the time and budget. It is
important to note in this context that project management is basically the way of completing
the work of a team in a successful manner, which is very much needed in terms of
accomplishing the project goal and meet specific success criteria. Initiation, planning,
execution, performance monitoring, and project closing are the key steps of project
management, which play a critical role in the way of completing a project with utmost
efficiency (Mao et al. 2016). Project management, in its simplest form is defined as the way
of using specific knowledge, skill, tools and techniques in order to ensure the fact that the
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project is running in accordance with the predetermined goals and objectives and will be
completed within the given dead line. This is the art of managing all the aspects of a project
properly and thus closing the project with the assistance of structured methodology (David
and David 2016).
Definition of competitive advantage:
Competitive advantage is the key of strengthening the public image of a firm. It
serves the firms with the competency to combat with the hard-core competitors’ in the market
by improving their products or services. It is the prime responsibility of the management of
the firms to out consistent effort in the way of improving their internal functionality, which is
very much needed in order to improve their offerings and thereby keep the customers happy
and satisfied (Nicholas 2018). This is the way, through which the companies’ can acquire
competitive advantage by improving their external image. In the context of highly volatile
business environment, competitive advantage serves the firms with the attributes to
outperform their competitors. Competitive advantage is basically defined as the condition,
which allows the corporate entities to provide high quality of products or services at a lower
price or in a more comprehensive manner (Backlund et al. 2014). This condition allows the
firms to increase their statistics of sales and thereby become superior in compared to that of
the market rivals. A competitive advantage plays a critical role in distinguishing an
organisation from that of its competitors, which can have a firm impact on amplifying the
brand loyalty of the firm. In the contemporary business environment, competitive advantage
is one of the most essential factors of attaining long term success from business (Kaiser et al.
2015).
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Ways of implementing decision:
Decision making process is one of the major factors in moving an organisation
towards appropriate direction. This is the key of taking necessary steps by evaluating the
external environment properly, which is key of aligning all the resources properly and
thereby attaining competitive advantage (Terzieva 2014). However, there are certain
obstacles, being faced by the management of corporate entities in terms of implementing
effective decision. Lack of ability among the higher authority to define the tasks properly is
one of the major obstacles towards effective decision making. It hampers the ability of the
business leaders to assign the roles and responsibilities of the people in accordance with their
skills and competencies, which ultimately lead to the breakdown of the larger project. In
addition, lack of communication among the top management with that of the staffs of every
department is another vital barrier of effective decision making (Thiry 2016). In most of the
cases, it has been observed that the formulators of strategic decision making process are not
playing enough roles in the way of taking effective decision.
Project planning is one of the major ways of implementing strategic decision as it
serves the top management of an organisation, which the capability of identifying all the
stages, through which a project can be carried out by aligning both the both the human
resources and financial resources in a comprehensive platform (Coccia 2017). Thus, it is
evident that comprehensive project planning plays a pivotal role in running a project in a
systematic manner, which is the key of keeping the customers happy and satisfied by
providing them with high quality of project. It is to be noted here that, appropriate project
planning acts as a major determinant towards attaining competitive advantage (Sakas et al.
2014).
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Critical path analysis:
Critical path analysis is one of the major aspects of managing and controlling a large
project in a timely and cost effective manner. Critical path analysis, in its simplest form is
defined as the network analysis, which plays a critical role in identifying the ways, through
which some of the major tasks of a project are largely dependent on the others (Alecsa and
Popescu 2015). Thus, it can be said that, critical path analysis is one of the major factors in
terms of scheduling the tasks in more flexible manner, which is very much needed in terms of
completing a large project in a timely and cost effective manner.
Figure 1: Critical path analysis framework
(Source: Martens, and Carvalho 2017)
In the context og Critical path analysis, every tasks of a project have been aligned in a
synchronized manner, which is very much needed in terms of aligning and controlling a large
project in an appropriate manner. It is worthy to note in this context that Critical path analysis
shows the extent to which, each activity of a project are dependent on the previous one
(Ansoff et al. 2018). This is the way, through which a systematic coordination is maintained
in between each of the tasks of a project, which is very much needed in terms of completing
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the project within the given dead line. Gantt chart is also a major tool of project management,
through which all the activities of a project can be completed in a systematic manner. Gantt
chart is an improvised form of critical path analysis, which comprises of the visual
representation of the tasks that are involved in a project. Systematic completion of all the
tasks of a project plays a major role in attaining competitive advantage by completing the
project within the dead line (Hill et al. 2014).
Overview of management control process:
Management control process is also a major factor in running a project in a systematic
manner. Management control process is defined as the way of ensuring the fact that all the
activities in an organisation are running on the basis of predetermined goals and objectives.
This serves the managers with the ability to evaluate the performance of the organisation
against the established standard (Lasserre 2017). There are different steps, involved in the
management control process. Establishing the goals and setting the performance standard is
one of the major steps of management control process.
This is the way of specifying the overall aim of the organisation, which is to be
divided into specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and timed objectives. It is the prime
responsibility of the management of the firms to establish the performance standard in
accordance with the predetermined business objectives. Planning the tasks, identifying the
performance measures and carrying out all the tasks properly is another major steps of
management control process (Noe et al. 2017). Both gnat chart and critical path analysis play
a major role in planning the tasks properly by setting the series and sequence of all the
necessary actions. Monitoring the performance and comparing it against the established
standard is another vital step of management control process. Monitoring can be both formal
and informal which comprises of observation, formal reporting and measuring the routine
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statistics. Appropriate monitoring of the tasks is an important factor as it helps the managers
of the corporate entities to figure out the corrective actions that are needed to be taken in
terms of completing a project by removing potential obstacles (Hill 2017).
Role of structure and culture in controlling an organisation:
Organisational structure is an imperative factor for completing a project in a
systematic manner by aligning all the resources properly. Organisational structure plays a
critical role in enabling an organisation to adapt the strategies properly, which is the key of
running an organisation towards appropriate direction (Stead and Stead 2014). On the other
hand, ineffective organisational structure sometimes makes it difficult for the firms to adapt
comprehensive business strategy. Thus, it is the prime responsibility of the management of
the firms to focus on modifying the organisational structure consistently, which is very much
needed in terms of realising the benefits of strategic change (Morschett et al. 2015).
High degree of uncertainty and competition in the contemporary business
environment is acting as a driving force behind the firms to keep an eye on initiating
structural change, which is the fundamental factor for acquiring competitive advantage.
Structural change is defined as the process of creating necessary changes and thereby copes
up with the diverse demand of the customers. Strategic change serves the firms with the
ability to move the direction of the project as per the requirement of the customers, which is
very much needed in order to keep the customers happy and satisfied by providing them with
high quality of project (Gamble et al. 2014). This is the way of modifying the existing
structure and process of an organisation on the basis of project requirement.
Organisational culture is also a major factor of running the project in a proper
direction. Organisational culture can have a firm impact on the way of formulating the
strategy. According to the approach of tough-guy macho culture, organizational culture is
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highly dominated by the individual people in an organization. On the other hand, the work-
hard, play-hard culture shows that the internal operation and rate of sales are the largest
determinants of the organizational culture (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Thus, it is the prime
responsibility of the management of the firms to improve the internal functionality in
accordance with the project requirement. This is the way, through which the project manager
can be able to modify the organizational culture by generating positive attitude among the
human resources in terms of accomplishing the project objectives (Hitt et al. 2014). Through
this way, competitive advantage can be acquired by running the project towards appropriate
direction.
Importance of system in an organisation:
Both system and process are the matter of utmost importance for the sake of
modifying the internal functionality of the firms. System serves as the great foundation, based
on which essential blocks and support can be established. In addition, system also plays a
major role in enabling the upper management of an organisation to monitor and manage the
staffs and take necessary steps in order to improve their degree of productivity (Steiss 2019).
The inclusion of appropriate system paves the way for the higher authority of an organisation
to maintain a cordial communication throughout the organisation, which is very much needed
in terms of completing a larger project in a collaborative manner.
Thus, it can be said that, the inclusion of appropriate system plays a major role in
implementing robust operational strategy and thereby move the direction of the project on the
basis of the requirements of the customers. Moving the direction plays a major role in
delivering the customers with more valuable project, which is the key of keeping the
customers happy and satisfied. Therefore, it is evident that the inclusion of effective system is
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an important factor in helping an organisation to attain competitive advantage by delivering
high quality of project.
Importance of human resources in an organisation:
The human resources are the key asset in an organisation, based on which the entire
rate of profitability is being determined. It is important to note in this context that, the
employees play a critical role in running the internal functionality of the firms in a systematic
manner and thereby pave the way for the firm to provide high quality of products or services.
The employees are the valuable asset in an organisation, based on whom the organisation can
maintain cordial relationship with that of the customers. In the context of project
management, the human resources play a critical role in performing the critical project related
activity with utmost efficiency (Stead and Stead 2014). This is the way of strengthening the
value of the project which is very much needed in order to generate satisfaction and loyalty
among the customers.
The employees bring powerful energy, which is the key of running project
successfully in the constantly moving business environment. With the assistance of
comprehensive critical path analysis framework, it becomes easy for the staffs to figure out
the activities, which are to be performed by them. This is the way, through which the human
resources can put their best effort towards attaining success from the project, which is
extremely important factor in attaining competitive advantage.
Role of stakeholders in decision making process:
The stakeholders are defined as the individual or group of people who can influence
or is influenced by the decision, taken by an organisation. Customers, suppliers, competitors,
government agencies, lenders are some of the major types of stakeholders, who can direct
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influence on the decision, taken by an organization. As the fundamental purpose of the firms
to maximize their rate of profitability, thus they are focusing on keeping the stakeholders
happy and satisfied, which is the key of attaining competitive advantage. It has been observed
that, the higher authority of the firms are putting more stress on creating value among the
stakeholders, which is the key of maximizing the value of an organization. Based on the
stakeholder’s theory, it can be said that it is the prime responsibility of the higher authority of
the firms to allow stakeholders to place enforceable claims upon the performance of the
firms. This is the way, through which the value among the stakeholders can be accelerated. It
is the widely admitted fact that the stakeholders provide the organizations, with significant
resources such s capital, intellectual property and labor. Thus, they should be involved in the
decision making process. Through this way, the value of a project can be accelerated by
aligning all the resources properly.
Current scenario of competitive landscape of the firms:
In the current business scenario, the intensity of competition in the market is
drastically increasing. In addition, the recent trend of globalisation is further increasing the
recent trend of globalisation is further increasing the degree of competition in the
international market. The changing competitive landscape is acting as a strong force behind
the firms to renew their strategy consistently, which is the core factor for coping up with the
fast moving business environment. Due to the changing competitive landscape, the need of
strategic flexibility is amplifying in a rapid manner. With the assistance of strategic
flexibility, the organisations are becoming able to respond quickly towards changing business
scenario and thereby attain competitive advantage. In the context of project management,
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strategic flexibility plays a critical role for the forms to formulate comprehensive project
management plan and align all the resources properly, which is very much needed in terms of
completing a large project in a timely and cost effective manner by responding towards the
diverse demand of the customers (Martens and Carvalho 2017).
Ways of making better decision:
Decision making process is one of the most significant factors in moving a firm
towards appropriate direction. In order to make better decision, it is the prime responsibility
of the management of the corporate entities to make humble decision by acknowledging the
needs and requirements of the customers. The higher authority of the firms must focus on
establishing more realistic model, which is very much needed in order to take effective
decision in a systematic manner (Alecsa and Popescu 2015). In the context of project proper
coordinating all the tasks, related to the project properly and thereby delivers high quality of
project within the time and budget.
Role of strategy in strategic decision making:
Strategic decision making is one of the major factors in attaining long term success
fro, business. Lack of decision can lead to breakdown of strategy. Thus, it can be said that,
decision is one of the most significant factors in terms of running an organisation towards
proper direction. According to the earliest approach, it is the prime responsibility of the
management of the firms to develop creative ideas and interpret right information, which is
the key of strengthening the value of business.
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Conclusion:
Based on the discussion, it can be concluded by saying that appropriate management
of project is one of the major factors in terms of attaining competitive advantage by
strengthening the value of the project. In the extremely competitive business environment
appropriate management of project is one of the major factors in terms of strengthening the
position of a company by keeping the customers happy and satisfied.
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