Project Management Assignment - Organizational Culture, Option Models

This project management assignment solution addresses key concepts in the field. It begins by analyzing the merits and demerits of various organizational structures, emphasizing their importance for project managers. The solution then delves into the five stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning), illustrating how to manage teams through each phase with an example. The role of traditional process management duties (planning, organizing, and controlling) in project management is explored, highlighting their significance. Furthermore, the assignment examines three ways organizational culture impacts project management, including communication, employee commitment, and project planning. Finally, the solution explains option models, their application in project evaluation, and provides an example to illustrate their use in decision-making. This comprehensive response offers valuable insights for students studying project management.

Running head: - PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Assignment-1
1. Discuss the merit and demerits of different forms of organizational structure and how
vital it was for project managers to understand the different organizational structure?
There are different merits and demerits associated with the different form of
organizational structure. The different forms are the divisional organization structures, the
functional organizational structure, matrix structure, the team organization structure, vertical
organization structure, horizontal organization structure and the network type of organization
structure. The merits are as follows:-
 The activities of the organization and the individuals becomes more rational, the
activities can be easily predicted and the entire activity is stable.
 It helps in the identification of the potential of the individual and support in their
improved and better performance.
 The organizational structure helps in achieving the efficiency within the organization.
 It helps in creating a line for the communication process within the organization and
also helps in the accountability.
 The workers can easily participate and coordinate with the team members.
 It helps in creating a relationship among the people and the team which help in the
control process (Harper 2015).
 It helps in making the decision in a faster rate and helps in the coordination of the
different activities inside the company.
 It helps in grouping the different work of the department and helps the experts of the
specific area to work effectively and efficiently.

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 It helps the people across the different areas of function to understand better the co-
workers present in the different areas within the organization.
The demerits of the organizational structure are as follows:-
 The potential of the individual creativity may be hidden as they are not able to
showcase their talent with respect to the pressure of their job roles and its
responsibilities.
 It is observed that the relationship which are fixed is sometimes inflexible due to the
adjustment factor, the changes which are made within the organization (Meredith,
Mantel and Shafer 2017).
 The workers and the employees of the organization are feels the pressure due to the
strict schedule and organization rules.
There are different type of organizational structure, the management implement different
structure to coordinate with the different function within the organization and the outcome
obtained from the proper management of the project is effective and efficient. The choice of
selecting one of the perfect organizational structure for the company is important. The
different structure helps the employees in achieving the aim of the organization. However,
there are different form of organization structure (Chelladurai 2014). The different
organizational structure is one of the vital aspect that helps in achieving the different goals of
the organization. The structure helps in giving the shape to the tentative ideas which are
present inside the organization at the initial stage. However, the organization structure
support in achieving the social goals.
2. Explain the five stages of team development, and how to manage the team through
the stages. Please provide an example of a team going through all five stages.

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Every team undergoes through the five stages of team development. The stages helps
in joining all the teams together and working in a way that will help in achieving the
objective of the project. The five phases are forming, storming, norming, performing and
adjourning (Cameron and Green 2015). The first stage which is forming helps in the
formations of the team at the initial stage when the team at the first instance meets each other.
At this stage the members of the teams share all their information related to their background,
experience and different fields of interest. It helps in creating an overall first impression. The
aim and the objective of the project is discussed with the team. At the initial stage it will help
in developing and growth of the team. The second phase is the storming stage. This stage is
one of the essential phase in the development of the team. In this stage competition occurs
between the different employees present in the organization for developing the status. The
members are able to function independently and helps the employees in working together
with the team (Oakland 2014). All the roles and responsibilities are made clear in this stages
so that the employees can easily adapt to their new responsibilities. This stage is closed when
the entire team is able to accept their job responsibilities. The third stage is the norming stage.
This stage helps the employees in working effectively together as a team. In this stage the
different conflict is easily resolved. The unity is created in the team within the organization.
The overall performance of the team increases in this stage. The interpersonal difference is
resolved and the entire team know the different ways of operation. The fourth stage is the
performing stage that helps the team organization, the entire team is well managed and all the
functions is well defined in this stage. The different conflicts that exist is easily solved and
the main focus is achieving the team goal. The fifth stage is the adjourning stage in which the
employee is focussed on completing all the task. The acknowledgement process is performed
in order to analyse the different performance of the workers (Jeston 2014). However, all the
stages plays a vital role in the management of the team development.

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Example of the five stages of the team development. Suppose a team with various part
is starting a new development process. The very first stage is the initial meeting stage which
signifies the forming stage. In this phase the entire introduction and the meeting occurs. The
second stage is the beginning of the project work which signifies the forming stage. In this
stage, the employees have started their work and everything is scheduled. The third stage is
the stage where it’s been months and the team is working properly. This stage represent the
norming stage. The fourth stage represents the performing when significant changes is been
made in the project. The fifth stage represents the adjourning stage when the project has
ended and the project has achieved success (Lorinkova, Pearsall and Sims 2013).
3. What roles do traditional process management duties of planning, organizing, and
controlling play in project management, if any?
Traditional project management helps in developing the different techniques which is
used for the purpose of planning, estimation and controlling the different actions. The main
objective of the method is to attain the different result within the expected budget, time, and
keeping into considerations all the requirements. The method is used to achieve the different
activities involved when all the methods are arranged according to the sequence and there are
no changes involved in the process. The main concept on which the traditional methods of the
project management is based is related to the experience and presence of certain tools. The
project follows a certain lifecycle that comprises of the initiation, planning, executing,
controlling and closure (Ritchie et al., 2013).
In the very first step the entire goal is established, the objective related to the project
is clearly defined and the different risk and hurdles involved in the project is mentioned. The
second step is the planning stage in which the different activities of the project is recognized,
the period mandatory for the completion of the activity is discussed, the different resources is

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discusses and the overall documentation of the project plan is performed. The third step is the
execution step in which the project is performed according to its plan. The quality of the
project is evaluated on the regular basis. The entire team is recruited for the project and the
required information is distributed. The fourth step is the monitoring process in which are the
step is monitored. A progress report is created linked with the project. The control over
different aspect takes place. A revise project plan is created. The last step is the closing of the
project. In this stage the feedback of the client is gained. All the contracts related with the
project is closed. The final report related to the project is published (Rosemann and vom
Brocke 2015). Different type of recommendation and the future opportunities related to the
project is discussed. The traditional method of project management was introduced to attain
the ultimate objectives related with the project. It helps in making sure that all the process is
followed in a sequential manner. It also helps in achieving the technological development in
the project. However, the project management changes the face of the project (Trkman 2013).
4. What are three ways that organizational culture impacts project management?
There are three methods in which the organizational culture influences the project
management. Firstly it affects the ways in which the department is expected to communicate
and support the other members in achieving the goal of the project. Secondly, the influence of
the culture is upon the commitment made by the employees to achieve the goal compare to
the other potential goals. Lastly, it affects the planning process of the project and the methods
involved in the work course of the project. The culture impact also affects the ways the
managers analyse and evaluate the performance of the team related with the project and also
the result of the project (Andújar-Montoya et al., 2015). It is observed that the project
management undergoes different type of transformation and the impact is due to the culture.
The traditional way of managing the project is aligned with the method of the organizational
culture that helps in the planning of the different cost related to the project. It is observed that

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the organization is moving towards the management of the project involving more agile
methods. The organizational culture forces the organization to involve the different methods
of creativity and innovation within the organization. In each and every organization the
culture creates an impact. The cultural diversity present in the organization stops the effective
communication among the members present in the organisation. The lack in the
communication process stops the team in achieving their goals related with the project
(Simona-Iulia 2014). The culture diversity indirectly affects the employees’ individual goals
and the potential of the employees is not recognized easily. Due to the lack in communication
it is observed that the employees are not able to communicate which destroy the entire
planning related to the proceeding of the different stages involved in the project management.
The relationship among the people involved in the project cannot be achieved as there is
presence of cultural diversity. The creativity and the innovative ideas of the employees
cannot be recognised due to the cultural diversity. However, there are different impacts of the
cultural diversity on the project management (Hornstein 2015).
5. What are options models and when should they be used to evaluate projects? Provide
an example?
The option analysis is one of the important part that helps in resolving the different
types of conflicts. It helps in responding in one of the most effective ways. The main aim is to
come up with one of the alternative that can help in solving the problem. Once the options is
identified it becomes easy to identify the potential of the team (Wiewiora et al., 2013). The
process involved is costing in which the analysis of the costs and its benefits related with
different conflicts is performed. However, it helps in analysing the cost and identifying the
potential required to achieve the success for the organization.

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While analysing the options during the process of selecting the project, it involves the
consideration of two important points:-
 The first is the financial options. The financial options is a type of contract made
among two parties related to the transaction that they will make in the near future
related to the different assets (Stufflebeam and Coryn 2014).
 The second is the real options. The real options can be stated as the selections made
by the organization in order to develop and change the different portions of the
projects. The change is based on the technology, the condition of the market and the
economy. With the help of the real options valuation it is easy for the company to
decide and make the decision where to make the investments. It helps the companies
in achieving flexibility regarding the decision making and helps in identifying the
different potentials that will help in better making of choice in the future (Meredith
and Mantel 2015). The real options valuation method is based on the logical financial
options. However, the real options help the organization in achieving the maximum
amount of flexibility for the future.
The variable changes accordingly and there are different types of modelling options that can
be easily set up with the help of different type of software and excel sheets.

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Assignment-2
1. Critically discuss how Earned Value Management can assist project tracking and
evaluation?
With the support of the earned value management the project managers are able to
measure the performance related to the project. The entire process is systematic and the
different process of management is used to identify the variance of the projects which is
based on the difference between the work performance and the planning of the work
(Aliverdi, Naeni and Salehipour 2013). The EVM is used in the different process of
scheduling the time and the cost. The baseline of the project serves as one of the important
aspect and it serves as a reference for the EVM method. It helps in providing the quantitative
data that will help in the process of decision making. The EVM comprises of different
elements that can be used for the collection of the primary and secondary data. The EVM is
one of the crucial part in the project management. The EVM is a traditional method which
supports in achieving the different type of financial and physical aspects over a fixed period
of time. The project management helps in measuring the approach that is done towards the
achievement of the objective. There are certain characteristics which is essential for the EVM
implementation (Brack et al., 2015). The plan related with the project is required which will
support in completing the work. The budget related to the work need to be discussed
specifically. The EVM is implemented to complete the complex projects which includes
different aspects such as the forecasts related to the performance and the indicators. However,
the main requirement of the EVM system is the progress related to the PV and EV. The EVM
for tracking the project. For example consider a project, assume that the planning of the
project includes different pre-defined steps which is used to complete the work (Zou,
Kiviniemi and Jones 2017). It is observed at the end of week, the manager of the project

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recognize all the details related to the project which is already completed. After that the sums
of the EV for all the elements is calculated. The earned value is calculated on different basis
it can be calculated monthly or yearly as the progress is made. The implementation of the
EVM is related with the skill required according to the project team. The EVM is easily
achievable by the persons having different skills related with the excels and spreadsheet.
However the EVM is one of the significant part in the tracking the project (Parker et al.,
2013).
2. Why is project management challenging?
Project Management is challenging in different ways. The project management is
challenging when the goals related with the project is not clearly defined, for this reason the
entire project suffers. It occurs when the upper level management is not able to agree with the
different goals and does not support the aim of the project. In order to establish the correct
understanding of the areas the project manager need to communicate properly (Phillips
2013). It is observe at times that the scope related with the project changes and it is hard to
manage the project at that instant of time. There are difficulties while connecting with the
different stakeholders and clients related with the project. At certain times the required skills
is not available and it becomes a challenge to complete the project. At that moment of time
different type of training is given to the employees so that the skill required for the
completion of the project is developed. Improper management of the risk is also a type of
challenge related to the project management. The project is observed with certain unexpected
hurdles and risks. The proper management team need to be implemented for the project. It is
significant for the project management team to have a strong idea about the risk that can
happen in the project management. At times the challenge is related with the communication
process (Fleming and Koppelman 2016). The challenge is faced when the diversity in the
culture is present within the organization. The project management need to look after the

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effective communication process. The project is a challenge when the deadline related to the
project cannot be achieved. The lack of the engagement of the stakeholders in the project is
one of the major challenge tackled by the project management team. It is important to achieve
the project in one of the best way so that the different challenges can be easily achieved. The
challenge is both internal and external. The internal challenges is linked with the team. The
team is not able to cooperate with each other. The members are not able to tackle the co
members. The issue is also related with the miscommunication within and outside the
organization (Portny 2017). Sometimes the project management team is not able to recognize
the different members present in the team. However, there are different challenges related
with the project management.
3. Describe the phenomenon called "escalation of commitment" and where it fits in the
lore of organizational culture.
The escalation of the commitment happens when there is someone who is dedicated
towards the different resources such as the time and the money. The time and money falls
under the category of the action. It is one of the easiest practice that is observed both at the
professional and personal levels. It is observed when a certain professional buys a certain
stocks expecting that there will be rise in the price and it is observed that the price continues
to decrease. This is known as the escalation of the commitment (Young 2016). It occurs when
we are investing that there will be increase in the invested resource but there is a fall. The
resources can be anything such as the invested money, energy and time. It is observed that it
happens when we keep investing as the investor is unaware about the changes that can occur.
The escalation of the commitment is similar to the organizational commitment.
The commitment related to the organization is made up of a model which comprises
of three different elements. The three different elements are the investment made, the job,

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satisfaction achieved and the quality of the alternatives (Schwalbe 2015). The categories
comprises of different parts. The investment consists of the money that the employees invest
in the favour of the organization. It is stated that this element is similar to the different
component of the escalation. The reason that it is stated as similar component is due to the
times when it is invested is not stoppable. The same is with the organizational commitment.
There are certain time it is observed that the employee is not happy with the job role and the
organization. However, due to the investment they have made they are forced to stay in the
organization. Job satisfaction also plays one of the major role. The escalation related with the
commitments fits with the job satisfaction. There are times when the employees feels that
they are not happy with their job. However, they have a thought that if they spend they will
be able to achieve the satisfaction related to the job. The last thing that the model examine is
the quality of the alternatives present in the organization. This is related with the different job
opportunities that an employee’s achieves from different organization (Parnell 2013). There
are different job opportunities but at times the employees takes into the consideration that the
job they are having is better that the rest of the opportunities provided by the different
organizations. Moreover the escalation of commitment fits with the phenomena of the
organization commitment.
4. What two simple rules should be followed when choosing a project selection
approach?
In certain situation you are given different opportunities and it is one of the challenge
in the projects. The selection of the project when there is availability of different options.
There are different method which helps in selecting the project. The selection method of the
project helps in setting a time testing related method which is based on the logical reasoning.
There are two different type of project selection methods which are the benefit measurement
and the constrained optimization methods. The approaches are time consuming and the

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methods is important for business plan (Creswell and Poth 2017). The benefit measurement
technique is one of the useful technique for the selection of the project. It is used for the
project which is not complex. The constrained optimization method is much appropriate for
the selection of the project. The benefit measurement technique is used for selection of the
project which is based on the different present value related to the estimated cash inflow and
outflow. There are different methods by which the cost benefits are calculated and it is
compared with others project which helps in the decision making process. The different
process involved are the economic model, benefit/cost ratio, scoring model, the opportunity
cost and the payback period.
The constrained optimization process is also recognised as the mathematical model of
the selection of the project. The selection process of the project is used for the larger project
and is needed to handle the complex and different mathematical calculations. There are
different process which are related to the optimization methods is the linear programming,
non-linear programming, integer programming, dynamic programming and multiple objective
programming (Flick 2018). There are different non-financial considerations that the
organizations need to attain the goal of the organization. There are different requirement
which is required to achieve the business requirements. The project selection is carried in
different ways and it requires the implementation of different process and requires the
consideration of different factors for selecting the project. The project managers need to have
sound knowledge related with the selection of the project to make the best decision related
with the organization (Jeston 2015).
5. Your author makes the statement that "Successful project managers must operate
on the boundaries." Explain what is meant by this statement and provide an example.

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The project managers plays one of the significant role in the project management. It is
necessary that the project managers who are successful in managing the project are on the
boundary line of the project management (Hakansson 2013). There are different project
resources such as the personal and the different type of material related resources which is
important for the completion of the objectives related to the project. The project boundaries is
a well-defined set of goals which is necessary for the achieving success related to the project.
The project managers plays certain key role in the management process of the project. With
the benefit of the project managers the best stakeholders for the project can be easily
identified. The project managers who are successful follows a complete different methodical
approach. The project managers after the identification of the stakeholders sets certain key
goals for the organization. The goals are set in a manner that it is easily achievable by the
members involved in the project (G. Markovitch et al., 2014). A successful manager can
effectively and properly communicate with the different members present within the
organization. A successful project manager can easily identify the different sets of
deliverables which are compulsory for the completion of the project successfully. The project
managers creates a perfect schedule linked with the project and the budget of the project. The
schedule benefits in saving the time and the unnecessary cost related with the project. The
best work that the successful project manager perform is to recognize the risk related with the
project and top ensure that all the risk are prevented before its occurrence. The project
manager represent the plan of the project in a well-organized manner. The presentation of the
project in a well-organized manner helps the project in gaining more number of stakeholders.
With the participation of successful project managers in the boundary line the project is clear,
the complexity is decreased and it is approachable (Verburg, Bosch-Sijtsema and Vartiainen
2013). There are different ways that a successful project manager execute in the project. The
first thing is the proper planning of the project and the identification of the goals and

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purposes related with the project. The second aspect is the proper execution of the project.
The categorizing of the project into different department in order to make the process easily
approachable. The last part is the proper closure of the project. It can be said that a successful
manager of the project led to the success of the project.
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