Project Management Strategies and Core Competencies Report

This report delves into the core principles of project management, using ABC PLC as a case study to illustrate key concepts. It begins by outlining the fundamental characteristics of a project, emphasizing the importance of temporary nature, unique deliverables, and progressive elaboration. The report then explores the significance of a well-defined scope statement and the utility of Gantt charts in project scheduling. Furthermore, it examines various approaches to project budgeting, risk management strategies, and quality control methods. The second part of the report focuses on the activities essential for project completion, including project documentation, work plan development, and ongoing monitoring. Finally, it highlights the crucial core competencies required in a project manager, such as leadership and effective communication, to drive project success. The report draws on various tools and techniques to ensure a structured and effective project management approach, providing insights into how ABC PLC can enhance its performance and achieve its strategic goals.

Managing Projects

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Q1. Characteristics of project......................................................................................................1
Q2. Scope statement....................................................................................................................2
Q3. Gantt chart.............................................................................................................................2
Q4. Approaches to project budget...............................................................................................3
Q5. Project risk............................................................................................................................3
Q6. Quality methods....................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Activities which are required to accomplish the project.............................................................4
Core competencies which are required in the project manager...................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Project management is a kind of process, which is used in order to planning and controlling
the overall project so that goals can be achieved. For this, various methods and tools are used so
that companies can enhance their performance and growth. There are some factors such as
budget, scope, time which also plays an important role in managing the projects in a more
successful manner (Aaltonen and et.al., 2010). The manager should have some competent skills
and core competencies so that they can perform well. The present report is based on ABC PLC,
which performs their operations in the food industry. They are currently focusing on their project
management, so that they canto achieve high growth at the marketplace. In this context, report
explains the different characteristics of project management. Along with this, it also focuses on
some of the quality methods so that project can be completed successfully. Furthermore, some
activities are included in order to manage the overall operations in a more effective manner.
TASK 1
Q1. Characteristics of project
Project is a kind of process that is used by the higher authority of an organization so that they
can enhance their profitability level. There are some of the characteristics of a project, which
needs to be considered by the manager so that specific goals can be accomplished (Anantatmula
and Thomas, 2010). Some of these are like: Temporary: This means each and every project have to their start and finish the task in
time so thatin which overall operations are being performed. Time should be fixed so that
cost can be minimised and profits willcan be maximised. Unique deliverables: The main aim of every project is to provide the unique services to
the people so that effective result can be gained. Project is different from the operations: Project is a planned process which has been
performed by the manager on long term basis. On the other hand, operations are related
to the day to day work.
 Progressive elaboration: In order to achieve all goals and objectives in more effective
manner,. The project manager have to conduct the research on continuously basis to gain
more effective results the continuous research should be conducted by the project
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manager (Andersen, 2010). Through this, accurate and reliable outcomes can be
achieved.
Q2. Scope statement
The project scope statement plays a vital role in the success of a project, as through these
overall criteria with some assumptions can be established in more effective manner. There are
some factors which are included and excluded into the research project with the help of these as
through these their overall goals can be achieved. Work breakdown is a kind of structure that is
used to divide the roles and responsibility among all the staff members (Bosch-Sijtsema and
Henriksson, 2014). This is also important for the scope statement as through this their goals and
objectives can be accomplished. On the basis of this, managers can divide the work into sub parts
so that work can be managed in more effective manner. Some tools and techniques are used by
the project manager so that effective output can be achieved.
Q3. Gantt chart
There are different activities which are performed on a specific time interval. Through this,
overall objectives can be accomplished in more effective manner. On the basis of Gantt chart, the
activities can be divided as per the time so that output can be achieved.
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On the basis of given information, the network diagram has been prepared so that critical
path can be identified. Here, the 1,2,4,6 is the critical path which take more time in order to
accomplish the tasks.
Q4. Approaches to project budget
There are various methods and approaches that are used by the project manager in order
to prepare a budget. Through this, an organization will be able to control their spending level so
that profitability can be achieved. Some of these tools are like standard, analogous, top down and
bottom up. Here, project manager can use analogous and top down method (Brown and Hyer,
2010).
In analogous, the actual cost of previous project is identified and on the basis of that the
cost of new project is identified. In another top down budgeting tool, the overall project has been
identified and cost of every activity is examined. Through this, the overall goals and objectives
can be achieved in more effective manner.
Q5. Project risk
There are various risks whichthat are arise at the time of project management. Some risks
can affect the project in negative manner so the manager will not be able to achieve their goals in
more effective manner. Risks can be ariseing due to some loopholes which can be related to the
cost and management.
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Some ways are undertaken by the project management team when these risks are arising at
the workplace. These are like:
 Accept the risk which occur at the time of project management. By accepting different
the risks, operations can be performed in more effective manner.
 Risk can be avoiding as this is a good strategy which can be followed by the project team.
In this, they can change their plan as per the risk.
 Mitigate is an another approach which has been followed by the project team. In this,
some actions can be taken in order to reduce the risks.
 The transfer method can also be used by project team in which overall impact of risk can
be transferred onto another.
Q6. Quality methods
There are some quality methods which can be used by the project manager so that the
project can be completed in more successful manner. Some of these methods are like:
Evaluation: In this kind of approach, the overall performance can be evaluated by
selecting one approach out of some alternatives (Cusworth and Franks, 2013). Through this,
effective decisions can be made which help the firm in enhancing their performance.
Monitoring: It is the responsibility of project management team to continuously monitor
the performance of project. Through this, the project can be completed in appropriate
mannermore successful manner. In this, the ideas of other staff members can also be gathered so
that goals can be achieved.
Control: In this, management, control the overall operations of project as through this
effective outcome can be achieved. Here, the performance of particular project is identified by
testing tool and corrective actions which are taken by the manager.
TASK 2
Activities which are required to accomplish the project
John is the functional manager of ABC PLC and he is responsible to perform their roles
and responsibilities. Along with this, he has to plan their activities that how a particular project
can be accomplished in more effective manner. By adopting these different types of activities,
the project management team will be able to perform well (Du, Leten and Vanhaverbeke, 2014).
These activities are as follows:
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Project document: Planning is an effective tool which is used by the project manager so
that overall goals and objectives can be accomplished in more effective mannerattain in time
period. On the basis of this, cost can be minimised and profitability can be achieved. At this
stage, the goals and scope of the project are set by the higher authority. Along with this, some
risks should also be identified and plans should be made so that they can resolved.
Project work plan: At this level, work plan should be prepared by the manager of ABC
PLC so that acquisition can be performed in more effective manner (Jonny Klakegg and
Haavaldsen, 2011). The step by step process is given into the plan so that all people who are
associated with the project will be able to understand the aim of current project. In this, resources
are assign so that it can be completed in more effective manner.
Project management procedure: Here, in this resources are defining that how these can be
utilised in order to manage overall operations. Along with this, the team focuses on the issues,
communication and quality that how these affect the project. When overall problems are
examined then effective tools has been used by the project manager so that growth can be
enhanced.
Manage and monitor the work plan: It is the responsibility of project team management
to continuously monitor the performance of the project. The progress should be evaluated on the
basis of budget and schedule. So, in this manner the functional manager will be able to perform
well at their workplace (Nystén-Haarala, Lee and Lehto, 2010). Furthermore, the budget should
be evaluated that is spending level is more than the actual spending.
Risks identification: The functional manager of ABC PLC has to identify some of the
risks that may affect the project. For this, proper schedule haves to be followed within specified
time interval and an appropriate budget. Some of the quality control steps should be taken by the
project management team.
Resolve the issues: It is the responsibility of the project team to identify the issues and
ways to resolve these issues. By adopting some of the ways an enterprise will be able to perform
well and their specified goals can be achieved. Sometimes, the company have to face trouble due
to such issues and they will not be able to accomplish their goals.
Project implementation: This is the last stage where project has been implemented by the
manager of ABC PLC. At this, overall operations are being performed so that their objectives
can be achieved in more effective manner (Pasian, Sankaran and Boydell, 2012). Here, the
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higher authority will be able to identify the views of the people who are associated with the
respective project.
On the basis of these different types of activities, the project team can manage their overall
operations in an effective manner. Through an appropriate schedule, the manager will be able to
accomplish their tasks on time and due to this success can be achieved. Furthermore, a budget is
very helpful for the organization as through this they can minimise their cost and generate high
revenues.
There are some activities which have their own time to start and finish in time period so
these activities can be performed in appropriate manner. The overall activities are there with
their start and finish time so each task should be performed in an effective way. These activities
are depending upon each other so without performing one activity, the other will not be
performed. There is particular time period of each activity and they have to perform within that
period so that cost can be minimised and high revenues can be generated. On the basis of these
activities the network diagram can be prepared so that critical path can be analysed. This is the
longest path which take some time to accomplish the activities. So, they have to more focused on
these activities so that high revenues can be achieved.
Core competencies which are required in the project manager
Core competencies should be their within all the staff members so that they can lead an
enterprise towards success. On the basis of these, they will be able to perform well and goals can
be achieved. By adopting these skills, John can perform the project in more effective manner.
Some of these competencies are as follows: Leadership: A leader haves to provide the direction to their all team members so that
overall performance can be enhanced in more effective manner. Project manager should
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have this skill so that he can create a vision and provide the guidance so that success can
be achieved (Pryke and Smyth, 2012). This characteristic plays a vital role in enhancing
the overall performance of project life cycle plan. If John is effective in
leadership,leadership in John is more effective, then he will be able to achieve the goals
of the project. Risk management: There are several risks which are attached with the project
management and due to this manager will not be able to achieve their goals. So, they
have to follow particular risk management tools so that overall growth of company can be
enhanced. Through these, the operations can be managed in more effective manner. Communication: This is an essential tool which can reduce the communication gap
between different members of the variousdifferent functional areas. Some of the
appropriate channel should be used by the manager so that they can effectively
communicate with their stakeholders. Team management: The project manager has to focus on the management of their team
by resolving their conflicts (Cusworth and Franks, 2013). The relationship among all the
staff members should be improved so that they will be able to perform well. Quality management: The manager should be responsible for the quality of services as
through this they will be able to attract large number of people. John has to give more
time in order to manufacture the quality services. Critical thinking: Project manager of ABC PLC has to make the quality decisions so that
overall success can be achieved at the marketplace as compare to other competitors
(Reiss and Rayner, 2012). Through this, overall issues can be managed and this can make
a unique image of an individual at the workplace. Strategy development: Some appropriate strategies should be developed by the project
manager so that overall effectiveness can be achieved. The business objectives can be
accomplished and operations can be performed in more effective manner. Negotiation: This kind of skills cab be adopted byshould be the manager so that success
can be achieved in more effective manner. By adopting this kind of tool they will be able
to enhance their performance and growth. Along with this, the overall conflicts and issues
can be resolved in more effective manner so that success can be achieved.
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 Cost control: This skill should be there within an individual so that their cost can be
controlled in more effective manner and they will be able to achieve their specified goals.
For this, John has to follow some of the strategies in order to achieve their higher profits.
By adopting the cost management technique their overall performance can be improved.
These core competencies should be there in the project manager as this can lead an enterprise
towards success (Sergi, 2012). Through these kind of skills, manager will be able to manage the
overall project process so that goals can be achieved. These helps ABC PLC in performing the
acquisition with the other firm.
If project manager has risk management capability, then risks can be resolved at the time of
project management. VWhen various risks can be and resolved through some tools and
techniques then they will be able to achieve their goals and objectives. If manager has critical
thinking, then he can perform the planning and make some effective decisions so that objectives
can be accomplished. So, if an individual has these skills then through this the overall growth of
the company can be enhanced.
The project manager of ABC PLC has to follow some of the approaches and methods so that
their overall performance can be enhanced. By adopting the different techniques, an enterprise
performs well and their goals of the respective project can be achieved. The manager has to more
focused on the stages of project management which are started from beginning to the end.
There are some problems which are associated with the project management and by adopting
the project life cycle strategies the issues can be resolved. There are various issues which can be
controlled by the project manager at the workplace (Thamhain, 2013). For example, if some
activities take more time to accomplish then due to this the cost can be increased and revenues
can be decreased. So, through an effective management the overall tasks can be performed in
more effective manner.
There are four phases of this management process. These are known as the lifecycle of the
project: Initiation: This is the first stage of the project life cycle as all the business problems and
opportunities are identified in more effective manner. The objectives and goals are set in
this step so that their overall performance can be improved. Here, all the
recommendations are addressed with their justification so that their goals can be
accomplished.
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 Planning: In the second phase, planning should be performed on the basis of objectives
and goals that are set in the first phase. The resources can be utilised in an efficient
manner. The budget can be prepared so that future cost can be minimised and profits can
be maximised. All the risk management techniques should be examined so that future
risks can be resolved and their goals can be accomplished. Further, quality plan should be
documented which includes some of the quality targets and other customer’s needs. Implementation: At this stage, the work has been performed by the project manager so
that their goals can be achieved. It is the responsibility of manager to communicate with
the staff members so that their overall performance can be improvedthey will be able to
know that how they have to perform their operations (Tynan and et.al., 2010). In this,
team meeting is conducted at the workplace on continuous basis in order to get the
relevant information from their workers. Further, the manager can use these strategies in
order to adopt the changes and their overall performance can be improved.
 Closing: This is the final stage of project management where customers are getting final
deliverable and outcomes can be achieved. Now, it is the responsibility of manager to
communicate all the information to the stakeholders who are associated with the firm.
Further, they can identify the behaviour of the people after implementation of the project
and on the basis of that changes should be adopted.
Through these kind of strategies John will be able to accomplish their activities in more
effective manner so that cost can be reduced and profits can be increased (Bosch-Sijtsema and
Henriksson, 2014). By adopting this kind of plan, they will be able to lead an enterprise towards
success and acquisition can be performed in more effective manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above carried out analysis it can be summarized that there are various factors
which play an important role in the successful business project. The scope statement is prepared
which shows the different assumptions and included or excluded stakeholders. Work break down
structure is also there which help the project manager in accomplishing their objectives. Along
with this, different activities are mentioned by the manager in order to perform the acquisition in
more successful manner. ABC PLC can prepare their activity chart so that overall operations can
be performed in an efficient way. Some core competencies such as leadership, risk management
play an important role in project manager.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Aaltonen, K., ans et.al., 2010. A stakeholder network perspective on unexpected events and their
management in international projects. International Journal of Managing Projects in
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Anantatmula, V. and Thomas, M., 2010. Managing global projects: A structured approach for
better performance. Project Management Journal. 41(2). pp.60-72.
Andersen, E.S., 2010. Rethinking project management–An organisational perspective. Strategic
Direction. 26(3).
Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. and Henriksson, L.H., 2014. Managing projects with distributed and
embedded knowledge through interactions. International Journal of Project
Management. 32(8). pp.1432-1444.
Brown, K.A. and Hyer, N.L., 2010. Managing projects. McGraw-Hill.
Cusworth, J.W. and Franks, T.R., 2013. Managing projects in developing countries. Routledge.
Du, J., Leten, B. and Vanhaverbeke, W., 2014. Managing open innovation projects with science-
based and market-based partners. Research Policy. 43(5). pp.828-840.
Jonny Klakegg, O. and Haavaldsen, T., 2011. Governance of major public investment projects: in
pursuit of relevance and sustainability. International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business. 4(1). pp.157-167.
Nystén-Haarala, S., Lee, N. and Lehto, J., 2010. Flexibility in contract terms and contracting
processes. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 3(3). pp.462-478.
Pasian, B., Sankaran, S. and Boydell, S., 2012. Project management maturity: a critical analysis
of existing and emergent factors. International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business. 5(1). pp.146-157.
Pryke, S. and Smyth, H., 2012. The management of complex projects: A relationship approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Reiss, G. and Rayner, P., 2012. Portfolio and Programme Management Demystified: Managing
Multiple Projects Successfully. Routledge.
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Sergi, V., 2012. Bounded becoming: Insights from understanding projects in situation.
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 5(3). pp.345-363.
Thamhain, H., 2013. Managing risks in complex projects. Project Management Journal. 44(2).
pp.20-35.
Tynan, B., and et.al., 2010. Managing projects for change: contextualised project management.
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