BBA 4126 Unit VI Essay

Project Case Study

Arie McQuarley

CSU

Project Case Study

1. The functional structure is based on the functions that the organization needs to perform. The benefit is that technical organizations are focused on the tasks of the organization that must be accomplished hence enhancing accuracy. The challenge is that the structure takes a silo, implying the lack of accessibility to people outside the functional division. Projectized structure focused on the maximal project administration efficiency (Harrison & Lock, 2017). The advantage is that resources are committed to the project, making it easy to schedule work. The disadvantage is that having a team dedicated to a single project is expensive. Matrix structure, however, is an integration of projectized and functional structures. The benefit is that everyone utilizes a similar project methodology and management lifecycle, making the transition between projects easy. The challenge is that conflict is paramount between projects due to fighting for related resources.

2. The first project from the case study used the matrix structure. The first case involves Bruce Palmer, who was assigned the role of leading an audit. The significant indication towards this conclusion is that the company M&M engaged matrix structure in its auditing projects. Specifically, a manager (Palmer) would be assigned to several accounts, just like Palmer was assigned to audit at Johnsonville and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The second project concerns Ken Crosby, who managed personal consultancy at Johnsonville. It was a projectized structure since it was based on maximal effectiveness. The primary conclusion for the argument is that the project manager (Crosby) had more authority and resource control, a factor that led to the poaching of Zeke Olds to work full-time for the project eventually.

3. For these projects described in the case study, the most appropriate structure that would be reliable is a functional structure. In the structure, the plans would entail various departments, with each department having employees with similar skills (Harrison & Lock, 2017). For instance, the major conflict was in the accounting and consultancy areas. Therefore, through the functional structure, both projects would have departments that have individual consultancy and accounting departments that would prevent Olds from working in both projects. Hence, both plans would enhance their effectiveness through functional groups that perform specific roles.

4. The technical side of a project involves the aspects leading to reliability, performance, and availability that a project must accomplish to proceed in any given project, and includes factors such as resource allocation and schedule. The Sociocultural side focuses on how a project manager administers the relationship complications internally and externally in the organization (Harrison & Lock, 2017). It includes practices such as teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, and negotiation. Sands and Crosby were not masters on both sides in their projects since Sands failed to distribute resources adequately. Sands made Olds have shared roles in both projects and sided with Crosby instead of Palmer. Also, Crosby was not a master since his schedule to work with Olds, affected Palmer, and failed to negotiate as he was always defensive.

5. A better understanding of the organizational strategies would have improved the outcome of the case since the significant element that lacks is effective planning. With planning, the most prioritized project would be handled first by availing all the resources and experts. When there is appropriate planning, each project would be subjected to the right structure, a factor that emanates from the organizational strategy. Therefore, a better comprehension of the approach is critical to improving the project’s outcomes since the project manager would engage the right project sides ultimately.

Reference

Harrison, F., & Lock, D. (2017). Advanced project management: a structured approach. Routledge.