Project Managers and Functional Managers - Essay Example

? Project Managers and Functional Managers Insert s Insert of 9th March Outline I. Definitions of project managerand functional manager a. Introduction to paper b. Definition of project manager c. Definition of functional manager II. Comparison of project managers and functional manager a. Both are people management positions b. Both require technical competence c. Both report to senior management d. Both have a high degree of specificity of tasks III. Contrast between project managers and functional managers a. Project managers have more critical leadership challenges b. Project managers have multifaceted teams c. Project manager use synthesis, functional managers use analysis IV. Skills and competencies of project managers a. Traditional skills and competencies b. Emerging skills and competencies V. Project Managers and Functional Managers There is a greater emphasis on project management techniques in the business world today. This is because of the unique value that project management brings to certain aspects of the life of the organization that includes change management, product development, and marketing. Many businesses recognize that instead of relying on the functional managers to see specific projects through, it is better to organize such aspects under project managers. A project manager is the person who heads a team that handles a specific project that has a time limit, and which has verifiable resource limits (Flannes & Levin, 2005). Project managers participate more as team leaders than as bureaucratic entities. They normally work with cross-functional teams with members picked from various backgrounds to bring diversity to the project team. A functional manager on the other hand exists to coordinate the functions of an institution on ongoing basis. Normally, a functional manager will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department they head (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). They tend to be in charge of departments like finance, accounts, human resource, and security, among others. It is important to note that functional managers may also serve as project managers for small-scale projects in the firm, which do not warrant the establishment of a separate project team. Normally, functional managers graduate into project managers when the need for project managers comes up in the firm. However, more and more organizations hire project managers at entry level because of the consistent nature of project operations in many companies. Most companies in the IT and construction industries, for instance, operate under project regimes, hence they keep permanent project managers in their firms. Comparison of Project and Functional Managers There are some important similarities between project managers and functional managers. The first on is that they both manage people. More than anything else, they have a responsibility to ensure that the people under them are working towards achieving the overall aims of the organization. This makes them leaders to a varying degree in the organization. Secondly, they require technical competence in the functional role that they perform, or in the project area that they are in charge. Both types of managers need a substantial amount of appreciation of the issues that they deal with. In most firms, both managers will report to senior management of the company. Depending on the hierarchy, a project manager will more often be senior than a functional manager if the firm uses the progression described earlier. However, in other cases, these managers form part of the management team and interact t as peers. Another key characteristic that defines both project and functional managers is that they have specific tasks to accomplish. It is their role to deliver certain aspect of the organizations mandate and hence each of them answers for the tasks over which they superintend. Finally, both types of managers have resources at their disposal. The resource allocation procedures normally vary from the way departments get resources compared to the way projects get resources. Overall, each of the managers ends up with resources to manage as they pursue their mandate. Differences between Project and Functional Managers The above notwithstanding, there are some very critical differences between project managers and functional managers. One of the most critical differences between a project manager and a functional manager is that a project manager has a “more complex set of leadership challenges” (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011, p.20). The project manager must always take into account the sources of motivation for the project team, and the availability of human resource. More often than not, a project manager uses staff with other duties in their functional departments. The project manager must work to ensure that the tasks belonging to the project do not fall aside as the functional duties get priority. The second important distinction between project managers and functional managers is that a project manager usually leads a multidisciplinary team and not people with the same technical background (Kerzner, 2009). A functional manager in charge of finance will most likely have people with the relevant academic background to work with in the field of finance. A project manager working on a financial project will need the input of many other people beyond the finance department. In this sense, a project manager requires a greater leadership capacity to interact with the multidisciplinary team under their charge. Thirdly, Meredeth and Mantel (2011) stated that there is a difference in the way project managers and line managers approach their work. Line managers approach their work from an analytical perspective while project managers approach their work from a systems perspective. The reason for this is that the line manager deals with very specific issues hence the need to analyze the parts in order to solve the problem. The project manager on the other hand has to bring in various resources, people skills, and different perspectives to accomplish his task. Hence, the project manager finds ways to make everything work together. This is synthesis (Meredeth & Mantel, 2011). Skills and Competencies of Project Managers Traditionally, the skills required for project managers to be effective were financial and schedule management skills, leadership skills, and technical skills in the area of the project (Flannes & Levin, 2005). An examination of these skills in the context of the projects under implementation for the 2012 London Olympic shows that they are still necessary. Finances management is important because of the difficult economic conditions plaguing much of the Europe and the world (Stackpole, 2010). Schedule management is very critical because all the projects must be complete by the time the Olympic starts. Leadership skills are the more necessary because of the diversity of teams handling various projects, and yet they must all work together. Finally, the technical skills required to finish the job done are very diverse, but still necessary within the project teams. Kerzner (2009) argued that there was need to upgrade the skills and competencies of project managers in the twenty first century to constitute, “Knowledge of the business, risk management, and integration skills” (p.158). The argument for this proposition is that the need for technical skills is no longer as critical to project managers because of the high degree of specialization. It is sufficient to include a technical expert as a member of the project team. Instead, Kerzner (2009) proposed that risk management is the most critical skill, because it influenced the success of projects disproportionately. This view seems to concur with that of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which put aside a contingency fund amounting to nine hundred and seventy three million pounds to cover the risks associated with the London 2012 Olympics preparation (National Audit Office, 2008). The need for integration comes from the great volume of information available today that a project manager needs to take into account. Reference List Flannes, S. & Levin, G., 2005. Essential People Skills for Project Managers. Vienna, VA: Management Concepts. Kerzner, H., 2009. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. 10th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Meredeth, J.R. & Mantel, S.J., 2011. Project Management: A Managerial Approach. 8th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. National Audit Office, 2008. Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games: Progress Report June 2008. London: The Stationary Office. Stackpole, C., 2010. A Users Manual to the PMBOK Guide. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Read More