Knowledge and skills expected to acquire from M.Sc in Project Management - Essay Example

"Like any other manager, the project manager has to have team building skills, leadership skills, planning skills, administrative skills and organizational skills. But there are more skills such as entrepreneurial skills, resource allocation skills and management of technical expertise"(Russell, 55). These skills can be acquired only through the exposure to professional project management techniques.Knowledge about various project management tools are very essential for the planning of resources and execution of the project.

"Project management has become a necessity in many corporations because of the increasing pressure due to increase in technology, more money invested in R & D, more information available and shortening of project life cycles"(Kerzner, 31). A person without special knowledge about the risks involved and the techniques to handle the risks cannot make the project a success. Hence, I aspire to acquire knowledge about special tools and techniques, skills related to team development, resources utilization and entrepreneurship which are essential to avoid duplication of work, wastage of resources and conflicts among team members.

These skills and knowledge is very essential because, "when a person is appointed as a project manager, as he assumes accountability for the resources used and the result achieved"(Kerzner and Thamhain, 195- 197)2. Development of my career in future with M. Sc in Project Management"When a person is exposed to information from different sources, the person develops strategies for processing information, these strategies may be habitual or ingrained". (David Whetton, 68). To explain further, to be successful, a person has to learn continuously and it is clear from Whetton's argument that knowledge base is essential for competitive advantage which is very essential for my career.

"The other characters essential for senior level executives are problem solving ability, capacity to generate alternatives and to encourage innovation" (Riley, 67). The management skills and project management skills acquired can make me more fluent with the ideas from different sources and can increase my flexibility in making decisions. "Fluency of ideas and flexibility of thought are the ways to generate alternatives to solve problems" (Sternberg, 23). The creative problem solving techniques which I acquire in this course will be very helpful in fostering innovation and critical thinking of my team members and set priorities with my superiors.

Another major way in which this course can be useful in my career development is by helping me to influence others. "Influencing others is a major factor to build effective teams and to lead the team to success"(Cuming, 19). A manager can influence others to achieve a common goal only when he is able to set priorities, clear about the goal and aware of the errors that are commonly done. The manager has to be able to communicate the ideas, encourage participation and lead the team. To effectively overcome interpersonal conflicts on the job, the project manager should be able to positively influence others.

All these characteristics mentioned above are essential hence, this course will be very vital for my growth as I like challenges.3. Academic strengths and weaknessesThe major strength academically is that I was able to apply my knowledge I acquired in my B.Sc (Honors) degree in my job. "Conceptual knowledge should be met with opportunities to practice and apply observable behavior"(Bandura, 43). My current job is very useful to apply the knowledge I gathered from