The Role of the Project Managers in Improving Project Performance in Construction - Research Paper Example

The findings in this paper were obtained from a literature review on the subject. Some of the data collected in the researches was primary in nature while others were from previous writings on the same. Certain authors are experts in the field, so they derived their recommendations from their personal experiences or from best practice standards. Conversely, others relied on assertions by subjects concerning the matter. The purpose of the paper is to establish the project manager’s role. Managers in any organizational setting are expected to make decisions as well as negotiate with different members of the institution. Most of the literature acknowledges the role of the project as a communicator. The project manager tells project members what the goals of the project are as well as the outcomes of the project. The project managers are also leaders of their team members. They define the responsibilities and roles of each person, builds trust and redefines the purpose of the project when need arises. Managing is also an indispensable part of carrying out project work. These persons negotiate, handle multiple projects, reward employees and even use technical components (cost management or material procurement) to preside over work. Once these roles are well defined and executed, a project manager may be deemed successful. Introduction Project managers are some of the most time-bound and pressure-driven professionals in the economy. They need to work with team members who come from different parts of the organization and could even be geographically distant. They have to work with limited budgets and for only a certain period of time. Therefore, proper handling of their roles is essential in bringing out the best in their activities. Project managers’ roles are a tough balancing act between the internal and external environment of the organization, as will be discussed in this paper. Roles of a project manager It is clear that most of the literature acknowledges the role of the project as a communicator. The project manager tells project members what the goals of the project are as well as its outcomes. Communication is critical at the beginning, in the middle and towards the end of a project. In this regard, an effective communicator is one who clarifies his expectations about the project to the participants. Sometimes, a project may not deliver the perceived outcomes because expectations were not clearly defined. One must take the time to involve as many people as possible (Anantatmula 16). Communication is particularly difficult when a project manager deals with a range of individuals from different parts of the world. If geography sets apart project members, then communication ought to occur across all dimensions. The concerned project manager needs to go up, down, left and right when getting information across. Discretion has to be applied when deciding when to meet with project members face to face across dispersed geographical locations. The best way of going about this problem is to select at-least one instance that is critical to project success. At this time, members may meet face to face. This would not only diffuse apprehensions about the project, but it would also forestall cultural objections to exclusive reliance on technology for communication (Brandel 46). Message sending must be done according to the project manger’s discretion. Some things can be said in public while others need to be communicated to a private audience. Poor judgment of when to use any of these approaches could lead to increased isolation among project stakeholders or paranoia. The latter occurs when every top-level strategic decision is communicated to project members. Sometimes they simply do not need to know this information. Alternatively, isolation may arise when project members seldom receive critical information when it occurs. Such persons, therefore, tend to rely on inaccurate information or gossip to get by. The effective project manager must frame their message in the right way and through the right tools as they take place (Chiu 42). The project manager is also a leader of his team members. They define the responsibilities and roles of each person. Once every person understands what they are supposed to do in the project, it is likely that less conflict will arise during execution. Additionally, this allows the organization to effectively utilize the talents and capabilities of its members. Leadership may also be manifested through establishment of trust among members. Individuals in the team need to work cohesively within every project, and trust is essential for this to happen. Organizations ought to create an atmosphere of openness and transparency in order to have trust among their project members (Anantatmula 16). Leadership may also be exercised through the manifestation of certain qualities throughout the project. A person may need to be intuitive and creative when carrying out a project. This may involve doing something extra ordinary in order to cut costs or anticipating potential challenges in the quality of the project before they manifest. It is imperative for these individuals to use their intuition in order to determine whether something will work out or not (Bakar et. al. 168). This will prevent potential disasters from happening. An effective project manager also exercises leadership when they understand the team dynamics of their project members and use diplomacy in order to maintain harmony in the group. Confrontation may be needed in order to eliminate certain redundancies but diffusion of tensions is even more critical in getting to the desired goals. A leader is always prepared for unintended outcomes and ought to work around them to make things work. If, for instance, someone works on a project to build certain products and they realize that the market for the product has dramatically reduced, it is imperative to reinvent the project goals so as to maintain relevance in the organization. This requires flexibility and sharp decision-making. Essentially, great leaders are able to achieve such turnaround within the project time frame if there are creative and flexible (Chiu 43). Facilitation is also another role played by project managers. Sometimes they may need to facilitate support from the rest of the management team. Support is necessary in getting the project going as all individuals will be working towards project goals whole-heartedly. Most times, project managers may have to work with departmental managers who happen to control resources. It is their job to garner support from these controllers in order to get their work done (Anantatmula 16). Branden explains that one ought to look beyond their immediate environment in order to understand the dynamics of their organization (46). In these situations, one ought to know the goals and motivations driving the sponsors of the project. Furthermore, one ought to understand the dynamics behind users’ goals. If this is done effectively, then it will be relatively easy for the project manager to facilitate support from the stakeholders. It is never enough to focus on the technical aspect of the project. One must delve into the business aspect as well in order to keep things moving. Managing is also an indispensable part of carrying out project work. As a person carries out projects, they need to develop project management processes and then deploy them across the organizations. Consistent application of these processes contributes towards minimization of risk and increment of efficiency in the operations of the project. Patanakul states that the prioritization of projects is critical in effectiveness of project, and thus is also a managerial role (18). Bakar et. al. acknowledge that most project managers have to do what typical managers do in their routine tasks (168). First, they must manage their time wisely. It takes more than creation of a project schedule to achieve this component effectively. Since most project work is characterized by unanticipated events, it is necessary for the project manager to handle them accordingly when they do arise. Furthermore, not all project details can be outlined at the beginning of the project, so it imperative to multitask as one proceeds with the assignment. Managers in any organizational setting are expected to make decisions as well as negotiate with different members of the institution. This role also applies to project managers. Prior to the commencement of a project, project managers may have to negotiate with the primary stakeholders concerning key resources and time limits. They may need to take decisive action concerning key project deliverables, resource allocation, and partnership decisions, among others. In order to carry this out effectively, one may have to weigh a number of variables so as to come up with the right decisions. Negotiation may also involve working with executive members to determine project member’s rewards. In this regard, one ought to do these negotiations after keeping in mind the organizational dynamics of the institution. Sometimes these may be in tandem with the behavioral patterns of the members as well as the motivational aspects of each employee. Knowledge of these soft skills goes a long way in bringing out the best in one’s team (Brandel 47). Certain organizations may place too many limitations on project work. An effective negotiator is one that asserts them when they need to get work done. For instance, if a travel budget has been set at a certain amount, yet project members are distributed across geographies, then the project member needs to negotiate this aspect. The leaders should not take no for answer if they know that the success of what they are doing depends on it (Brandel 47). Project management may also be manifested through technical components of that job. Therefore, when performing the role of manager in their institutions, managers ought to carry out certain technical managerial roles. They need to have a basic knowledge of project management. This means understanding the principles of material procurement or costs control. Quality control, scheduling as well technical writing may also be imperative. Sometimes this may be achieved through industry tools like GANNT charts, work breakdown structures as well as PERT charts. Technical competence in the project manager’s role is essential in achieving success within the company (Bakar et al. 168). More often than not, project managers may have to preside over more than one project at a time. It is necessary to look at the strategic importance of each project to the organization. If a manager focuses on the high-priority ones over any other, then it is likely that they will succeed in management of each project. Therefore, those persons that deal with multiple projects have to exercise similar levels of judgment as other managers in the organization. They must prioritize work and focus on what contributes most significantly to project outcomes (Patanakul 18). Conclusion Project managers’ roles are dependent on their external environment. They may need to be effective communicators when critical information needs to be sent. The facilitative role is essential in garnering support from the stakeholders. Managerial roles of employee motivation, technical project work as well as negotiations are all involved in project management work. Leadership is perhaps the most significant aspect of a project managers’ job. These people need to exhibit flexibility and astuteness in responding to external dynamics. Together, these roles combined can yield effective outcomes in projects. Works Cited Anantatmula, Vittal. “Project manager leadership role in improving project performance.” Engineering Management Journal 22.1(2010): 13-22. Print. Bakar, Abu, Arman Razak, Nurkhuraishah Karim, Mohamed Yusof and Ira Modifa. “ The role of the project managers in improving project performance in construction.” International Journal of Academic Research 3.6(2011): 164-1169. Print. Brandel, Mary. “The new project manager.” Computer World 10 Apr. 2006: 46-47. Print. Chiu, Alfred. “Ten tips for smart project managers.” Chemical Engineering 5 Jan. 2012: 40-43. Print. Patanakul, Peerasit. “Project manager assignment and its impact on multiple project management effectiveness: An empirical study of an IT organization.” Engineering Management Journal 23.4(2011): 14-23. Print. Read More