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Topic 2- Projects and Organisations
Important Topics
1
...
Types of Organisational Structures
3
...
Difference between a weak, strong and balanced matrix

#1 Projects
Simply put, a project is a series of tasks that need to be completed in order to reach a
specific outcome
...


#2 Project Stakeholders
Stakeholders are those with any interest in your project's outcome
...

Stakeholders are those who can positively or negatively impact the output of the
projects
...


●

The stakeholders can be external and internal both
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●

Functional Managers provide the human resources for the project and have
authority over them
...
Other internal stakeholders could include Accounting, contractors and
project support
...
They include
the Government, neighbors, pressure groups, political groups, local councils,
and the surrounding communities
...


Stakeholder Expectations
●

Project managers’ duty is to meet the expectations of the stakeholders
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Minimise risk by reducing the chance of changes in a project
○

if you have failed to identify and manage the stakeholder’s – your
project will be over-budgeted and behind schedule
...

Power/Interest Matrix
is a simple tool that helps you categorize project stakeholders with increasing power
and interest in the project
...
In turn, this helps you in stakeholder prioritization
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Identify Stakeholders
2
...
Identify Stakeholder Mission
4
...
Identify Stakeholder Strategy
6
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Implement Stakeholder Management Strategy

#3: Forms of Organisation Structure

1
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Group people performing similar activities into departments
2
...
Group people into project teams on temporary assignments
3
...
Create a dual hierarchy in which functions and projects have equal
prominence

Functional Organisations
Advantages:
●

No Change
○

The existing routine operations and design of the participating
organisation is maintained as projects are developed within the existing
structure of the organisation
...


●

In-Depth Expertise:
○

The nature of functional organisational structures allows for the
development of in-depth knowledge and expertise
...


Disadvantages
●

Lack of Focus:
○

Each functional unit tends to focus on its core routine operations
...


●

Poor Integration:
○

Functional specialists tend be concerned only with their own particular
segment of the project, rather than the project as a whole
...


●

Slow:
○

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Functional organisations tend to be highly bureaucratic
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○

The project seen as burden to normal duties

Project Organisation
Advantages
●

Control:
○

The project manager can maintain strong control over the project and
bypass the traditional bureaucracy inherent in functional organisations
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○
●

Project team dedication

Cohesive:
○

Personnel within the project team are often loyal to the project
...


●

Cross-functional integration:
○

Brings together specialists from different disciplines
...


●

Projectitis:
○

The nature of projects can result in project teams taking on an entity of
their own and becoming so consumed within the project they begin to
distance themselves from the parent organisation and other
organisational projects
...


●

Difficult Post-project transition:
○

What to do with team members once the project is complete
...
This includes dual hierarchy and sometimes
balances of authority
...
Effectively, it means that the employees of the
organisation have more than one boss!

Advantages
●

●

Efficient:
○

Maximisation of resource utilization
...


●

Easy Post-Project Transition:
○

As the project structure is overlaid over the functional structure,
specialists who contribute to the project are able to return to their
normal functional unit once the project is complete
...
Whereas the project manager requires specialist resources
from the functional unit
...


●

●

Stressful:
○

Project participants exposed to stressful situations
...


Slow:
○

Extensive negotiations, agreements and decision making required
between the project and functional manager

Matrix types
1
...
the functional managers who control the project, with the project
manager having little authority over project decisions and resources
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The strong matrix structure:
a
...

3
...
This arrangement seeks to achieve a balance of power between the
project and functional managers

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