Search for notes by fellow students, in your own course and all over the country.

Browse our notes for titles which look like what you need, you can preview any of the notes via a sample of the contents. After you're happy these are the notes you're after simply pop them into your shopping cart.

My Basket

You have nothing in your shopping cart yet.

Title: AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRATEGIC ISSUES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Description: The notes gives a description of how strategic issues can be managed in an organization.

Document Preview

Extracts from the notes are below, to see the PDF you'll receive please use the links above


AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRATEGIC ISSUES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

1
...
INTRODUCTION
One of the most important administrative developments in the developed as well as in
developing countries has been the initiation and growth of a large number of new programs and
projects in every field like agriculture, irrigation, industry, community development and social
welfare etc
...

In relation to this, strategic issues usually arise and they are seen as the major factors that can
affect an organization's strategies in the efforts to uplifting the way of life of the society or the
beneficiaries
...
com)
...

In an organization, a strategy can be coined to attain or maintain a position of advantage over
adversaries through the successive exploitation of known or emergent possibilities/challenges
rather than committing to a specific fixed plan designed at the outset
...


A strategic issue can be defined as the fundamental policy questions or critical challenges that
affect an organization’s mandate, missions and values; product or service level and mix; clients,
users or payers, or cost, financing or organization or management
...
It is also viewed as a way to identify and manage
factors and forces that can significantly affect an organization’s future strategies and tactics
...

Strategic issues increase productivity, competitiveness, selling results, profitability
...

Sometimes, strategic issues are not anticipated
...

In order to comprehensively deal with a project’s strategic issues, three key aspects of strategic
issue management are vital:
a) The need to identify the key strategic issues facing the project
b) An impact assessment of the key strategic issues and the possible consequences
c) The techniques of managing the issues and coming up with mitigating measures
2
...
SIGNIFICANCE OF STRATEGIC ISSUES
Strategic issues can emerge at any time during a project’s life cycle and it can be costly to ignore
them
...
It is

Page | 2

important that the project team identifies the strategic issues the project faces and deals with
them in terms of how they may affect the outcome of the project
...
Such issues may not be attended to directly but continually monitored to see if any
changes may occur that can have meaningful impact on the project outcomes
...
Often the success or failure of any project depends heavily on how best these issues
are addressed in the all the phases of the project life cycle
...

c) Enhanced marketing efforts
...
0
...
Firstly,
the team may employ brainstorming in relation to project/organization vision and mission
statements
...
The teams can also,
socialize and consult with stakeholders and beneficiaries
...

3
...
Steps involved in identifying the strategic issues

Page | 3

The following are the steps followed while identifying the strategic issues in project
management;
1
...
The project team should begin by reviewing the
shared vision, common values and results
...


Develop an understanding about why an issue is strategic
...

a) What is the relevance of the issue to the overall organizational goal?
b) What are the opportunities which might come up as a result of the situation?
c) What are the threats we might face from this external situation?

3
...
The answers to the above questions
will be an indication of whether action is actually required for the issue under consideration
...


Consolidate overlapping or related issues
...
Some issues could be as well dealt with concurrently to avoid
duplication
...


Arrange issues in an orderly list
...
The project team will arrange the issues in
prioritized manner by determining if certain issues are time bound, emergencies in nature,
simpler to handle, complex or controversial in nature, requiring huge capital investment
while paying close attention to the project goals and objectives
...
1
...
Each of the strategic
issue affects a project uniquely
...
Technology and Innovations (e
...
, high-performance materials, construction equipment
and methods, and information and monitoring systems); The need to reduce time required
to design and develop projects, and produce output resolved through the practice of
current technology to achieve results as effectively as possible and in the most cost
effective way
...

Example the evolution of mobile telecommunication has led to loss of jobs for Telkom
Kenya
...
Environmental Impact: -The socio-economic impact, whether on negative or positive,
should be addressed at all times of the project life e
...
pollution Example; Industrial
pollution of Nairobi river, Webuye Paper mills, depletion of the Ozone layer in highly
industrialized states like China
3
...
g
...
The landslide which occurred along the Mai Mahiu-Narok
road which rendered the road impassable for some time, the risk of drilling a dry well in
oil or geothermal drilling
...
Finance and budget: - (e
...
, global economy, contracting methods, and costs); any
meaningful project needs to consider the global economic trend
...
The contracting method needs to be clearly stipulated and
Page | 6

followed to avoid questions of accountability
...
This
can be dealt with by implementation through phases
...
The construction of a road next to KNH has stopped
because KURA halted funding
...
Safety and Security: -Any project being implement needs to be considerate of the safety
and security of the implementers and the beneficiaries while the project from
conceptualization/initiation to termination
...
Construction of a road near any institution e
...
schools,
hospitals etc
...

6
...
g
...
There is need to always focus on staff capacity development
...
Example: Change of management or staff responsible in managing
projects that might lead to delay in implementation of activities already started
...
Regulations and Policies: - (e
...
, environmental regulation and changing role of
governmental identities); some projects may be cancelled due to the poor implementation
on basis of time, quality of output
...
For example; Masinde Muliro University had to deal
with the threat of not being recognized by the Engineers Board of Kenya
...
Threats: - Competitors who would like to see the project fail so they could pick up some
of or all the action/ideas and further them
...
Example; DSTV was threatened by Zuku, Startimes and they had to counter
the threat by introducing GoTv
...
Demographics: - (e
...
, population characteristics, including urban/rural differences);
social fabrics and compromise of social values to fit in the community
...
Coordination: - (e
...
, among transportation modes and related industries); there is no
single project that is self-sustaining
...

11
...
The locals can benefit from employment,
provision of materials and consultancy
...

4
...
ASSESSING/EVALUATING STRATEGIC ISSUES
Strategic issues are evaluated in order to determine their merit, worth and significance, using
criteria governed by a set of standards
...
King 1986 suggests four criteria for first
assessing an issue as strategic and then moving to subsequent states of management of the issue:
a) Strategic relevance
...

b) Actionability
...

c) Criticality
...

Page | 8

d) Urgency
...
All else being equal, if an issue should be dealt with immediately, it
must take precedence over other issues
...

The primary purpose of evaluation, in addition to gaining insight into prior or existing initiatives,
is to enable reflection and assist in the identification of future change
...
0
...

It is important that the project team identifies the strategic issues the project faces and deals with
them in terms of how they may affect the outcome of the project
...
These would not be reacted to but would be monitored to see if any changes occur that
could affect the project
...
An issue tends to go through a life cycle where phases of
conversion, contention, legislation, and regulations are discussed
...

c) Assign a member of the team to follow on each strategic issue and keep the project team
aware of it and its implication on the projects’ future
...

6
...
CONCLUSION
Sometimes a strategic issue is subtle
...
The matter of strategic issues should be given due consideration during the lifecycle of a
project
...
Keeping track of the
issue and considering its potential impact on project decisions may be the only realistic action
the team can take (King, 1986)
...


Page | 10

A case study of the strategic issues facing Tullow Oil Company in Turkana, Kenya
Background Information
Tullow Oil is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland with
its headquarters in London, United Kingdom
...
The offshore Jubilee Oil field discovered in Ghana in 2007 is Tullow’s greatest discovery
and has been in production drilling since 2010
...
This major discovery for in
Kenya was officially announced by the then president Hon
...

26th November 2012, wildcat2 drilling at Twiga south 1 well revealed more than 30 of net oil pay
and also encountered a tight fractured rock sections rich of hydrocarbons over a gross interval
of 796m
...

However the exploration activities and wildcat drilling has never been an easy run
...

On 26th October 2013, drilling activities on two major blocks, 10BB and 13T, were indefinitely
suspended following protests from the local community who threatened to completely paralyze
the drilling prospects over claims of not being better employment opportunities and local

1
2

A reservoir zone with extractable or movable oil, also known as the pay zone
Exploratory drilling in either oil and gas industry meant to confirm availability of any reservoir fluid

Page | 11

contracts
...

Strategic Issues Identified by Tullow Oil in the Project Planning Phase
In order to effectively execute and achieve their overall business goal, Tullow Oil invests in
research to identify and address any foreseeable critical challenges which may have a negative
impact in their operations along with those that may positively impact in the outcomes of
planned projects
...

Strategic

Strategic Issue

Why the issue is Strategic

The strategy

Perspective
Financial

Deliver

returns

Perspective

shareholders

to This is the group’s core Optimize
and strategic priority and enables operations,

providers of capital

all
work

us to continue to create and within budgets and
share wealth
...


after completion of
the project
Page | 12

Environment
Health

Keep people safe and To consistently achieve top Conduct

and minimize

Safety

our quartile

environmental footprint

EHS

proper

Industry Environmental

performance
...


People

Create

a

rewarding, Builds the pool of talent we Provide

challenging and great need
place to work
...

Sustainable

Build

professionalism
...


supplier business

through monitor

strongcontracting

strategies trends and supplier

and competitive markets
...

local Engage

in

market

the

directly

oil with locals; provide

and industry
...


development
...


the impact our business strengthensaccess to growth
has on them
...

Page | 13

The Strategic Issues in Turkana
Following the local community demonstrations and storming into the rig sites, Tullow identified
the following issues as strategic and requiring immediate attention with long-term solutions
...
Employment opportunities for the local community
2
...

3
...

However, their implementation has been faced with some unforeseen challenges
...
In order to bring normalcy in the affected drilling
operations, Tullow had to address all the issues in the following manner
...
Employment Opportunities
A statistical data of the number of local either directly or indirectly employed by the company
was taken
...
This translates
to 57%
...

This issue qualifies as strategic since it may create animosity and adversely affect team spirit
among the drilling crew and hence high risks of accidents at rig sites
...

2
...
g
...
An analysis of the available such
opportunities were taken
...

This issue also proved to be strategic since it would endanger the safety of the external transport
forms in delivery of the said services
...

Tullow oil had to set up a stakeholder meeting to discuss these issues together and find a
universally accepted forward map
...
It is from this meeting that a return to work formula was fabricated on 8th
November 2013
...
Employees Safety
Protests and demonstrations raise an immediate security concern and must be dealt with
immediately
...

Page | 15

This strategic issue is best classified under emergency issues and which may have unbearable
consequences if not addressed immediately
...
However, the need to have
proper and long-term security mechanisms was evident given the area is also a bandit prone
zone
...
0
...
I
...
R
...
(New York: McGrawHill, 1985)
David L
...
Ireland, Project Management: Strategic Design and Implementation,
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media August 21, 2006
http://managementhelp
...
htm
http://uk
...
com/article/2013/10/26/kenya-exploration-tullow-idUKL5N0IG0KX20131026,
Tullow Suspends drilling in Turkana
http://www
...
org/topics/infrastructure/mapp/framework/phase4over
...
nation
...
ke/news/Tullow-oil-firm-to-resume-Turkana-drilling-on-Friday//1056/2063826/-/r3renk/-/, Tullow resumes drilling in
http://www
...
com/index
...
nd
...
htm
http://www3
...
edu/~adminoff/taskforce/issues
...
Bryson, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass 1995, 30
McGraw, Strategy and Strategic Management
NACCHO-Nationa Association of county & City Health journal
...
10 steps to successful strategic planning;
W
...
King and D
...
Cleland (eds
Title: AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRATEGIC ISSUES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Description: The notes gives a description of how strategic issues can be managed in an organization.