Behavioral Aspects of Project Management
Project management is much more than creating a work breakdown structure and tracking a plan. The hardest part for many is the personal side of project management. In this paper, we will explore how the organizational culture of a company and basic human behavior influence the success or failure of projects.
In conducting this exploration, we will envision ourselves in the following scenario, and address the issues presented.
"You have just been brought in on a project, as the previous project manager has left. The project is behind schedule and over budget, and several key team members have quit in disgust, plummeting the morale of the rest of the team, who fear they will have to do the extra work without compensation."
What are Organizational Cultures?
Throughout history ethnicity, geography and politics have created distinctions and differences among people and societies. Not until the 20th century and the advancement of technology have people, races and nations been able to learn form each other so quickly.
When many cultures come together, their differences and how to deal with these differences becomes an issue. This is never more evident then in business where many cultures must come together for one unified goal. To minimize conflicts that differences in race, creed or geography exists, an organization develops its own culture. This culture, which may be written or implied, gives guidelines as to what is acceptable behavior within the organization.
When we consider a project, we have to also allude to the possibilities of subcultures, when a company's culture may have one behavior as acceptable, the acceptable behavior of the subculture may be more extreme or have a total different ...