MODULE 3 CLOSURE
Spring 2010
Compiled by Greg Kinney
“MUDDIEST ITEMS”
QUESTION:
I learned a lot from several parts of this chapter. Its discussions of management style, political sensitivity, cultural sensitivity, were informative. Also the discussion of the conflict with PMs and functional managers was informative because I run into that a lot. The only thing I can think of that was unclear was in the section on skills of a PM where the book discussed sensitivity the sentence was “the PM needs a sensitive set of technical sensors.” I get the gist of what they are discussing. The PM has to know when project members are covering mistakes that could lead to problems later down the road. I just thought “technical sensors” as a little unclear.
ANSWER:
Page 140: I don’t like “technical sensors” as a term. I guess his editor did not want him to use the term “BS detector” which is really what they’re talking about. They just mean a PM should have a built-in BS detector to sense when a project team member is not performing but is pretending to.
QUESTION:
The most nebulous item deals with the mention of “interorganizational learning” and its relation to overcoming cultural differences. Does this refer to the development of understanding about a different culture, a different company or firm, or the individual cultural differences associated with the project team members? More development of this process would provide better understanding.
ANSWER:
I didn’t provide an answer to this student! But, after the fact, I’ll say it could be all of those things.
QUESTION:
The least clear concept for me in the module was whether or not the text categorizes cultural differences separately from environmental differences. The two are described in separate segments of the text as though they are entirely separate from one another, but in several cases, the book will state that they affect each other (such as pg. 148 where it is stated that ‘A culture’s institutions are part of the environment for every project’).
ANSWER:
The book does make distinctions between the culture and the environment within which the culture operates. Remember that sometimes there are countercultures within the culture which reject prevailing culture and/or the environment. Nonetheless there is always a relationship between environment and culture. I must add that I really can’t add much more insight than what the text provides; all of my engineering and PM experience has been in the United States.
QUESTION:
The most unclear think in this chapter to me was about the topic of environments in which projects take place. It seems that the book contradicts itself when defining what these environments are. In two areas of the book it states they are “economical, political, sociotechnical, and legal.” One place in the books states they are “sociotechnical, legal, business cycle, and technological”
ANSWER:
I don’t know that these are contradictions really. Both quotes contain the terms “sociotechnical” (a coined phrase that I doubt will gain much currency) and “legal.” One phrase has the term “economical” while the other has “business cycle,” which are certainly related. The only difference is the presence of “political” vs. “technological.” Well, really, both are part of the environmental landscape, so the best thing would have been to mash together the two lists.
I suspect what you’re catching is really just an inevitable artifact of the writing process. You are always going to find stuff that isn’t quite tidy.
QUESTION:
The muddiest part of the section to me was the section on what a PM should do if they are micromanaged. The suggestion by the author to seek a transfer seems a bit odd, I would have preferred to take a few suggestions on how to make the best of the situation and move on instead of just caving in.
ANSWER:
Certainly the first recourse is to try to negotiate less micromanagement. I think that if that fails, you may not have any recourse but to seek a transfer. Remember that the PM may be powerful on his or her project, but he or she is relatively weak against higher-ups in the organization.
QUESTION:
I don’t understand why the book doesn’t discuss the PM’s need to understand people. A good Project Manager gets work done through other work groups (other functional organizations), and through their project staff. All of this involves people. Engineers and technical manager rarely have good communication skills, and rarely have or express the capacity for empathy. A good Project Manager needs to know what needs to be done, who to ask to accomplish it, and what that person needs. The needs vary with every person. Some are happy with money, others with authority, a fancy new safety-vest, vacation, some just want to be asked nicely… the list goes on and on.
I have watched many a Project Manager either burn bridges, or alienate personnel in order to “get the job done”. A process which is ultimately not-maintainable.
The book discusses differing levels of freedom and control needed/wanted by individual scientists, but doesn’t explain that the PM has to figure that out, and play to those needs. It almost implies the opposite, that “those that require freedom seek it”, and vice versa.
ANSWER:
Good points.
QUESTION:
Whenever we’re talking about the PMs, we always point out that while they (the PMs) have quite big amount of responsibilities, their authority or power sounds like not enough to match their responsibilities. I am really confused why the superior management doesn’t (want to) delegate the deserved or corresponding authority. Don’t the high level management want the smooth operations of the projects by the assigned PMs? If they do, why don’t they simply authorize their PMs with the enough power?
ANSWER:
This gets into the dynamics of the overall organization. Some forms of organization do empower PMs very strongly; most don’t. We will get into this more in Chapter 4 looking at organizations and PMs within organizations.