Before we get started, let’s make sure we all understand just what we mean by a project and by project management. We’ll also look at what a project manager’s role is.

What is a Project?

A project is a limited endeavor (meaning it has specific start and finish dates) that is undertaken to meet particular goals and objectives. Projects are different than processes or everyday operations, which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional work taken on to produce products or services. 

All successful projects share the following characteristics:

What is Project Management?

Project management is the combined art and science of planning, organizing, and managing resources to get a particular project done on time, within budget, and with the results that the organization set out to achieve.

There are many types of project management designed for different scenarios and different industries. Our focus is on the traditional method, used by the Project Management Institute, which follows five process groups. 

What is a Project Manager?

A project manager is the person responsible and accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects.

The project manager is often required to perform a juggling act, balancing what the customer wants, and needs with what the team can provide in a particular time frame and with a particular budget. A successful project manager has a hodgepodge of skills and continues learning.

Key skills include:

Although you do need project management skills to be a project manager, you don’t need to be a project manager to use project management skills. You will find uses for most of these tools in your day-to-day life, both personal and professional.

Innovation is important to business survival. Organizational innovation is the ability of employees to find different methods that improve the way that work is performed and the organization functions. While innovation can increase productivity and business success, it means change, and people naturally resist change. Managers need to encourage innovation and manage the change that comes with it. 

Organizational Innovation

Indeed Organizational innovation is used to improve a process, product, service, technology, or administrative practice. There is, however, a necessary process to take that will help support organizational Innovation. 

Process:

Why Innovation Matters

Since Innovation allows companies to remain competitive, Advancement requires an atmosphere of acceptance toward innovation. Consequently, This allows people to think outside of the normal parameters, experiment, and discover new ideas that will benefit company performance and employee culture. Innovative ideas and knowledge can be passed on to employees and ensure that the new concepts are accepted and possibly used to create further innovations and advancements. 

Managing Innovation

Managers need to be aware of innovation in order to successfully manage innovation and teams. Hence, There are steps managers can take to help support innovation within their companies.

Steps:

Organizational Change

Since Organizational change is any change to the way that a business or team operates. Hence, Organizations make these changes to help reach their goals which can result from innovation. Changes within organizations are not implemented simply for the sake of change. People naturally resist change, which makes the management of change essential to its success. Why Change Occurs and Why it Matters

Organizational change can occur for a variety of reasons. It can be due to company growth, cutbacks, technological changes, product changes, changes in leadership, or HR changes. Hence, No matter the reasons for the change, it is important that middle managers successfully guide their employees through the transitions. Often, unsuccessful company changes are the result of a poor implementation and management rather than the change itself. 

Managing Change

Managers need to responsibly oversee the change process. It is important that people understand the reasons for the change and how the changes relate to the overall goals and objectives of the organization.

The Process:

Organizational strategy is an important aspect of business success. It uses the missions and goals of the organization to develop plans. The plans include policies, projects, and resources to meet the goals. Organizational strategy allows managers to create, develop, and evaluate their decisions. 

Basics of Organizational Strategy

Organizational strategy is a plan to meet the goals of the company and team. The strategy will include specific methods managers will take to meet the goals. Before these goals are determined, the business must be carefully examined. A SWOT analysis is good place to start. 

SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats:

Sustainable Competitive Advantage

A sustainable competitive advantage is any advantage that an organization has, and that their competitors are not able to reproduce or duplicate easily. For example, a well-known copyright brand is a sustainable competitive advantage because other organizations cannot copy the protected branding. This should become apparent after the SWOT analysis. It will be in the list of strengths. There are different ways that organizations can create and sustain competitive advantages.

Strategy-Making Process

The strategy-making process is aligned with organizational strategy. 

Organizational strategies allow managers to guide the direction of teams. It is important to build organizational strategies with the support of team members.

Corporate, Industry, Firm Level Strategies

Organizational strategies are unique to different levels of business. There are corporate level strategies, industry level strategies, and firm level strategies. 

Corporate Strategies:

This is done at the top level of the company and looks at the organization as a whole. Corporate strategy covers everything from products and production to resource allocation and market competition. This type of strategy determines what the business will be. There are two corporate strategies: Portfolio and Grand. Portfolio strategy focuses on acquisitions and diversification. Grand strategy focuses on growing, stabilizing, or recovering business, based on the needs assessed.

Industry Strategies: 

Industry strategy examines how to compete in the industry. The four forces that motivate industry strategies are: Threats, Rivals, Buyers, and Suppliers. The four forces need to be examined in order for the company to become adaptive. This includes choosing whether or not to differentiate or focus on a particular product.

Firm Strategies:

This type of strategy deals directly with competition. There are two different firm strategies: Attack or Defend. The names are fairly self-explanatory. The defense strategy is used to defend the company’s position in marketing and retain customers. This is typically done in times of financial growth. Attacks occur in times of financial stress. Attacks are marketing attempts to take customers from competitors.

This post introduces common mental blocks to productive brainstorming, as well as techniques for dealing with the mental blocks. It also presents some ideas for stimulating creativity.

Identifying Mental Blocks

Brainstorming can help you arrive at a solution to the problem, even for problems that seem unsolvable or that seem to only have inadequate solutions. However, before beginning a successful brainstorming session to generate ideas, you must remove any mental blocks. Mental blocks can eliminate great solutions before they are thoroughly examined as possibilities or springboards to other possible solutions.

There are many types of mental blocks. Most blocks to problem-solving fit into the following categories.

Removing Mental Blocks

So what do you do when you identify a mental block? Carol Goman has identified several structured techniques for blockbusting.

The first technique is an attitude adjustment. To remove blocks arising from a negative attitude, list the positive aspects or possible outcomes of the problem. Remember that problems are also opportunities for improvement.

The next technique deals with risk taking. To remove emotional blocks arising from a fear of failure, define the risk, then indicate why it is important. Define what the worst possible outcome might be and what options there are in that scenario. Think about how to deal with that possible failure.

The next technique encourages you to break the rules. Some rules are important, but when rules create an unnecessary imaginary boundary, they must be disregarded so that problem solvers can come up with innovative solutions.

The fourth technique is to allow imagination, feelings, and a sense of humor to overcome a reliance on logic and a need to conduct problem solving in a step-by-step manner.

The fifth technique involves encouraging your creativity.

Stimulating Creativity

The creative problem solving process requires creativity. However, many people feel that they are not creative. This is the sign of a mental block at work. Everyone can tap into creative resources in their brains. Sometimes, it just takes a little extra prodding.

Creativity is not something to be turned on and off when needed. The potential for creativity is always there. We just need to learn how to access it.

Here are some tips for creating a creative mental space to encourage productive brainstorming sessions.

Once you get your creative juices flowing, keep them going by trying the following ideas everyday:

This post is from June’s topic on Creative Problem Solving, which is also a course on our Executive Mini-MBA program online from Harvard Square.

To begin, let’s look at the creative problem solving process. In this post, we will define “problem” and other situations that lend themselves to the creative problem solving process. We will introduce the concept of solving problems using a creative process.

What is a Problem?

The Random House Unabridged Dictionary includes several definitions for the word “problem.” The definitions that we are most concerned with while learning about the creative problem solving process are:

A problem can be defined as a scenario in which the current situation does not match the desired situation, or anytime actual performance does not match expectations. Other labels for a problem include challenges or opportunities, or any situation or circumstance for which there is room for improvement.

What is Creative Problem Solving?

Creative problem solving has evolved since its inception in the 1950s. However, it is always a structured approach to finding and implementing solutions.

The creative problem solving process involves creativity. The problem solvers come up with solutions that are innovative, rather than obtaining help to learn the answers or implementing standard procedures.  

The creative problem solving process is at work anytime you identify solutions that have value or that somehow improve a situation for someone.

What are the Steps in the Creative Solving Process?

The Creative Problem Solving Process uses six major steps to implement solutions to almost any kind of problem. The steps are:

This post is from June’s topic on Creative Problem Solving, which is also a course on our Executive Mini-MBA program online from Harvard Square.

Middle managers are responsible for controlling operations. This does not mean operating as micromanagers. Control is simply the actions that managers take after making decisions. Control is used to establish timetables and achieve goals. 

Basics of Control

Management control is used to direct and guide operations. There are two types of control: regulative and normative. Regulative controls regulate the policies and procedures of the company. Normative control is the cultural behavior in teams and the organization. There are several different types of regulative controls and normative controls.

Regulative Control:

Normative Control:

The Control Process

Managers need to keep control of tasks and operations. There are four steps to the control process that middle managers need to consider when implementing control.

Is Control Necessary or Possible?

Control has its limitations. It is not possible to have complete control at all times because life is unpredictable. Situations change and every possible outcome may not be accounted for in the planning stages. Strict control management will not guarantee the best possible outcome for a project. It may not even be the most efficient method to use. While it is important to have standards and measures, the most effective business plans include an element of flexibility. 

How and What to Control

Control management is effective when it is exercised appropriately. The problem many managers face with control is with regard to morale. The human element must be approached in the planning stage. It is also essential that people be coached and rewarded rather than simply punished and penalized. Controls have traditionally used exact numbers or measures as goals. Ranges of measurement are much more effective, and they give people more control over their performance.

Control Methods

The control methods that a manager must use depend on the situation. Each type of control demands its own method.

Bureaucratic Control Methods:

Financial Control Methods:  

Quality Control Methods:

Team Control:

Culture:

Once useful information is gathered, decisions need to be made. These decisions will guide the business, so it is important that the decision-making process be as accurate as possible. Rational decision-making is a traditional method of decision-making. Truly effective managers are familiar with this method, and they are always seeking to improve their decision-making skills.

What is Rational Decision-Making?

Decision making is not the same as problem-solving because decisions do not always come from problems. Rational decision-making is a cognitive process that relies on an analysis of information to make decisions. It takes several steps, and compares different solutions to discover the best possible scenario. Rational decision-making has its limitations. 

Steps to Rational Decision-Making:

There are six basic steps to rational decision-making in the business setting. These steps depend on the information collected, which is why it is so important to make sure that the information is truly useful. 

Steps to Rational Decision-Making:

Limits to Rational Decision-Making:

Rational decision-making is useful, but there are limits to its effectiveness:

Improving Decision-Making

Rational decision-making is limited. In order for it to be effective, it should include creativity and intuition. There are guidelines for both creative and intuitive decisions.

Creative Decisions:

Intuitive Decisions:

Intuitive decisions allow decision makers to make decisions quickly. The decisions are made based upon experience and observation. People see patterns from their experiences in previous situations and use these patterns to guide them in the decision-making process.

Managing information is important to the success of any business. Technology is making information readily available, and more people are accessing information. Information forms the strategies and processes of a company. Managers, at every level, need to organize, acquire, and maintain information in order to make appropriate decisions and ensure that the company runs smoothly.

Why Information Matters

Information determines the decisions that middle managers and senior managers make. With the overflow of information available, it is important that the correct information is included in the decision making process. Middle managers need to seek out, sort, and deliver relevant information. 

Important Information:

Strategic Importance of Information

Information is essential to basic business strategies. The success of any business plan is linked to the reliability of the information that is used. It is important that managers use accurate, reliable, and relevant information when creating business plans. Information is used to guide decisions that determine processes that work to achieve goals.

Flow of Information

Characteristics and Costs of Useful Information

There is an abundance of information available. In order for information to be used effectively, however, it must be useful. There are five basic characteristics of useful information. Information that follows these criteria may not always be free. There are costs associated with finding and using the information. For example, there are often fees associated with hiring market research companies, and there are usually costs associated with making changes according to the information gathered.

Characteristics of useful information:

Getting and Sharing Information

In order to implement useful information, it must be obtained and shared. Information comes from a variety of sources. The appropriate information needs to be passed on to senior management or employees. 

Sources of Information:

When information is gathered from different sources, it must be shared. There are guidelines to sharing information effectively.

Sharing Information:

Business scandals are ingrained in the public’s consciousness. Many people expect the worst from those in positions of leadership. The truth is, however, that leadership at every level needs to be ethical and socially responsible. Let’s examine the ethics and social responsibility for middle managers.

What is Ethical Workplace Behavior?

Integrity is defined as an essential managerial trait. Ethics goes along with integrity. Most companies have codes of conduct that govern ethics in the workplace. Many of the rules are based on laws governing business ethics. These codes of conduct are usually available in a handbook, and each company will reflect different issues. There are, however, typical ethical standards in a workplace. It is important that managers lead by example to encourage ethical behavior in the workplace. An ethical workplace will lead to honesty, commitment, and loyalty.

Ethical Standards at Most Companies

What is Unethical Workplace Behavior?

Unethical workplace behavior is the exact opposite of ethical workplace behavior. Sometimes the unethical behavior is glaring, such as stealing or making threats. It is possible, however, for people to cross the line accidentally. For example, a joke or a compliment might offend a co-worker or employee. In order to be safe, employees should refrain from saying or doing anything at work if they feel that there is any way it could be misunderstood.

Unethical Behavior:

Unethical behavior can lead to lawsuits against the company and individuals involved. Even if things do not go that far, it could cause resentment and poor performance.

How to Make Ethical Decisions

Managers need to make ethical decision, but it is not always easy. The answer is not always clear in every situation. Fortunately, there are a few steps that will help managers understand the ethics behind their decision-making process. 

Framework for Ethical Decisions:

What is Social Responsibility?

Workplace ethics govern how a company treats employees. Social responsibility is the way that the company treats those outside of the workplace. Other businesses the company works with, customers, the community, and the environment all fall under the heading of social responsibility. 

Social responsibility is important because many people choose to support a business based on its social responsibility. Companies are striving to be more socially responsible, and it is becoming a part of many vision and mission statements.

Social Responsibility Covers:

There are middle managers in every field. From accounting and production to marketing and sales, managers ensure that business runs smoothly. Managers implement the strategies of their superiors. They are responsible for motivating people and getting results. In order to be an effective manager, it is essential to understand exactly what management is, what managers do, and why management is so important. 

What is Management?

Management is vital to the success of every organization. Management is not about telling people what to do; it is coordinating and organizing the team based on the policies, goals, and objectives of the organization. Part of management is choosing how a business should run, and directing people based on these decisions. Managers need to be both effective and efficient in their jobs. Efficiency involves doing things correctly. In order, to be effective, however, goals are reached and maintained, which may mean changing processes. 

Effective Management:

Efficient Management:

What Do Managers Do?

Middle managers have obligations to senior managers and employees. The job is not easy, and requires juggling many different responsibilities. A target metric is provided to most managers. Each managerial role is different, but most managers share several key responsibilities.

Managers’ Responsibilities:

With the number of jobs a manager must perform, it can feel like a juggling act. Successful managers are able to perform these roles by prioritizing their tasks. Again, it is important to weigh effectiveness and efficiency.

Prioritizing Tasks:

What Does It Take to Be a Manager?

There are many managers in the workforce. Some managers are respected and others are despised. So, what does it take to be a manager? Each manager is unique, but a successful manager will embody certain characteristics.

Characteristics of a Manager:

Why Does Management Matter?

Middle managers are often what hold a company together. Most employees will never meet the CEO or other members of senior management. Middle managers are the face of the organization to the employees on their teams. Managers determine how a team functions, and how successful the projects are. A bad manager will cost the company money in the form of turnover and training. Even in times of economic change, strong management is important.

Closing Thoughts

Implementing ethics in the workplace is a complex but rewarding task. Every individual has a unique set of ethical standards. Allowing each person to follow his or her moral compass will result in varied results. Companies need to focus on implementing uniform ethical standards and rules throughout their organizations. Employees should never have to question whether or not they are doing the right thing. 

Benefits

Implementing ethics in the workplace will also lead to better profits and long-term growth. Unethical business practices can cause immediate financial gain, but they will cost companies customers and employees over time. When unethical practices become public knowledge, it is difficult for a business to recover its reputation. Organizations with reputations for being ethical will also find it easier to earn credit, find investors, and expand into international markets. There are also benefits at the organizational level.

Organizational Benefits:

Guidelines for Managing Ethics in the Workplace

Managing ethics in the workplace requires certain tools. Every organization needs a Code of Ethics, a Code of Conduct, and Policies and Procedures. These tools direct the organization as leaders attempt to manage ethics.

Guidelines for Implementing and Managing Ethics:

Roles and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities necessary to effectively implement workplace ethics will vary with each organization. A manager should be in place to oversee the ethics program, but he or she will need the support provided by other positions. Smaller organizations may not need to fill all of the roles listed below; determine what your company needs before executing an ethics program.  

Roles:

To learn more on this topic, buy our acclaimed self-directed training manual on Business Ethics for only $9.99. Delivered as downloads, it includes the training manual, action plan template, podcast, and digital badge.

The signs of imbalance are unmistakable. We see people suffering from poor health, burnout, and stress every day. For companies, this increases costs in the form of absenteeism, health costs, and turnover. If you recognize these signs in your life or your organization, take action immediately and focus on work- life balance.

Health Risks

Imbalance promotes poor health. Over time, this can lead to devastating, and possibly life changing consequences. 

Effects on Health:

More companies are taking an interest in the health and fitness of their employees. It is now in an organization’s best interest to do so. Healthy employees are productive, absent less, and their health care costs less. 

Absenteeism

Poor health increases employee absenteeism and thus is a costly problem for employers. There are hidden and direct costs that must be paid when an employee is absent from work. 

Cost of absenteeism:

Sick pay: Employees with sick days are still paid, which is a direct cost.

Loss of productivity: Even with someone to work the position of the sick employee, the employee familiar with the job will be more productive. This is an indirect cost of sick days.

While most people who take time off are legitimately sick, stressed employees will take days off to catch up with personal obligations, and they usually feel justified doing so. 

Burnout

Most people know that overworked employees eventually burnout. Burnout is the physical and psychological response to long-term stress. 

Signs of Burnout:

Burnout harms companies by increasing turnover. Consider the following: When everything is added together, 150 percent of an employee’s annual salary is the cost of turnover. This number is 200 to 250 percent for members of management.

Stress

Work is the main source of stress for most Americans. Stress’ connection to obesity for workers in sedentary jobs is more significant than diet, according to research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The effects stress on heart health can be deadly.

Signs of Stress:

This post is from March’s topic on Work-Life Balance, which is also a course on our Executive Mini-MBA program online from Harvard Square.