(1) essay «reflections on management»
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Every day You work in different projects and let through deep flows of information, deal with many people. You manage the project or its small part. How often do you ask yourself: «What does «management» mean?». The passage from the book «Some Essays About Management» available in whole on the page «Vision» at www.kommandcore.comTRANSCRIPT
Reflections on managementPassage from «Some Essays About Management»
essay
1
What thoughts do people readin the word «project»?
Building a hydroplant in south-eastern Africa -
for ones
Building a doghouse at a summer cottage –
for others
The third ones use no wise words
They just live in a project logic
BUT!
All of them hardly think about what «project management» means
Let’s think together and try to answer the next questions:
— What is «management»?
— What do we manage in a project?
— And, finally, how do we manage?
What is the right end to start in studying «project management»?
From studying one of «The Project Management Standards»
What do we find in Standards?
Advice – how to manage a project, its content, terms, costs, risks
But we haven’t met any standard describing «how» to do that yet
We consider, it’s important to know «how» we manage projects
It should be explained in simple words,
step by stepand using
habitual tools
You say, time management is needed?
Ok, just explain in simple words how to do that
Risk management is needed?
Ok, how can I do that easily and simply?
And once more – how to manage the project?
To sort out the matter,let’s come back to management theory
So, what is the project management?
That is development and implementation of purposeful managerial influences on all project
participants (and relationships between them) aimed to reach the project objectives
We admit –
it sounds as if elementaryHowever, let’s try to sort it out
«Management» impliesa subject and an object of management
In other words – one who manages and one who is managed
Sure thing is the subject of management - a project manager
With the object of management - things are
more complicated
Very often the project is implied as an object of management
And often they mean description of
what is to be done
BUT!
What do we actually manage with, indeed?
… with structure of knowledge about the project?
We are sure, it’s
people onlywho are to be managed
And the object to be managed in a project
are people
It’s people, taking part and developing the project,
influence it
As an
impersonalobject of management, the project can hardly be managed
A typical mistake is managing the material matter of the project
instead of managing people
We are occupied with
paperingour business, unaware of what for and why
All forces and resources are flung to create and modify this pile of papers
Being at the top
of the powerful system of documents circulation
are we considered to be a manager?
The work of a real manager implies management of people
… lively management
At last, we got moving
Project manager works with people
How does he do that?
By means of managerial influence
We develop and implement a managerial decision
In other words, we influence an object of management till it comes to the shape we need
Managerial decision represents information, a model of transformation for object of management
The result of managerial influence
may not be conversed directly into orders, regulations and instructions only
Any information we shed may be the managerial influence
If we want it
And we’ll want itonly when we realize that it’s possible
Official blanks or, otherwise, e-mail messages, minutes of meeting, chats, a meeting itself or negotiations etc.
All of them aremanagerial influences
These tools are effective as much, and, moreover, always at your fingertips
«Management» itself is held by
simple steps
Step 1
Collecting and processing information needed for decision making
Step 2
Preparing possible managerial decisions and selecting the optimaland the most effective one
Attentionto be paid to selection criteria and an objective
(where and what for)
Step 3
Bringing the decision to the object of management (or its part)
These are the steps which answer the question –
how we manage
Conclusion
Management - that’s easy
Steps of management are simple, all required tools for management are familiar to us
and are used in our daily life
One can manage people only!
Managing a project, we manage peoplewho implement this project, who are influenced by results of this project,or interested in attaining or not attaining its final goal
Thanks for your attention!P.S. You got to know the passage of our book «Some Essays About Management»
The book is available in whole on the page «Vision» of our site www.kommandcore.com
Lively management of projects