Tutorial 05 Questions With Possible Solutions: IS333: Project Management - Semester I 2021
Tutorial 05 Questions With Possible Solutions: IS333: Project Management - Semester I 2021
Tutorial 05 Questions With Possible Solutions: IS333: Project Management - Semester I 2021
1. The lectures stressed the idea that project management is a leader-intensive undertaking.
Discuss in what sense this statement is true.
Project managers are in charge of leading a team (often of diverse individuals) toward a common
goal. To do so, they must motivate and inspire people toward the project’s end goal. Alignment is
one way project managers streamline operations. This is because diffusion of decision-making
and innovation is possible when team members are aligned with the overall vision of the project.
A key to alignment and to shareholder maintenance is communication. Project managers need to
communicate effectively to their team and to outside shareholders during project implementation,
when problems arise or when a major project change is required. Project managers must also
create interpersonal relationships, not only within their team, but also with other functional and
top-level managers. This helps facilitate upper-management commitment, resource sharing, and
information flow.
Leaders develop strategies in line with a vision, while managers are in charge of planning and
budgeting resources to implement the strategies. In terms of personnel, leaders align people with
their vision ensuring that everyone understands the direction and is motivated toward its
accomplishment. Managers on the other hand are primarily concerned with organizing and
staffing personnel in appropriate roles and delegating each person specific responsibilities.
Overall, managers are geared toward short-term planning, problem solving, and stability. Leaders
view things long-term, create challenges, and take risks.
4. Discuss the concept of emotional intelligence as it relates to the duties of project managers.
Why are the five elements of emotional intelligence so critical to successful project
management?
Emotional intelligence is important to relationship building and maintenance. The five elements
of emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social
skills. They involve: an awareness of your own strengths and weaknesses, motives and feelings,
the ability to regulate your own behavior to remain under control in typically impulsive situations,
an internal motivation to measure progress and set challenging goals, being capable of
appreciating others’ backgrounds and feelings, and the ability to manage relationships with
others. It can be vital in crisis situations where it is necessary to interpret the state-of-mind of
those around you (i.e., members of the project team). Project management involves a high-
degree of people management—getting the right people to do the right things.
5. Consider the studies on trait theories in leadership. Of the characteristics that emerge as
critical to effective leadership, which seem most critical for project managers. Why?
Five important traits for project managers are good communication skills, honesty, adaptability,
interpersonal skills, and influential. Communication is vital to project management. Project leaders
are the contact point for everyone within and outside of the project team. Being able to
communicate issues regarding the vision/goal and project progress are key. Honesty is important,
as people are unlikely to follow or believe in someone whom they do not trust. By nature, projects
incur a high level of risk and thus a great number of changes are likely during the life of a project.
A manager who can adapt quickly increases a project’s chance of success. Project managers
have to work through others to achieve the goals of the project. This requires a level of
interpersonal skill to build and maintain relationships that facilitate goal accomplishment. Lastly,
one major role of project managers is to influence. They need to be influential in order to get
others onboard and to spread enthusiasm for the project.
6. Consider the profile examples on project leaders. If you were to summarize the leadership keys
to their success in running projects, what actions or characteristics would you identify as being
critical? Why? What are the implications for you when you are given responsibility to run your
own projects?
This question gives students a chance to reflect on the characteristics of effective leaders,
principally in terms of their decision-making, interpersonal, and stakeholder management
behaviors. In fact, the theme of stakeholder management runs deeply through both profiles and
would be an excellent question for students to consider: how much of project leadership is
appearing decisive and how much is having the ability to be a good listener? Finally, they may
offer a number of different answers to the question of what they now consider the keys to being
a successful leader when they are given the responsibility to run a project.
7. Why are project champions said to be better equipped to handle the nontraditional aspects of
leadership?
Champions are often personally committed to a project. They are able to identify with the project
in ways that traditional managers do not. Being that champions usually head their own pet
projects, they are more inclined to develop the project’s vision or become cheerleaders.
Additionally, because they are personally tied to the project they often work harder to overcome
challenges and to defend the project to the rest of the organization.
8. The lectures stressed that "Successful project managers must operate on the boundaries."
Discuss what this statement means and provide an example.
• Project managers must be able to work in sometimes ill-defined situations that require a sense
of both technical and behavioral issues; when the focus should be on long-term strategic issues
(eye on the prize) or on more day-to-day operational concerns (firefighting).
• Project managers must be comfortable working with people at all levels of an organization,
speaking their language, understanding their motivations, and inspiring them to perform at their
best.
• It is not enough for a manager to be technically competent in one area if he is to be successful.
• Examples will vary. For example: Steve Jobs of Apple …
9. As a new Project Manager in your organization, you are passionate about developing project
management skills. What are the practical steps that your organization can take to begin
developing a core of project management professionals?
Some of the suggested strategies that organizations can take to begin developing a core of
project management professionals include:
Begin to match personalities to project work since certain personality types may be more
accepting of project work than others.
Formalize an organization's commitment to project work with training programs to help
personnel develop project management skills.
Develop a reward system for project management that differentiates it from normal
functional reward schedules.
Identify a distinct career path for project professionals that allows successful project
managers the same opportunities to move upwards as other functional managers.