Managerial Skills
Project Pentagon is a project that aims at rebuilding a section of the Pentagon that was damaged when the plane hit the building. To organize the structure, the project needs a project manager and a team leader for development, execution of the budgets, and also planning. The project also requires other team members such as the designers, contractors, officials, and some stakeholders to help towards competing with the project. As a manager, I will require managerial skills such as planning, organizing, negotiating, leading, to achieve the best results. Therefore, this research paper explores various managerial skills as are necessary for the project manager based on the ProPen case.
Since the project will be done in four phases of “initiation, planning execution and closure,” organization skills will be vital. The initial cost for doing the project is about US$740 million required to build (185,806 m2) damaged by attack. In addition, there will be more money needs to pay for skilled labor. Therefore, I will need negotiation skills to cut down the cost of material used to reconstruct the building. I would also encourage the team to use earned value analysis to track performance against schedule and expenses used. I would also try to reduce the cost by coming up with procedures such as contract incentives to cut down the cost of materials. I would l also encourage the workers to help me negotiate prices and also by finding the cheapest vendor. I would also support the team to be more organized and completing tasks on time. ProPen has the goals of wedge one to be operational by September 11th, 2002. The project is designed to be rebuilt in less than a year. Therefore, the “fast track scheduling” of activities has to be developed to beat the deadline. This will be done during the planning phase, and the undertakings would run quick and fast with minimal error. The speed with precision will be the main of the project to beat the deadline. However, the timeline presented to the contractor is hard and not possible. For this reason, developing negotiation skills to increase the time frame would essential. I would also ensure that the budget is controlled to avoid overspending and to make losses.
As a business manager, I need to have an overall knowledge of the construction industry. The project requires not only the experience of construction but also global business knowledge. In this case, financial management will be essential to avoid fraud cases and losing funds. With this knowledge, I will be able to execute plans accordingly. I will develop conceptual skills that will make me creative and come up with needed solutions for the problem. Concept skills will help me in briefing the team on all that is required to be done and after how long. Changing the scope would also require me to escalate the process of the pentagon renovation. The project requires not only knowledge of construction but also overall business knowledge. I would also recruit a human s resource team with the responsibility of hiring and firing employees who are not productive. I would also encourage the human resource team to hire people with qualifications and knowledge. However, in case an employee is sick, I would grant sick off since humanity is essential while managing.
I would ensure that enough training is done to the workers about risks associated with working in the construction industries. For instance, I would educate them on the importance of wearing personal protective equipment to mitigate the chances of getting hurt. Moreover, accidents in the construction industry are severe and would lead to slowing down how to work, thus not beating the deadline. Workers also need motivation while working. Every week, I would award the most performing team member. This will encourage other workers to work harder and thus leading to achieving the needed targets. I would also surprise the lazy ones by creating consequences of what happens when one is not productive.
Working under pressure within a limited time frame could also lead some employees to have a hard time at work. Sometimes, a stressful situation could lead to conflicts. Managing cultural diversity will be crucial since it is a leading cause of conflict. Conversely, as the project manager, I will be required to develop conflict resolution techniques at the right time to avoid the exit of some workers from the team. It will also be essential to emphasize the need for the workers to treat and respect one another, especially in consideration of the fact that they all have different backgrounds. Mediating and managing the personal distress of the members would be crucial for the successful completion of Project ProPen.
Communication skills will be vital in the implementation of my duties. For instance, I will be required to ensure that there is a high-profile program for creating a platform for communication between the stakeholders and the public about the project. Briefings on Pentagon at intervals of about two months will be critical to show how the project is progressing. I would also advocate for monthly press conferences at the site and regular communication with the employees to assure them that any arising issues are under control. Another way to achieve communication will be to meet with the employees at a specific time and discuss any shortcomings affecting the project.
The goal and objective of the ProPen project are to complete the reconstruction by Spring 2003, avoid budgetary constraints, and complete the project on time. Therefore, I would assign each worker with various asks. We would begin by the demolition of the damaged areas and starting reconstruction as soon as possible. Moreover, one group would work together to install new blast-resistant windows while another group would return the residents to the renovated areas. Dividing work would ensure that there are no mobilization delays. I would also set daily tasks to be completed, and any shortcoming reported.
As a project manager, I would encourage workers to make a daily report on their progress, which will be vital when updating the monthly report. Furthermore, it would be important to understand that failing to communicate effectively could lead to failure to meet the expectations of the project. During this time, I would support workers to give their reviews on leadership management and problems they are facing to enable me to come up with ways of solving such shortcomings. I would also encourage team-building skills by strengthening them to work in unison and groups. The overall goal will be to inspire the team members to own up to the tasks allocated to them, hence improving the total sense of responsibility. Motivation and dedication will be essential to make project progress and success.
References
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Sudhakar, G. P. (2010). Project Management: skills required for a project manager. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., 55(12),21-27