when a project manager does not understand the assigned project
In most organizations, they select a project manager after they have already selected a project. However, the project manager needs to take an initiative of understanding whether an organization selected the assigned project to the manager. It enables the project manager to know to confirm the organization’s capability in fulfilling the stated project performance requirements (Blaskovics, 2016). An example is when a project manager is presented with a big project and demands adequate resources. There is a need to confirm if the assigned project is by the organization to evaluate the organization’s willingness and capability to fund the project. Further, taking the initiative helps ensure that the organization’s outcomes are well known by the organization, hence avoiding unexpected adverse outcomes which the organization did not anticipate.
On the other hand, when a project manager does not understand the assigned project, they are likely to encounter specific challenges. They face challenges such as a lack of accountability from the organization. If the project manager does not understand the project and its alignment to its strategy, then there is the likelihood of reluctance of the organization’s stakeholders (Kiu et al., 2017). An example is where the project does not align with the organization’s strategy, and no stakeholder will be willing to participate actively. The meaning project manager will have a hard time managing the organization. Further, other potential problems that might happen in the case where the project manager does not understand the project and its alignment to the organization’s strategy is that there could be ambiguity in the contingency plans and resource deprivation as well as scope changes.
References
Blaskovics, B. (2016). The impact of project manager on project success—The case of the ICT sector. Society and Economy. In Central and Eastern Europe ǀ Journal of the Corvinus University of Budapest, 38(2), 261-281.
Kiu, M. S., Riazi, M., Riazi, S., Mohd Nawi, M. N., & Esa, M. (2017). The roles, challenges & improvement of the project manager in project financial management in building development in Penang, Malaysia. International Journal of Supply Chain Management (IJSCM), 6(1), 238-245.