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Project Management A Project Is Defined As Term Paper

Project Management A project is defined as a temporary endeavor, usually where a group of people and resources brought together to tackle a specific problem. Project management is necessary in order to ensure that the problem is solved, on time and on budget. Project management is often very task oriented, in particular placing emphasis on how to move through the different stages of the project in order to bring it to fruition. A given project will have a number of specific, finite objectives and a defined time frame. Success for the project will typically reflect whether or not the project's objectives, including that relating to the time frame, where met, which would define a successful project. If they were not met, then perhaps the project would be deemed unsuccessful (Githens, 2011). Where a project manager deals with conflict, it is usually interpersonal conflict or communication issues between members of the project team, as there is usually not competition for scarce resources.

A program is a series of projects. These projects would be managed in a way that delivers an overall set of benefits to the organization. There is a high level of coordination required in program management, because the person in charge...

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There is also a likelihood that within the program some of the projects might not contribute, and it is up to the program manager to ensure that each project fits within the specific purpose of the program. Where a project manager is focused on the transactional elements of management, arguably the program manager is focused more on strategy and leadership, and coordination, as a means of guiding the organization towards its objectives. Resource allocation is a key part of this job, ensuring that each project has the resources it needs while being efficient at the same time. The program manager also has to deal with conflict between resources for different projects. Competition for scarce resources is a major source of conflict at the program level (Usmani, 2012).
In this management sense, a portfolio is a set of programs. They are usually not related. So this is more reflective of the conglomerate model of doing things. The organization seeks to succeed by having a number of unrelated businesses, rather than by having a single business. So while program management is about juggling projects to make the organization succeed, portfolio…

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Githens, G. (2011). Eight distinctions between portfolio management & program management. Leading Strategic Initiatives. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from Discuss the definition, similarities and differences between Project Management, Program Management and Portfolio Management.

Usmani, F. (2012). Project management vs. program management vs. portfolio management. . PM Study Circle. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://pmstudycircle.com/2012/03/project-management-vs.-program-management-vs.-portfolio-management/
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