Project Management Is the "Planning

Project management is the "planning directing and controlling" resources required to accomplish a specific goal (p. 176). A project itself is an objective, attainable by systematic means. Depending on the context, a project can involve a physical outcome such as a building project; or an intangible one such as a human resources project. Projects often have deadlines and cost restraints as well as other practical limitations. Therefore, project management involves making all the arrangements necessary to complete the stated objectives in spite of any limitations. Most project management tasks involve teams.

Team members are assigned specific tasks, each of which is necessary toward the completion of the overall project. Complicated tasks can be further broken down into substasks to make project management more organized. A work breakdown structure is the organizational blueprint for project management: showing how tasks are broken down and assigned to team members. Critical path scheduling is another, more formal, technique used to manage projects. Scheduling can be prioritized according to any number of variables including rigid deadlines or rigid budgetary concerns.

Project managers are the individuals in charge of allocating resources and ensuring the completion of the project within budget and deadline. The project manager monitors the progress of each task and sub-task, and therefore must have solid communication skills. Moreover, the project manager must stay abreast of budgetary issues such as changes in costs that may arise during the course of project fulfillment. Project managers are also aware of scheduling changes, balancing the need for flexibility with the need to meet deadlines.

Project management is a key part of any organization because it allows for the breakdown of long-term goals into well-organized short-term planning. 2. What is benchmarking? Why is it important for firms that want to compete globally to adopt benchmarking? Benchmarking basically refers to "a comparison of a company's performance in certain areas with that of other firms," (p. 229). However, benchmarking frequently compares firms across industry boundaries, providing creative solutions to problems or challenges an organization may face.

Benchmarking ensures an organization's ability to compete, draws attention to industry standards worldwide and may even point to ways firms in unrelated industries have dealt with similar problems or concerns. Benchmarking is essential when firms want to remain competitive or gain an edge in a new market environment. Measuring firm performance against competitors can help establish "best of breed" designation that can be used when compiling case studies or other means of analyzing performance (p. 229).

Often, investors need to know benchmarking statistics to make informed decisions; similarly, the local or regional suppliers and even governments might need to know benchmarking data to determine whether or not to supply funding or grant the entry of a foreign player in the domestic market. Therefore, benchmarking is a critical step for firms wanting to compete globally. Because each marketplace environment differs, companies need to research competitor firms in their industry that are already firmly entrenched in the desired environment.

Benchmarking is never done once and then cast aside; benchmarking becomes an ongoing process that enables organizations to gauge their progress and tweak procedures that may improve their performance. Benchmarking usually compares firms to industry leaders, too, because those leaders are the standard by which competing firms hope to achieve or usurp. 3.

What problems might arise from empowering employees? What are some of the hurdles that managers must overcome in empowering employees? What can organizations do to address these issues? Empowering employees helps workers become involved and connected with their work. When individuals feel empowered, their sense of personal responsibility and accountability rises and can lead to increased morale and productivity. However, empowering employees also raises important questions and concerns related to how to balance traditional organizational structures with emerging trends in employee management.

Moreover, empowering employees can lead to situations that undermine managerial power and that might therefore lead to breakdowns in communication and efficiency. For example, an empowered employee might start to initiate.