Group Project Essays (Examples)

Group Motivation Inventory

Motivation can be defined as the various ways used to make people or a group of people to become more interested and committed to their work. Scholars' termed motivation to be more of sociological and psychological concept as it is relying on human behavior and how they relate to one another. Group motivation is an important aspect in group dynamics since most groups purely rely on motivation to be able to work together efficiently Xiangli, Solmon, Tao, & Ping, 2011.

Motivation can be derived from various things and because of that, each and every group member derive his/her motivation from different sources, which without their, existence results in differences in attitude and contribution levels to the group's projects or tasks. In the recent group motivation assessment, we carried out, I got to discover how I view group participation and some of the issues that affect both mine…

References

Amiot, C.E., & Sansfacon, S. (2011). Motivations to identify with social groups: A look at their positive and negative consequences. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 15(2), 105-127. doi: 10.1037/a0023158

Elliot, A.J., & Dweck, C.S. (2005). Handbook of Competence and Motivation: Guilford Press.

Lewis, T. (2011). Assessing social identity and collective efficacy as theories of group motivation at work. [Article]. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 22(4), 963-980. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2011.555136

Xiangli, G.U., Solmon, M.A., Tao, Z., & Ping, X. (2011). Group Cohesion, Achievement Motivation, and Motivational Outcomes among Female College Students. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 23(2), 175-188.

Group Motivation and Evaluation

Group Motivation Inventory

I work very hard in my group.

I work harder in this group than I do in most other groups.

Other members work very hard in this group.2

I am willing to spend extra time on group projects.

I try to attend all group meetings.4

Other members regularly attend group meetings.

I often lose track of time when I'm working in this group.

Group members don't seem to mind working long hours on our project.2

hen I am working with this group, I am focused on our work.

10.I look forward to working with the members of my group.2

I enjoy working with group members.

Group members enjoy working with one another.3

I am doing an excellent job in my group.

I am doing better work in this group than I have done in other groups.4

The other members are making excellent contributions…

Works Cited

Lei, s., Kuestermeyer, B., Westmeyer, K. (2010). Group Composition Effecting Student

Interaction and Achievement: Instructor's Perspectives. Journal of Instructional

Psychology, 37(4), 317-325.

Nihalani, P., Wilson, H., Thomas, G., Robinson D., (2010). What Determines High- and Low-

ut the truth is it boils down to one thing: Teamwork and Unity. With it everything comes along, sense of responsibility, accountability and concern.

Team is a cooperative unit composed of people with complimentary skill committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach to which they hold themselves mutually accountable. It is essential that each member is willing to work in unity and should any differences arise, find a way to resolve them.

The success of the team is the success of each member. However, one bad seed included which may cause its failure will not be reflected on that individual alone but the whole team may suffer.

ibliography

Marc J. Mackert, M.S. Group Functions and Development. Retrieved April 18, 2007 from http://www.umkc.edu/medpharm/408/group_process.htm

Dawn Steinward. (1999). Analysis of Group Progress. Retrieved April 19, 2007 from http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07w110/dsteinwand3003/ProgressMemo.htm

The Leadership Handout Series - Stages of Group/Team Development. Retrieved April 18, 2007…

Bibliography

Marc J. Mackert, M.S. Group Functions and Development. Retrieved April 18, 2007 from  http://www.umkc.edu/medpharm/408/group_process.htm 

Dawn Steinward. (1999). Analysis of Group Progress. Retrieved April 19, 2007 from  http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07w110/dsteinwand3003/ProgressMemo.htm 

The Leadership Handout Series - Stages of Group/Team Development. Retrieved April 18, 2007 from  http://www.units.muohio.edu/saf/sac/handout/stages.html 

Work Group Development. (2006). Retrieved April 22, 2007 from  http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/toolkit/workgroup/index.html

MEDCOM's attempt to identify a more efficient project management model that can optimize functionality across the organization, particularly with respect to project managers and to the flows throughout MEDCOM. This process is a transformational process, because of several reasons.

MEDCOM has identified the problems it faces. These problems include "the lack of perceived information and expertise and bureaucracy of the environment" (Kashiwagi, Sullivan, Sullivan, Kashiwagi, (2008). It has also decided that change is in order and change implies a transformational process. MEDCOM aims to become an entity that is more effective and efficient and it looks to different ways in which this can be done. As part of the transformational process, one has both the proposed final objective (becoming a more efficient organization) and the steps to reach that objective (the recommendations that this paper will make for MEDCOM). With all these elements, the assessment is that this project is…

Bibliography

Kashiwagi, Jacob, Sullivan, Marie, Sullivan, Kenneth T. & Kashiwagi, Dean . (2008). Transforming an Organization by Using a New Project Management Approach PM World Today. Vol. X, Issue VII.

Ward, J. LeRoy. (2008). Ten Essential Steps to Delivering Successful Programs. Retrieved July 29, 2012 from  http://www.maxwideman.com/guests/essential/intro.htm 

Lavell, Debra & Martinelli, Russell. (2008). The People Side of Program and Project Retrospectives (Part 3 of a Series). PM World Today.Vol. X, Issue V.

Execution and Control. Retrieved July 29, 2012 from  http://www.cio.ny.gov/pmmp/guidebook2/ExecutionAndControl.pdf

Facilitation Project: Laying the Groundwork

According to the management theorist Bruce Tuckman, all groups go through an inevitable process of forming, storming, norming, and performing (Chapman 2015). The first stage of formation is when members of the group get to know one another and are tentatively establishing their roles. In many ways, this is the most important step of group development, given that a good beginning can help shorten the rocky storming period and ensure that the group members learn to trust one another and focus on their goals relatively quickly.

The group setting in which I chose to conduct my facilitation exercise was that of a business setting, involving a recently-formed project team. The team was made up of individuals from a number of different departments, so while they were all acquainted with one another, they did not know one another very well, nor have a good sense of…

References

Chapman, A. (2015). Tuckman's forming, storming, norming, performing. Business Balls.

Retrieved from:  

Next, the facilitator will pose an introductory question that will stimulate brainstorming by engaging students in the "why" of their involvement in the group (Bouassida et al., 2006). Next a transitory question will lead to examination of the problem at hand, where the members of the group attempt to answer key questions including (1) what is the foundation of the problem (2) what tools are available to solve the problem (3) what are the most probable outcomes of a problem given the information provided (Bouassida, et al., 2006).

ational/Outcome

Bouassida et al. (2006) provide the rationale for this protocol, suggesting it enables group members to participate in a manner that allows greater collaboration and verification of the results. This form of focus group enables each member to participate on an equivalent basis. The outcome will result in rapid resolution of complex problems including those presented in the future to students…

References

Bouassida, M.S., Chridi, N., Chrisment, I., Festor, O. & L. Vigneron. (2006, Jun).

Automatic verification of a key management architecture for hierarchical group protocols, in, Cuppens, F. And Debar, H., editors, 5th Conference on Security and Network Architectures.

CEISMC (2006). Focus Group Protocol, Center for Educational Integrating Science,

Mathematics and Computing at Georgia Tech College of Sciences. Retrieved October 18, 2007:  http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/MM_Tools/FGP.html

Project Management

IT Project Management Questions

Outsourcing -- Big Savings, Big Risks

Social Software for Project Management

Social Software can provide a number of opportunities for managing projects. What are some challenges or issues that should be considered before a project team implements a blog or a wiki?

Jonathon Edwards, an analyst with the Yankee Group, states that "Some people clutch to their corporate email boxes as if they were cigarettes. They're hopelessly addicted. We're all so accustomed to it. You can't change the way people work overnight." Blogs and wikis have a number of advantages over email. As a project manager, how could you reduce your project's team's resistance to rely less on email and embrace the use of social software?

Global Technology Solutions

Question One -- What role does quality play in the IT project Methodology?

How does verification/validation and change control support quality in an IT project?…

Project Management

Review the "Lessons Learned" section of the project risk diagram. Describe how the Lessons Learned activity helps you become a stronger project manager, who else it helps in the project team and also describe how it helps PMO. 200 words

Documenting the lessons learned is one of the most important aspects of the closure phase of the project. It is important to an individual project manager because they can reflect on their performance and find areas for improvement. A project manager, with the assistance of their team and supervisors, can find areas in their management capacity in which they can work on for future improvements. They can also make note of things that went right so that they can recreate those items in the future. For instance, if a change management procedure or a communication medium worked well then the project manager will know to use these in…

Works Cited

Anderson, P., & Tushman, M. (1991). Managing through Cycles of Technological Change. Research Technology Management, 26-31.

Rettich, K. (2011). Using the Wiki to Deliver Paperless Software Documentation. IPCC, Professional Communication Conference (IPCC), 2011 IEEE International, 1-8.

Sarin, K. (2010, April 19). Nature of Training and Development. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from HRM Training and Development:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/10041934/HRM-Training-Development 

Shtub, E. (2004). Project Management: Processes, Methodologies, and Economics. London: Prentice-Hall.

Project Management

In The Custom Woodworking Company, hereafter known as "Woody's," there were numerous project management problems that appeared from the very beginning, and they only got worse as the product was carried out. The Woody 2000 project was not well conceived, and that was the first problem encountered. When a project is going to begin, it needs to be thoroughly planned out first (Wideman, 2001b). There was little planning that took place with this project, as it was suggested and seemed to snowball from that point. Before Woody knew what was happening, a budget was proposed and there was a meeting with the engineers who were going to add to the building (The Custom Woodworking Company, 2012). Even then, the project started off badly. Originally, the desired plan was to move the company's location to a huge facility where rapid expansion could take place. However, Woody and his wife…

References

Gheorghiu. F. (2008). Starting a PMO from Scratch: A Challenge or Unbearable Burden. PM World Today. Vol. X, Issue III.

History of Project Management. (2012). Retrieved July 29, 2012 from  http://www.lessons-from-history.com/node/16 

Lavell, D. & Martinelli, R. (2008). Program and Project Retrospectives: An Introduction (Part 1 of a Series). Vol. X, Issue I.

The Custom Woodworking Company - Woody 2000 Project. (2012). Retrieved on July 29, 2012 from:  http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/woody2000/intro.htm .

Project schedule and risk management are some of the most important components of project management. These components play a crucial role in project planning, which is a process used to organize various areas of a project such as workloads and management of the project team. Project schedule basically refers to a listing of the activities or tasks, milestones, and deliverables of a project that includes the expected start and finish dates ("Project Scheduling," n.d.). isk management is a process through which a project manager and team predicts risks, estimates impacts of these risks on the project, and describe reactions to these issues. This process usually involves the preparation of a risk management plan or outline in order to accomplish these goals.

Definition of What Needs to be Done:

One of the most important aspects to consider when developing a project schedule is all the work that needs to be completed.…

References:

Harris, S. (n.d.). How to Implement An Effective Risk Management Team. Retrieved January 23,

2014, from  http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/How-to-implement-an-effective-risk-management-team 

"Project Schedule Development." (n.d.). Mind Tools -- Essential Skills for An Excellent Career.

Retrieved January 23, 2014, from  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_71.htm

Project Management

For the tax preparation software, the status would be yellow. Everything appears to be moving forward properly at this time and there have not been any reasons to get behind or to have overtime on the project. However, there is more to the issue than just what is taking place at the moment. There are concerns that may present themselves in the future, and in order to plan for these properly it is necessary to focus on what could occur based on these concerns. There are two risks that are the most important to consider. These are that it is hurricane season in Florida, where three of the developers are located, and that the one person who decided to take early retirement (and is leaving in a week) is the only person who knows how to work with the IS to get approval for the final product. All…

References

Dinsmore, P.C. (2005) The right projects done right! NY: John Wiley and Sons.

Ireland, L.R. (2006) Project management. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Nokes, S. (2007). The definitive guide to project management (2nd ed.). London: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.

Phillips, J. (2003). PMP project management professional study guide. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Project Management

Project Information, History, Intent, and Life Cycle

Gray and Larson, (2008) define project as "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." (p 5). Essential feature of a project is that it has a defined beginning and end often subject to time or fund constraint to achieve stakeholder's goals and objectives. Gray and Larson (2008) differentiate between project and program. "A program is a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over an extended period of time." (Gray and Larson, 2008 p 6). Major goal of any project is to satisfy customers' objectives, and features of a project are they:

have established objectives.

Have a life span definitely a start and the end.

Usually involve several professionals and departments.

Have specific costs, time and performance requirements.

However, a project is different from program where workers are performing repetitive operations daily within…

Reference

Larson, E.W. & Gray, C.F. (2011). Project Management - The managerial process (5th Edition), New York, The McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Martin, P., and Tate, K. (2004). Getting Started in Project Management (New York:

Wiley,)

Programme Management Office (2012).Project Charter & Scope Statement. Institute of Technology. Dublin.

Project Management

Project Initiation" Please respond to the following:

One of the most important aspects of managing risk for a project is to accurately define the size of the project. Determine the criteria that must be considered to perform the project sizing and create one additional factor with rationale.

It is important to measure several important things. First, the amount of money that will have to be invested has to be measured. This includes not only payment of people that will be working on the project and the cost of goods and services necessary to get everything put together but also includes lost productivity (if any) that occurs due to the project. The next major dimension is the time it takes to get the project completed, at least a projected amount. Another measurement that has to be looked at is the impact that project failure, in whole or in part,…

References

Hillson, D., & Simon, P. (2012). Practical project risk management: the ATOM

methodology (Second ed.). New York: Management Concepts Press.

This can subsequently result as the massive benefits to the commercial contestants devoid of the incurring of the extra cost that pertaining to such commercial participants. The participation of the export credit agencies accompanied by the existing multilateral developments institutions normally results to the lofty stage of the ecological, employment and other supplementary social standards, which are extremely expensive and cumbersome to, accomplished.

The application these existing social standards are normally highly significant to these multilateral institutions concerning the outline policy perspectives accompanied by the chief structures and the existing projects.

These policies perspectives and the chief aims enhance the best practice that pertains to the execution of communications and the whole projects. Numerous leading private sponsors and the existing commercial lenders have finally commenced the process of incorporating of these standards. These standards include the equator principles and the other existing ecological requirements that are aimed at safeguarding of…

Work cited

Al-Jassar Ahmed & Massachusetts institute of technology. 2005. International project finance.

Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Pages 21-234.

Dewar John. International Project Finance: Law and Practice. (Oxford: Oxford University

Publishing Press 2011)

Individuals forging together as one is not so simple. There is often an overt or covert struggle for power amongst certain members, whilst others may assume differential roles such as those of loafer, of leader, of helper, or of needy person, and so forth. That this is so in this group too can be seen from the fact where Diana is quiet and needs to be drawn out, whilst Christine is serious and motivated, and Mike is the class clown. Some need to be drawn out, whilst others need to be gently suppressed. Understanding the different team persona and playing to them may have helped Christine build a more supportive workgroup.

art III. Retrospective Evaluation

Christine can take two particular steps. Dealing with the conflict as soon as possible is essential. She can have the major parities sit around the table and negotiate, or at least talk out their complaints.…

Part IV. Reflection

It does not seem to me that Christine was an effective leader, since it seems as though she allowed the group to continue to function in a fragmented manner, rather than addressing the obvious differences and problems. Instead of approaching Mike with her concerns and asking how she could help and pointing out his potential, Christine seemed to have allowed the group to drift further and further away

Chapman, a. (nd). Tuckman's 1965 "Forming Storming Norming Performing" Team-Development Model. Retrieved July 27, 2010 at:  http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.ht  m

Project Management: Case Study in Managing a Complex Shipyard Project in Singapore

Background of Complex Shipyard Construction Project

Company background

Project Overview and Objective

ork Process of Building Construction

Issue Analysis in Shipyard Construction Project Management

Literature Review of Project Management

Issues in Scope Management

Methodology of Scope Management

Lessons Learned from Scope Management

Issues in Cost Management

Methodology of Cost Management

Lessons Learned from Cost Management

Issues in Human Resources

Methodology of HR Management

Lessons Learned from Human Resource Management

Case Study in Managing a Complex Shipyard Construction Project in Singapore

Introduction.

This paper introduces the special features of a completed shipyard project, together with its construction and human resource management processes as well. The organization of the paper provides an introduction to the topic, an overview and background of the In the first part, this project illustrates overview of the complex background of a complex ship-building project as…

Works Cited

Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Best Practices for Project Scope Planning. [Online]. Available:  http://www.tensteppb.com/5.2.02TSProjectScopePlanningTechniques.htm .

About Us. (2004). Keppel Shipyard. [Online]. Available: http://www.keppelshipyard.com/corporate/aboutus.asp.

Badiru, Adedeji Bodunde. Quantitative Models for Project Planning, Scheduling and Control. Westport, CT: Quorom Books, 1993.

BP awards U.S.$20 million follow-up job to Keppel yard. (July 26, 2004). Keppel Corporation. [Online]. Available: http://www.kepcorp.com/press/press.asp.

Rather, the issue needs to be seen from all angles to truly evaluate the needs and responses to these risks as they are identified.

a. List the potential threats and uncertainties associated with staging the Rock 'n'

Reggae concert using the information contained in this case description.

Threats will include drunken or otherwise inebriated fans, accidental fires (especially from electricity or smoking). Also, acts of God such as weather disasters must be factored in.

b. As noted in the scenario, the capacity of the stadium is 8000. Similar sized concert data were referenced in preparation for that given year in the United States. Deaths should considered to give an adequate barometer for preparation for a worst case scenario (Upton, 2004) .

In an international study that the team used in preparation for this project, 136 hundred and thirty-six victims died in 29 separate incidents that occurred in 20 different countries/territories:…

Works Cited

How to organise a rock concert. (2008, June 04). Retrieved from  http://community.jobscentral.com.sg/node/131 .

Upton, M. (2004, January). Risk analysis for major concert events, the benefit of hindsight. Retrieved from http://www.www.safeconcerts.com/documents/riskassessment.pdf.

Project management. Retrieved from http://www1bpt.bridgeport.edu/sed/projects/cs597/unfiled/zhipingli/report.html.

Project Leader

Personal Learning Contract

Learning within organizations is vital to success. It is the lifeblood that grows and sustains human capital (Bassi & McMurrer, 2004; Noe, 2008; Senge, 1990) through human resource development (HD) and the management of technology which, according to Thamhain (2001), is the key to competitiveness and wealth creation.

In this essay the researcher attempts to explore the challenges he will be facing as a leader and the competencies he will need to handle these challenges. The essay is divided into two parts. Part-I reflects the challenges, difficulties, scope and required competencies to be leader in the organization and how the writer will develop himself to fulfill the requirements of the role. While in Part-II the author has stated how to keep balance among personal and professional life.

Part-I

Contract Title: What I want to work on. The leadership contribution and capability I want to build.…

References

Argyris, C. (1992). On organizational learning. Boston, MA: Blackwell.

Axson, D. (2007). Best practices in planning and performance measurement: From data to decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Bassi, L., & McMurrer, D. (2004). What to do when people are your most important asset. Golden, CO: McBassi & Company.

Besner, C., & Hobbs, B. (2008). Project management practice, generic or contextual: A reality check. Project Management Journal, 39(1), 16-33.

Project Management and the Transformation System

In this research paper, the author discussed he concept of project management employing in a construction firm. The author described briefly, the mission of construction organization, i.e. its product and services, intended markets, and how the product or service is distinct from those offered by competitors. The author also analyzed the scope of integration of project management concepts such as; Project Planning, Portfolio, Life Cycle, Team Management, Scheduling and Controlling the Project. Firms can benefit by integrating project management concepts to overcome the issues like team management, planning and managing. A project is considered winning if it completes on time, goes on to follows a pre-set schedule, remain within the provided budget, and finally its customers are pleased. For successful completion and for the satisfaction of costumers, it should have a specific time frame and must achieve the prior set targets by deploying resources…

References

Bennet F. Lawrence (2003), The management of construction: a project life cycle approach, UK: Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann

Derek Torrington and Laura Hall (2001), Personnel Management HRM in Action, UK: Prentice Financial times

Gail Blackstone (2003), Performance Management in Project Management, UK: Journal of Personnel Management

Gelbard, R. & Carmeli, A. (2009). The interactive effect of team dynamics and organizational support on ICT project success. International Journal of Project Management, 27(2), 464 -470. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.07.005

" (Lavell & Martinelli, 2008) Mark Kozak-Holland emphasized that the most critical aspect of the Great Escape project was risk management. The work of building the tunnels was extremely dangerous -- danger of collapse of the sandy soil and bad air in the tunnels. The airmen had to place a high probability on the Germans discovering the plot owing to the traces of the excavated soil and nosy guards. The cost of failure would be catastrophic -- this was a "do it or die" proposition. (Kozak-Holland, 2008)

eferences

Garg, am (2008), Delivering Multiple Sites and Time Zones Projects: A Case Study in the Telecom Industry, PM World Today, Vol. X, Issue XI, etrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2008/PDFs/Garg-11-08.pdf

Kozak-Holland, Mark (2008) Project Lessons from the Great Escape Case Study -- Part 1 etrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.maxwiderman.com/guests/great-escape/intro.htm

Kozak-Holland, Mark (2008) Project Lessons from the Great Escape Case Study --…

References

Garg, Ram (2008), Delivering Multiple Sites and Time Zones Projects: A Case Study in the Telecom Industry, PM World Today, Vol. X, Issue XI, Retrieved November 10, 2010 from  http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2008/PDFs/Garg-11-08.pdf 

Kozak-Holland, Mark (2008) Project Lessons from the Great Escape Case Study -- Part 1 Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.maxwiderman.com/guests/great-escape/intro.htm

Kozak-Holland, Mark (2008) Project Lessons from the Great Escape Case Study -- Part 2 Retrieved November 10, 2010 from http://www.maxwiderman.com/guests/great-escape/intro2.htm

Lavell, Debra & Martinelli, Russell (2008), Program and Project Retrospectives: A Success Story of Three Teams (Part 5 of a Series), PM World Today, Vol. X, Issue IX. Retrieved November 10, 2010 from  http://www.pmforum.org/library/cases/2008/PDFs/Lavell-Martinelli-9-08.pdf

What does the acronym BATNA refer to, and why is it important to being a successful negotiator?

The term BATNA refers to the concept in negotiation theory of the best alternative to a negotiated agreement being taken in the event an agreement is not agreed on. BATNA specifically defines the resistance point that any party in the negotiation in a party decide to leave the negotiation and pursue other options.

Having a BATNA-based strategy in place is an excellent negotiation strategy is it alleviates the need to accept aspects of a deal that is not acceptable to one side or the other of a negotiation. To make this more concrete, consider the case of a person negotiating to buy a used car from a friend. From Kelly Blue Book and other secondary sources of car valuations, the friends' care is worth $5,000. The buyer decides that given the wear and…

Project Management Accreditation

Project Management

A project is a temporary group endeavor, with an agreed beginning and duration time frame, organized to produce a unique product, service or result. (PMI 2011) A distinguishing characteristic of a project is that it is progressively detailed as the project is better understood by the people working on it. Another characteristic of a project is that it is not a routine operation, although a project may be assembled for the purpose of establishing the procedures that ultimately become routines. Owing to the temporary nature of projects, managers, team members and specialists are assembled for a stated period of time; they often have never worked together before as most of the team members are drawn from regular operating units. Examples of projects are software development, the construction of a building or bridge, a disaster relief effort, or a drive to expand a sales territory in…

References

International Project Management Commission. Retrieved February 10, 2011 from  http://www.certifiedprojectmanager.org 

PRINCE2. Retrieved February 10, 2011 from  http://www.prince2.com/us 

Project Management Institute. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from  http://pmi.org 

ProjectSmart, Malcolm Wheatley, "The Importance of Project Management." Retrieved February 10, 2011 from www.projectsmart.co.uk

Project Management

The part one of this project discusses several challenges that can affect the success of a project. Ineffective project management and inefficient project planning are part of the top challenges of project implementation, which consequently lead to project failures if these challenges are not effectively managed. In the contemporary project environment, one of the major challenges facing project implementation is the project's risks, typically, every project carries risks and bigger projects carry more risks than smaller projects. Understanding the strategy to manage the project risks is very crucial in delivering a project that meets stakeholder's goals and objectives (PMIS, 2013). isks are uncertain events that can cause negative effects to a project. However, it is the responsibility of the project manager to identify potential risks before the project starts, the risks such as change in project requirement or equipment malfunction can be identified before the project start, however,…

Reference

Field, M., & Keller, L. (2007). Project management. London: Thomson Learning. Heerkens,

G.R. (2002). Project Management. New York. McGraw-Hill.

International Standards Organization. (2012). ISO 21500:2012 Guidance on Project Management. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

Koehle, T.C. (1983). Project Planning and Management Technique. Public Administration Review, 43 ( 5): 459-466.

Project Life Cycle:

The most initial phase in the conception of the home began with the financing of the projected costs associated with the entire development of the home. As described, the bank, to which the customer obtained their financing, was also in charge of assigning the developer who stood in as the highest project managing agent. According to the limitations of financing amounts provided by the bank to the customer, the specifics for the completion of the home were dictated. As available through this budget, each category of management was directed according to the financial specifics that were handed down from the bank to each descending sector of construction. Upon the agreement of these initial phases and the definitive associations given to each crew's categorical confines, the execution of the building process was then set to begin. Distributing the responsibilities and the necessary materials among these categories, the primary…

Bibliography

Denton, Raj. 2001. The Steps of Project Management. Pensington Press, New York, NY.

Gatlin Education Services. 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, August 19, 2007.  http://www.gatlineducation.com/projectmanagement.htm 

Home-Repair.com. 2007. The homebuilding timeline, retrieved from the World Wide Web; August 19, 2007.  http://www.repair-home.com/Home_Building_Timeline 

Smartdraw.com. 2007. Gantt charts;  http://www.smartdraw.com/resources/signup_srv.htm?src=srv&edition=0&ext_ref=trialsurvey&custom2=7259327&custom3=1375&custom4=D3656B92-66ED-4E80-AFEA-2C8FF72A44E6&custom1=gan

If management tries to deal with excessive control, hoping that it could gain the returns from efficiency, it, however, looses the gains of group interactions and feelings. In other words, too much control may lead to the group dysfunction. On the other hand, too much concern for harmony or closeness leads to groupthink or the inability of group members to think critically and vocalize disagreements with others (Wills, 69-71). Therefore, management tasks become to create a balance between too much control and too much harmony between the group members (Gardenwartz, and owe, 38-41). The management requires that does not inhibit group members' creativity and problem solving ability through close monitoring and supervision, rather, it should create a supportive climate that compels project members to look deeper into the problems and look for innovative solutions of the problems so that they can complete a project within the time.

eferences

Fisher, B.A.…

References

Fisher, B.A. Small Group Decision Making (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill 1980.

Gardenwartz, L., and A. Rowe. Diverse Teams at Work: Capitalizing on the Power of Diversity. Chicago: Irwin Professional Publishing, 1994..

Wills, G. Certain Trumpets: The Nature of Leadership. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.

Project Management

Scope Management

Small LAN's Inc. installed a Local Area Network at the new Spring Academy Childcare Center. The project came in a few weeks late becaue of a failure in the planning procees and the overall partner's communications. "In directing the intent of the project, the plan must clearly identify the project objectives, goals, and any special influences or constraints on the project scope." (Stuckenbruck, 100) In order to compete in the twenty first century, Small LAN's Inc. turned in a rather low bid to acquire this work and with today's tighter corporate budgets and reduced resources, Spring Academy Childcare Center accepted.

For this particular project, the project scope consisted of Small LAN's Inc. taking the lead in purchasing all necessary equipment and then professionally installing an entire network over the course of twenty three days. The project had a start date of May 17, 2002. The deadline…

Works Cited

Deal, Terrence E., and Allan A. Kennedy. The New Corporate Cultures: Revitalizing the Workplace After Downsizing, Mergers, and Reengineering. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1999.

Kennedy, Allan A. The End of Shareholder Value: Corporations at the Crossroads. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 2000.

Madu, Christian N. Management of New Technologies for Global Competitiveness. Westport: Quorum Books, 1993.

Stuckenbruck, Linn C. The Implementation of Project Management: The Professional's Handbook. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1981.

Project Management

The project selected for this study is the opening of a new restaurant in New York City. This restaurant will be named: "Home Grown." It will be fashioned after the restaurant-creation in the television program "Fifteen" in the U.K. Food Network, a cable television channel has decided to open the restaurant by hiring fifteen trainees. The trainees will be taught all the requisite skills to chefs. Along with that they will also be able to assess the related needs of the restaurant industry. Jamie Oliver, the mastermind behind "Fifteen" in the U.K. has been selected to head this project along with his sous-chef who would be monitor the daily operations in NY City. The restaurant is to open on Christmas Eve, 2004 and it is hoped that it will be a success. Food Network has a budget of ten million dollars earmarked for this project. Any profits from…

Bibliography

Ayers, James B. (2001). Handbook of supply chain management. Boca Raton, Fla.

Alexandria, Va.: St. Lucie Press;

APICS.

Baar, James E, & Jacobson, Stephen M. (2004). Forecasting-What a Responsibility. Cost Engineering., 46, 1, 19

Project Management

Insurance companies enjoy large profit margins in the insurance industry. A reason for these margins would be the project management ability of firm employees to effectively management risk. Project management tools enable managers to effectively manage inherent risk with project implementation and management.

An example of a project management issue at an insurance firm is provided by Pula & Stone (2003), "The authors' research shows that customer relationship management (CM) projects can achieve higher rates of return by work on data quality. Existing and new data need to be integrated and shared, with updates synchronised among many different systems. These systems (including operational, analytical and customer contact applications and databases) were rarely designed to work together and the data they collect and use are not normally collected, structured or quality-assessed for the CM purposes for which they are eventually used." (Pula, Stone, 2003)

The block quote is to…

References

Chase-Jacobs-Aquifano: Operations Management for Competitive Advantage, 11th Edition. The McGraw Hill Companies, 2005

Lind, D., Marchal W., Wathen S. (2010). Statistical Techniques in Business & Economics. 14th Edition. McGraw-Hill Irwin

Pula, E.N., Stone, M., & Foss, B. (2003). Customer data management in practice: An insurance case study. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 10(4), 327. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/233337595?accountid=13044

Project Management for Dummies by Stanley E. Portny

The "Dummies Series" book, Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E. Portny (iley Publishing, Inc., 2001), is, in my opinion, a relatively easy-to-read (although also somewhat structurally fragmented in places), step-by-step "how-to" book, for either current or prospective project managers, with or without experience. In life, every individual has projects to complete - usually a never-ending series of them, in fact, and often more than one project to complete simultaneously. One's projects may be personal or professional; voluntary or required. They may be for our selves alone; for friends or family; for churches, clubs, or communities; special events; or for colleagues; companies, or employers.

As the author concurs, in his "Introduction" to the text:

Projects have been around since ancient times. Noah built the ark, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona

Lisa, Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine -- all projects. .…

Work Cited

Portny, Stanley E. Project Management for Dummies. New York: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2001.

Project Management

In Discussions week, project portfolio management selecting projects. Explain meaning statement. The books suppose additional resources: Kerzner, H. (2010) Project management practices: achieving global excellence.

"Project portfolio management is more than selecting projects"

Managing a project portfolio can be analogized to managing an investment portfolio. While the selection of the component entities of the portfolio are certainly important, it is not enough to merely select good investments -- these 'investments' or projects must be managed. "By optimizing, balancing and continually fine-tuning their portfolios, active investors try to maximize short- and long-term returns and reduce overall risk, thereby achieving larger financial and/or business objectives" (Hays 2011). Similarly, the managers of the project "can identify, evaluate and rank investment opportunities. They can direct resources to the highest-payback projects and cull marginal ones. They can target expenditures more effectively to the most worthwhile initiatives and optimize their performance and execution" (Hays…

References

Hays, Ian S. (2011). Managing the project. Consulting Services. Retrieved:

http://www.clarity-consulting.com/managing_the_project_portfolio.htm

Kerzner, H. (2010) Project management best practices: achieving global excellence. 2nd ed.

Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Project Management

Like things information technology management, business intelligence typically implemented form a "project" --, a special kind organizational arrangement set specific things a specific period time, opposed a regular ongoing part organizational structure.

Project management: My experience

"To be successful in the field of BI, a project team needs members with an understanding of and appreciation for the information needs of the user community as well as the technologies" (Wu 2005: 1). It is not enough for a project manager to know how the technology works 'for himself.' He or she must know why, how, and if the technology will be useful to others and will have applications in the field. The project manager must truly be someone who can wear two hats: he or she must be fully abreast of developments in the field and thoroughly understand the technology of the project. Yet the manager must also be…

Reference

Wu, J. (2005) Characteristics of an outstanding business intelligence project manager.

Information Management Magazine. Retrieved at:

 http://www.information-management.com/issues/20050501/1026063-1.html

The use of Gantt charts for enabling interprocess integration and knowledge management in the A&D industry is a best practice for also managing process-intensive projects (Singh, Keil, Kasi, 2009). These include the development of new computer systems and advanced technologies where the project needs to capture the knowledge to fulfill its objectives. Project management's core set of tools therefore needs to be focused on how to augment and strengthen project performance while also capturing process and product knowledge critical to its success (Besner, Hobbs, 2006). The combining of Gantt charts, progress reports, change requests and the use of kick-off meetings to set objectives is critical in this regard.

ecommendations to Project Managers Using the Product Launch Activity Plan

The pro-forma Product Launch Activity Plan shown in Table 1 of the Appendix is designed to provide project managers with a framework to define a Gantt chart to manage the new product…

References

Claude Besner, & Brian Hobbs. (2006). THE PERCEIVED VALUE AND POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF PROJECT Management PRACTICES TO PROJECT SUCCESS. Project Management Journal, 37(3), 37-48.

Saumya Bhattacharya. (2009, August). Creating a project plan: The secret sauce of a project is in its planning.. Business Today.

Blackstone, J., Cox, J., & Schleier, J.. (2009). A tutorial on project management from a theory of constraints perspective. International Journal of Production Research, 47(24), 7029.

Michael Burkett. (2005, July). The "Perfect" Product Launch. Supply Chain Management Review, 9(5), 12-13.

Being customer-centric is also the foundation of best practices in management of the System Development Lifecycle (SDLC), and further anchors this concept to customer accountability (Young, 2002). Finally, leaders must infuse their teams with a strong sense of transparency and trust in order to attain the shared goals of the project (Kouzes & Posner, 2003). The synchronization of all the many elements, activities, issues and roles that comprise a project must be coordinated from a leadership position that concentrates first on accountability of results to customers while striving to create high levels of transparency, sincerity and trust to ensure the highest levels of collaboration are attained.

eferences

Connelly, D., (2007). Leadership in the Collaborative Interorganizational Domain. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(11), 1231. etrieved January 31, 2008, from ABI/INFOM Global database. (Document ID: 1331964081).

Caudron (1999) - Taking Charge of Change. Business Finance Magazine. January 1999. Page 27. Accessed from…

References

Connelly, D., (2007). Leadership in the Collaborative Interorganizational Domain. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(11), 1231. Retrieved January 31, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1331964081).

Caudron (1999) - Taking Charge of Change. Business Finance Magazine. January 1999. Page 27. Accessed from the Internet on January 30, 2008:  http://www.businessfinancemag.com/magazine/archives/article.html?articleID=4931 

Dyche (2004) - the CRM Handbook: A Business Guide to Customer Relationship Management. Addison-Wesley. New York, NY

Kouzes, J & Posner, B (2003). The Leadership Challenge. Jossey-Bass; 3rd edition. New York, NY. August 7, 2003; pp. 221-279; Chapters 9 & 10

Thirdly, having the ability to motivate the project team is a characteristic of a project manager. Projects can have ups and downs for the project team. When target dates seem far from reach, having a project manager with the ability to motivate the group by setting smaller goals and giving incentives can improve the team's morale. Communicating when things go well instead of only talking about the negative can help communication overall and help motivate the team to continue with their hard work (Bastian).

Student 2: (150 words no sources)

It is important for project managers to have effective leadership and there are several characteristics that help make someone an effective leader. A few of the most important characteristics are having patience, organizational skills, and being creative. Patience allows the project manager to deal with troublesome situations by staying calm and being able to make decisions in even the most…

References

Alexandrou, Marios. (September 2, 2011). 16 Project Manager Traits. Retrieved from  http://infolific.com/technology/project-management/16-project-manager-traits/ 

Anonymous. (February 15, 2010). Top Ten Problems, #5: Expect that automatic resource leveling should be able to alter reality. Retrieved from  http://www.projhugger.com/projhugger/2010/02/top-ten-problems-5-expect-that-automatic-resource-leveling-should-be-able-to-alter-reality-feb-21.html 

Bastian, Bill II. (July 26, 2010). The Top 10 Characteristics of a Perfect Project Manager. Retrieved from

The maintenance roles help to support the creative side, which is a task that can be high risk at times (Benne & Sheats, 1978). The work that the junior members do in providing support to the creatives while simultaneously challenging them to develop stronger ideas is one of the reasons that the shop's output is so highly regarded.

This group has a significant amount of trust. The different members have built this trust over the course of years and multiple projects. ith this trust, however, they are able to be stronger, in particular with task roles. Assumptions are challenged frequently, in particular with regards to the outcomes sought by the customers. The group views this is value added to the customer, by refining a vague customer concept into something that is actionable for the advertising firm.

The high level of trust that the group members have in one another allows…

Works Cited:

Baltes, B.; Dickson, M.; Sherman, M.; Bauer, C.; LaGanke, J. (2002). Computer-mediated communication and group decision-making: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Vol. 87 (1) 156-179.

Benne, K & Sheats, P. (1978) Shared experiences in human communication: Functional roles of group members. Hayden Publishing.

Usually, this may happen when the client changes some of his initial requirements and part of the modules need to be changed. In these cases, the resource allocation mechanism is a fundamental instrument of the organizing function.

The directing and control functions of management somehow are connected when it comes to project management. The reason for this is that the directing function provides the necessary supervision for the tasks to be performed, while the control functions ensures the necessary feedback system, which evaluates the performance results and feeds this back into the directing phase for changes.

In the software industry, the directing and control functions of project management are not only operated from within the organization, but also in relation with the clients, who are usually the entities that provide the best feedback as to the capacity of the application to match exactly their requirements. While the quality assurance and…

Bibliography

1. Baars, Wouter. July 2006. Project Management Handbook. DANS - Data Archiving and Networked Services

2. Whitty, Stephen; Schulz, Mark. 2007. The impact of Puritan ideology on aspects of project management. International Journal of Project Management.

3. Thayer, Richard H. And Yourdon, Edward (2000). Software Engineering Project Management, 2nd Ed

4. Heerkens, Gary (2001). Project Management (the Briefcase Book Series). McGraw-Hill

In each individuals identified responsibilities, there is an aspect in which accountability is designated. In each instance, it will be this team member's role to keep others on task and moving according to the consult of scheduling.

3. At the start of the project, responsibilities and leadership roles have been distributed ensuring that every member is aware both of the steps necessary to complete the project and of the individual expectations pertaining to them within the scope of the project. In distribution, we would determine that the skills are present to suggest this plan is executable.

Likewise, based on the enthusiasm shown by all team members for entering into the context of the inner-city for project execution, it is fair to argue that the courage for proper implementation is present amongst us. The confidence also present is strengthened by the projection of schedule, which gives us roughly ten months across…

First, this smaller cross-functional team must quantify the make clear the exact definition of the binocular series of products, starting with the development of a Market Requirements Document that will, if the product area appears attractive, will lead to the development of a Functional Engineering Specification. Stage 2 will lead to the development of a first prototype, followed by Stage 3, which will be a thorough business case preparation, where the pro forma financial statements of the project, the marketing plans including pricing, distribution, product strategies, and promotional strategies and initial engineering plans as well. Stage 4, product development, is the phase of as project where the initial cross-functional team expands significantly to include several other areas of the company. This is the phase where production processes will be added to the manufacturing centers or factories to support producing binoculars. This is the phase where the majority of time is…

Project Management

What is the difference between leadership and management? How do these two terms relate to a project manager?

Leadership defines the vision and mission for a project or business, and then orchestrates the many departments and divisions together for their fulfillment. A strong project leader will also seek ot unify diverse teams by concentrating on making the wide range of talents all combine for greater accomplishment than one person or team alone could attain. In short, a leader know how to use a strong, compelling vision and mission to unify diverse teams and people to a common, challenging goal or objective.

While a leader defines a vision or mission for a business, a manager is given the responsibility of making sure all departments, functional areas of the company and external stakeholders are all orchestrated to a common set of performance metrics. Managers are given the task of ensuring…

Project Management-7

What is the difference between a task dependency and a task constraint?

The difference between a task dependency and a task constraint is apparent in the time. A task dependency connects two tasks by suggesting that one task will start comparative to another task, whereas a task constraint places the connection directly to a time rather than base it off the time when another task begins (Marmel and Muir, 2007).

Give a real-world situation when you might use the following task constraints:

Start No Earlier Than large government tasks take several years to accomplish; will need some amount of the year's budget to accomplish the project. However, it is possible to place this kind of constraint on a venture so that the government will not have to go over that year's budget, but wait to begin other tasks until the beginning of a new fiscal year (Wysocki, 2009).…

References

Biafore, B. (2007). Microsoft Project 2007. Farnham: O'Reilly.

Bunin, R.B., & Bunin, R.B. (2012). New perspectives on Microsoft Project

2010: Introductory. Boston, Mass.: Course Technology.

Marmel, E.J., & Muir, N. (2007). Microsoft Office Project 2007 all-in-one desk reference for dummies. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley Pub..

Also, if any team member cannot work while the others are there for practical concerns then we must be aware of scheduling concerns. Each member of the building crew will be properly certified in order to meet city inspection guidelines.

The team will be presided over by the manager, who is the only person in a supervisory position. The plumber, the electrician, and both the general laborer and the foundation specialist will report only to the team manager. The only possible exception to this rule is if the general laborer is qualified to work for more than one of the aforesaid professions, in which case he or she will answer also to the plumber, the electrician, or the foundation specialist. Any interpersonal conflicts should be settled amongst themselves but if any conflict cannot be resolved civilly and in a democratic manner then the team manager may need to step in…

Project Organization

The case involving Ozkites is showing how the company has the ability to seize upon new opportunities. However, to be able to take advantage of the increasing demand requires focusing on: the organizational structure and recruitment strategies. Together, these elements will highlight the challenges impacting the firm and how they can be effectively addressed in the future. This is the point that the company can meet this demand and increase their bottom line results in the process.

Organizational Structure

A matrix organizational structure is utilized when a company is taking a decentralized approach when it comes to their operation. This means that personnel and resources will work together as a cohesive unit. Yet, at the same time, different entities are working independently of one another. The basic idea is to utilize this approach to take advantage of everyone strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, there is a focus on arranging…

References

Economies of Scale, 2013, Investopedia. Available from: [11 May 2013].

Compton, R, 2009, Effective Recruitment, CCH, North Ryde, pp. 15-71.

Galbraith, J, 2008, Designing Matrix Organizations, Wiley, Hoboken, pp. 75 -- 84.

Miller, F, 2011, Recruitment Processing Outsourcing, VDM Publishing, New York, pp. 12-41.

Other than this, I would try to establish my own personal goals and objectives that are subordinated to group objectives. For example, I would try to establish very tight deadlines for the tasks assigned to me, because I work very well under pressure.

I would also try to establish a career path that I would follow in the future, determining medium term objectives for me to reach. Knowing where I want to be in my career would motivate me to achieve my full potential, and even to develop new skills and abilities that would help me advance in my career.

e. In large corporations, where there are hundreds or thousands of employees, many of them covering similar positions, it is difficult for the H department and top managers to establish a motivational system analyzing each individual in particular. As a consequence, H managers develop a motivational system that is generally…

Reference list:

1. Engleberg, I.N. & Wynn, D.R. (2007). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Retrieved February 18, 2010.

Group Behavoirs in Companies

Group Behaviors in Companies

There are so many different companies that have embraced executive coaching and mentoring as their principal way to support development creativities in hospital settings. However in today's corporate world these do not talk to the real-world, group dynamics that managers have to deal with. Behavior within a group in a hospital setting can be manipulated by group dynamics, interactions, group cohesiveness, the work environment, social influences, and leadership. This paper will explore each of these components of group behavior in the interior of an organization such as a hospital.

Defining Group Behaviors

Group Behavior can be described as, conditions that enable groups of people to have interaction rather it be large or small group settings. These individuals collaborating among each other may appear to coordinate their behavior by performing in a certain way that will bring them to a design that differs…

Reference:

Alam, M., Gale, A., Brown, M., & Khan, A.I. (2010). The importance of human skills in project management professional development. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 3(3), 495-495-516. doi:10.1108/17538371011056101

Appelbaum, S.H. (1984). The organizational climate audit ... Or how healthy is your hospital. Journal of Healthcare Management, 29(1), 51-51.

Bradshaw-Camball, P. (1989). The implications of multiple perspectives on power for organizational development. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 25(1), 31-31.

Costigan, R.D., Insinga, R.C., Berman, J.J., & Ilter, S.S. (2005). An examination of the relationship of a western performance-management process to key workplace behaviours in transition economies. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 22(3), 255-255-267.

The advantages of a qualitative analysis approach are that it overcomes the challenge of accurate calculations of figures for asset value, cost of control etc. In a way less demanding procedure on the staff. Qualitative risk management projects can normally start to display noteworthy results in a matter of weeks, on the other hand those institutions or businesses that choose to employ a quantitative approach may experience limited benefit over months, or even a number of years of effort. The disadvantage of a qualitative analysis is that the consequential data is hazy and quite a number of strict decision makers, particularly the ones who have accounting backing or finance knowledge, may be hesitant to use the relative figures during a qualitative risk assessment.

The use quantitative approaches however also have got a number of drawbacks which include the following;

Dependence upon the scope and accuracy of specific measurement scales.

The…

References

Artur Rot, (2008). It Risk Assessment: Quantitative and Qualitative Approach it Risk

Assessment: Quantitative and Qualitative Approach Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science WCECS 2008, October 22-24, 2008, San Francisco, USA.

Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC. (2010). Significant Risks Identified in Information Technology

(it) Project Management. Retrieved April 20, 2011 from  http://www.prweb.com/releases/Vonya_Global/IT_Project_Management/prweb4328924.htm

The floors are a wild card -- worn carpets are unhealthy for children but if they are replaced too soon they will be in rough shape by the time the couple wishes to sell the home. Thus, they may need to deal with the floors twice -- once before having children and then again when they wish to sell.

The Work Breakdown Schedule takes into consideration the different functional groupings of the activities. There are a handful of stakeholders to be considered as well, such as children, inspectors (for plumbing and electrical work) and these are noted in the WBS where appropriate. This is important, because some of the work can be done without professional help, while other tasks require it. Within the category of kitchen work, for example, the cabinets can be installed without professional assistance but the dishwasher and garbage disposal will require the services of a plumber.…

Zeff & Higby (2002) also point out that respect is a common feature enhancing communication within teams. Therefore, quiet members can be encouraged to participate more readily in the informal and supportive team environment than they might in a group environment.

A diverse workplace benefits especially well from teamwork because of the enhanced communication potential. Moreover, minority voices are more likely to be acknowledged within the respect-oriented setting of a team. The team has no choice but to work together to achieve goals meaningful to each individual. In the group, individuals only care about their own performance. The motivation to help others in the group is low, and the desire to seek help by expressing concerns is also low especially when some members of the group are domineering. Quiet members of a group will feel dominated by the more aggressive ones ("Teams & Groups" 1996). This is especially true when…

References

"Differences between Work Groups and Teams." (nd). For Dummies. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from  http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/differences-between-work-groups-and-teams.html 

"Teams & Groups." (1996). Retrieved May 3, 2010 from http://www.see.ed.ac.uk/~gerard/MENG/MECD/gf1.html

Zeff, L.E. & Higby, M.A. (2002). Teaching more than you know. Academic Exchange Quarterly 6(3). Retrieved May 3, 2010 from  http://www.rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/6jan2118j2.htm

The basic assumption of the question itself, namely that there is a best method for organizing a social system independent of the needs, resources, or purpose(s) of that social system, could certainly be debated, but as stated the question's importance largely speaks for itself.

The need to develop a better (or best) method of organizing social systems for the contemporary era can be seen from many different perspectives. The technological advances of the last century, and of the last two decades especially (namely with the rise of the Internet and cell phones, and their new combined form in the data phone) have drastically changes the way social systems come into existence and operate. Globalization also demands greater conscious attention be paid to the development of social systems; increasing environmental concerns, corporate ethics issues, increasing divorce rates, and a plethora of other prominent social issues each suggest that we are in…

References

Bach, J. (2002). "Evolutionary guidance system: A community design project." The journal of general evolution 58(5/6), pp. 417-23.

Meunier, H.; Leca, J.B.; Deneubourg, J.L.; Petit, O. (2006). Group movement decisions in capuchin monkeys: the utility of an experimental study and a mathematical model to explore the relationship between individual and collective behaviours." Behaviour 143(12), pp. 1511-27.

Omran, E. & Van Etten, J. (2007). "Spatial-Data Sharing: Applying Social-Network Analysis to study individual and collective behaviour." international journal of geographical information science 21(6), pp. 699-714.

Robbins, G. (2009). "Understanding individual behaviors within covert networks: the interplay of individual qualities, psychological predispositions, and network effects." Trends in organized crime 12(2), pp. 166-87.

Yet the film ends on an optimistic, even triumphant note, with the raised hand of Bender symbolizing victory over the stereotypes subject to which the characters began the film.

Conclusion

The film "The Breakfast Club" contains myriad examples of group dynamics at play. Doing a close reading of the film was valuable in that it provided insight into how narratives can be shaped by psychological principles. In dissecting the actions of the film's principal characters, it became apparent that the filmmakers were not simply trying to create a plotline that would entertain a mass audience. The film also integrates psychological inquiry into its teenaged protagonists. Each character is given a back story which motivates his or her behavior and later undergoes a realization of his or her flaws in order to make a change. The film goes beyond just a high school narrative; it is about how to break free…

References

Aronoff, J., & Wilson, J.P. (1985). Personality in the social process. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum

Associates.

Golembiewski, R.T. (Ed.) (2000). Handbook of organizational consultation. New York, NY:

Marcel Dekker.

hile allowing an authoritarian voice to hold final sway over what is done may be least desirable, it may be necessary in a very spread-out group with many areas of expertise, or if the leader bears the brunt of the responsibility for the project and has greater knowledge of the different organizational factors involved.

There is no single perfect formula for forming a cohesive group, making decisions, and arguing in a constructive manner. The only rule that does hold fast and firm, regardless of the composition and authority structure of the group, good listening skills are necessary, as well balanced consideration of all sides of a debate. A healthy group, even a group dominated by a single leader, must not fall into groupthink, or create an environment where only a single opinion is considered valid, and dissent is not permitted.

orks Cited

Engleberg and ynn. orking in groups: Communication principles…

Works Cited

Engleberg and Wynn. Working in groups: Communication principles and strategies. 3rd ed. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Groups, Networks, And Organizations

In daily situations and quite spontaneously, people formulate reference scales to which they attach sources and concepts or hierarchical preferences of individuals. Latitude of acceptance and latitude of rejection imply that an individual's attitude is determined by a margin in regards to either positions that individuals consider acceptable or those which are unacceptable to them. This is to say that people either accept or reject certain positions in a varying degree which depends on the source transmitting the information and what that information implies. It is considered that the more attached an individual is toward his/hers attitude, the wider the latitude of rejection becomes and the limited the latitude of acceptance is.

For example, suppose a family is struggling with their child's weight problem. Suppose as well their belief is that current food trends favor child obesity. As an issue of national concern, the latitude of…

Works Cited

Andersen, Kenneth E. Developments in Communication Ethics: The Ethics Commission, Code of Professional Responsibilities, Credo for Ethical Communication. Journal of the Association for Communication Administration 29 (2000): 131-144. Web. 30 Oct 2013.

Malone, Thomas W. The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style, and Your Life. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press, 2004. Print.

Niederer, Sabine, and Van Dijck, Jose. Wisdom of the Crowd or Technicity of Content? Wikipedia as a Sociotechnical System. New Media and Society XX.X (2010): 1-19. Web. 30 Oct 2013.

Quan-Haase, Anabel, Cothrel, Joseph, and Wellman, Barry. Instant Messaging for Collaboration: A Case-Study of a High-Tech Firm. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 10.4 (2005): 1-17. Web. 30 Oct 2013.

If so, the project manager has the necessary tools to assess the project's progress and communicate its status and needs to others.

Conclusion:

Useful tools are defined for project management. Prior to initiation, there are tools for ensuring that all parties agree on the goal, the approach, the costs, the personnel, the timetable, and the "deliverables." Yet, only when these are defined and agreed upon can the project planning begin. Furthermore, only when the plans are defined and agreed upon can the project actually commence! It quickly becomes apparent why we speak in terms of project phases. The project management profession has developed tools, techniques, education, certification, publications, and organizations to enhance the collective skill set of its practitioners. The reason is quite clear - there is a tremendous amount of money at risk and too few projects are complete successes. However, the profession continues to self-improve. Gifted individuals bring…

References

Knack, R.E. (2004, October). Getting your act together: How project management can help you bring in every project on time and under budget. Planning, 70, 1.

Massue, M. (2004, February). A project planning tool. T&D, 58, 1.

Mission and vision. (2007). Project Management Institute. Retrieved February 14, 2008 at http://www.pmi-adsig.org/MissionandVision.html.

Stuckenbruck, L.C. (1981). The implementation of project management: The professional's