Introduction
Effective management is a vital part of the success of any business setup. This is because effective management helps in the achievement of substantial results by ensuring that proper steps are followed. Moreover, management must follow the right procedures that in turn ensure that the right results are achieved within the stipulated time. Scholars have established that there are certain set of principles that must be followed to obtain effective management (Morris &Pinto, 2010). Despite that, project managers also know that there are many challenges that they need to overcome in the management process. This paper identifies and discusses the main challenge that is experienced in management and offers a recommendation for overcoming the same.
Challenges of Effective Management
Morris & Pinto (2010) posit that one of the biggest challenges to management is organizational culture and values. Project management demands a certain set of values and cultures and it becomes problematic to implement the project if the organizational culture prohibits the use of the values and cultures. Consequently, it is vital to define organizational culture to lay a background. Organizational culture refers to a firm’s philosophies, expectations, experiences, and values, which govern the member behaviors within the firm. The culture is expressed in the internal working systems and interactions with the rest of the world. At the same time, the culture is expressed in the image of the members who work within the firm. Furthermore, the business dictionary states that the culture of a firm is based on the shared customs, beliefs and attitudes as well as the written or implied rules that have been developed within a certain span. On the other hand, Inceoglu (2002) defines organizational culture as the glue that holds an organization together through a shared pattern or meaning. He also posits that it is constituted of symbols, values, myths, and heroes that with time have come to mean a lot to the people working in an organization. Organizational culture connotes the norms that govern the operations in an environment (Morris & Pinto, 2010). In that regard, whenever a manager needs to carry out a project or manage a procedure that may not exactly follow the organizational culture, they experience rejection, and barriers to project progress internally due to the conflicting culture.
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Although a manager can beat and works around external barriers, Morris & Pinto (2010) say the largest and worst barrier a manager can face is the organizational culture. Nonetheless, they state that organizational culture is critical for the smooth running of operations within an organization. Moreover, they allege that when a project that demands a different set of values is introduced, it becomes impossible for the manager.
Although the only solution would be to use a different set of culture and values than the one that exists, it is notable that the changing of an organizational culture takes time. First, it may take board meetings to try to convince the board members of the desired need to affect the project at hand. Even then, it may be hard to convince them, especially if the manager in question is only hired temporarily or is new in the firm (Morris &Pinto, 2010). As has been learned in change management, it is very hard to effect change as it faces resistance from all circles in a firm. Change in an organization is even harder to effect when it concerns overhauling an entire culture or critical values within the firm. Not only do the lower level employees resist it, but also the top-level employees within the organization. Managers posit that projects need a set of values and carrying them outside those values would end up in failure.
Recommendations
Although the organizational cultures and values are the pillar of many organizations, it is vital to exercise a level of flexibility in the same so that managing projects that may require a different set of values may be easy. The above is necessary because trying to run programs within the old culture may be very costly and may fail to produce the desired results in project management. Despite those recommendations, it is vital for project managers to understand that only positive values should be allowed as far as running the new projects are concerned. On the other hand, unethical values may not be accommodated in the old organizational culture in the name of new project management. Similarly, workers within the organization should be educated on the importance of the change to avoid unnecessary frictions in the organization.
Conclusion
Project management is an important part of development in any firm. Nevertheless, it should be done within a set of values and procedures. In many instances, project management is hindered by the old organizational cultures; attempts to get across the board of directors and firm management may be futile. When that happens, implementation and completion of new projects becomes impossible (Morris & Pinto, 2010). Therefore, it is advisable for company management to consider accommodating the positive values and cultures that would positively assist in project management. At the same time, the workers must be educated on the importance of flexibility as far as the new projects are concerned.
References
Morris, P., & Pinto, J. K. (2010). The Wiley Guide to Project Technology, Supply Chain, and Procurement Management. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Inceoglu, I. (2002). Organizational culture, team climate, workplace bullying and team effectiveness: An empirical study on their relationship . München: Herbert Utz Verlag Wissenschaft.
