The Organisational Context of Projects

A project is greatly influenced by the organisation that undertakes it. Different organisations have different philosophies and views on the importance of projects and how closely they want projects to be managed. For example, some organisations place great importance on their projects and view them as essential for the business to function. These organisations may create a smaller, temporary organisation within the larger organisation just to oversee projects. Other organisations place less importance on their projects and view them as a small piece of their organisational strategy. These organisations might use a smaller project team or even a single project manager to oversee the project. Neither philosophy is ‘right' or ‘wrong', but a good project manager can identify the philosophy of the organisation in which he or she is operating and adjust strategy accordingly.

The philosophy of an organisation towards projects is just one piece of the larger project environment. Organisational culture, politics, mission and values also contribute to the project environment. The project environment that an organisation creates can greatly impact a project's budget, timeline, personnel, monitoring, assessment and evaluation. Clearly, a toxic project environment is a large obstacle that can ruin a project's chances of success. One way a project manager can combat a toxic project environment is to assign team roles. In your resources, you will explore Belbin's nine team roles. Assigning a group or individual to one of these roles can help streamline the operations and logistics of a project. In other words, everyone will know what his or her job is, minimising confusion and maximising productivity.

While reviewing Belbin's team roles, think about whether team roles should vary from project to project. Should custom roles be made for individual projects? What if the project is highly technical? For example, would an expansion of a family-owned chip shop require the same team roles as a billion pound corporate takeover?

To prepare for this Shared Activity:

Further clarify your scenario by identifying your assumptions about the organisational context for your project. Focus on the following:
- Organisational structure
- Organisational type; e.g., project-based organisation (PBO), project-oriented organisation (POO)
- Nature of the project environment within the organisation (permanent, transitory, internal/external participants)
- The impact of different team roles on a project's chance of success

To complete this Shared Activity:
- Explain whether different organisational structures, contexts and projects demand different team roles or whether all organisational structures, contexts and projects need essentially the same roles for their teams.
- Using the scenario below, explain the impact of including different team roles on that project's chances of success.

Scenario:

Launching a New Product Line You work for a firm that manufactures and distributes haircare products. To this point, your sales have primarily been to retail outlets. The firm has decided to launch a new product line of bulk-packaged hair care products to be sold and distributed to organisations such as hospitals, gyms, schools and universities with residences for students, and similar customers. You are in charge of the team who must present a project plan for the production, sales, and distribution of the new product line to potential investors in order to secure funding to bring the new product to market.