P3- Discuss issues affecting project management.

Jonny Smart

In this essay I am going to discuss the issue affecting project management. Needless to say, project management is a very complex industry which brings up new issues all the time. Such as motivation, communication, corrective actions and legislation. These factors can influence project management negatively as well as positively. Therefore, it is very important for project managers to understand the positive and negative effects caused by these factors.  

Motivation is key in any situation, having a passion or interest for a specific job can boost your motivation and therefore improving your effectiveness in that task. However, a lack of motivation can have the opposite effect. Colleagues who have no interest in being a part of the project can have a negative effect on the team’s performance. Tasks will take longer and the colleague in question would be extremely awkward to work with. If a project manager finds himself in this awkward situation there are many ways to improve a colleague’s motivation. Such as; a pay rise, positive attitude towards the colleague or assign them a job that they have a better interest in.

Communication skills is something employers look for when employing a new colleague. Effective communication is useful for many things; it can improve interaction with other members of the team as well as help transfer improving ideas to the company or organisation.  Communication can also be digitally transferred through email or social networking sites. With this in mind, if a colleague struggles to confidently communicate to other people or the company hasn’t established a company email account they will lack an effective communication system. This can lead to potential misunderstandings between colleagues. They would also lack important convocations that notify the strengths and weaknesses of the company, meaning the company will never move on and improve.

Corrective Actions is where weaknesses in the project are rectified. Its main purpose is to make sure the project on track meeting deadlines, budgets and targets. It is important the project sticks to the original project plan, the correction action is used to ensure it is. Therefore, it is a positive influence of project management as it can improve the performance of the project so that the project meets the criteria of the original project plan.

Guidelines and Legislation must be followed by project management; they are rules that give rights to employees, for example the Data Protection Act. There have been many Data Protection acts over the years (1984, 1998, 2000) and their main purpose is to protect personal information from unauthorised users. This information could be names, addresses, contact information, employment history, medical conditions, convictions and credit history. These guidelines are put in place to protect colleagues and act as a positive influence in project management.

In conclusion, these factors can influence project management negatively as well as positively. Therefore, it is very important for project managers to understand the positive and negative effects caused by these factors in project management. Motivation, communication, corrective actions and legislation and guidelines are common factors in project management, therefore it is crucial a project manager is notified on the potential impact of these factors so that their project is successful.