Project Management Reflection
Week 8: Reflection Assignment
Whitney McMillan
Walden University
April 24, 2013
The organization in which I work for has several divisions from power generation to transmission to distribution in both nuclear and natural resource areas. This organization is very large and has a lot of earning power. However, I work in the nuclear sector and there are many issues that hinder the continued growth of the company. The workforce is aging and retirement is a common theme and with high turnover rates it is difficult to maintain new talent. With the inability to maintain new talent comes the generation gap and the lack of fresh ideas to grow the organization in this new era.
The company has identified that there are organizational issues and have hired a project team to identify additional gaps, develop an action plan and to implement those actions. Although it has been communicated that these changes will soon occur we have not received any formal information about the major changes that will happen nor has the timeframe for the changes been communicated. After completing the project manager course and understanding the purpose of project management skill set I now can identify some issues that challenges the organization.
Within my organization I recognize that communication, schedule adherence, and budget adherence are some of the key issues when completing projects. As the size and complexity of projects and programs increase, the need for effective team collaboration becomes even more important — the key is in the strength of the “network (PMI 2008).” Communication is the link that holds all organizations together. I have notice that over time the lack of communication has not only killed employee moral but has contributed to the high turnover ratios, poor causal analysis skills, schedule adherence issues, and budgeting issues.
Leadership teams must lead by example. According to Rubenstein ‘‘Leaders must “read” a situation and determine what combination of
Whitney McMillan
Walden University
April 24, 2013
The organization in which I work for has several divisions from power generation to transmission to distribution in both nuclear and natural resource areas. This organization is very large and has a lot of earning power. However, I work in the nuclear sector and there are many issues that hinder the continued growth of the company. The workforce is aging and retirement is a common theme and with high turnover rates it is difficult to maintain new talent. With the inability to maintain new talent comes the generation gap and the lack of fresh ideas to grow the organization in this new era.
The company has identified that there are organizational issues and have hired a project team to identify additional gaps, develop an action plan and to implement those actions. Although it has been communicated that these changes will soon occur we have not received any formal information about the major changes that will happen nor has the timeframe for the changes been communicated. After completing the project manager course and understanding the purpose of project management skill set I now can identify some issues that challenges the organization.
Within my organization I recognize that communication, schedule adherence, and budget adherence are some of the key issues when completing projects. As the size and complexity of projects and programs increase, the need for effective team collaboration becomes even more important — the key is in the strength of the “network (PMI 2008).” Communication is the link that holds all organizations together. I have notice that over time the lack of communication has not only killed employee moral but has contributed to the high turnover ratios, poor causal analysis skills, schedule adherence issues, and budgeting issues.
Leadership teams must lead by example. According to Rubenstein ‘‘Leaders must “read” a situation and determine what combination of
References: DuBrin, A. (2011) Leadership: research findings, practice, and skills. 116-115. Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project management: The managerial process (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin Project Management Institute. (2008). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (4th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author Rubenstein, H. (2005). The evolution of leadership in the workplace. Vision, 9(2), 41-49.