Learning outcomes At the end of this unit you should be able to: explain the key components of project closure and their importance; plan an effective project closure; ensure that the project activities have been completed; be alert to problems that may need to be resolved at the closure stage; contribute to evaluating a project; plan personal development to improve your performance in managing projects.
7.1 Sharing the project As we have seen, the execution of a project may depend on the involvement and co-operation of several departments or functions within an organisation. If this is the case, then, for it to succeed, they must be prepared to share ownership of the project, be willing to work together to help the project achieve its objectives and be happy to release adequate resources when appropriate. The project manager and their team therefore have to create and maintain good relationships with all interested
6.1 Introduction Buchanan and Badham (1999) suggest that political behaviour can be usefully evaluated against four criteria to help determine whether it is acceptable or whether it is not: Is the behaviour e Learning outcomes At the end of this unit you should be able to: identify why managing people is an essential part of project management; establish which people and groups of people are important for the success of a project and why; explain what issues are at stake in managing them; evaluate how particular groups of people involved in a project might best be handled; recognise which skills are most important for managing people in proje 9 Summary The project brief is a summary of previous discussions and research. If there is earlier documentation, the project brief can refer to these documents and summarise the key points rather than repeat everything. For example, there may have been previous documentation outlining the business case for the project so that commitment could be gained in earlier stages of the decision-making process. Similarly, there may be documentation that outlines the background to the project and the reasons for 7.3 Risk and contingency planning Risk in projects may be defined as ‘an event or situation … which can endanger all or part of the project’ (Nickson and Siddons, 1997). Risk management is fundamental to project management and has an impact on estimates of time and effort required for the project. It is concerned with assessing the kinds of risk associated with trying to make something happen, for example the possibil 7.1 Consider the purpose A project that meets an important need for your organisation will contribute towards meeting wider organisational targets. Consider the purpose – what will the project contribute that will further the goals of the organisation? It is often useful to discuss this with the project sponsor and to align the project objectives with the strategic objectives of the organisation. If the ‘fit’ of the project with the organisational direction is considered at an early stage, it might be possible 4 Project inputs and outputs A project involves the transformation of inputs into an output or product. For example, people's mental and physical efforts, bricks and mortar, equipment or materials might be transformed into a new road, a municipal park or an advertising campaign. Or perhaps transformed into a stream of outputs or products, for example, attendances at a conference or exhibition, state school places or data from a new in-house costing system. The output or outputs might be used within the organisation 3.2 Mind mapping The term ‘Mind mapping’ was devised by Tony Buzan for the representation of ideas, notes, information, etc., in radial tree-diagrams – sometimes also called ‘spider diagrams’. These are now very widely used. Try a web search on ‘Buzan’, ‘mind map’ or ‘concept map’. Alternatively, you could try Compendium. This is open source software that allows you to create a variety of mind, concept or knowledge maps. For more information, please refer to our Author(s): 3.1 The idea Essentially, any project begins with an idea. The idea is often one about how to do something that seems to be needed. Transforming ideas into projects begins with recognising the nature of this driving force: Projects arise in order to meet human needs. A need emerges and is recognized, and the management determines whether a need is worth fulfilling. If it is, a project is organized to satisfy the need. Thus, nee 1.2 What is expected from projects? The project may be expected to deliver financial benefits to the organisation. In the public sector projects are usually expected to lead to social, economic and political outcomes. All projects are different. The level of complexity differs and the context in which a project exists will affect it. There is no single right way to manage a project. All projects have customers. There are three key dimensions to a projec 3 Conclusion This unit has introduced a series of ideas that relate to campaigning and how organisations can adapt their outlook in order to achieve their campaigning goals. Introduction This unit will examine some of the key ideas connected with innovation in organisations. You will be introduced to some important concepts which are used to analyse innovation, in particular the distinction between innovation and invention. In exploring the theme of innovation, general links will be made to the implications for the business functions. This material is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Understanding Business Functions (B202) which is n 6 Impressing employers '69 per cent of employers have done voluntary work in their lifetime, with over half stating that volunteering gave them people skills which helped them get to where they are today. Half of employers say that job candidates with volunteering experience are more motivated than other candidates.' 3 What would suit me? You should now have built up a realistic picture about what you want to achieve and what you have to offer and be able to match up all of these against some possible activities. Here are some different ways to get you started: Have another look at some of the statements in Section 1.3. These are just to 1.2 Standing out from the crowd 'In today's climate when there are 30 people going for every job, volunteering makes your CV stand out and proves your dedication. What better way is there to stand out from the crowd?' So, employers are impress 1.1 Introduction 'The world of volunteering has today reported a dramatic increase in the number of people looking for opportunities to volunteer. Leaders of national volunteering organisations attribute this to a rise in unemployment across the UK.' Introduction Any local newspaper describes the latest achievements of volunteers in the community: hospital fund-raising, a wildlife pond created. The advantages to the community are obvious, but this unit explores how engaging in voluntary work can enhance your employment opportunities. It will focus mainly on how voluntary work can improve job prospects, for those actively job seeking or considering a career change. Employers are impressed by volunteering, but many volunteers don’t appreciate wh References 1.7.2 Summary The EU is an economic, juridical and, to a certain extent, a political reality but a single European public space has not emerged yet. The establishment of European citizenship could play a crucial part in fostering a common European public space. European citizenship could encourage Europeans to play a more active role in EU affairs and participate in governance processes.
Four criteria to determine whether political behaviour is acceptable
