1.1 Introducing decision-making A vast literature on decision making stretches back over several centuries and encompasses a wide range of academic disciplines – from history and literature through to mathematics. This unit is not a comprehensive survey of this field. Rather, we have chosen a few key topics that will help you to think in broader ways about how you and others take decisions; we shall also introduce you to some themes in social science which have direct relevance to managerial decision making. In particular
Introduction This unit covers a few key topics that will help you to think in broad ways about how you and others take decisions; we shall also introduce you to some themes in social science which have direct relevance to managerial decision making. The approach of this unit is descriptive: rather than prescribing how you should make decisions we look at frameworks that will help you to understand how decisions are actually made. We aim to help you to develop greater insight into both your own deci
1 Barriers to a strategic view Marketing communications is not always accepted as having strategic importance in organisations. This unit examines some of the reasons for this, before exploring some recent arguments in favour of a strategic role for marketing communications. One reason for seeing marketing communications as tactical rather than strategic is that much of its development and execution has been outsourced to marketing services agencies offering a range of specialisms (such as design, creative consultanc
References 1.2 The relationship between stakeholders and the organisation Public and voluntary sector organisations do not have the same shareholder obligations as those in the private sector. However, as the distinction between public and private sector organisations becomes blurred, there are concerns that the ethical role of public service organisations – defined as acting in the public interest through a public service ethos – is being undermined. As public service and non-profit organisations are increasingly expected to achieve targets and become more ‘ 3.2 CSR reporting We mentioned earlier three reasons for environmentally friendly behaviour, effectively deriving from personally held values, niche marketing or regulatory pressure. To a large extent the same holds true for ethical behaviour. Some organisations have a long tradition of good citizenship, ranging from the UK social housing of Bourneville or Port Sunlight, through to community involvement schemes from such as Xerox and IBM. Financial sponsorship of good causes, whether that be artistic end 2.1 The response of business For most of human history, our influence on the planet has been small (i.e. sustainable). The waste produced by our presence has traditionally been dealt with by a process of dilution; burying things, or perhaps dumping them in the ocean, was a viable proposition because we were few and the land and the oceans were vast. Mankind was a minor perturbation on the planetary ecosystem. But with change as the ever-present factor, we grew in both numbers and influence. In the last century, the Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should: understand the nature of entrepreneurship; understand the function of the entrepreneur in the successful, commercial application of innovations; confirm your entrepreneurial business idea; identify personal attributes that enable best use of entrepreneurial opportunities; explore entrepreneurial leadership and management style; identify the requirements for building an 2.4 Problems in closure Projects do not always go according to plan. If problems develop during the closure period there are particular difficulties. The following story is told by an integration manager of an IT project. 2.3 Closing the project Closing a project can be quite an emotional experience for team members who have worked together for some time, particularly if close bonds have developed. The manager of a project has some obligations to staff who have worked for some time on it. Build into the plan a closure interview with each member of staff, so that their contribution can be formally recognised and recorded. Staff may need help to recognise the skills and experience that they have gained and how these have been evidenced 2.2 Closure tasks The closing stages of a project need as much, if not more, attention as the early stages. Many of the final tasks in a project may seem rather tedious ‘housekeeping’ once the project's main purpose has been achieved. Nevertheless, there are a number of actions that must be taken to close the project and ensure that any necessary maintenance arrangements have been made. Make sure that all project staff actually stop work on the project. 1.2 What is handed over, and when? Not all handovers are at the completion of a project. In some projects there might be several different types of handover, which happen at different stages. For example, the Tate Modern was built within the shell of a disused power station, and an early handover point was when the building was purchased and became the property of the Tate Trustees. Such a handover is significant when a building may present long-term problems (in this case, contamination from its previous uses). 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. Acknowledgements The unit has been adapted for OpenLearn by The Open University Business School from The Open University course B713: Fundamentals of Senior Management Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlik 9 Summary This unit has focused on managing projects through people and how important this is in relation to: managing the relationship with stakeholders; motivating the project team to get results; dealing with senior management; building relationships across the organisation in order to encourage co-operation; satisfying the client and end user. Recapping on the learning obje 8 Satisfying the client and end user Most projects have an identifiable client or customer group which will benefit from or use the outcome of the project. The client may be external to the organisation which is implementing the project, for example, the customer for whom a new building is being constructed. Or the clients may be internal, for example, the users of a new IT system. As we have already seen, it is important that the client or end user shares and endorses the project's objectives and is actively involved in its dev 7.2.1 Labelling behaviour Signalling that you are about to suggest a solution to a problem or to ask an important question is one way of drawing attention to this and puts pressure on the person or persons at whom your signal is directed to respond. 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 5.2 Using political skills In particular, a project manager needs to employ good political skills in order to maintain the support of senior management, without allowing them to undermine or take over the project. However, this can raise questions about the ethics of their behaviour. Read the following account that was given by a member of an external consulting team working on a project for a local authority in Scotland. The project's objective was to revamp the structure of the council which had operated in much the 4.2 Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a project team Those involved in a project may have skills that fulfil more than one aspect of the project agenda. This is likely to be particularly important in small-scale projects, where management of the content, process and control agendas are just as important to the project's success, but where fewer people are involved.
Activity 3
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