Management and Administration Flashcards
Estimates the total money value, costs and benefits, of a project.
Typically used for public projects such as highways and other public facilities.
Jules Dupuit (1848)
Popularized in USA by Fed. Navigation Act (1936) which required Army Corp. of Eningeers to select waterway projects with benefits that outweight costs.
Must convert costs and benefits to a monetary value incluidng socical and environmental items and project outcomes - this is challenging!
Costs and benefits must be set for a particular time/place.
Proposed project is compared to current situation without project.
Ratio of benefits over costs >1 = monetary benefits of hte project outweight its monetary costs. When comparing alternatives, the largest ratio creates the highest net monetary value.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
This is a method for selecting from competing projects when resources are limited.
Originally developed by the military.
AKA “CE Ratio”
(Cost of new strategy - cost of current practice)/(effect of new strategy - effect of current practice)
Formula will determine which option is ost effective.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
This method calculates the net monetary value of a project, discounted to today’s present value.
NPM >0 = monetary benefit outweights its monetary costs.
Need to know project’s lifespan (in years), the quantified monetary benefits, the monetary costs, and the interest rate.
Can also calculate Internal Rate of Return (IRR) = proejct’s NPV = 0 and the interest rate is blank. If calculation results in an interest rate that is greater than the available market interest rate, then the project would be financially beneficial.
Net Present Value (NPM)
A project managment technique.
Comprehensive evaluation method.
Contains project evaluation matrix with competing projects in rows and the evaluation criteria in columns.
Evaluation criteria based on varoius stakeholder groups that may be impacted by the costs or that may receive benefits.
Matrix shows the anticipated attainment of a project’s goals and the assignment of accomplishing a goal to a group.
Goal Achievement Matrix
Project management technique developed by Charles Gantt (1917).
Focuses on sequence of tasks necessary for project completion.
Each task represented by horizontal bar on an X-Y chart. X axis = project time scale. Length of each taskbar chsows duration of each task.
Relationship shows dependency, where one task cannot begin until another is completed.
Gantt Chart
Project management method that attempts to find the optimum design solution for a project.
Uses a set of decision variables, within constraints, and generates optimum design solutions.
Linear Programming
Scheduling method that graphically illustrates the interrelationships of project tasks.
Good for when precise time estimates are not available.
Developed by US Navy in 1950s - still widely used in defense industry.
- ID specific activities and milestones.
- Determine proper sequence of activities.
- Construct a network diagram.
- Determine the critical path.
- Update the chart as the project progresses
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
Project analysis tool that generates a “critical path” through the project tasks.
Each project taks has a known amount of itme to complete and cannot be completed before the previous one is completed - longest pathway is the critical pathway.
Alongside PERT, this works well for large-scale projects. Merged into PERT/CPM.
Best tracked with project management software.
Critical Path Method (CPM)
This type of organization has few or no levels of management between management and staff level employees.
Employees are less supervised and have increased involvement in the decision-making process.
Good for employees who get greater levels of responsibility. Efficiecny increases, costs are reduced and communication speeds up.
Employees can lack a clear sense of direction or job duties. Employees are generalists without specializations and jockey for authority and management might avoid new opporutnies so as to keep the structure flat.
Harder for large organizations to be horizontal/flat.
Horizontal/Flat Organization
This organizational structure resemebles a pyramid - every employee is subordinate to someone else within the organization exvept for the very top level (may be responsible to board of elected body).
Every employee knows who’s in charge and their exact role in the operation/level of responsibilty.
Employees develop specialties and move up/promote upwards within the organization while maintaining department loyalty.
Competition grows between departments and rivalries may stifle communication. High levels of bureaucracy which can slow down client/public responsiveness.
Costs can be higher because there is more management personnel.
Vertical/Hierarchical
This type of organization encourages interdisciplinary approaches to problem-solving.
Hard for large organizations as vertical and horizontal chains form with some (but not enough) confusing rules.
Good charts use solid and dashed lines to represent reporting flows.
Matrix
This is an overall plan that guies an organization in determining its future.
Typically five or fewer years with specific objectives and specific action items to meet those objectives.
- What is the current situation and how is it likely to change in the forseeable future?
- Where are we going as an organization?
- How will we get there?
An organization’s strategic plan has eight parts…
1. Analysze the community/organization’s needs.
2. ID results - determine what long-term objectives the city/organization is going to pursue.
3. Admit uncertainties - analyze SWOT relating to the objectives.
4. Involve strategic stakeholders.
5. Develop and evaluate altenatives.
6. ID the role of the City
7. Develop a funding policy.
8. Evaluate performance.
A strategic plan (organizational scope) is not a comprehensive plan (community scope).
Strategic Planning
Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) = a sound management practice that incorporates the use of outcomes or results into the administration, management, and operation of community action agencies.
1993 - Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) to improve fderal program effectiveness/public accountabilty.
Focus on results, service quality, and customer satisfaction.
- Benchmarks = performance data used for comparative purposes. Organization can use its own data as benchmark data against which it can compare future performance or it can use data from another as a benchmark.
- Impacts = direct/indirect effects/consequences of achieving program goals.
- Outcome indicators = observable, measurable characteristics or changes that represent achievement of an outcome. Ex. define what “healthy lifestyle” means for a program aimed at increasing residents’ healthy lifestyles.
- Inputs = resources used by a program to achive its objectives. Ex. staff, volunteers, facilities, curricula, and money.
- Meaures = quantitative or qualitative, objective, or subjective. Measurement used is dependent on the objective to be measured, availability of opportunities for measurement, and cost of measurement process.
