MIS 578 Chapter 4: Organizational Capability: Structure, Culture, & Roles

Question 1

Functional

Answer 1

 Traditional approach with clear lines of authority according to type of work.
 Advantages: “one boss”; all work in a discipline report to same person; job for worker when
project is done; knowledge is retained.
 Disadvantages: slow communication; technically challenging if multiple disciplines are needed.

Question 2

Projectized

Answer 2

 Opposite of functional – project manager has full authority, no departments.
 Advantages: “one boss”; fast communication and decision-making; project identity; effective integration on project.

Question 3

Matrix

Answer 3

 Intermediate strategy: project and functional managers share responsibility.
 Advantages: Shared resources; cooperation; high-quality decisions; knowledge is retained;
effective integration on project; flexible.
- Disadvantages: “two bosses”; slow decision-making; conflict; meetings.

Question 4

Culture of the Parent Organization

Answer 4

Organizational culture can be dominated by emphasis on power, roles, tasks, or persons.

Question 5

Culture of the Project

Answer 5

Impacted by parent organization’s culture, influenced by sponsor and project manager. An ethical culture should define how people should act and encourage them to actually act that way – especially in challenging circumstances

Question 6

DMAIC Model

Answer 6

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control

 Many firms use projects to plan and manage quality and productivity improvement efforts.
 The Six Sigma approach to quality improvement uses the DMAIC model.

Question 7

Research and Development (R&D) Project Life Cycle Model

Answer 7

Many organizations use project management techniques to organize, plan, and manage research and development efforts.

Question 8

Construction Project Life Cycle Model

Answer 8

Just as in other project applications, since construction projects differ greatly in size and complexity, a variety of project life cycle models are in use.

Question 9

Agile Project Life Cycle Model

Answer 9

One type of model increasingly used in information systems and some other projects allows for incremental plans and benefits. These approaches have been variously called iterative, incremental, adaptive, or change-driven.

Question 10

Agile Project Management

Answer 10

If the scope is hard to define early in the project and/or when much change is expected, a change-driven or agile approach often works better.

Question 11

Steering Team

Answer 11

Overall priority setting, project selection and prioritization, sponsor selection, general guidance, encouragement.

Question 12

Sponsor

Answer 12

Financial and decision-making authority, guides with offensive strategies to position project well and defensive strategies to head off potential difficulties.

Selecting, prioritizing and resourcing project. Defining roles, defining business case. Responsible for all of the items in the charter.

Question 13

Customer

Answer 13

Represented by and works with sponsor and project manager to ensure clear requirements and
control.

Prioritize project work, commit to project, communicate clear requirements and control procedures, kill project if necessary.

Question 14

CPO/PMO

Answer 14

Chief Project Officer - Keeper of project management system within parent organization.

Ensure all participants perform as required; maintain all project documentation and training.

Question 15

Functional manager

Answer 15

Department heads who often control resources and make many decisions.

Decide how project work in their function is accomplished; often decide or negotiate which workers will work on project.

Question 16

Project manager

Answer 16

Responsible for delivering expected project results on time and on budget. Flexible, facilitating type leader who spends much time communicating and must exhibit integrity and judgment.

Responsible for delivering project results. Chief communicator. Often more responsibility than authority.

Question 17

Facilitator

Answer 17

Optional role to assist in process on some complex and/or controversial projects.

Question 18

Scrum Master

Answer 18

In agile projects, a new title is introduced—the scrum master. In effect, this is a project manager who serves and leads in a collaborative, facilitating manner. The scrum master guides team members as they prioritize tasks and removes obstacles to their progress.

Question 19

Core Team Members

Answer 19

On project entire duration, when possible, make decisions, carry out tasks, and supervise subject matter experts.

Jointly make decisions and represent all stakeholders; perform many project activities and supervise SMEs on others.

Question 20

Subject Matter Experts (SME)

Answer 20

Specific and temporary help as needed.

Question 21

Describe project management responsibilities

Answer 21

The customer’s organization has the responsibility of good stewardship of company assets – so they need to receive good value for the projects they undertake. The performing organization has the responsibility to deliver what they promise – so they need to utilize good project management practices.

Question 22

Indicate how project managers can ensure their project work is accomplished even though they may lack formal authority.

Answer 22

Project managers often must persuade other people to enthusiastically perform work regarding their project. If project managers understand the roles played by various executives, managers, and associates both within the customer and performing organization, it is easier to persuade. Project managers also need to have integrity, competence, and judgment to inspire others to perform.

Question 23

Review characteristics that should be considered when selecting team members.

Answer 23

Each team member (core or SME) ideally is more interested in completing the project with good quality, on time, and on budget than in personal glory. Team members collectively need to learn all of the stakeholder needs and all of the project technology.

Question 24

Describe how a strong (project) matrix is different from a weak (functional) matrix.

Answer 24

The strength of a matrix refers to how much decision-making power project managers have vs. how much power functional managers have. In a strong matrix, project managers have relatively more power, in a weak matrix functional managers have more power and project managers are weaker.

Question 25

Advantages of Functional

Answer 25

• Good discipline specific knowledge
• Easy for central control
• Effective for shared resources
• One boss
• Clear career path for professionals

Question 26

Advantages of Matrix

Answer 26

• Flexible
• Easy to share resources
• Good cooperations between departments
• More input for decisions
• Good discipline specific knowledge
• Effective integration on project
• Increased knowledge transfer between projects

Question 27

Advantages of Projectized

Answer 27

• Break down department barriers
• Shorter response time
• Quicker decisions
• One boss
• Enhanced project team identity
• Customer focus
• Effective integration on project

Question 28

Disadvantages of Functional

Answer 28

• Slow communication between departments
• Slow response to change
• Slow decision-making

Question 29

Disadvantages of Matrix

Answer 29

• Two bosses
• Many sources of conflict
• More meetings
• Slow reaction time
• hard to monitor

Question 30

Disadvantages of Projectized

Answer 30

• Duplication of resources
• Rules not always respected
• Potential lessons learned can be lost
• Discipline specific knowledge can slip
• Less career continuity for project team members

Question 31

Work assignments, reporting relationships, and decision-making responsibility are all components of:

Answer 31

Organizational Structure

Question 32

In a functional organizational structure, everyone in the organization has one supervisor, also known as chain of command. True or false?

Answer 32

True

Question 33

Which organizational structure is often used for small projects that require most of their work from a single department?

Answer 33

Functional

Question 34

Which organizational structure has no formal departments?

Answer 34

Projectized

Question 35

What is co-location, and why is it used?

Answer 35

Co-location is a placement strategy that puts the project team members within close proximity of one- another. It is often used in projectized structural settings to enhance the project team’s identity, improve customer focus, and assist in integration of efforts on the project.

Question 36

In a matrix organizational structure, to whom do project team members report?

Answer 36

In a matrix organization, team members report to both project and functional managers.

Question 37

Name some possible consequences to a project if the project manager does not provide input into team member performance reviews.

Answer 37

Answers vary. Possibilities include:
• Lack of integrity on project since team members feel the project manager is not protecting and
caring for them;
• Less than full commitment to the project on part of team members;
• Inability to attract and retain effective team members;
• Team members caring more for the responsibilities they have to the functional manager who writes
their performance reports;
• Need for project manager to spend time and effort persuading people to perform project work;
• Destructive conflict on project as some members are looking out more for themselves than the
project; and
• Project manager sometimes needs to take over work that should be performed by team members.

Question 38

List each of the four organizational culture types with respect to power and briefly describe what the strongest motivator for each type is.

Answer 38

• Power culture – getting the job done
• Role culture – formal authority
• Task culture – worker development
• Personal culture – designations of responsibility

Question 39

For what five activities is the project steering team responsible?

Answer 39

Overall priority setting, project selection and prioritization, sponsor selection, general guidance, and encouragement.

Question 40

What additional role may a steering team member sometimes play?

Answer 40

Sponsor

Question 41

Who should select the project manager and the core team?

Answer 41

Project manager is selected by sponsor with help or at least approval of steering team. Depending on the norms of an organization, the same may be true for the core team, but the project manager also often provides input into team member selection.

Question 42

Who is responsible for ensuring that the steering team completes its tasks?

Answer 42

Chief Projects Officer

Question 43

What types of control systems should a customer and contractor work together to set up and utilize?

Answer 43

Communications plan, change control system, and risk management system.