Project for Success: ORGANIZATIONAL INFLUENCES ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The projects performed inside the organization whether the organization is a public, a private, NGO etc, are influenced by the organizational environment. These are:

1. Organizational Culture and Style

2. Organizational Communications

3. Organizational Process Assets

4. Enterprise Environmental Factors

5. Organizational Structure

Organization Culture and Style: Here we mean the experiences and practices that are shared by the members of the organization e.g. visions, mission, values, policies, procedures, work hours, ethics, management style (structure and authority), project selection (in terms of profits, social benefits, risks) etc.

Organizational Communication: Here we mean the methods and language used for Communication. Taking an example, the use of electronic communications such as emails, texting, instant messaging, social media, video conferencing etc.

Organizational Process Assets: Here we mean processes that are used for managing the projects such as guidelines, templates like contracts, procedures for financial control or risk control, historical information (documentations), lessons learned from the previous projects, final project audits etc.

Enterprise Environmental Factors: Here we mean all internal and external factors that may influence the project’s success such as infrastructure, Governmental standards, Shareholders’ risk tolerance, Political climate, Condition of market place, Geographic distribution of resources etc.

Organizational structure: Here we mean authority relationship as well as distribution of the resources for the project. There are three types of organizational structure which are:

• Functional Organization – The structure whose staff members are grouped by specialties in terms of departments such as Production, marketing, Accounting, Engineering etc and each department works on the projects independently under one clear superior (functional manager)

• Projectized Organization – The structure whose staff members are collocated and the projects are under project manager.

• Matrix Organization - The structure with both functional and projectized characteristics but with variance in the relation to power of authority and influence between functional and project manager. The matrix can be weak, strong or balanced.

Below is the summary of the influence of Organizational structures on Projects.