The Role of the Project Manager

Question
week 1 diss 1

“The Role of the Project Manager” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, compare and contrast the role of the project manager and the functional manager. Support your response with a real-world example of the crucial nature of each manager’s role in the success of a project.

week 1 diss 2

Week 1 Discussion 2

“The Importance of Project Management in Our Society” Please respond to the following:
*Determine one (1) of the six (6) driving forces that lead executives to recognize the need for project management. Support your response with one (1) real-world example of the contribution of the driving force that you have chosen to overall project management.
week 2 discussion

“The Project Office” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, compare and contrast two (2) important types of project organizations. Next, examine one (1) advantage and disadvantage of each type that you have chosen. Support your response with real-world examples of such advantages and disadvantages.
The project office is an organization developed to support the project manager in carrying out his duties. Determine the type of project office that exists in your current or past organization and analyze how closely it resembles the model project offices described in the Kerzner text. If a project office does not exist in your current or past organization, provide a rationale for or against establishing a project office and describe its type.

week 3 diss 1

“Barriers to Project Team Development” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, assume you are a functional manager tasked with assembling a project team. Infer two (2) conflicts that are inevitable between project stakeholders. For each conflict identified, propose a resolution. Support your response with real-world examples of such conflicts and corresponding resolutions.

week 3 diss 2

“Leadership in a Project Environment” Please respond to the following:
*Explain the assertion that one (1) disadvantage of the pure project organization is the project professionals’ tendency to fall behind in areas of technical expertise that they do not use on projects. Demonstrate two (2) strategies which a project manager might use in order to avoid the stated disadvantage. Support your response with examples of the use of the identified strategies.

week 7
“Organizational Input Requirements” Please respond to the following:
Demonstrate the best possible steps for a project manager to take in order to price out a job in which the specifications are not prepared until the job is half over. Provide a rationale for your response.
*From the e-Activities, prepare a real-world example of the following task dependency examples:
Finish to Start: You must buy a building before you can start to make changes to it.
Start to Start: You can start planning the brick design for a patio at the same time that you start to lay its foundation
Finish to Finish: If you were buying a house, you would want to be sure that you close the sale of your old house the same time that you close the sale of the house you were buying.
Start to Finish: You would want to have set the date and location for your wedding before you send out wedding invitations.

“Initial Pricing Activities” Please respond to the following:

Determine the manner in which the project manager and project team uses the WBS to develop a reliable bottom-up estimate. Support your response with one (1) real-world example of such usage.
Give an example of two (2) common risks that a project manager may encounter when planning a project. For each risk identified, provide a possible preventive action or respo
week diss 4

“The Conflict Environment” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, select one (1) common source of conflict in the project environment, as described within the Kerzner text. Next, suggest one (1) possible solution or preventive measure the project manager can take to avoid or minimize the conflict. Support your response with one (1) real-world example of related solutions or measures.
Choose one (1) of the four (4) common methods of conflict resolution proposed by Kerzner you believe to be the best, and then provide the rationale in defense of your selection. Support your response with one (1) real-world example.

week 4
“The Conflict Environment” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, select one (1) common source of conflict in the project environment, as described within the Kerzner text. Next, suggest one (1) possible solution or preventive measure the project manager can take to avoid or minimize the conflict. Support your response with one (1) real-world example of related solutions or measures.
Choose one (1) of the four (4) common methods of conflict resolution proposed by Kerzner you believe to be the best, and then provide the rationale in defense of your selection. Support your response with one (1) real-world example.
week 5

“Work Breakdown Structure” Please respond to the following:
*From the e-Activities, scenario, and Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Website, examine the process of subdivision of activities and events that compose the tree diagram known as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) or Gozinto chart. Next, explain the reason(s) why at levels 4-6 of the WBS, as discussed in the Kerzner text, templates may not be appropriate. Provide a rationale for your response
Prepare an argument for or against the functional manager’s role in establishing the first three (3) levels of the WBS. Support your position with a real-world example.

Week 6 Discussion 1
“Total PERT / CPM Planning” Please respond to the following:
Compare and contrast the differences and similarities between CPM and PERT. Support your position with one (1) real-world example of such similarities and differences.

“GANTT Charts” Please respond to the following:

*From the e-Activities, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with laying out a project plan using project management software versus not using project management software. Provide a rationale for your response.
week 8 discussions

“Cost Control” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, analyze the two (2) basic types of reserves that project managers should become familiar with, as discussed in the Kerzner text. Distinguish three (3) appropriate possibilities that are associated with the type of reserve. Provide the rationale for your response.
From the e-Activity, determine two (2) instances when subtask estimates would not be rolled up to their parent tasks. Support your response and rationale with real-world examples of such conditions.

WEEK 11 DISS 1
“Final Thoughts” Please respond to the following:
*Show how this course has enriched your understanding of the principles of project management. Assess the value in your experience as you have applied project management principles, processes, or techniques to a real-life situation in which you are currently involved. If any part of this experience has been problematic for you, ask your classmates for ideas about how to succeed.

WEEK 11 DISS 2

“The Future of Project Management” Please respond to the following:
*Propose two (2) other areas of study (sociology, management, etc.) that might influence the future development of project management research. Support your proposals by specifying the reasoning behind your choices.

WEEK 9
“Risk Response Matching” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, examine two (2) types of risk responses using the Kerzner text as a guide. Using your own experiences or conceptualizing a national project, describe when each risk response would be appropriate. Support your response and rationale with real-world examples.
*From the e-Activities, determine the essential trade-off problems of projects today that have competing constraints. Include such topics as quality, image, risk, reputation, goodwill, and legal liability in your determination. Support your response and rationale with real-world examples.
WEEK 9 DISS 2

“Risk Implementation Considerations” Please respond to the following:
*Compare and contrast the following risk assessment methodologies: (a) the Delphi technique, (b) sensitivity analysis, and (c) Monte Carlo simulation. Provide a rationale for your response.

WEEK 10 DISS 1

“Contract Type Versus Risk” Please respond to the following:
*From the scenario, compare and contrast the two (2) basic procurement strategies of corporate procurement and project procurement. Illustrate the risk(s) associated with using corporate procurement and project procurement. Provide a rationale for your response.
*From the e-Activity, determine the primary cost objective upon which the customer’s project manager focuses when selecting a contract type. Support your response and rationale with real-world examples of such focus.

WEEK 10 DISS 2

“The Quality Movement” Please respond to the following:
*Prepare an argument for or against using the Malcolm Baldrige Award and ISO 9000:2000 for similar or entirely different purposes. Provide a rationale for your response.