Managing Enterprise Environment Factors (EEF) In Project Management: Impact Analysis And Reflection Essay.

Enterprise Environment Factors (EEF) influence on organisations, projects and outcomes. The project team usually has no control over them. Nevertheless, it is important for the project team to effectively manage EEF as they can impact on project success. In PMBOK  (PMI, 2013), EEF are a key input to project management processes.

Reflective exercises can help increase the value of the learning experience by relating new  materials of learning to prior knowledge and create a better understanding of the discipline. Reflection improves learning by providing a structure to reflect systematically over time on the learning process and to develop critical reflective aptitudes, skills and habits. Successful reflection enables self-awareness, personal and professional growth, lifetime learning,

1. Critically evaluate the impact of internal and external factors on project management processes and develop strategies to implementappropriate courses of action.
2. Articulate project management outcomes and communicate using a range of media to diverse  stakeholders representing differing expectations.

Impact Analysis Report and Individual Reflection

In Part B, students will assess and incorporate the feedback received from their peers in Module 4 discussion and submit a report on the impact analysis of EEF identified. The report should address the following:

• Evaluation of the internal and external factors and their impact on projectmanagement processes
• Development of strategies to implement the appropriate actions
• Drafted communication plan and outcomes to diverse stakeholders At end of the report, each group member is required to provide a 500-word of personal learning reflection. The reflection should cover
• What key knowledge and skills you learned through this subject?
• How will they benefit you further study and career?
• Any Good, Bad or Ugly of your total learning experience?

The Importance of Managing EEF in Project Management

According to the given case scenario of Quasar Communication Inc, the organization is facing issues in managing human resources at the time of project management. The major issue for the organization is lack of line manager acceptance in formalization of project management for small, large and research and development areas for marketing. The organization is following informal, fragmented project management structure in which the project managers have lots of responsibilities but less authority (Kerzner & Kerzner, 2017). The growth of the company has revolved around twelve large customers and a third party to forty small customers. 

Internal factors:

The internal factors that are affecting project management process of organization considering the Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF). The internal factors are based on SWOT analysis.    

Lawyer cost: The financial planning and distribution of funds to manage the project management process are having the significant impact on organizational approach. Budget is the critical factor for managing project activities related to marketing actions for small, large and research and development project of QCI. For example, the organization is looking for improvement in business functions and effective utilization of resources for encouraging marketing (Harrison & Lock, 2017). For that purpose, the organization needs the high budget that is difficult in the current situation of the organization. The focus of organization would be on the delivery of product and services and maximum utilization of resources.

Legalization: The planning and implementation of project process majorly depend on legal process and policies that followed by the organization. As per the given case, the project manager of QCI is facing issues in managing activities and communication with the legal authorities and lawyers. Therefore, the supply and quality of products and services are decreasing for small customer groups (Costantino & et al., 2015). The lack of team qualified team members and raise in the cost of maintaining legal requirements is affecting the project management process of QCI.    

External factors:

Figure 1: PESTLE factors

Political factors: The political factors like changes in legislation and policies of the government are having the direct impact on the marketing and sales strategy of the organization. The modification in contracting terms is affecting the approach of the organization to make the balance with the enterprise environment.

Economic factors:  The demand is on an important external element that has the direct impact on the marketing planning project and research and development activities. The line and project manager of QCI are having lack of communication and analysis knowledge of demand forecasting and planning. The current position of the organization suggests that project manager is not able to dedicate the project as he is not having proper knowledge about the market and needs of the small customer groups (Qureshi & Kang, 2015).

Social factors:  In marketing and sales of organization considering the EEF the QCI is lacking in the project management planning. The approach of the organization is not good for small customer groups. In addition to this, the relationship between the supplier and customers are not so good for the organization. These factors are affecting project management approach of the organization.

The Impact of Internal and External Factors on Project Management

Technological factors: The use of internet and online media for marketing is essential and required for maintaining the relation with customer. The QCI is lacking to implement the technical tools for managing communication with line manager and other employees that affecting the project management process of organization.

Legal factors: The legal factors that have the significant impact on project management process of QCI involve the frequent modification in legal requirements of the business. The contracting terms of business are having the impact of legal procedure and functions that hindering the opportunities for the organization to maintain the positive run.

Environmental factors: The manufacturing organization is facing issues of lack of waste management and emission of CO2. These issues are affecting business functions of organization related to planning and implementation of the new strategy (Tosunta? & et al., 2015).

The organization is facing issues in managing project management functions and activities to improve the business. According to conversation of vice president and manager the factors that affecting project management were discussed, now by using the following strategies the management would be able to implement the actions with EEF.

Prioritize the work:

The marketing terms and project activities deal with a bewildering array request and the requirement for log and short-term campaigning. In order to get the most out of the resources and meet the business objectives through project management, the management needs to prioritize the operations. For example, the management needs to develop a plan for a small customer group and determine the time frame for offering knowledge and assistance regarding products and services (Turner, 2016). The prioritization of tasks and proper checking of project status will be beneficial for project team members too to maintain the flow and meet the objectives of choosing the right activities for EEF.

Collaboration:

In order to get success in the project, the management team and top management require the coordination. The two-way communication approach will be beneficial for the organization to improve the collaboration and planning of the issues related to small, large and R&D activities. For example, the utilization of online sources for sharing and collecting information related to sale and need of customer would be cost and time effective for the organization to meet the objectives. The real-time communication with line manager and stakeholders of the company will support to develop the integrated approach in decision making for EEF. In the current scenario, the project management approach and techniques are majorly based on the communication and approach of the company (Kerzner, 2017). In addition to this, the project managers of QCI are having issues in the scheduling of task due to lack of communication and knowledge about the specification.

Monitoring:

The proper monitoring of ongoing process and project actions is essential for the organization to maintain the progress in the functional activities. The project manager has the complaint about the lack of priority scheduling and supervision of computer program. The proper establishment of in-house priorities and cost-benefit analysis would be better for implementing the project actions. The monitoring and analysis of ongoing task would be helpful for the organization to identify the problems and issues in real time and implement the corrective actions to achieve the goals and objectives of EEF. As the managers of QCI are not having any authority for implementing changes in approach is affecting the functional approach of the organization (Binder, 2016). For the capital investment and involvement of small customer group in business, the organization requires monitoring and progress analysis of ongoing operations. Additionally, for the manufacturing of products the remark of the project managers is essential for maintaining a positive approach to project management and implementation of actions.

References                              

Binder, J., (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across borders. Routledge.

Costantino, F., Di Gravio, G. & Nonino, F., (2015). Project selection in project portfolio management: An artificial neural network model based on critical success factors. International Journal of Project Management, 33(8), pp.1744-1754.

Harrison, F. & Lock, D., (2017). Advanced project management: a structured approach. Routledge.

Kerzner, H. & Kerzner, H.R., (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Kerzner, H., (2017). Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Qureshi, S.M. & Kang, C., (2015). Analysing the organizational factors of project complexity using structural equation modelling. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), pp.165-176.

Tosunta?, ?.B., Karada?, E. & Orhan, S., (2015). The factors affecting acceptance and use of interactive whiteboard within the scope of FATIH project: A structural equation model based on the Unified Theory of acceptance and use of technology. Computers & Education, 81, pp.169-178.

Turner, R., (2016). Gower handbook of project management. Routledge.