When launching a new project, senior management must determine who is responsible for its planning and organization of work. This post has many names that are mentioned in theory and practice. The most common is the "project manager". We dwell in detail on his duties, the nuances of the profession and difficulties.
Position "project manager". How and by whom is appointed?
The project manager is vested with the appropriate authority by the investor, customer or general contractor. He is engaged in the management of all phases and processes, including coordination and control of any actions of participants. Naturally, the manager has full responsibility for project management. They conclude a contract with a specialist in which the main functions, duties, responsibilities and, of course, the payment system are prescribed.
Such an applicant is rarely invited from outside, most often it is an employee of this company. Let us dwell on the advantages and disadvantages of such appointments.
Pros and cons of appointing "your" project manager
The merits of such a solution are obvious.
- The first plus. The employee knows and understands the specifics of the business of this company, as they say from "A" to "Z".
- The second plus. He has established relationships and relationships in the company with employees, transparent methods of influence and lobbying. Therefore, employees will feel more comfortable and emotionally calm with "their" leader.
- Third virtue. You can offer your “employee” a lower salary than a “foreign” jobseeker. This difference is compensated by the fact that he receives a clear promotion.
The disadvantages of appointing a project manager from "their"
- First of all, such an employee of the company, as a rule, has a narrower, more familiar and “blurred” view of the current situation and current project.
- Secondly, the competitor from "his" has a small distance with the future team. Therefore, often the future hierarchical relations "manager-subordinate" in the process of work do not always add up.
Thirdly, it is difficult for “their” employee to consider this project in a comprehensive and objective manner. Usually he begins to lobby for local interests, being exposed to formal or informal groups. Moreover, most often it belongs to one of them.
Pros and cons of appointing a “foreign” project manager
The following advantages can be distinguished.
- First of all, the presence of a “non-dusty”, fresh and comprehensive view of the proposed project and this business.
- Secondly, the employee from the side has no relationship with the future team. Therefore, he has the opportunity to take leadership positions.
- Thirdly, there is a choice among professionals in the field of management. Currently, the labor market can offer a huge number of specialists in the necessary field with the appropriate education and work experience.
- Fourth, such a leader will be able to attract new connections and certain opportunities.
Disadvantages of appointing a project manager from outsiders.
- First of allinvited from the side does not always know the business and understand its specifics.
- Secondly, the employee does not know the team, the system of relations and ways of influencing it. The manager will need additional time in order to get comfortable and establish himself. Moreover, as a rule, he will seek to bring “his” people into the team and attract existing connections.
Thirdly, an invited manager usually needs to pay more. The most important thing is that financial costs are offset by the end result.
Project Manager Tasks
Let us dwell on the main ones.
- First of all, the work of the “project manager” is to prepare a management plan, organize planning and continuously adapt the current process.
- Secondly, he must control the schedule; plan resources, finance, quality; manage prospects and risks.
- Thirdly, project management includes, of course, their implementation and completion. The manager must carry out PR project and marketing, as well as build trust in him.
Specialist Responsibilities
The project manager should:
- interact with their immediate superiors, departments and structures, the team as a whole and individual team members involved by the executors;
- provide contacts with external structures (customer, sponsor, contractors, contractors, suppliers);
- maintain an effective infrastructure and management system;
- prepare reports and control documentation.
In more detail the responsibility, functions, rights and the responsibilities that the project manager must fulfill, the model instruction contains. Naturally, it can always be supplemented.
Project Manager Difficulties
In practice, the manager must solve many problems.
- First of all, the project manager is fully responsible for the final result. But at the same time, he does not have sufficient authority to manage personnel and resources.
- Secondly, he is obliged to respond in a timely manner to any deviations and errors in the process of project implementation, making the necessary changes.
- Thirdly, the manager has not finally defined the powers and activities. These items are constantly being adjusted depending on the uniqueness of the project, the resulting limitations and risks. Moreover, this specialist is involved in the coordination and integration of all activities.
- Fourth, the manager often has difficulty communicating due to the large number of parties involved in the project. This is the immediate boss, customer, project team, the public. Traditionally, they have different interests.
- FifthlyUnexpected organizational and technical difficulties usually pop up daily. One of the most common is that suppliers and contractors violate their obligations.
Therefore, this position is very difficult - the project manager. Responsibilities are numerous, and powers and opportunities are blurred.
Job requirements
The main criteria are as follows.
This specialist should have experience and knowledge of managerial work. An ideal option would be if the applicant worked in a specialized field for several years and mastered the practical skills of project management. Preference is usually given to managers with a higher economic or technical education. Naturally, the specialist must be motivated and understand what he will work for.
Auxiliary qualities are the following: possession leadership qualities the ability to manage conflicts and the availability of skills on a personal computer.
What should a project manager be able to do?
- First of all, manage yourself in a stressful situation. The specialist will have many diverse responsibilities, but few opportunities and powers.
- SecondlyThe manager is responsible for cross-functional tasks. He needs to understand different areas of activity in order to advise employees, monitor and evaluate them.
- Thirdly, the work of such a specialist is dominated by innovative, innovative activities, which as a result should lead to the achievement of ultimate goals.
- Fourth, he needs to be able to resolve conflicts in interactions with people.
Features of the project manager in construction
This specialist is responsible for the successful flow of the processes of initiation, planning, execution and closure of a project in construction.
A manager should have a number of common skills. It is about the ability to resolve interpersonal conflicts, have the skills of planning, management and control. In addition, there are specific skills.
The project manager in the construction should understand that his activities will be directly associated with risk throughout the work. It arises, as a rule, in a situation of uncertainty. The manager must reduce risks, regulate the emotional state of the team and bear full responsibility for all his decisions. It is these provisions that determine, as a rule, how successful the project manager will be. Responsibilities are prescribed in the model job description.
Project managers in construction often use software. Thanks to this, it is possible to more efficiently organize your activities and areas of work for employees. The software will allow the manager to get a report and plan within a couple of minutes, eliminating complex calculations.
Conclusion
Therefore, the work of the project manager is not as simple as it seems at first glance. The specialist needs to be stress resistant enough to carry out a number of mandatory activities.
- First of all, the manager plans the activity and its sequence, as well as determines the amount of necessary work.
- Secondly, he paints a budget, allocates resources, develops a schedule, estimates the time and cost of each stage.
- Thirdly, the duties of the head include control over employees and the quality of work, analysis and risk management.
- Fourth, the manager maintains documentation, is responsible for communication with superiors and clients.
- Fifthly, he must take leading positions in all matters.
However, one important fact must be taken into account.
In order to become successful, the project manager must secure the support and authority of senior management.
