Discussion Questions
- Methodology Mindset and Management Process
Kerzner (2004, pg. 95) stated that “The importance of good methodology cannot be understated.” This statement is significant when an organization employs social media platforms through integrative information technology. This strategy will not only enhance its performance during implementation but it will also render better customer relations and consequently increase their confidence in the firm. Also, a useful methodology should be based on quality, time, cost, and frequent updating to keep up with the people involved, consumers, by maintaining trust and professionalism, which means more income to the business.
The three primary management processes are management which aims to achieve objectives through the others, an administration which entails managing the details of administrative affairs and finally we have leadership process that involves influencing stakeholders, suppliers, and consumers to accomplish desired objectives.
- Importance of Effective Change Leadership
Realization of social media initiatives has resulted in a positive impact on working attitudes, productivity, and job satisfaction. This justifies the pursuit of effectiveness in change leadership in IT initiatives and organizational interventions that traditionally tend to turn a business. Effective change leadership in implementing social media initiatives is demonstrated by the act of engaging consumers, marketers, and stakeholders in planning and execution processes so that they feel part and parcel of the organization making the business to thrive.
Ethical issues can often arise using social media platforms. For example, a CIO is found interfering with interviewees’ rights to privacy by prying into their privacy, such as their sexual preference, political affiliation, and religion then using the information obtained to filter out a job application on the basis of their looks, habits, and beliefs. The CIO can also profile people whose Facebook friends have bad loan payment histories, who have been deemed socially undesirable by computer logarithms, and those whose online work histories do not link with their bios in social media platforms; thus excluding them from getting loans from an organization. In countering unethical practices, firms may create a code of ethics to set the tone for workplace behavior. Additionally, an organization can establish a channel through which employees can voice their concerns on unacceptable behaviors of fellow workmates and provide procedures and policies: For example, signing a form agreeing to company ethics and consequences when breached.
- Managing Projects and Requirement Gatherings
The statistics are low because companies are reluctant to update their systems with time as the people involved. Also, the fact that firms are more focused on technology than the end users makes it difficult for them to yield the desired profits. In increasing success rates of projects, the IT department could execute strategies for scheduling risk mitigation in software project management. The adoption of risk management techniques can aid increment of success rates of software projects. PMO serves as the cornerstone of an organization’s project management approach. It enhances decisions to support and ensures that all businesses change is managed in a controlled way. Through governance, responsibility, delivery support, traceability, reusability, and transparency, PMO has been able to impact positive change in how organizations manage programs and projects. Additionally, through these features, PMO play a part in increasing success rates of projects by ensuring allotted budgets and original goals to meet businesses’ intents.
As a senior business analyst, in examining requirements gathering and analysis, I am required to review the policies, standards, processes, methodologies, templates, documentation, and commonly accepted practices. This move will aim at creating consistent and seamless methods, which will connect requirements activities with team members to avoid a work stoppage or re-working. Across division lines, the business analyst could gather requirements through defining work division strategy and creating channels of knowledge transfer. Also, through establishing relationships, dividing subject matter according to expertise, geography, and culture depending on one’s areas of interest are strategies to gather requirement.
The obstacles encountered include stakeholders insisting on a specific solution and unclearly defined success criteria. To overcome these challenges, the business analyst should help break down the project in question to bite size pieces, to articulate in concise terms what requirements they should address, employ numerous collaboration tools and ascertain what they like.
- Cultural change and Project Sponsorship
Change management is a systematic approach that deals with change both from customer and organizations’ perspective. When a firm implements a communication system that will see them online 24/7 providing customer care, there is an impact on the culture of this corporation. The organization may be required to employ more workers as well as changing the work structure and practices by considering to have shifts where employees are dived to work day and night.
A sponsor is responsible mainly for re-defining the existing way of doing business through creativity and innovation and thus the idea originator. Later, the sponsor sells out their project or idea to the decision making body to obtain the necessary funding for it. Again, the sponsor is responsible for ensuring governance, serving as a liaison between the organization and project. Additionally, sponsors have different responsibilities during different phases of project lifecycles towards the various stakeholders. The role of a sponsor is pivotal in that, in the horizontal relationship, they are expected to relate with internal business unit managers and stakeholders while in the externals’ viewpoint, they are supposed to mediate and acquire support from all third-party vendors and supplies. Finally, in a vertical-down relationship, the sponsor should drive implementation of the project and facilitate changes to the environment as expected by the project manager and team.
- Project Management Best Practices and Recognizing Project Migraines
As a newly employed CIO, my proposition would include integration of new project management methods and approaches that will aid in developing attainable objectives capitalizing on innovative principles under minimal interruption. For instance, putting rules that people believe in, unleashing information, magnifying the strengths of the individuals, and letting them be themselves would improve the standards of the organization with minimal costs yet goals are achieved.
The above method would be useful in that, letting people be themselves without confining accommodation to traditional diversity, such as gender, race, and religion and tapping the full range of their talents and knowledge, may improve practices in the business. For example, Waitrose, a cooperative, has all its employees as co-owners who share its annual profits, and this has improved their loyalty thus effectiveness in the firm’s performance.
References
Kerzner, H. (2004). Advanced Project Management: Best Practices on Implementation. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons
