Project Management Revised

Challenges Facing Project Management in the Global Setting
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Abstract
The work herein delves into what constitutes project management and analyses it the context of the global set up. Factors that lead to failure of projects include the scope of the project and the time it will take as well as cost implications. It is acknowledgeable that different cultures offer different aspects to the modes of working and is a source of potential project failure. The multicultural setup also brings challenges on training, and different countries have varied requirements for operation. The cultural differences have necessitated offering of beforehand training and influenced the project managers’ leadership strategies. The quality management tools are of help in setting up and running of multinational companies. Finally, the impact of Information Technology Vis a Vis project management reveals a symbiosis that is overgrowing. Barriers towards the two include copyright laws and lack of a level field when it comes to the development of Information Technology.
Key Words: Quality Assurance, Quality Control, Quality plan, Culture
Project execution quality and control
Quality control is a process carried out during project execution that is responsible for ensuring that the standard of products and services is in conformity with the initial criteria set to meet the customers’ expectations or is fit for use. The quality control process includes three sections: Incoming quality control (IQC), In-process quality control (IPQC), and outgoing quality control/ assurance (OQC).

The process involves listing the set quality targets, identification of the quality measurement techniques, estimating the deliverables and process quality, acting on the enhancement of the deliverables level and process quality, and giving feedback on the quality levels achieved in the project.
To achieve adequate management of project quality, the project manager should engage and navigate three stages;
Establishment of quality measures and standards
It requires considerable weighing of the specific threshold of quality one intends on putting out into the market through a particular product. In line with that, the methods used to achieve these standards should be made known to the project team. Under this, quality targets should be identified depending on the overall goals. Different projects have different expected outcomes of the project. Hence, the quality targets are dependent on the project’s missions and strategies. The aims should be measurable, satisfy the standards agreed on by the consumer, and meet the product requirements. To attain profitability, the product should be cost-effective. Secondly, the project manager should identify the methods used in measuring and assuring quality, which need matching to the prevailing industrial standards. It is important to note that attainment of standards attracts costs and so the project budget is a prominent factor (Newton, 2015).
Measure the quality of the deliverables
This stage entails putting the quality plan developed above into action and laying down the modalities towards achieving success. The methods employed should be in tandem with the quality goals. Quality assurance gains ground during execution of the project with an emphasis being on the improvement of processes. A plethora of preventive actions is engaged in efforts aimed at the achievement of quality goals. It is due to this reason that experience comes in handy during this stage since it helps in implementation of processes known to have led to results of good quality previously. On the other hand, quality control is in play during monitoring and regulation of the project with its chief purpose being to affirm and test that quality requirements are getting the necessary attention. Activities in quality assurance include processing of checklists and project audits, referring to previous projects to see areas that are likely to have quality issues, recruiting skilled personnel to execute tasks and rectifying control strategies to help in reducing the likelihood of occurrence of quality issues. Frequent independent review of the quality measures founded on sound structures is highly advisable. This is equivalent to as quality audits.
Enhance the quality achieved
This step commences immediately after take-off of the project and involves strict adherence to the laid out plan as the project progresses. All inputs and outputs require comparison to the standard quality. The project manager should receive information all the activities put in motion during this step, and this should include preventive and corrective actions. The tackling of challenges noticed during this stage helps in suppressing the loss of time and cost implications. Practicing quality management is thus a continuous process that commences and culminates with the project.
Project Quality Management and Global Projects
Project quality management is the process and activity of determining the standard quality of inputs and outputs, taking measures to implement the quality standards, and identifying and rectifying defects in the condition of products. The primary goal of quality management is to ensure satisfaction of the involved stakeholders and strict observance of the project design including the intended specifications (Paola, 2008). Products are brands that serve to portray the image of a company hence necessitating the highest standards of quality with the customer’s satisfaction in mind. The purpose of the process is continuous and receives an application through the deployment of seamless, gradual upgrading of the procedure in addition to removal of activities deemed as unnecessary. As a result, the project management team engage their reflective abilities through learning from the experience that a particular phase offers an application of what was previously evident during subsequent stages of the project. In addition to quality assurance and control, quality definitions and improvements are also part of project management.
Quality identification tends to be the initial step in quality management and requires the collaboration of project managers in the identification of standards of quality applicable to the project. It takes the concerted efforts of the donors, intended beneficiaries, stakeholders including the organization in coining the desired standards of quality. Standard definitions of quality are at times available in a company or in the sector, which encompasses the project. Identification helps with the setting of the desirable characteristics observed during the projected with the ultimate purpose of a satisfactory outcome. The anticipation of situations armed with remedial actions is a feature of quality management that confers the project team with the ability to define quality.
The definition of quality is as per donors for the project who might possess his set standards and modes of delivery of benefits to achieve the satisfaction of needs. Intended beneficiaries are another source of quality definition, and it is paramount that the project team understands the meaning of standards from their fit for use perspective. Thus the project should not only meet the current needs of the beneficiaries but must also result in an improvement of conditions of their lives. Most development organizations tend to have their standards of quality, which mostly focus on the project’s technicality and management. An example is the Sphere Standard that boasts of worldwide recognition, finds use during emergencies like disasters, and aims to uplift the quality of assistance on offer (Price, 2011).
The characteristics that are on display by a product or service act as the identifier of its quality and are part of the conditional requirement of a particular project. The characteristics include functionality, performance, relevance, completeness, timeliness, suitability, reliability and consistency. To be functional refers to the standard achieved in the performance of the intended function of the equipment. The performance should be in accordance with the beneficiary’s targeted use, and it should be reliable when the conditions are conventional without fail. To gain relevance, the product or service should be appropriate for the targeted use and should be of importance and applicable. Delivery of the goods and services should also be on a need be basis to offer timely solutions. Moreover, both the service and product should be suitable for the intended use of being correct and appropriate. Finally, the quality of service on offer should be complete, and there should be a consistent pattern in the service delivery for every beneficiary. Quality characteristics also apply to the material, apparatus, and services put into use by the project staff during delivery on the project. The procurement office requires furnishing with a description of what the project will use. Implementation of a project should be against a developed quality plan and checklist that ensures adherence to the quality requirements. The quality plan is composed of definitions and standards needed to meet the donor’s set regulatory requirements including those from independent organizations as well as the organization. Conditions laid out to merit satisfaction of the involved stakeholders appear in the quality plan. Additionally, it has procedures that ensure compliance by the set standards by the quality staff, steps to be engaged in the monitoring and control of quality. A significant component of the plan includes the process of approval necessary to effect changes to the quality standards.
Assurance serves to instill confidence among those involved in the project that the intended requirements are within reach. It also confers evidence corroborating that the planned actions are in play as a guarantee to the preferred outcomes. The adduced proof confirms that processes and tools meant for use do exist and that there are safeguards as collateral for the attainment of the designed levels of quality.
Need for cultural awareness, training, and legal issues
Global projects are composed of multiple entities and locations, and as a result, tend to be run by individuals of a multicultural nature. Growing of members of the project team, therefore, needs accompaniment with intercultural incentive to result in the acquisition of a global mindset. If not managed well multiculturalism has the potential of spiraling into conflict among individual project members and can lead to the catastrophic result of project failure. (Rodrigues and Sbragia, 2011). Companies are embarking on internationalization as a measure geared towards development that knows no national boundaries. As a result, there is unprecedented interaction among individuals of different nationalities from different organizations that have varying values systems. The cultural characteristics of individuals, due to their background, have the potential of having an impact on performance. For instance, some societies advocate for individualism while others vouch for collectivism. The manager might also experience individuals who shy from uncertainty and are only draw comfort from situations that tend to be structured. As a necessity to gain a competitive advantage, multinationals must possess the ability to amalgamate estates, knowledge, and resources scattered across the globe. So far, the problems generated by multiculturalism have received attention in a trial and error mode with the preferred actions bordering on superficial. The onus is thus on the manager to use social networking skills and interaction with geographically different dissidents to achieve coordination coupled to cooperation (Atamer and Schweiger, 2003). They also have to devise ways to gain trust and respect of the project team members. They should further practice flexible leadership to spur creativity and confer motivation. An organization should endeavor to absorb intercultural knowledge and employ the work of experienced executives in overseas assignments. Consequently, the possession of a global mindset goes some way in assuring success in the international arena. Designing in situations where traditions’ distance is big gives credence to intercultural competence.
The cultural diversity experienced in international projects means that the workforce is subject to conditions of continuous learning and this tends to inform the approaches involved in their education as well as training. Since the team members have undergone different systems of enlightenment, they also tend to vary in their attitudes towards the use of information technology, practical needs and the synergy with the instructors. The ways employed in working also tend to be different among cultures as are the rules and regulations observed. Cross-cultural training of the workforce on these modalities is thus significant. Beforehand training of expatriates on the cultural differences and ordinary things like taxation issues they are bound to counter in their destination is advisable (Kangas, 2012).
To work in a foreign company an individual needs to acquire a visa, employment and residence permit. Different countries have different legislation on labor laws that also touch on contractual obligations, and it is necessary for a project manager to know this. The guidelines serve as a guide to the relationship between employers and expatriates. Project management requires that the employees get information on this legislation beforehand and are also brought to book on penalties and liabilities meted out to those who engage in illegalities, practiced in their destinations.
Information Technology in Project Management
The working conditions have changed vastly with the advent of computers and global project teams. The prospects of information technology projects working have been low with most of the failure being on time, scope in addition to cost implications. A formal approach to project management and IT projects leads to navigating around these issues. IT projects focus on hardware, software and technological infrastructure. The massive failure of IT projects has led to the development of tools aimed at monitoring and controlling progress. Technologies to assist in project management have come into existence and have served as a catalyst for technological firms to employ project management strategies. The influence of IT has spread to the organizational structures of companies as companies use it to make a visual projection of work. To arrive at timely decisions project managers are increasingly employing the use of computerized information (Gentile, 2012). However, IT offers barriers to a legal and ethical nature to things like open access to data and intellectual property. Different countries have different copyright laws, and this could prove to be a challenge to multinational companies. The level of IT penetration globally is not uniform, and so an organization has to use resources in the training of would-be expatriates on technology that may be available in their destination countries.
References
Atamer, T., & Schweiger, D.M. (2003). Transnational Horizontal Project Teams. Journal of World Business, 38, 81-83.
Diaz, L.P. (2008). Project Management for Development Organisations. PM4Dev.
Gentile, S. (2012). Project Management in the Information Technology Industry. Brandeis University, 1-9.
Kangas, L. (2012). Expatriation and Cross-Cultural Training.1-57.
Newton, P. (2015). Managing Project Quality: Project Skills. Free Management eBooks, 1-50.
Price, P. (2011). Education in Emergencies: Benefits, Best Practices, and Partnership. University of Denver, 1-11.
Rodrigues, I., & Sbragia, R. (2013). The Cultural Challenges of Managing Global Project Teams: a Study of Brazilian Multinationals. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 8, 38-52.