Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Project Management - Essay Example It has been defined as â€Å"the achievement of project objectives through people and involving the organisation, planning and control of resources assigned to the project† (Harrison & Lock, 2004, p. 6). However, one can trace the ideology or roots of project management to the earliest human civilisations. The Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Roman Colosseum, and others are few examples from ancient civilisations where these early project managers, mostly, officials of the kingdom and the monarchy, handled projects according to the practices of that time (Loosemore, 2003, p. 352). Today, project management has emerged as an indispensable aspect of modern business management due to changing work environment and dynamics of the modern day business era. In this competitive business world of the 21st century, individuals within an organisation are expected to perform their formal job responsibilities, as well as many projects that go hand in hand with their position and duties (Walker, 2007, p. 183). Thus, there was a need for innovation within the business world, which resulted in a matrix organisational structure, one that is still being used in various leading businesses around the world. The principle of this structure is to create harmony between demands of project managers and line managers (Frigenti & Comninos, 2002, p. 25). Much of the literature regarding project management discusses three main constraints faced by project managers; time, cost and quality, which are often referred to as the â€Å"iron triangle† principle. The role of the project manager is to create a balance between these three factors in any project. This paper attempts to discuss the application of these constraints on the project of construction of Hindhead Tunnel that began in the first month of 2007 and ended in the summer of 2011. Furthermore, the paper will briefly discuss aspects of managing risks, managing costs and managing hu man resources, which are the three main factors that contribute to success of the projects out of the nine elements contained in the project management body of knowledge (Lewis, 2010, p. 169). Discussion Considering the importance and scope of this project, it was imperative for the project managers to ensure that they make the right trade-off between the constraints of cost, quality, and time. Quite understandably, if the project managers had focused all of their attention on reducing costs and meeting the deadlines, they would have compromised much of the quality or performance factors, something that is not acceptable when it comes to constructing a high profile tunnel, which would be used by millions of people every month (Meredith & Mantel, 2008, p. 49). In the same manner, too much focus on reducing costs and meeting the quality standards would have eventually led to the situation where the project would have failed to meet deadlines since it would need more time to use the re sources effectively and efficiently. Lastly, the project managers could have lost sight of their budget if they had start placing too much importance on meeting deadlines and maintaining the quality (Walker, 2007, p. 183). They would have to hire more experienced and skilled workers at higher pays to motivate them to work harder, quicker and better, something that would compound the costs associated with the project (Wysocki, 2011, p. 74). Thus, as these