In recent times, there have been rapid changes in the business environment. Changes in the business environment may either be caused by technological innovation, changes in consumer tastes and preferences or changes in a business’s economical factors. Most businesses are, therefore, forced to come up with strategic measures to ensure that they remain competitive in the market. In some cases, the strategic measures adopted by a business involve the implementation of a business project.
The benefits of Project Management
During the implementation of a project, it is important for proper project management to be carried out to ensure a business’s project is successful. A question, therefore, arises in regards to the benefits of project management in today’s business environment. This paper seeks to analyze some of the factors that make proper project management to be a very important practice for all businesses.
The first benefit derived by a business as a result of practicing project management is the fact that it increases its productivity. Project management increases a business’s productivity by ensuring that each business resource has been used in the best way possible. The fact that project management is characterized by timelines and deadlines for the completion different project activities increases the productivity of a business. This is because the use of timelines ensures that all activities of a business are completed efficiently. In recent times, businesses have been forced to increase their productivity by reducing their costs in order to maintain their competitiveness in the market.
Project management also helps businesses to implement their projects according to the amount of budgeted resources. In recent times, many businesses have found it difficult to predict their financial and economic future. The inability of businesses to predict the future makes businesses vulnerable to threats such as inflation and economic turmoil. However, the existence of budgets which are an important tool of project management ensures that businesses carry out their project activities in the best way possible using the resources allocated to them in the budget.
The third advantage of project management is the fact that improves the efficiency of communication in the business environment. In order for business to complete any project successfully, all its members and other important stakeholders must be able to communicate with each other and all their customers efficiently. Most project management plans contain a communication plan. The existence of a communication plan as a result of project management ensures that a business’s project has been coordinated by all relevant personnel in a manner that meets its desired outcomes despite the complexity of a business’s environment.
Project management is also essential to a business since it helps to monitor the progress of a business. In most cases, most of the activities of a project have timelines and standards that have to be met when implementing them. Project management involves the design of a criterion that will be used to gauge the quality of the project’s activities. It is, therefore, useful to practice project management in a business since it helps to control and ensure that all the members of a business’s internal environment maintain high quality standards when completing a project’s activities. This will ensure that the business remains competitive in its operational environment.
The assessment of how to manage and reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of a risk is another benefit that accrues to a business that practices project management. As part of the activities done when managing a project, the management of a business usually conducts a risk assessment that is intended to determine whether the implementation of a certain project will have positive or negatives effects on a business. In a business environment, that is tricky and competitive, the practice of project management enables a business’s manager to reduce their probability of initiating a project is likely to have an adverse effect.
Project management also enables the management of a business to ensure that their projects are of high quality. This is because project management is characterized elaborate procedures and plans that give comprehensive guidelines. These guidelines explain the process that should be followed when carrying out a project in order to produce high quality results. Today’s business environment has made it compulsory for businesses to practice project management in order to ensure that their projects bring about the effect increasing the quality of their products. The increased quality of products serves a strategy for business to attract consumers to use their products in today’s competitive business environment.
A business could also use project management as a method of streamlining its decision making process. The current business environment is characterized with numerous situations where businesses will be required to make important decisions that have a great impact on the future of a business. Project management assists businesses to come up with elaborate decision making processes. This is because it provides ways of analyzing risks and the factors that should be considered when a business is making important decisions. Project management, therefore, plays an important role in ensuring that businesses make good decisions especially during current times when competition between businesses has become very high.
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References:
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Munaweera, T. (2012, September 5). Project management in today’s Business Environment. Retrieved from Leg That Walked: http://legthatwalked.blogspot.com/
Soriano, J. L. (2011). Maximizing the Benefits of Project Management: From Requirements to Value Delivery. New York: CRC Press.
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