Delegation, is it an Art or a Science?


Barriers from the project manager








Barriers from the team members







Barriers from the situation



Reasons not to delegate




To whom should the PM delegate

–        The experience, knowledge and skills of the individual

–        The individual’s preferred work style

–        The current workload of this person

How should the PM delegate

–        Clearly articulate the desired outcome

–        Clearly identify constraints and boundaries

–        Where possible, include people in the delegation process

–        Match the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority

–        Delegate to the lowest possible organizational level

–        Provide adequate support, and be available to answer questions

–        Focus on results

–        Avoid upward delegation

–        Build motivation and commitment

–        Establish and maintain control


Reference and sources:

Communication Barriers in the Client’s Workplace and Possible Solutions

Nowadays, as seen in many industries, outsourcing has become well-accepted in the project management area. Reasons for outsourcing can vary from industry to industry. In project management, outsourcing is primarily due to the lower budget that many projects have. Nonetheless, the key area to focus on is the “communication barriers that exist when a project manager works at the client’s location and manages an off-shore team by obtaining the client’s scope.”  From this aspect, the article, “Communication Barriers in the Client’s Workplace and Possible Solutions,” highlights several communication problems along with possible solutions.

Below you will see a highlight of these problems categorized under four (4) processes along with possible solutions. These problems are also defined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) – Fourth Edition (PMI, 2008).

  1. Identify Stakeholders
  2. Plan Communications
  3. Distribute Information
  4. Manage Stakeholder Expectations


Identify Stakeholders and Plan Communications

–          Stakeholder register

  • In the article, the author suggests to have a stakeholder register for every project. The stakeholder register should include the name of the stakeholder, the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholder in the project, the stakeholder’s expectations of the project, and cases in which the stakeholder needs to be contacted and how.

–          Arrange weekly meetings highlighting the exact agenda

  • The project manager needs to determine frequency of the meetings and media, i.e. face-to-face meetings, conference calls, etc.

Distribute Information

–          Plan and execute the right mode of communication

  • The author suggests to use email communication for complex scenarios, and to use face-to-face communication for quick and immediate responses. As for face-to-face communications, the project manager should also send a “re-cap” email of discussions, tasks, decisions, etc. as a best practice.

–          Access to required information, i.e. client’s network, shared folder, etc.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations

–          Negotiate and influence the stakeholder so that certain critical project meetings can still be conducted in the absence of the key stakeholders

–          Accept the fact of how the client works and try to adapt to such working cultures

(Ramaniah, 2012)

The possible solutions seen above can easily be applied to any project in any industry.  This list can be endless since there are several issues and risks in any given project. Therefore, as a project manager, one should consider all four processes. At the end of the day, as the author stated, “It is the project manager’s responsibility to run the show successfully by proactively anticipating such issues and planning how to tackle them.”

In particular, the biggest challenge for me in the project communications management area has been identifying stakeholders in my projects. This has been a challenge since I was new to the company, and initially needed a lot of support and guidance from my manager.

Overall, what are the current challenges that you are now experiencing in the project communications management area? Have you experienced any communication barriers listed under the four different processes?  Have you applied any one of the solutions?


Communication Barriers in the Client’s Workplace and Possible Solutions



Technology in the Workforce and the Rise of the Nontraditional Work Environment





Imported from Detroit


In the last year Chrysler launched TV ads that featured the tagline, “Imported from Detroit.”  These ads immediately helped Chrysler’s image, as they were praised for breathing new life into the company and many people were left believing that they were actually producing cars in the US.  The ads weren’t too far off, but in fact most Chrysler’s are built just over the border in Canada, with engines coming from Mexico.  Although Chrysler may not have actually moved its manufacturing plants to the US it benefited greatly in public relations.

In the last few months we’ve also seen a “Back to U.S.” trend from technology manufacturers.  But unlike Chrysler, three technological giants have actually been slowly moving production back into the United States.  Apple, Lenovo, and Google’s Motorola have been opening brand new plants within US borders, the latest being Motorola’s brand new smartphone factory in Texas.  These decisions come after almost a decade in which the flow was almost exclusively in the other direction – with millions of jobs going to East Asian factories known for low wages and minimal labor protections.

Manufacturing has moved into a highly technical and highly automated environment.  This reduces the need for manual labor, which in turn reduces cost.  These associated costs are still cheaper in China than they are in the US, but for larger companies, like those mentioned in the technology sector, the costs to produce are far more even between countries.  And when we factor in shipping costs and timing, moving manufacturing back to the United States begins to look more appealing, and cost efficient.

But, in fact there are many cost unrelated benefits to relocating production back into the US:

  • High quality materials are more readily available
  • A highly skilled and educated workforce
  • Fast and efficient turnaround
  • Management is closer to customers, as well as factories and suppliers.
  • Quicker reaction time

Motorola Mobility was a division that was bought out by Google last year for $12.5 billion.  The new smartphone, the Moto X, will be the first designed entirely under Google ownership.  It will also be the first smartphone assembled in significant numbers in the United States since the launch of the iPhone.

However, many say that these shifts are motivated less by long-term manufacturing needs than by public-relations strategy.  Recently tech firms have been under fire from Washington, D.C. for their tax strategies, privacy policies and, in the case of Motorola parent company Google, allegations of monopolistic behavior.  But governors and members of Congress typically are avid protectors of major manufacturing employers, and even more so when they create jobs in lawmakers’ home districts.

Do you think that the recent push by technology companies to brings manufacturing jobs back into the United States for positive publicity is underhanded in its intent?

Benefits that can’t be measured in dollars are also really important when considering where to produce products.  How can companies justify higher costs to investors who might not be aware of these benefits?



A Thousand Lives: The Hidden Cost of Clothes

Three weeks ago the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,127 people. A majority of these were workers producing garments for sale in the United States and Europe. The factory manufactured apparel for brands including Benetton and Walmart among others. An investigation revealed that the building was deemed unsafe just days before the collapse, but factory supervisors ordered their employees to continue working in these hazardous conditions.

jp-bangladesh1-articleLargeThe obvious question is why a tragedy like this would occur, even after there had been a forewarning. The answer is because factories like Rana Plaza and others in Bangladesh are under immense pressure to produce a high volume of low-cost garments for their biggest buyers, Walmart, H&M, Inditex (which owns Zara), and Gap to name a few. These companies pride themselves on their ability to get apparel into stores only weeks after designing them. However, this incredible efficiency requires a tremendous amount of manual labor, and no where are labor costs cheaper than in Bangladesh. The massive global supply chains of a majority of apparel manufacturers flow through the South Asian country which trails only China in terms of garments exported. Unfortunately, most of the large Western companies are unaware of the conditions that exist in the factories where their products are being produced.

The latest tragedy has finally caught the attention of European and American companies. This past week H&M, the largest buyer of garments from Bangladeshi factories, agreed to a plan to improve fire and building safety in Bangladesh’s apparel factories. The five-year plan calls for independent safety inspections and for companies to make the findings public. Joining H&M were Inditex, the world’s biggest clothing retailer, and several other European apparel companies. However, PVH, the owner of brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, is the only American company that has signed the pact. Companies including Gap, Walmart and JC Penney have considered the plan, but have not yet signed on, mostly due to the cost and how legal issues would be resolved.

130430150217-made-in-bangladesh-620xaI believe this safety pact is a step in the right direction on the road to abolishing subpar working conditions around the world. Therefore, from a management perspective, I think that companies that are not signing the pact, like Walmart and JC Penney, are making a mistake. Not signing sends a negative message to consumers and investors, if the companies are unwilling to spend money to protect human lives customers will question the ethics of the company’s management. Ethics is an important facet of operations management. The managers at American apparel companies need to recognize these issues, like their European counterparts have, and address the dangerous working conditions that exist in their supply chain. I think in the long run the benefits of ensuring safe conditions for all in the supply chain will outweigh the cost.

What is your opinion on the decision of many American companies to not sign the safety pact?

Do you think it is the duty of American companies to ensure the safety of workers in foreign countries?



Follow LeanPath: Way to reduce food waste







Strategic Alliances Between Video Game Developers and Media Firms

Strategic Alliances between Video Game Developers and Media Firms

By: Brett Halan

So basically the situation at hand is that media companies like Disney are starting to develop their own video games rather than export the development. The skill to develop and program games was once extremely rare and difficult to learn. Today it is being taught by more and more universities, and the skill is more widespread. Companies like Disney and PIXAR have a strategic alliance to create games like Toy Story and many others. They still do have an alliance, but Disney is experimenting by creating their own methods to creating games. Other media companies are following their lead as well.

These companies originally make a film that is later turned into a video game. Toy Story is an example of this process. The problem is that as of lately the video games that are extracted from original movies are not successful whatsoever. Disney and the others had to ask themselves why?  They concluded that the quality of the games is terrible. The video game developing companies spend much of their effort working on original pieces of work like Halo or Call of Duty that attract the largest consumer base. They spend little time on these movies turned video games because they are historically weak sellers. The quote “quality is subjective, and perception is reality” pertains directly to this situation. The only real person who can claim that one game has more quality over the other are the end consumers. The media companies and the developing firms are essentially making the same mistake over and over again, and they need to accept change.

To fix the lack of quality going into the games there are a few alternatives. The most popular is that the media firms are buying smaller video game development companies. They are expanding in a way to give them a higher amount of control over the end product. As we saw in class during the ball passing game, when you have control over the process and design the end result is improved. Another alternative could include simply end making video games based off movies.     

Overall, the consumers of the big box office movies seem to really enjoy the movies, so why are the video games not popular? Media firms blame the video game developers for not putting maximum effort into the games. There are a few questions we should consider. The first is how do the media firms go forward with improving the transcendent definition of quality of these games? The second question is how are the video game developers going to stay in business with their strategically aligned partners?

Even though the information for this post is from 2008 the information is still relevant for today. I imagine we will see less and less video games based off of movies in the meantime. Further down the road I imagine some movies will have a more advanced feature where you can control the action similar to a video game. Today they have alternative endings to movies, but I think that is just the beginning of interaction with the audience.    

Sources from:

M. Marr and N Wingfield (2008). “Big Media companies want back in the game.” The Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2008.

C. Salter (2002). “Playing to Win.” Fast Company. December. Pg. 80.

C. Edward (2008). “Morphing Video Games into Movies.” BloombergBusinessWeek. March 19, 2008.


Apple – Samsung = What Kind of Quality?









Will iPhone lose its top spot?

The iPhone may have some actual competiton now. According to BusinessWeek, in the third quarter of this year, Samsung Galaxy III has outsold the iPhone by 1.8 million during this 3-month period when comparing shipment orders to sales of the iPhone. Samsung has been the only smartphone even close to competing with Apple since the iPhone’s inception. We have recently been talking about supply chain management and this could be why Samsung has such an edge up compared to other smartphone manufactures. As we learned in class, companies are not competing against each other, rather by their supply chain. Samsung is able to produce its own chip, flash memory for internal storage and Super Amoled handset displays. They are the only smartphone manufactures who do this, while Apple designs their chips and then hands it off to someone else to manufacturer them. They also outsource their production of the actual phone to factories in China. Apple’s supply chain process has been working will for them which are why they are ahead of their competition besides all of the features of the phone. Samsung is closely following Apple’s supply chain model by controlling what they can as much as possible. Samsung has also recently been sued by Apple for imitation of their phone. Do you think they will eventually be able to have a leg up on Apple do to their supply chain model? Or are they a top competitor because their phone is so closely imitated to the iPhone?






You can’t please them all…or can you?


