Running head: MANAGING PROJECTS AND IMPROVING PROCESSES 1

Central Queensland University

MANAGING PROJECTS AND IMPROVING

PROCESSES

Course : Operations Management

Course Code : MGMT20130

MANAGING PROJECTS AND IMPROVING PROCESSES 2

Operations management involves the fundamentals of production, controlling the quality

of products and activities, managing the supply chain, formulation and design of products,

management of the facilities, ordering and warehousing of goods, contacting the suppliers

among other roles. Developing, establishing, and improving processes can help a business to

have a breakthrough, increase its capacity and allow the company to meet the changing needs

of the business environment. Operations management offers me an opportunity to access

millions of jobs. Importantly, my knowledge and experience in managing projects and

improving the organizational processes will give me a competitive advantage in the labour

market.

Before engaging in this program, I had assumptions that a career in operations

management would lead to offering labour in manufacturing. However, a comprehensive

look into the roles assumed by operations managers after completion of the program triggered

me into looking at different roles of operations manager through the internet. To keep the

production in track, overseeing is basic and the operations managers oversee production; they

organize, plan and ensure the daily operations run smoothly. Astonishingly, the material

recording clerks who handle inventory and are involved in record keeping are part of this

profession.

The initiatives to improve the business processes require innovative and

knowledgeable project managers. In preparation for these tasks in future, through my past

engagements in matters relating to business, I have tried to garner sufficient knowledge by

sharing with more experienced individuals with different positions in project management.

This is because project managers are individuals who make decisions that affect the whole

organizations. As such, I found it important to start preparing my future as a manager of

complex projects since the aspects of globalization have immensely increased the

competition for both the input resources and markets for final products. Previously, I have
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engaged in different project management teams. I can attest that getting the right resources

for a project promptly and manoeuvring through the changes of the processes to produce

something that is competitive in the business environment is not simple. One of the project

managers I closely know affirmed that he dreaded getting assigned to the business process

improvement project. This is because such projects consume a lot of time and the challenges

encountered can make one feel a failure in projects management. Therefore, this calls for

adequate preparedness for more elaborate responsibilities in project management in the

future.

It is difficult to manage a project that one is not familiar with; consequently, I have

previously learned to understand all projects that I get involved. One necessity that I have

noted through practice is the need to have analytical, modelling and designing skills as one

works in teams. These skills cannot be taught comprehensively in lecture rooms,

consequentially, I have further learnt to research, interview, train and work collaboratively to

improve the understanding of a project. Understanding the project has to relate to the

business processes. Therefore, understanding the project and analysing the related business

process puts me in a better position to find opportunities through which I can redesign the

business the business processes. I have seen attempts to redesign business processes that have

failed. Such failures can be linked to poor implementation processes and inability to evaluate

and measure the outcomes of the introduced change. Sometimes, I have tried to have

interventions that elicit results that are different from the intended outcomes. Through this

study, I will be able to evaluate and measure the impact of a redesigned business process and

detect the confounding factors that give the unintended outcomes.

Understanding the true value of a project is important in coming up with a

management process that is specific to that business. Some of the dominant challenges that I

have met before included cultural barriers to change. These are still likely to pop up in my
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future endeavours and by learning the process improvement cycle will put me in a better

position to meet the organizational and cultural barriers. In change management,

communications have to be complex and errors in communication can lead to undesirable

outcomes. The existing project management habits are impediments to change. Additionally,

as explained my one of my close friends who has been pioneering change in his organization

for over 12 years, there is rugged individualism among technical professionals. Therefore,

once I assume the management roles, I expect to utilize my special communication skills to

overcome these challenges.

In conclusion, the study of this topic is very relevant to my current career and my

future engagements in project management. I expect to be at the centre of ongoing

organization’s functions as there is continuous production or supply of services. As a project

manager, the endeavours will not be repetitive and strict observation of the operating

procedures and policy will not be compulsory always. Therefore, I will be expected to re-

engineer the business processes, change the products, services, or improving operations

within the organization. The engagement in processes will require me to be part of activities

that improve the effectiveness of the operational processes, cut the costs and help the

company gain a competitive advantage. Therefore, there will be a necessity to drive change in

the organization by ensuring that the business meets the customers’ expectations through re-

engineering of the processes.