Executive summary
This report gives the most appropriate recommendations for NZTA executive team to improve efficiency and effectiveness in managing their project. The report offers recommendations based on stakeholder management, project selection methods and maintenance of sustainable projects. The report gives recommendations that NZTA should focus on understanding stakeholders and building relationships with the stakeholders to manage the stakeholders in the best way possible. Based on selecting projects in the best way, the report recommends the checklist model method and profile model method. The report also recommends the best sustainable project approaches, which are Ensuring the organizational strategy has responsibilities of sustainable development and ensuring stakeholder engagement. Based on all these, the NZTA team can thoroughly select the best project and ensure it runs with minimal impact on society.
Introduction
In every organization, project management is very critical, and it entails planning, organizing and executing projects with defined constraints like time, scope and budget. Resource management is essential for organizations since it involves managing resources, stakeholders and other risks that the project might face before, during or even after implementation (Hartono, Sulistyo & Umam, 2019). By applying strong leadership, problem-solving skills and communication, there is effective project t management that considers significant stakeholders and processes (Hartono, Sulistyo & Umam, 2019). This report aims at giving NTZA (New Zealand Transport Agency) executive teams the same considerations for improving their project management. Also, the report will give recommendations based on how NZTA should select projects, stakeholder management, and achieve sustainability with their projects.
Approaches for stakeholder management
Understanding the stakeholders
As an approach to stakeholder management, understanding stakeholders considers the identification and prioritization of stakeholders based on their influence, level of interest, and potential impact on the organization. This is very critical for the executive team of NZTA in its project. First, the executive team needs to undertake stakeholder mapping, which considers categorizing the stakeholders into different groups based on their influence and interest levels, as Park et al. (2017) argued. Some of the key stakeholders in the Manawatū Gorge project with interest in the project include the public, councils, iwi, road user groups and businesses. Additionally, the NZTA executive team needs to consider actively involving the stakeholders in decision-making and seeking feedback from them and their input. Here, the executive team will have a lot of transparency and accountability, which helps build long-term relationships with stakeholders and projects with that aspect are easy to work on since there are no conflicts (Park et al., 2017). Through this, the project will have an easy time for execution since every stakeholder will have given their views and feedback, thus feeling valued and part of the project.
Building relationships with the stakeholders
The other approach toward stakeholder management that the NZTA executive team needs to consider is building relationships with stakeholders. This involves creating and maintaining positive interactions between the organization and its stakeholders (de Oliveira & Rabechini, 2019). As a senior project manager, I urge NZTA executive teams to adopt open communication, partnership building and collaboration. Manawatū Gorge project will improve brand image and reputation, increase stakeholder loyalty and engagement and reduce stakeholder resistance and opposition risks. Through engaging the stakeholders, the Manawatū Gorge project will gain valuable perspective and insights, thus helping the organization make better and more informed decisions and shave their strategies with time. However, building strong relationships with the stakeholders is not easy, as it requires constant investment and effort. Additionally, it can be very challenging to balance the interests and the needs of various stakeholder groups and maintain consistency and alignment across multiple relationships (de Oliveira & Rabechini, 2019). Despite all this, I recommend that the NZTA consider the approach as it is a very effective way to manage stakeholder expectations and create long value for all parties involved.
Methods for selecting projects
Checklist model
As a senior project manager, the first method for selecting projects I suggest for NZTA executive team is checklist mode. It is a simple model which is straightforward for selection projects and based on predefined criteria. Here, the team can create questions or even criteria that a project should meet for it to be considered. Most of the aspects which the team should consider are potential benefits, project feasibility, availability of resources and risk assessment (Thesing, Feldmann, & Burchardt, 2021). For instance, the project here benefits the public, business owners and communities as it will facilitate effective and efficient commuting. The method gives a structured approach to evaluating projects and ensures all the critical factors are considered before making the decision (Thesing, Feldmann, & Burchardt, 2021). However, the method may have limitations since it may need to consider the interdependencies between projects and the dynamic structure of the business environment. Despite all this, the method will help the Manawatū Gorge project to reduce bias and subjectivity, especially in the selection, by focusing on objective criteria.
Profile models
The profile model is the other method for selecting projects for NZTA as a senior project manager. The model considers developing a set of criteria that defines an organization’s strategic objectives and then evaluating the project against the criteria (Siraj & Fayek, 2019). This method is very helpful since it will help the NTZA focus on the projects that are likely to contribute to their strategic objectives and avoid the ones with less importance. The method is among the most efficient, especially where the organization has fewer resources (Siraj & Fayek, 2019). For instance, the project should focus on the strategic objectives as identified, which are safety, efficiency and resilience as part of the project’s strategic goals. However, the NZTA goes for assessment criteria of implement ability which too is part of the profile model. Since the method suggested here is efficient when the resources are few, it was among the best options for the executive teams.
Sustainable management of projects
Ensuring the organizational strategy has responsibilities for sustainable development
As a senior project manager, I suggest to the NZTA executive team to consider having an organizational strategy aligned with responsibilities for sustainable development. Organizations must be aware of their impacts on the environment, society, and the economy in general (Boffa & Maffei, 2021). Manawatū Gorge project should have established policies and guidelines which support sustainable development and leads to the encouragement of stakeholders to participate in sustainability initiatives by conducting sustainability assessments to identify potential environmental and social impacts (Boffa & Maffei, 2021). The neighbouring communities and residents see where it needs to identify measures for reducing environmental on the community; therefore, I recommend the approach since it will address all of this. On the same note, concerns raised by the business owner are linked with the impacts of the project based on the economy and the approach to sustainable development recommended here is very applicable. For instance, NZTA has undertaken works for direct traffic to and from Saddle Road through Woodville. However, more is needed based on the efficiency and effectiveness of the project’s economic impacts.
Ensuring stakeholder engagement
Ensuring stakeholder engagement is one of the practices of sustainable projects, which I suggest as the NZTA executive teams consider a senior project manager. It involves identifying, analysing, and prioritising the stakeholders impacted by the project and keenly and actively involving them in decision-making processes throughout the project lifecycle (El Khatib et al., 2020). Stakeholder engagement will ensure that the Manawatū Gorge project is aligned with the stakeholders’ needs and expectations, which helps minimise the project’s negative impacts, as seen by the community of Ashhurst residents. On the same note, it helps promote transparency and accountability, which helps build trust between the project team members and the stakeholders (El Khatib et al., 2020). Through this, and as the senior project manager, I recommend that the NZTA executive team use the approach to ensure trust between the stakeholders through regular feedback and communication. This is also critical in identifying any concerns and issues to be addressed, which the executive team needs to focus on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, project management involves a combination of skills, tools, and techniques aimed at achieving project goals within a given time frame, budget, and scope. Effective project management requires a deep understanding of the project objectives, stakeholders, resources, risks, and constraints. Appropriate project management methodologies, tools, and techniques can significantly enhance project outcomes and success. Based on what the paper discusses, NTZA executive team considerations for effective project management. The report offers insights for NZTA regarding project selection, stakeholder management, and sustainable business approaches. The report recommends that NTZA consider understanding stakeholders, building relationships with stakeholders, using profile model and checklist model methods to select projects, and considering stakeholder engagement as the best approach to sustainable projects.
Recommendations
- The NZTA team should focus on understanding and building relationships with stakeholders to manage them in the best way possible. These are critical, as identified in the report, as they are helpful for organizations.
- The NZTA should use the checklist model method and profile model method. This has been addressed to see the agency choosing the best alternatives.
- The NZTA should use the best sustainable project approaches, ensuring the organizational strategy has responsibilities for sustainable development and stakeholder engagement.
References
Boffa, E., & Maffei, A. (2021). Classification of Sustainable Business Models: A literature review and a map of their impact on the Sustainable Development Goals. FME Transactions, 49(4), 784-794.
de Oliveira, G. F., & Rabechini Jr, R. (2019). Stakeholder management influence on trust in a project: A quantitative study. International journal of project management, 37(1), 131-144.
El Khatib, M., Alabdooli, K., AlKaabi, A., & Al Harmoodi, S. (2020). Sustainable Project Management: Trends and Alignment. Theoretical Economics Letters, 10(06), 1276.
Hartono, B., Sulistyo, S., & Umam, M. (2019). Leadership profiles of successful project managers in Indonesia. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management (JIEM), 12(2), 274-301.
Park, H., Kim, K., Kim, Y. W., & Kim, H. (2017). Stakeholder management in long-term complex mega construction projects: The Saemangeum project. Journal of Management in Engineering, 33(4), 05017002.
Siraj, N. B., & Fayek, A. R. (2019). Risk identification and common risks in construction: Literature review and content analysis. Journal of construction engineering and management, 145(9), 03119004.
Thesing, T., Feldmann, C., & Burchardt, M. (2021). Agile versus waterfall project management: decision model for selecting the appropriate approach to a project. Procedia Computer Science, 181, 746-756.
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