Introduction
Organizational strategy is an outline of the current situation of the company, where the company wants to go, and the strategies it will use to get there (Zerfass et al., 2018). In other words, it outlines how a company will achieve its long-term goals. The organizational strategy should be comprehensive to include the company’s goals and objectives. The strategy clarifies the mission and ensures that the goals are met on time. Organizational strategy is divided into three levels: functional, business, and corporate. Each level provides how an organization will achieve its long-term goals. The corporate-level strategies reflect the mission and values of the company and may include growth, differentiation, and diversification strategies. The business-level strategies include rebranding the company, launching new products, and looking for new markets. Functional strategies give the team members plans to make strategic decisions for the company’s growth.
Reasons why Project Managers Need to Understand Organization’s Strategy
Successful managers must align their projects with the goals and objectives of the company. The success of an organization depends on the project managers’ ability to understand the organization’s strategy. One of the reasons why project managers need to understand the organization’s strategy is to make adjustments to certain situations when there is a need to change since this will ensure that the organization’s goals are met. For example, a project manager can change the design of a project to enhance its performance through either enhancing innovation by looking for a product leader or low-cost solutions. Secondly, properly understanding the organization’s strategy promotes stakeholder support (García-Sánchez et al., 2018). A project manager can explain to stakeholders how their involvement in the business will boost the company, enhancing their cooperation. Understanding the organization’s strategy enables the project manager to make requests from stakeholders gaining their positive feedback and backing. Cooperation between stakeholders and team members will lead to the organization’s success.
Thirdly, a good understanding of the organization’s strategy ensures that the project is aligned with the organization’s strategic goals (Fischer et al., 2020). This ensures that the real thing is delivered, adding value to the organization. Sometimes risks may arise during the project, necessitating a change in the organization’s strategy. Understanding the strategy will ensure that the project is part of the realignment process. Additionally, understanding an organization’s strategy boosts the morale of team members (Jabbar & Hussein, 2017). The team members will follow directions from the project manager. Linking the organizational strategy with the project enhances commitment and purpose. This ensures that the team does not just perform the task at hand but also ensures they are contributing to the greater good of the organization. By giving the team a sense of purpose, its morale is boosted. Project managers can convince the team to focus on the project when they sense they have a good stake. By seeing the bigger picture of the project, the team members can understand when there is a reallocation of resources or a pause in work.
Moreover, project managers can execute specific goals after understanding the organization’s strategy (Kerzner, 2017). This ensures that projects do not lack focus and eliminates chances of nebulous and vague objectives that makes project managers fail to recognize what they are supposed to do. An organization’s strategy makes project managers accomplish projects on time by breaking the work into teams. Project managers will plan and negotiate achievable and reasonable deadlines for management, stakeholders, and team members. The project managers will also set realistic schedules that will lead to objectivity in the planning process. The understanding business strategy enables project managers to understand what will happen to output after the project leaves their hands (McClory et al., 2017). Output serves as a measure of outcomes. Project managers should always be aware of the course of the project to ensure that it is steered towards the organization’s goals. This also promotes stakeholder support and boosts team morale. The best project managers today can make a good connection between the project output and the organization’s outcome.
Role of Project Manager in Achieving the Organization’s Strategy
As a project manager, I should ensure that the organization’s long-term goals are met by focusing mostly on results (Ferrer Romero, 2018). I should analyze the market data, beat the competition, and promote customer satisfaction. As a successful project manager, I should align the project’s goals with the organization’s objectives and strategic mission. Some of my roles as a project manager include the following. I have the role of managing time as a resource for the organization. As a project manager, I should look at whether the project is successful or has failed to impress clients and stakeholders. It is the role of project managers to ensure that the project is completed on time.
Secondly, to achieve the organization’s strategy, I should ensure effective delegation of work among the team members (Obradović et al., 2018). Teams should be delegated wisely in cases of big projects. However, as a good leader, I should not misuse my authority by blaming the team members or degrading some of them. Before delegating duties to the team members, I should consider their strengths, weaknesses, and abilities as a good leader should create an environment that fosters trust by meaningfully delegating duties. Thirdly, my role as a project manager is to direct the team toward achieving the organization’s strategy. I should ensure that the team’s efforts are aligned with the organization’s strategy. The team will require to be provided with adequate motivation to work their best in achieving the organization’s strategy. I have to organize my team to work to their full potential.
Moreover, the project manager’s role is to plan all the tasks from execution to delivery (yaw Koi-Akrofi et al., 2019). By this, I mean more client satisfaction, quality, and outcome. One of the key roles of project managers is to provide the quickest way to ensure that the needs of stakeholders and clients are met. Some of my roles as a project manager include stating the project’s dependencies, defining milestones, scheduling project deliverables, breaking the project into projects, and then delegating them to the team members. Project managers manage reports and documentation (Maqbool et al., 2017). It is the project manager’s work to provide reports to clients and stakeholders and look for points that need improvement. The project manager maintains the report of the project’s progress and what has been involved. The project manager also highlights the requirements to be met in conducting the project. As a project manager, I should also develop plan B if the initial plan to achieve the organization’s strategy fails. I should also plan for unforeseen future circumstances and events. A project should always be risk-proof and adaptive to future changes. This is easy through time management in difficult situations and arranging for more resources in case of future changes.
Conclusion
The organizational strategy outlines what an organization intends to achieve long-term. Project managers need to develop an understanding of the organization’s strategy due to several reasons. These reasons include making future adjustments, gaining stakeholder support, aligning the project with the organization’s strategic goals, boosting team morale, and executing specific goals of the organization. Project managers play a critical role in achieving the organization’s strategy.
References
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