The corporate level determines business strategy in a “deliberate” manner (i.e. The corporate level can decide whether to be “deliberate” (i.e., planned) or “emergent”, which is a response to the external business environment. Reactive response to external business environment. Executing a strategy well is the key to its success. The corporate strategy is implemented and executed through projects. Some firms are project-based and earn revenue by delivering on contracts. Other firms may also perform projects internally to help grow the company. Sometimes, both may be possible. It doesn’t matter if projects are internal or externe, alignment of corporate initiatives with project components is crucial to the long-term success of the company.
The project manager is responsible to manage the project’s scope, schedule, budget (triple constraints). The third edition of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), section 1.2.1, page (5) describes a project as a temporary, progressively elaborated endeavor that is undertaken to create a unique product or service. Corporate strategy serves to sustain the business, while projects serve to achieve objectives and then terminate. The following is the context of project management as described by the authors in section 1.6 of PMBOK page 16.
Project management is a broad term that covers portfolio management, program management, and office management. A hierarchy of portfolio, strategic plan, program, program, and subprojects is common. This allows for a program with several related projects to contribute to the achievement a strategic plan.
This extraction reveals the importance of recognizing a hierarchy linking strategy to projects. Here is an example of hierarchical linking.
Figure 01
Projects are the vehicle for executing strategic initiatives that are prompted by “deliberate” and “emergent” efforts of the organization to align the organizational components with the external environmental domains to ensure sustainability. Programs can be used by an organization to group similar projects and ensure efficiency and effectiveness of resources. Portfolio management is a grouping of projects and programs that are coordinated to achieve strategic objectives. Portfolio management is the alignment of projects and programs with operative objectives and goals, which is known as the organizational strategy. Below is an illustration of the conceptual relationships that were previously shown.
Figure 02
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Over the next few months, I will be conducting five literature reviews. The contextual analysis continues. Morris and Jamieson’s first review focuses on the topic of moving strategy to the project level. This leads to the next review by Milosevic, Srivannaboon, and a theoretical framework that can be used for alignment between these two levels. Johnson’s third review examines the topic of bridging the gap between strategy and projects. Breakthrough Performance Management published an article on how to tie performance metrics to business strategy in the fourth review. Webber and Torti’s final review is at the individual level for the project manager, who doubles as client account executives. The articles were analyzed and critiqued in order to stimulate a cognitive exploration of the events, conditions or interrelationships that exist between corporate strategy and project strategies.
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For more information, please refer to the references below.
Refer to
Breakthrough Performance Management: Using performance metrics to drive business strategy. (2005, January). Retrieved October 12, 2009, Business Credit
