THE MISCONCEPTION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITHIN SMALL ORGANIZATIONS

           Small organizations today do not realize that they have a need for project management, a project management office, or a project manager. They believe they can handle all project tasks within the organization amongst themselves with no real project management experience or training on how to handle and approach projects. This thought process puts an added burden on employees who do not have any experience within project management.

          This misconception of project management comes in many forms. Most small organizations believe that project management is added expenditures that are unneeded. They believe that the standard employees can complete the workload effectively as they are typically already salaried personnel. It is believed that these employees can simply add the planning of the projects to their daily schedules within their own roles or positions and that the hiring of a project manager is a waste. “The Project Management Institute, PMI, stresses that organizations who use robust project management processes out perform those that do not in three major ways: On time delivery is 28% higher, within budget delivery is 24% higher, and that goal achievement is 20% higher.” (Vorex, 2015).

           These small organizations have a second misconception that project managers are not only unnecessary but that they only label the project plans or designate resources in a project. Good project managers are necessary because they understand the value in meetings, negotiations, and how important the process of the project is to the project itself. A project manager alone cannot fulfill all of the deliverables and tasks of a project as they are not the technical experts. The project team are the experts. “The Project Management Institute cited organizations’ growth and profitability as being directly attributable to the employee talent pool rather than company processes. The report demonstrates that the shortage in available talent has reduced project quality by 31%, inhibited and lessened innovation by 29%, and caused the cancellation of important initiatives by 27% more than a comparable talent-rich period.” (Vorex, 2015).

           Another misconception amongst these organizations is the hesitation to move smoothly during a project. They insist that once a project starts that it quickly needs to be completed. “Project management experts agree that without proper planning, it is more than likely that a project will require significant rework, which in turn causes frustration for the team, missed milestones, and probable overruns in budget and time.” (Vorex, 2015). This type of mindset usually leads to large overcharges of expenses as there are tons of rework that stems from it. Proper planning helps to strengthen risk mitigation factors in projects as it lessens the chances of a risk event occurring

          Small organizations today have the misconception that project managers or project management is not needed or required as they are only paper pushers of projects as they only prepare a project schedule and designate resources. As the data reflects with having project management in place, the completion times of projects improve as well as completing goals, deliverables, and tasks on schedule increases. Project managers bring great value to an organization as they understand the meanings and reasoning behind the project meetings and how important fulfilling the completion of a successful projects are.