In our digital age, younger people are more and more encouraged to work from the comfort of their own computers; at home or any other desired space. While learning how they can bring a competitive edge to the emerging working class, young adults are more open to remote employment opportunities.
The unspoken millennial school of thought insists that practices in organizations can always be improved and modernized. The use of remote employment allows for greater work-life balance for employees and “reduced administrative or logistical overheads” for employers in emerging and successful organizations.
In a 2012 survey conducted by Andrew Filev, team members and business owners shared their delights and grievances about virtual teams. The survey’s findings included observed benefits from working remotely like focusing more on work than on “office formalities”.
Ultimately, it is an organizations primary goal to improve productivity. An issue the article does introduce, is the lack of face-to-face communication, which is valuable. Being able to approach teammates or management with any internal issues decreases the time it takes to resolve it.
Despite being in the peak of a digital age, it is not as easy to respond to emails with questions from remote employees as it is to get an immediate answer. The most valuable aspect of this kind of communication is being able to clarify a thought with prompt response.
This can be resolved with the implementation of periodic status reports that can be easily accessible to both remote and on-site employees. The flow of communication in an organization is just as important as its existence.
This next section will introduce a method of management called hybrid methodology. In the context of project management, hybrid methodology uses a combination of traditional and agile project management styles.
The traditional approach is considered incremental through five phases: scoping, planning, launching, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The agile approach also functions through these five phases but is generally considered cyclical through the incorporation of “culture, communication, and people” according to Lindvall.
Combining these approaches introduces the benefit of customizing solutions in an organization.
Management cannot be approached with a one-size-fits-all perspective. Hybrid methodology allows tailoring for problem solving that can provide success to an industry based on its desires. Many organizations have departments which focus on different aspects of the company.
Depending on the matter at hand, different teams have to be managed in ways that are conducive to accomplishing their respective objectives. A recommendation to ameliorate this issue is to increase managerial transparency by sharing methods of managing teams and discuss their outcomes.
Choosing and integrating styles of management ought to be intentional of a projects objective “considering both project characteristics and characteristics of the organizational environment”.
How can managers and business owners know they are progressing without the evidence to support it? Companies take periodic metrics to measure improvements and understand how internal and external processes positively or negatively impact business.
Those insights are used to make critical decisions that impact company-wide initiatives. Inability to share this information increases the potential of stakeholder micromanaging, misuse of company resources and funds, and ultimately client dissatisfaction.
It is not enough to just have the data, presenting it in a manner that is transparent and comprehensible to all interested parties is what many organizations fail to execute.
Many companies use data analytics in their organizations for a general overview of progress in regard to implemented practices. The greatest impact this data should have for an organization is to create and keep track of solutions for success.
An issue that arises here is the collection of data that is overlapping or unnecessary. Not knowing what data you’re looking for or what to do with the information that has been collected impedes the valuation process. Having too much information relevant to one topic increases avoidable confusion.
It is important that organizations gather information that will give their industry a competitive advantage and makes finding solutions simpler.
By understanding the impacts of remote employment opportunities, hybrid methodology management, and usage of data analytics – we are able to grasp just a small aspect of what it looks like to manage a project.
If management were an all-encompassing task, maintaining sound businesses and organizations would be more feasible than it is. Managing projects, large or small can be a tough task to conquer. Failure to determine what areas an organization can improve in, makes it harder to achieve.
Having the means to manage an organization versus knowing how to implement them to encourage growth are not identical concepts, but they are complimentary. Project management – an ever changing discipline – will always experience shifts and trends based on a project’s style and mission.
What will always stay consistent, however, is that groups and individuals in the position to manage have to understand how the industry is evolving to accommodate progress.
