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Chapter 10 Review Questions

Decent Essays

What is the difference between leading and managing a project?

Leading involves recognizing and communicating the need to change course and direction of the project, aligning people to this new direction, and motivating the team to overcome obstacles to achieve the new objectives. Managing is about formulating plans and objectives, designing procedures to achieve those objectives, monitoring progress, and taking corrective action. Managing is about putting out fires and maintaining the course. Leading is about change, and altering the course of a project.

2. Why is a conductor of an orchestra an appropriate metaphor for being a project manager? What aspects of project managing are not reflected by this metaphor? Can you think of …show more content…

The key is to find out what you can offer others that is of value to them so that they will feel obligated to reciprocate. Here the notion of influence currencies is useful in identifying different ways to gain cooperation from others. A second key is building a positive “bank account” with those whom you are dependent upon so that they are inclined to cooperate with you.

4. What differences would you expect to see between the kinds of influence currencies that a project manager in a functional matrix would use and the influence a project manager of a dedicated project team would use?

This question is designed to explore the impact that the project management structure has on the ability of project managers to exercise influence over team members. The key point is that the project manager of a dedicated team has more formal authority over the participants and the project and, therefore, greater access to influence currencies than the project manager in a functional matrix. For example, the dedicated project manager is responsible for assigning project work, while functional managers do so in a functional matrix. A dedicated project manager will have greater access to position-related currencies. Since dedicated projects are used for high priority projects, the dedicated project manager is likely to develop inspiration-related currencies. Project managers in a functional matrix compensate for their lack of formal authority by exercising

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