The effectiveness of Rachel Spent her day Essay Example
The effectiveness of Rachel Spent her day Essay Example

The effectiveness of Rachel Spent her day Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (810 words)
  • Published: July 20, 2018
  • Type: Review
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The case study centres around Rachel, who is managing a substantial information systems project. It sheds light on her daily time management and the efficiency of her scheduling is analyzed in context with the intricate and unusual aspects of the project, which are constrained by factors such as time, budget, resources, and performance standards. The tasks she partakes in are distinctive to this particular project hence they could be categorized as project-related activities.

Activities such as reviewing project reports and preparing for the weekly status meeting, discussing a problem with her boss, participating in a conference call, and addressing project issues can be considered as project activities. In contrast, non-project tasks are regular daily work that involves repetitive and routine activities. She often spends limited time during her day on these types of activities. Examples include eng

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aging in gossip about internal politics with Eddie, a worker in the finance office.

From a technical evaluation standpoint, Rachel can be considered as an efficient project manager to some extent. This can be seen by dividing her tasks into project, routine, and non-project activities and calculating the time spent on each category. Based on these calculations, it is determined that Rachel spends approximately 370 minutes on project activities. These project activities include going over project reports and preparing for weekly status meetings (25m), participating in progress review meetings (45m), reviewing project assignments with Victoria (30m), listening to teammates (20m), discussing problems with John (30m), negotiating with purchasing agents (30m), participating in conference calls (60m), negotiating with Mary (40m), reviewing the impact of client's requests (30m), reviewing e-mails and project documents (30m), and working

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with "what-if" scenarios (30m). On the other hand, Rachel spends around 70 minutes on routine activities. These routine activities include reviewing schedules (15m), discussing the project with her boss (20m), checking e-mails (15m), and updating her boss on key events of the day (20m).The time spent on activities that are not related to the project is estimated to be approximately 105 minutes. These activities include socializing and catching up with Neil for 10 minutes, getting to the office for 10 minutes, experiencing a delay in the project status meeting for 15 minutes, gossiping with Eddie for 30 minutes, waiting in Mary's office for 10 minutes, and commuting home for 30 minutes. If we consider these activities along with the total time of 545 minutes spent in the day, Rachel, as a project manager, has an efficiency level of almost 67%. Moreover, she only dedicated 19% of her time to non-project activities on that day.

Being a project manager entails various aspects that need to be taken into account. Generally, management involves planning, organizing, and controlling, and a project manager must handle temporary and non-repetitive tasks while frequently working independently. In this particular case study, Rachel carries out multiple roles as a project manager. She provides direction, coordination, and integration to the project team. Additionally, she solves problems and guides team members towards finding solutions. Rachel also engages in discussions with her team members and actively listens to their ideas, showcasing her excellent communication skills.

Furthermore, the project manager holds project status meetings and small discussions to coordinate, integrate, and control. The project manager bears a significant responsibility for the project's performance and success, particularly in

relation to the customer interface. This responsibility is evident in Rachel's situation, where she had to handle the customer's additional requests while managing performance, cost, and time. Being a project manager requires the application of leadership skills, such as effective negotiation, communication, courageous leadership, influencing others, and decision making.

Frequently interacting with her project team, Rachel requests John to investigate the problem immediately. She also makes decisions on equipment for the project and ensures they are delivered through express delivery. Another example of her proactive approach is the outcome of the meeting she had with Mary. Overall, a project manager must be aware of the scope of the project and consistently work within its defined boundaries. In Rachel's case, she identifies the cause of conflict arising from a customer request and discusses it with senior marketing management to determine the project's scope. Additionally, effective communication skills and an understanding of organizational structure are essential traits for a project manager.

In this scenario, Rachel enjoys a harmonious relationship not just with her team but also with other managers and individual members. The synergy between her and her superior is outstanding. She collaborates effectively with other management figures like the senior marketing manager in resolving problems. Besides these relationships, there are several other crucial elements for project success. They involve planning, organizing, and managing the overall timetable and project complications, proactive examination of the project, and risk evaluation at every stage. Furthermore, regular review of how the project is progressing, tasks assigned, issues arising as well as conducting "what-if" analysis at each day's close are significant factors in this instance.

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