PRO4801/202/2020

Tutorial Letter 202/2020

Project Management (Hons)

PRO4801
Year module

Department of Operations Management

This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.

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Dear Student
The previous assignment (Assignment 01) provided a general orientation to project
management dynamics. Assignment 02 deals with project integration and, in this brief
tutorial letter, guidelines are given on the requirements for completing Assignment 02.

GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING ASSIGNMENT 02

The questions in Assignment 02 are relatively simple and students should not have experienced
any difficulties answering them. Most students obtained good marks for Assignment 02 and
prepared thoroughly for the assignment. However, please note the following two aspects, which
are very important in the assessment of Assignment 02:

Allocation of marks
The allocation of marks may appear somewhat subjective where the nature of questions requires
students to demonstrate insight and give their own opinion. Otherwise the questions in
Assignment 02 are relatively simple. Postgraduate students are required to know the difference
between “illustrate”, “explain” and “distinguish”. Keep these levels of evaluation in mind to ensure
you provide meaningful answers to the questions. Although the allocated mark for a question is an
indication of the extent of the answer required, students should not be misled by quantity, since a
short, high-quality answer may be enough.

Planning your presentation

It is important to plan your presentation (answer). Start the presentation with an introduction or
definition. Give background information and explain broad principles in the next section.
Thereafter, discuss the detail.

Guidelines for answering question 2.1

The following guidelines indicate the aspects that must be included in the answer:

You were required to identify the characteristics of project management and those of functional
and other types of non-project management and then to contrast them. You could also do this by
identifying and contrasting the characteristics of project management and functional management
one at a time. The characteristics are: who heads the organisation; integration of functional effort
of the project manager; the project manager’s unification of the project effort; the primary
responsibility of the project manager versus the functional manager; the chains of command for
the two; the origination of projects; the decision-making role of the project manager; where people
go after the project is finished compared with the functional area; the need for support services for
the project versus the functional area.
.
Guidelines for answering question 2.2
You were expected to explain the classical, behavioural and systems approaches to management.
Clearly distinguish between classical and behavioural on one side and the systems approach on
the other. Specifically indicate that the classical view assumes predictability and rationality, and
that there is a set of universal management principles for planning, organising, leading and
controlling work. The behavioural viewpoint shifts emphasis from the job to the human and social
aspects of an organisation such as motivation, leadership style, group dynamics, social
environment and so on. Indicate that both classical and behavioural concepts attempt to simplify

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management using a set of universal concepts.

On the other hand, be clear that the systems approach recognises complexity and causal
relationships in life, and that action is preceded by understanding the system and its relationship
with the environment. Clarify the problems first before you determine which course of action to
take. Spell out the drawbacks of each of the approaches: for example, the systems approach is
not completely adequate due to its focus on quantifiable factors, in the process neglecting factors
such as human motivation, emotions and values. The approach lacks judgement, like the first two
approaches.

Guidelines for answering question 2.3

You were required to explain the systems life cycle and the systems development cycle, then
justify the importance of the systems development cycle to project management. Indicate the basic
process (basic life cycle – beginning, maturation, growth and death) that all living and non-living
organisms go through. For example: birth, growth, maturity, decline and death for living organisms;
and conception, introduction, building of market share, decline and discontinuation for products.

Use the four phases (A, B, C & D + repeat cycle) of the systems development cycle to explain its
importance to project management. Make sure that you clearly spell out what happens at each
phase and why the phase is important. Apply this information by addressing why methodology and
processes in project management are essential; relate this to the systems design and to
implementation and project management in general.

Guidelines for question 2.4

Clearly indicate situations when it is not appropriate to use project management and explain why
this is the case. You should consider ongoing operations versus situations needing a targeted
change (projects). You could do this by relating the characteristics of projects and ongoing
operations and considering specific examples.

The second part of the question required you to indicate organisation types or work where both
project management and non-project management are appropriate. Include the fact that all
organisations, at some point, use both approaches (give examples). Small informal projects may
happen in stable repetitive industries, for example ad hoc committees and task forces. Formalised
examples of situations using projects should be given.

Guidelines for question 2.5

This question required that you compare and contrast; in other words, mention how similar or
different the given concepts are and explain each one of them. Most students merely describe or
explain each concept, which falls short of what is being asked. Address the question in relation to
the following aspects: pure project, matrix, program, new venture, product and ad hoc
committee/task force. Give examples to show your understanding of the concepts.

A pure project is self-contained organisation with dedicated resources (i.e. it has all the necessary
functional elements). In this case resources do not have to be borrowed – a situation typical of
large-scale construction projects. A matrix organisation has elements of permanent functional

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units (OBS) linking them to work packages from the WBS. The project team shares resources with
other concurrent projects and with functional areas from which they borrow. A matrix is usually
used in engineering/manufacturing projects such as electronics, aerospace and systems
development. Comment specifically on the similarities and differences.

Guidelines for question 2.6

This question deals with the importance of concurrent engineering and the relationship between
the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) process and how concurrent engineering is used.

Give a description of concurrent engineering and link it to the QFD process. Concurrent
engineering combines the efforts of designers, developers, buyers and producers to address all
needs, wants and concerns early in the conception and design phases of a system. Essentially, it
deals with sales, marketing, purchasing, finance, quality and so on, together with engineering.
Central to hearing the voice of these stakeholders is ensuring that the correct requirements,
production and procurement issues are identified early in the project life cycle. You should
emphasise the importance of understanding the requirements and priorities and translating the
requirements into product features and production processes to meet the project goal or produce
an end-item design that meets customer needs. Consideration should be given to realistic project
objectives and to the capabilities of the manufacturer and its suppliers.

Filling in the matrices during the QFD process requires teamwork. The house of quality (first
matrix) is mainly developed by people who come into contact with the customer – such as sales,
marketing and customer support departments – and those with product or systems design and
technical knowledge such as designers and engineers. The second matrix is developed by people
with operations, materials, production and methods knowledge and who are involved in costs,
such as design and production process engineers, cost analysts, buyers and suppliers. The third
matrix includes the abovementioned people plus industrial engineers, supervisors and workers.
This implies that many people are included in developing matrices at each stage. It is important to
mention that the whole QFD process requires a cross-functional team.

SELF-EVALUATION**

Some principles on self-assessment are given here for future reference (for example Assignment
04).

 The advantages of self-evaluation

By means of self-evaluation students accept responsibility for their own education. Completing an
assignment, and then assessing it, is a learning experience. There is clear evidence that self-
evaluation enriches the learning experience. Research has shown that the ability to evaluate your
own work is an important element of any type of learning and is an ability that must be cultivated if
learners want to engage effectively in lifelong learning. Like any complex academic skill, self-
evaluation must be acquired by practice.

Self-evaluation also becomes easier as students progress. It is also expected that as students’
learning experience is enriched through self-evaluation, the pass rate (success rate) will increase
accordingly. Students at Honours degree level learn more effectively, and therefore they should be
able to apply self-evaluation more easily.
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 Methods and levels of evaluation

Self-evaluation has various dimensions as a result of the complex nature of evaluation in general.
For instance, there are various levels of evaluation. Examples are knowledge, insight, application,
analysis and synthesis. Each learning objective of this module is described in terms of one or
more of these evaluation levels. There are also different methods of evaluation, one of which is
self-evaluation.

 The adult learner and self-direction

Self-evaluation is, by implication, part of distance education, since Unisa students are guided to be
independent, adult learners. Adult learning is a self-directed action and "a process in which
individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs,
formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning strategies, and
evaluating learning outcomes” (Knowles, in Garrison 1987:310). Pure self-evaluation implies that
no other party is involved in the evaluation process. Consequently, the student must decide
whether he or she meets the standard laid down in the learning objectives. Self-evaluation is also
important in distance education, because no interim tests are written and assignments do not
simulate examination conditions in every respect. There are students who obtain excellent results
for the assignments, but who are unsuccessful in the examination. Self-evaluation is therefore
encouraged.

 Informal and formal components of self-evaluation

Self-evaluation in studying consists of an informal and a formal component. The informal
component consists of doing additional research using various aids and media, conceptualisation,
consulting experts (role players) and completing your own assignments. The formal component
involves guidance by Unisa in different ways.

A final, very important, component of self-evaluation is where students consider the value of their
learning experience outside the context of the learning objectives. This refers to the practical value
of the learning experience or the “outcome”, which the learning experience has established in your
make-up. In this way, students apply the learning objectives at a more practical level in their
personal lives.

The PR04801 examination is scheduled for January / February 2021.

Good luck with the last two assignments!

Best wishes

Lecturers of PRO4801

Department of Operations Management