The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting Description

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. All too frequently, executives are caught by surprise when projects -especially complex IT projects -run into trouble. But complex projects do not fail overnight; they fail one day at a time, and generally only after numerous warning signs. The authors have been involved in 14 academic studies about the ways in which individuals report (and misreport) the status of IT projects and how the recipients of those reports respond to the information they receive.The authors' research suggests that understanding the underlying dynamics of project status reporting can help limit the chances of nasty surprises. In particular, they identify five "inconvenient truths" about project status reporting: 1. Executives can't rely on project staff and other employees to accurately report project status information and to speak up when they see problems. Many employees have a tendency to put a positive spin on anything they report to senior management. When the organizational climate is not receptive to bad news, truthful reporting can be inhibited 2. A variety of reasons can cause people to misreport about project status. Executives tend to attribute misreporting to poor ethical behavior on the employee's part. In fact, employees misreport for a variety of reasons; individual traits, work climate and cultural norms all can play a role. 3. An aggressive audit team can't counter the effects of project status misreporting and withholding of information by project staff. Executives may conclude that the best way to address the problem of misreporting is to rely on auditors to make sure that project status reports are accurate. However, once auditors are added to the mix, negative organizational dynamics can lead to a dysfunctional cycle that results in even less openness. 4. Putting a senior executive in charge of a project may increase misreporting. Although having a senior executive as a project sponsor often proves wise politically and can help in securing resources for a project, the involvement of senior leaders does not make it any easier to track project status. 5. Executives often ignore bad news if they do receive it. A number of the authors'studies found situations where employees went to share their concerns about a project with powerful decision makers who had the ability to change the course of the project (or stop it), but were unsuccessful. The authors propose solutions to reduce the risk of being blindsided by any of these inconvenient truths. They include a self-diagnostic survey to help you assess whether you may be at risk for an unpleasant project management surprise.

Case Description The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Strategic Managment Tools Used in Case Study Analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

STEP 1. Problem Identification in The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 2. External Environment Analysis - PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 3. Industry Specific / Porter Five Forces Analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 4. Evaluating Alternatives / SWOT Analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 5. Porter Value Chain Analysis / VRIO / VRIN Analysis The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 6. Recommendations The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

STEP 7. Basis of Recommendations for The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study

Case Analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting is a Harvard Business (HBR) Case Study on Technology & Operations , Texas Business School provides HBR case study assignment help for just $9. Texas Business School(TBS) case study solution is based on HBR Case Study Method framework, TBS expertise & global insights. The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting is designed and drafted in a manner to allow the HBR case study reader to analyze a real-world problem by putting reader into the position of the decision maker. The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study will help professionals, MBA, EMBA, and leaders to develop a broad and clear understanding of casecategory challenges. The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting will also provide insight into areas such as – wordlist , strategy, leadership, sales and marketing, and negotiations.

Case Study Solutions Background Work

The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study solution is focused on solving the strategic and operational challenges the protagonist of the case is facing. The challenges involve – evaluation of strategic options, key role of Technology & Operations, leadership qualities of the protagonist, and dynamics of the external environment. The challenge in front of the protagonist, of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting, is to not only build a competitive position of the organization but also to sustain it over a period of time.

Strategic Management Tools Used in Case Study Solution

The The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study solution requires the MBA, EMBA, executive, professional to have a deep understanding of various strategic management tools such as SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

Texas Business School Approach to Technology & Operations Solutions

In the Texas Business School, The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study solution – following strategic tools are used - SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis / PEST Analysis / STEP Analysis, Porter Five Forces Analysis, Go To Market Strategy, BCG Matrix Analysis, Porter Value Chain Analysis, Ansoff Matrix Analysis, VRIO / VRIN and Marketing Mix Analysis.

We have additionally used the concept of supply chain management and leadership framework to build a comprehensive case study solution for the case – The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Step 1 – Problem Identification of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting - Harvard Business School Case Study

The first step to solve HBR The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study solution is to identify the problem present in the case. The problem statement of the case is provided in the beginning of the case where the protagonist is contemplating various options in the face of numerous challenges that Project Status is facing right now. Even though the problem statement is essentially – “Technology & Operations” challenge but it has impacted by others factors such as communication in the organization, uncertainty in the external environment, leadership in Project Status, style of leadership and organization structure, marketing and sales, organizational behavior, strategy, internal politics, stakeholders priorities and more.

Step 2 – External Environment Analysis

Texas Business School approach of case study analysis – Conclusion, Reasons, Evidences - provides a framework to analyze every HBR case study. It requires conducting robust external environmental analysis to decipher evidences for the reasons presented in the The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting.

The external environment analysis of The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting will ensure that we are keeping a tab on the macro-environment factors that are directly and indirectly impacting the business of the firm.

What is PESTEL Analysis? Briefly Explained

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study. PESTEL analysis of " The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

How to do PESTEL / PEST / STEP Analysis? What are the components of PESTEL Analysis?

As mentioned above PESTEL Analysis has six elements – political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal. All the six elements are explained in context with The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting macro-environment and how it impacts the businesses of the firm.

How to do PESTEL Analysis for The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

To do comprehensive PESTEL analysis of case study – The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting , we have researched numerous components under the six factors of PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Political factors impact seven key decision making areas – economic environment, socio-cultural environment, rate of innovation & investment in research & development, environmental laws, legal requirements, and acceptance of new technologies.

Policy Making Impact on The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Government policies have significant impact on the business environment of any country. The firm in “ The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting ” needs to navigate these policy decisions to create either an edge for itself or reduce the negative impact of the policy as far as possible.

Data safety laws – The countries in which Project Status is operating, firms are required to store customer data within the premises of the country. Project Status needs to restructure its IT policies to accommodate these changes. In the EU countries, firms are required to make special provision for privacy issues and other laws.

Competition Regulations – Numerous countries have strong competition laws both regarding the monopoly conditions and day to day fair business practices. The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting has numerous instances where the competition regulations aspects can be scrutinized.

Import restrictions on products – Before entering the new market, Project Status in case study The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting" should look into the import restrictions that may be present in the prospective market.

Export restrictions on products – Apart from direct product export restrictions in field of technology and agriculture, a number of countries also have capital controls. Project Status in case study “ The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting ” should look into these export restrictions policies.

Foreign Direct Investment Policies – Government policies favors local companies over international policies, Project Status in case study “ The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting ” should understand in minute details regarding the Foreign Direct Investment policies of the prospective market.

Taxation & Regulation Impact on The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Corporate Taxes – The rate of taxes is often used by governments to lure foreign direct investments or increase domestic investment in a certain sector. Corporate taxation can be divided into two categories – taxes on profits and taxes on operations. Taxes on profits number is important for companies that already have a sustainable business model, while taxes on operations is far more significant for companies that are looking to set up new plants or operations.

Tariffs – Chekout how much tariffs the firm needs to pay in the “ The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting ” case study. The level of tariffs will determine the viability of the business model that the firm is contemplating. If the tariffs are high then it will be extremely difficult to compete with the local competitors. But if the tariffs are between 5-10% then Project Status can compete against other competitors.

Government Scheme & Subsidies Impact on The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Research and Development Subsidies and Policies – Governments often provide tax breaks and other incentives for companies to innovate in various sectors of priority. Managers at The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study have to assess whether their business can benefit from such government assistance and subsidies.

Consumer protection – Different countries have different consumer protection laws. Managers need to clarify not only the consumer protection laws in advance but also legal implications if the firm fails to meet any of them.

Political System & Stability, and its Impact on The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Political System and Its Implications – Different political systems have different approach to free market and entrepreneurship. Managers need to assess these factors even before entering the market.

Freedom of Press is critical for fair trade and transparency. Countries where freedom of press is not prevalent there are high chances of both political and commercial corruption.

Corruption level – Project Status needs to assess the level of corruptions both at the official level and at the market level, even before entering a new market. To tackle the menace of corruption – a firm should have a clear SOP that provides managers at each level what to do when they encounter instances of either systematic corruption or bureaucrats looking to take bribes from the firm.

Independence of judiciary – It is critical for fair business practices. If a country doesn’t have independent judiciary then there is no point entry into such a country for business.

Government attitude towards trade unions – Different political systems and government have different attitude towards trade unions and collective bargaining. The firm needs to assess – its comfort dealing with the unions and regulations regarding unions in a given market or industry. If both are on the same page then it makes sense to enter, otherwise it doesn’t.

Economic Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Social Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Technological Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Environmental Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Legal Factors that Impact The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting

Step 3 – Industry Specific Analysis

What is Porter Five Forces Analysis

PESTEL stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors that impact the external environment of firm in The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study. PESTEL analysis of " The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting" can help us understand why the organization is performing badly, what are the factors in the external environment that are impacting the performance of the organization, and how the organization can either manage or mitigate the impact of these external factors.

Step 4 – SWOT Analysis / Internal Environment Analysis

Step 5 – Porter Value Chain / VRIO / VRIN Analysis

Step 6 – Evaluating Alternatives & Recommendations

Step 7 – Basis for Recommendations

References :: The Pitfalls of Project Status Reporting case study solution