Assignment: Project Leadership.
Assignment Details
This course includes the following assignments/projects:
Module 1
Critical Thinking: Normative Leadership Theory and Leadership Styles (75 Points)
For this assignment, select a project example and summarize it. For the following five different combinations of project phases and project stakeholders, explain how a different one of the five normative leadership theory leadership styles (see the list-linked to on the Week 1 assignments page-from the course text for an overview of the five styles) could be applied, using a specific situation that might be encountered in the selected project:
• Initiating Phase- Customer
• Planning Phase- Project Sponsor
• Execution Phase- Project Team
• Execution Phase- Functional Manager
• Monitoring and Controlling Phase - Finance
Your well-written paper must be at least four pages in length and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. Cited references must include the Module 1 assigned readings and at least two additional scholarly references. The CSU-Global Library is a good source for these references.
Module 2
Critical Thinking: Leadership Competencies and Project Planning
By performing research in the CSU-Global Library and citing your sources, identify and describe five leadership skills. Explain how each is applicable at some point in the following planning phase project management situation, considering the period before the May 15 meeting, during the meeting, and after the meeting, ensuring that all five leadership skills are covered.
Your well-written paper must be 3-4 pages in length and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. At least one scholarly source from the CSU-Global Library must be referenced and cited.
Scenario:
On May 1, the PM of a computer system upgrade project sets up a synchronous Webex meeting for May 15 with the project team, all of whom are assigned part-time from different business units that are in various time zones.
Each team member has been assigned the task of estimating the duration and identifying the precedence relationships associated with a set of tasks in the WBS. This information will be used to convert the WBS into a project schedule. In the May 15 meeting, each team member is to review his or her assigned tasks, explaining the forecast and precedence relationships for each one and the rationale.
In the meeting, Sue joins the meeting from Connecticut in the same conference room as the PM, who hosts the meeting. She is prepared with all of her assigned tasks estimated and precedence relationships between her assigned tasks and other tasks, both within her assigned set of tasks and from the larger set of projects associated with the entire project, identified. She is able to clearly convey her rationale and analysis approach.
Ronald joins from a business unit in California. He has not yet started the work and has nothing to present. He explains that he did not fully understand the purpose of the meeting.
Lily joins from China. She indicates that she has been overloaded and was able to estimate the task durations, but not the precedence relationships. It also appears that Lily may not understand what is meant by "precedence relationships." It is a bit of a struggle to understand Lily's English.
Mark joins from Toulouse, France, late and indicates that he was confused about the time of the meeting, given that he is in a different time zone, and also that his manager has assigned him to another project so he is no longer to work on this project.
Module 3
Portfolio Deliverable: Self-Assessment I
Using the link found on the Week 3 assignments page, complete the following self-assessment from your textbook: Developing Your Leadership Skills I: Improving Attitudes and Personality Traits. Submit the raw results and a 100-word (minimum) discussion of your initial thoughts regarding the results in the form of a Word document as objective evidence of completion.
Though you will not receive immediate points for this deliverable, it is a part of your final Portfolio Project requirements and points will be deducted from your final project grade if the deliverable is not completed and submitted as assigned.
Module 4
Critical Thinking: Team Leadership and the Execution Phase: Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory
Using the links found on the Week 4 assignments, perform the following self-assessments from Chapter 7 in your textbook: Self-Assessment 1, Self-Assessment 2, and Self-Assessment 3 in Chapter 7. In a well-written paper, describe the LMX theory and its applicability to your role as a follower in a current or former relationship with a real-world manager, as well as your role as a leader in an actual or hypothetical project management situation, drawing upon what you learned from completing the above self-assessments.
Your paper must be three to four pages in length and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. At least two scholarly sources from the CSU-Global Library must be referenced and cited. Include the raw results of the self-assessments in an appendix after your paper and references page.
Module 5
Portfolio Deliverable: Self-Assessment II
Using the links found on the Week 5 assignments page, complete the following self-assessments from Chapter 8 in your textbook: Self-Assessment 1, Self-Assessment 2, and Self-Assessment 3. Submit the raw results and a 100-word (minimum) discussion of your initial thoughts regarding the results in the form of a Word document as objective evidence of completion.
Though you will not receive immediate points for this deliverable, it is a part of your final Portfolio Project requirements and points will be deducted from your final project grade if the deliverable is not completed and submitted as assigned.
Module 6
Critical Thinking: Organizational Leadership: Initiating Phase
You have been selected as the project manager for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) project that involves transitioning your sub-business unit from the JDE Edwards (JDE) ERP system to the SAP ERP system. This project is a part of a larger vertical supply chain integration strategic initiative to consolidate multiple business units in your corporation that are in the same supply chain into a single consolidated major business unit to enhance competitiveness in the marketplace.
A link on the Week 6 assignments page to a page from the course textbook lists eight options that can be utilized by leaders attempting to successfully effect change. In this assignment, you will match each of them with one of the following eight project stakeholders and explain the relationship between that option and that stakeholder during the project initiation phase.
(1) Functional managers who must each assign a member of their staff to your project team
(2) Individual team members who have been assigned to your team by their functional managers
(3) The majority of employees in all functional departments who will have to learn to use the new ERP system and are either supportive of the change or neutral about it
(4) The minority of employees in all functional departments who will have to learn to use the new ERP system and are vocal about their resistance to the change
(5) PMs in other sub-business units who are managing projects to implement SAP in their sub-business units within the same major business unit
(6) Suppliers who will be ultimately be receiving POs from SAP instead of JDE
(7) IT personnel who are experts in JDE but must now become experts in SAP and on whom you will rely for technical support
(8) Executive managers who are concerned about the transition from JDE to SAP disrupting their functional areas and ability to achieve their objectives
Your well-written paper should contain a section title for each of the eight options listed on the textbook page linked to above. Within each section, you should explain why you feel that option is particularly applicable to one of the eight stakeholder groups and discuss how the option could be leveraged to help the project be successful.
Your paper should be four to five pages in length and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. At least two scholarly sources from the CSU-Global Library must be referenced and cited.
Module 7
Portfolio Deliverable: Self-Assessment III
Using the link found on the Week 3 assignments page, complete Developing Your Leadership Skills 1: Strategic Planning from Chapter 11 in the course textbook. Submit the raw results and a 100-word (minimum) discussion of your initial thoughts regarding the results in the form of a Word document as objective evidence of completion.
Though you will not receive immediate points for this deliverable, it is a part of your final Portfolio Project requirements and points will be deducted from your final project grade if the deliverable is not completed and submitted as assigned. Please see the Portfolio Project grading rubric on the Course Information page for more details.
Module 8
Portfolio Project: Project Management Leadership Self Assessment (350 Points)
For your final Portfolio Project, prepare a single paper that summarizes key insights and lessons learned from the self-assessment exercises (I, II, and III) you did in Weeks 3, 5 and 7 and then explain how what you learned from each of the self-assessments is or is not applicable to each of the following major project management phases: Initiation, Execution, and Closure. You will include the raw results from your self-assessments (I, II, and III) in appendices. Arrange your paper so that it contains the following sections:
• Introduction
• Summary of Key Insights Gained
• Initiation Phase (sub-sections: Assessment I, Assessment II, Assessment III)
• Execution Phase (sub-sections: Assessment I, Assessment II, Assessment III)
• Closure Phase (sub-sections: Assessment I, Assessment II, Assessment III)
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A for Assessment I Raw Results
• Appendix B for Assessment II Raw Results
• Appendix C for Assessment III Raw Results
Your well-written Portfolio Project should be eight to 10-pages in length and formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. You should include a minimum of three outside sources in your paper. The CSU-Global Library is a good source for these outside sources.
Course Materials
Required:
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development (5th Ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage/Thomson South- Western. ISBN-13: 9781111827076
Suggested:
Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (5th Ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. ISBN-13: 9781935589679
NOTE: All non-textbook required readings and materials necessary to complete assignments, discussions, and/or supplemental or required exercises are provided within the course itself. Please read through each course module carefully.