Page 382 - Global Project Management Handbook

MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT-ORIENTED COMPANY 18-23

If possible, the members of project teams should work together in open-plan offices even
if the project is of a relatively short duration (e.g., three to four months). Communication
between project teams working together in an open-plan office is more efficient than
between project teams whose members work in several different office booths.
Both formal and informal communication is to be organized in a project or a pro-
gram. Appropriately sized and equipped meeting rooms should be provided for project
meetings and project workshops. However, the potential informal communication pro-
vided by jointly usable cafeterias, break rooms, smoking rooms, etc. also contributes
to the success of a project or a program.
Communication within projects is further promoted by means of the furniture, for
example, transparent walls, light tables and chairs, and low-level cupboards that
enable eye contact between the employees. Mobile, height-adjustable tables enable the
organization of brief standup project meetings.
When working on a project or a program, many employees spend a large part of
their working hours not at any one fixed workplace. It is possible to provide such
employees with workplaces based on the desk-sharing principle. These workplaces can
be occupied flexibly. Representatives of relevant project environments also could use
these workplaces.
For project workshops, rooms should be provided that can be adapted flexibly to
various numbers of participants and that have the appropriate medial equipment, such
as video beamers, flipcharts, overhead projectors, pin boards, etc. The use of flexible
partition elements enables the room to be adapted to different numbers of participants.

CULTURES OF AND IN THE PROJECT-ORIENTED COMPANY

An organizational culture can be seen as the totality of the values, norms, behavioral
patterns, and artefacts that are jointly developed and used by the members of an orga-
nization. The culture of an organization is not directly tangible. It can be observed by
means of symbols, skills, and tools employed.
Specific values and norms characterize the culture of the project-oriented company
and enable a differentiation between the project-oriented company and the non-project-
oriented company. The way a project-oriented company sees itself can be documented

in a mission statement (Fig. 18.10). Characteristics of a non-project-oriented company
are described in Table 18.9. Non-project-oriented companies also can perform pro-
jects, yet they do not have any explicit culture and identity as a project-oriented
company.
The values, norms, and behavioral patterns of an organization can be categorized
by its management paradigm. A traditional management paradigm is characterized
by hierarchy as a central integration instrument, by cooperation based on interface
definitions, and by operations performed in functional organizational units.
Organizations with a traditional management paradigm cannot fully use the organi-
zational potentials of projects and programs.

2. We are a project-oriented company
We use projects for business processes of small, medium and large scope.
We continually develop our project management culture. We apply project
management methods differently according to the project requirements.

FIGURE 18.10 Extract of a mission statement of a project-oriented company.