The Biggest Challenges a Novice Project Manager is Likely to Encounter - Research Proposal Example

The Biggest Challenges a Novice Project Manager is Likely to Encounter Institution Name of Student Date Research Proposal on The Biggest Challenges a Novice Project Manager is Likely to Encounter Background Being a manager is usually very demanding. A project manager is supposed to perform several tasks that eventually determine a project’s overall success. In fact, most people say that the project management is very paradoxical (Schermerhorn, et al., 2014). Being a manager or a leader who is effective requires a person to go through a learning process that is lifelong towards a transcending paradox. In this sense, the paradox comes in that an effective manager is in a position of handling two ideas that are contradicting and at the same time, seemingly inconsistent. For example, is claimed that to be an effective leader, one must be an excellent follower. Such descriptions are so paradoxical because followers and leaders are said to have opposite or different behaviours. An effective manager, therefore, according to Robert Katz, who established the three management skills, managers should have human, conceptual and technical skills. The skills of a manger and a leader are however different. The differences come because of the varying management levels. The management levels, in this context refer to the low-level managers, middle managers and top level managers (Schermerhorn, et al., 2014). Problem statement Despite the advancements that have been made in the methodologies of project management, several projects have fallen continuously due to several factors and reasons (Robertson & Williams, 2006). One key reason for the failure is the challenges facing the new project managers. Most projects led by the new project manager stand at high risk of failing because their leadership is not effective, and their leadership still is not the best (Baker et al., 1983). Effective project management is needed by the novice project managers and is accepted by practitioners and academicians of project management. Despite a lot of studies about project management, the challenges facing the novice manager is never clearly stipulated, nor their drawbacks apparent. The problem, therefore, is that several projects have fallen due to the challenges the new leaders are subjected to. Empirical evidence indicate that proper training and education as an intervention might help in solving a lot of the management drawbacks experienced by the novice managers. Objectives The key objective of this research study is attempting to establish the challenges of the new project managers. It also indicates how the challenges can be resolved. The overall aim of the study is establishing the potential impediments a novice manager is likely to face. The study also concentrates in establishing the characteristic features of the new project managers. It is hence crucial to try to understand the job requirements and responsibilities as well as the experience of a new project manager. The proposal aims as well to identify the major drawbacks of a novice project manager. The proposal’s objectives, therefore, are as follows: To establish the various deliverables and variables required to identify the impediments faced by a new manager at work. This hence assists in the development of a conceptual framework for research in project management. Understanding the attributes and nature of a new project manager. Understanding the shortcomings a novice project manager faces. It is very fundamental to offer definition of who is qualified to be called a new project manager. Establishing the key challenges the new manager is most likely to encounter. This way, an individual is in a perfect position to realize the specific shortcomings a novice project manager ma face within the workplace. In that sense, therefore, more detailed researches may be conducted on the way such challenges can be dealt with. Research Question and Hypothesis The proposal research focused on quantitative descriptive inquiry that focused to establish whether the success of projects have been affected tremendously by the challenges the new managers encounter. This study was hence directed by the novice project managers’ severity failure to implement projects. There are some hypotheses that were used in testing the research question. These hypotheses, as discussed in the literature review concentrate on how the challenges of a new leader rotate around their communication. This also applies to their training and education, their skills of leadership globalization and their previous project management experiences with their bosses. • There is absolutely no link between the challenges novice managers face and their communication skills. • There is absolutely no link between the challenges novice managers face and the teaching and training they got. • There is absolutely no link between the challenges novice managers face and their lack of project management experience. • There is absolutely no link between the challenges novice managers face and failures of the projects they manage. The research questions that guided the study were as follows: • What are the main challenges new managers are at risk of facing in their new responsibilities? • What are the sources of the challenges the novice managers face? • What are the characteristic attributes of new project managers? • What can a new project manager do to help face the challenges? Limitations The most probable limitations of the study are its nature as well as the timeframe needed for its completion. The extent of the sample size meant to be studied is as well a key limitation. The size or number of subjects or persons expected to participate in one way or the other limited to project managers. The focus will hence be on the Project Management Institute members who will voluntarily agree to participate. Literature Review This literature review gives a bench mark or foundation of the proposed research. It provides a detailed outline to the challenges a novice project manager faces in line with project management as a discipline (Atkins & Gilbert, 2003). It does so by shading light on what a novice manager is. It also indicates the journey of the project managers from either their previous experience as a subordinate employee or from training or learning. The journey goes along to the establishment of their careers as project managers. The journey, in that sense, pertinently observes and establishes the key challenges and obstacles the project managers tend to face. The research proposal does so by offering discussions on the specific challenges the new managers face as well as the pitfalls they risk encountering. Challenges of new managers A novice manager refers to one that lacks any prior or previous experience. Such project managers, however, could be having very minimal experience in project management (Ammeter, & Dukerich, 2002). A project manager contemporarily is expected to work across many different backgrounds. The backgrounds could be cultural, religious, ethnical or even political. This is so because today the world is very global, and people are networking at a very high rate. Globalization has made project managers to interact with different projects with a different team of people. Normally, a project manager would experience very big challenges. It will, therefore, be even much harder for novice project manager who is probably direct from the school. The experiences in class are usually very different from the experiences in the field. Applying theory to practice is not easy, and it requires guidelines from experienced professionals to guide the novice project managers through (Anderson, 2010). A new project manager will hence have a very difficult time, especially if whichever project they are handling is big. Big projects are detailed and require a lot of specifics best known by the experienced project managers. Without the experience, therefore, the new project managers are most likely to go through many drawbacks at their places of work (Erlandson et al., 1993). How they handle people will be challenging. For instance, if they are fresh from school and with high levels of education, they are given prestigious positions. However, the positions could be a nightmare in that the people he or she is supposed to lead and guide are more experienced with the workplace norms than they are. They can hence experience problems that range from communication and interaction to the entire scope of the project. With the constant global changes, it is very difficult to predict the processes within a project. Globalization comes along with changes in the technological spheres of projects as well as the modes of communication. Novice managers, therefore, are supposed not only to learn the norms of the workplace but also be very flexible. Flexibility helps in keeping the managers fully equipped and ready for any possible change that could strike. Most novice managers are however young and hence they are flexible and adapt faster to changes. A new manager totally depends on the training and education they got for them to be successful and relevant in managing their respective projects. The challenges, therefore, come in if the training and education they acquired was not proper and detailed. The managers have a tendency of involving an element of double-sidedness. This is seen when they are expected to meet the needs and demands of their external and internal stakeholders. The main challenge a novice manager faces is communication. For effective management to exist, communication is very fundamental. It is therefore very crucial for any manager, whether new or veteran to have the right skills of communication. Because new managers depend on training and education, it is very essential for proper coaching on communication skills to be done. Unfortunately, the training and education is not enough for a new project manager to complete; this is because they do not adequately have the real-world experience. Barriers in communication limit the competence of the new managers. Working in projects around the world far from home makes the workers experience difficulties of expressing their selves effectively (Erlandson et al., 1993). The Pitfalls of novice project managers It is never easy for an individual to offer guidance and lead at the same time shifting roles and learning about the new job by themselves (Brown, 2005). Nevertheless, a managerial style that is ineffectual can lower morale and productivity, increasing complaints and eventually lead to quality and product drawbacks. For a new project manager to be stable, therefore, he or she should think of some of the bosses they have worked under. A person should therefore critically think about the thinks those bosses did wrong and right. The qualities the “good boss” had and those of the “bad boss”. Without carefully thinking of what a bad and a good boss is, a novice manager is likely to end up in a pitfall (Clark, 1998). The probable pitfalls include supervision, under supervision, failure to delegate, and overlooking the concerns and the problems faced by the employees. Other pitfalls include sharing information that is confidential, to blame top-management for the unpopular decisions made, biases in and employee treatment. Micromanagement is a sure way of employee alienation that novice employees should avoid. An effect project manager leads and directs without necessarily having to be heavy-handed. Their authority and power exercise is only evident when absolutely in need. The employees only perform when they feel respected and trusted. A new manager is often so consumed with his or her responsibilities (Schermerhorn, et al., 2014). This makes them forget to concentrate on the employees work challenges. Managers are supposed to be close to the employees and involve them by sharing their challenges. Good managers take it upon themselves to ask the employees if there is any challenge the employee is facing regarding the project (Clark, 1998). Or rather any other problem the employee is facing that is most likely going to impact on the life system of the project. Most novice managers fail or forget to delegate the work at hand. Having promoted, a new manager still feels like doing the responsibilities he used to do. However, if a manger ails to delegate duties, it means that he or she is most probably going to miss out on the time for strategic planning. Research design, methodology and proposed analytical methods Research design The study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative inquiry to examine the existence of a relationship between poor project performances and the challenges novice managers face will be established. According to Creswell (2002), a research methodology is expected to consider the contextual makeup of the research to be as well as the expected results. Establishing appropriate is, therefore, crucial in establishing research outcomes that are meaningful. Quantitative descriptive approaches allow for the variables exploration by the help of hypothesis tests (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007). The hypotheses aimed to seek identity in case there is an existing relationship between the dependent and independent variables of the study. The study results will, therefore, be used in hypothesis addressing, tentative prepositions that surround the theoretical constructs relationship, obtained from the research question (Swanson & Holton, 2005). A quantitative descriptive approach is good because it minimizes a research bias potential as well as the need data evaluation subjectively. It will be therefore fundamental to use both quantitative and qualitative approaches because each of them has their pros and cons. One of the key issues regarding qualitative research approach is that it is a discipline that involves behavioural or social contexts. Its shortcoming is that it risks human persuasion and hence causing research influence or bias. However, this not always the case and using both qualitative and quantitative approaches is fair enough. The fact that quantitative approach relies on approaches that are objective to collect data makes human influence difficult. However, it misses the fundamental opinions and thoughts of the target groups. It is also always very essential to know the feelings and opinions of the hence the need of both approaches (Cassel, 2008). Methodology The research design that will be applied, in this case, is an interpretative and descriptive case study that will be analysed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Questionnaires will be made use (Anderson, 2010). This will help to establish the opinions of the target people. The questionnaires will be subjected to the novice leaders as well as other employees in the Project Management Institution. The questionnaires will be structured so as determined the specifics and details of the concerns. Descriptive statistical approaches will as well be conducted to establish conduct a survey about the opinions of the novice project managers. This will help to establish whether the new project managers are satisfied with their responsibilities. Face-to-face interviews were among the methods that will be used in the research. This approach has consistently remained the most commonly and frequently applied research approach (Clark, 1998). This is because it gives first-hand information, and the interviewer can learn a lot from the facial expressions of the interviewee. In this case, a face-to-face interview will be conducted with the volunteer novice project managers. An interview can be conducted in the home of the respondent or even at their work place, on the streets are in halls. This method is better than other methods of self-completion for instance online and postal surveys because a respondent is more likely to present an undivided attention in the presence of an interviewer. A good interviewer builds rapports with respondents without bias. Another method of collecting data that will be used is the participant observation. Participant observation according to (Erlandson et al, 1993), refers to the kind of observation that involve, active looking in that the interviewer practically goes to the respondents as part of the team working with the respondent. Here, the interviewer is in a position to conduct informal interviews with the other employees or managers. Participant observation as a process allows for the researchers to study and learn on the peoples' activities under study. In this case, the interviewer can observe the ways of the leadership of the novice managers and establish their respective challenges. It is essential in the provision of the context of interview guides and sample guidelines. Participant observation will hence mean that the interviewer will get involved in a learning process via involvement of rather an exposure to routine activities and endeavours of the research context participants. In this case, therefore, the interviewers will have to make organization with the top-managements of the projects for them to participate in the project. So as to ensure that the research is trustworthy, appropriate qualitative research criteria will be used. Other crucial methods like peer reviews, member checks, triangulation and crystallisation could as well be employed if appropriate. Ethical issues There are a few ethical issues that must be put in mind when performing research. These issues are very evident especially when conducting qualitative research. Consent and confidentiality are very crucial and important issues when conducting research. About consent, each person that will participate in the study should be freely consented. They should hence participate without any form of unfair pressure or coerce. It is the responsibility of the interviewee, therefore, to properly inform the respondent what the research entails. As much as written consent seem frightening, it is important. Nevertheless, verbal consent also works in many scenarios. Confidentiality is also very essential when doing research. It is never possible or easy to determine the risks of given contexts to some populations, and not just individuals. It is in that respect that the identities of the various respondents must be protected whatsoever. Time frame and budget Timeframe The research is presumed to take a period of at least two months. This is because there is a need to identify the target groups, collect data and give an analysis of the data and finally present it. The target respondents are the novice project managers, other project managers as well as the employees who work with the novice managers. Because volunteers are required, it will take time to collect the data. The target interviews that will be required will be 200. It will, therefore, take approximately three weeks to collect data from the willing respondents by the qualitative methods mention in methodology. Data analysis will be the second step. Analysing data is usually more hectic in most cases. Many a times, the collection of data is done manual and analysing manual data hectic. Data analysis in that sense will take one month depending on the analysis and speed. The data is then ready for presentation after the analysis in a total span of three months. Budget A total of may be $6917.34 needed to undertake the research. The majority of the funds and expenses will go towards the interviews. The interviews will need printing of at least 200 lengthy questionnaires. There will be also compensation or stipend given to sub-contractors who will assist in the interview. The research firms will need three days of training the personnel that will conduct the interviews. There will be significant expenses during the training including accommodation and food. The total stipend for the research assistants will be approximately Budget Item Amount Stipend & Expenses for Sub-Contracted Foreign data collectors: 300 interviews @ average of approx. $ 50/interview $200 Training and accommodation of approx. 10 data collectors. $ 4940.96 Transport in the course of the data collection $ 988.19 Total $ 6029.15 Summary For many years, organizations have evidently indicated that proper project management is an important component of a successful project. Project management acknowledges that leadership can influence the success of any project. Therefore, improper management negatively influences the life of a project. This study, therefore, by shading light on the challenges of novice managers, the concerns of the new leaders should, as a result, be competently attended to. The persons participate in such studies strongly hold that the challenges of the novice leaders can be solved by proper training, education and guidance from their superiors. 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