1. The concept and significance of project management team building
1) The basic concept of project management team and its construction
Project management team refers to a management organization established with a common goal to ensure the effective coordinated implementation of the project. It is generally composed of project managers and team members.
Project management team building refers to the continuous process of organizing and coordinating the team members who shoulder the project management mission according to a specific model to achieve the expected project goals. The construction of a project management team generally goes through five stages, namely the initial stage, the running-in stage, the normative stage, the mature stage and the disbanding stage, which are basically synchronized with the project life cycle.
Project management team building is the common responsibility of project managers and project management team members. During the team building process, an atmosphere of openness and confidence should be created, so that all team members have a sense of unity and mission. Practice has proved that the socialization of team members will promote team building, and the deeper the team members understand each other, the better the team building will be. Project managers ensure that team members maintain communication with each other and create conditions for promoting socialization among team members. Team members should also take the initiative to create conditions to strengthen communication and integration.
2) Basic action guidelines for the project management team
The project management team should adhere to the following basic principles of action, which have been proven to be the keys to ensuring the success of the project, namely:
(1) Be customer-centric; (2) Have clear goals; (3) Strengthen instruction and admonition; (4) Establish recognized constraints; (5) Form the habit of communicating with each other and holding effective meetings; (6) Guarantee Clear responsibilities, clear division of labor, and clear responsibilities; (7) Strengthen the decision-making mechanism; (8) Improve the problem-handling mechanism; (9) Feed back information in a timely and efficient manner; (10) Focus on reshaping work processes; Advance and sustainable development.
3) The importance of project management team building
Building a project management team is to create a good atmosphere and environment, so that the entire project management team strives to achieve common project goals. Through project management team building can:
(1) Enable team members to establish a clear common goal, enhance attractiveness, charisma and combat effectiveness;
(2) To achieve a reasonable division of labor and collaboration, so that each member clearly defines his role, power, tasks and responsibilities, as well as the relationship with other members;
(3) Establish a high degree of cohesion, so that team members actively and enthusiastically devote the necessary time and effort to the success of the project;
(4) Strengthen mutual trust among team members, and promote mutual concern and mutual recognition among members;
(5) To achieve effective communication among members and form an open and frank communication atmosphere.
2. The basic principle of "Benchmarking Method"
1) The basic concept of "Benchmarking Method"
The concept of the "model reference method" can be traced back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Xerox copier company in the United States found that the prices of products with the same function produced by emerging office automation product companies such as Ricoh and Canon in Japan were much lower than Xerox products. , forcing Xerox's nearly 85% global market share to plummet below 30%. In the industry competition survey, Xerox did not simply reduce the price of raw materials and products to solve the problem, but sent a capable delegation to Japan to visit and learn from Japan, trying to understand the whole process of Japanese manufacturers from raw material supply to manufacturing, Find a "reference point" to identify your gaps, and then develop a practical and effective rectification plan. Xerox has reduced quality problems by 2/3, reduced manufacturing cost by 1/2, shortened production cycle by 2/3, and increased labor productivity by nearly 50% through the "Model Reference" activity. Fundamentally changed the passive situation. This performance improvement optimization activity pioneered by Xerox and quickly popularized around the world is the "Benchmarking Method".
Therefore, the "Benchmarking Method" means that enterprises conduct research on the best performance and optimal management of the leading teams in the industry, and use them as a standard or reference to emulate, through data collection, analysis and comparison, and tracking learning. It is a systematic learning method and process for a series of standardized procedures to improve performance, and finally catch up with competitors and become a market leader. The activities carried out using the "sample referencing method" are called "sample referencing".
2) "Model Reference Method" is the best learning method for project management team building
Today, when the world has entered the era of knowledge economy, creating a learning organization has become an urgent need for the organization's survival and sustainable development. For the project management team organization, it is also necessary to keep pace with the times and strengthen both theoretical and practical learning.
Team learning is a learning activity and process that improves the ability of team members to cooperate with each other, as a whole and achieve common goals. Through continuous learning, the team as a whole produces excellent results, and individual members grow faster than other learning methods. When it is necessary to ponder complex problems, the team must learn how to condense the wisdom of the team higher than the individual wisdom; when the need for innovative and coordinated action, the team can create a kind of "operational tacit understanding". Make team members have space for self-play, but also cooperate and coordinate with each other. In terms of theoretical learning, teams often use two different team conversation methods: "sincere conversation" and "discussion".
Undoubtedly, in addition to theoretical learning, learning through practice is also an extremely important team quality training, in a sense, it is even more important than theoretical learning, and the "model reference method" is a suitable method for project management teams. The best way to learn through practice in construction, as can be seen from the above, although this method was first applied to the learning of enterprise organizations, it has been proved by practice that the project management team can also greatly improve its competitiveness by adopting this method, which is conducive to the development of the project. Done successfully.
3) Basic classification of "template reference"
According to the field in which the "model reference" object is located, it is divided into four types: internal, competitive, industry, and optimal:
(1) Internal "model reference": a model within the project management team is used as the object of "model reference". It is the simplest and most basic "boilerplate reference". On the one hand, find the most effective function or operation within the project management team as a reference "model", and other functions or operations can improve their performance by learning from the "model". On the other hand, the project management team's own strengths and weaknesses can also be clarified; clear advantages will attract more external project management teams to conduct "model reference" with each other, and it is absolutely difficult for an anonymous team without any advantages to find an external "model reference" partner .
(2) Competitive "model reference": take competitors as the "model reference" object. Compare your own business processes with those of your own competitive project management teams with competing products, services, or processes in the same market to learn from your competitors' strengths. It is difficult to obtain the intelligence of competitive "model reference". Generally, it can share its own advantages with competitors through public information channels or use internal "model reference" to enjoy the advantages of the opponent. For example, peer companies jointly build a "model reference" club, and members can share information. There are also those who use commercial espionage methods to illegally seek "model reference".
(3) Industry "model reference": the dominant project management team in the industry related to the project management team is the "model reference" object. Information sharing is easier because industry "boilerplates" reduce competition.
(4) Optimal "Model Reference": When selecting "Model Reference" objects, regardless of whether the objects are the same or similar in terms of business, products, etc., the focus of "Model Reference" is on the work process, as long as Its processing business process is similar and has a dominant position, so it can be used as a learning object.
When the project management team conducts "model reference", internal "model reference" is often the first thing to do, which is also the first basis for other "model reference", but only internal "model reference" can easily lead to "internal view" and change. It has become a "frog in a well", so it is also necessary to carry out the other three "model references" of "extroversion" to ensure the optimization of the construction of the project management team.
4) The practical significance of using the "model reference method" to strengthen the construction of the project management team
In the fierce market competition, the practical significance of the project management team adopting the "model reference method" is as follows:
(1) "Model reference" can scientifically evaluate project management performance: "Model reference" is a process of scientifically identifying the best project practice and imitating learning. Through the evaluation, the team can understand its position compared with other project management teams, and other project management teams with advantages can show the problems existing in the project management team and the corresponding solutions.
(2) "Model Reference" establishes the object that the project management team can catch up with: One of the cores of "Model Reference" is to find out the project management team that is superior to oneself or has some advantages in reality, and refer to it to carry out the project management team. optimization activities and strive to catch up with these excellent teams.
(3) "Model reference" promotes quality improvement, cost reduction and performance improvement: "Model reference" not only defines its own position and determines the process of catching up and surpassing objects, but also mainly by comparing its own business processes with those of catching up and surpassing objects , by learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses, re-optimizing their own business processes, to promote quality, cost and performance improvement, in order to be in a competitive leading process.
(4) "Model reference" is a learning method: It is very important to establish a learning team to make the project management team grow and develop. Project management teams learn in a variety of ways, and "boilerplate" is one of them. The "boilerplate" procedure actually guides the project management team on "who to learn from" and "how to learn".
(5) "Model reference" is conducive to the formation of an extroverted project management team culture: "Model reference" is the process of finding the best project management teams that satisfy users in the market and taking them as an example, insisting on "model reference" , which is conducive to overcoming the introverted culture with narrow vision and gradually forming an extroverted project management team culture facing the market and the future.
(6) "Model Reference" can improve the job satisfaction of team members: During the "Model Reference" process, the "Model Reference" objects within the project management team and their external "Model Reference" partners form an alliance to share the "Model Reference". "The methods and successes and failures gained, resulting in a broader vision of team members and higher job satisfaction.
3. Implementation steps, resistances and success factors of the "Model Reference Method"
1) Steps or processes of "Model Reference"
The general steps for implementing "model reference" in project management team building are as follows:
(1) Formulate the "Model Reference" plan: mainly include ① clarifying the purpose of the project management team to implement the "Model Reference"; ② Selecting the "Model Reference" object; ③ Identifying the various products produced by the "Model Reference" partners; ④ Measure the expected benefits ; ⑤ Be customer-oriented and clarify customer expectations; ⑥ Finally, list the factors related to the success of the "model reference" in detail.
(2) Set up a "model reference" group: a "model reference" group is formed by members from various groups of the project management team, and the team members should cooperate with each other to ensure the success of the "model reference". The group consists of three types of personnel, namely (1) the team leader—responsible for the “Model Reference” activity to be carried out well; (2) the preparatory staff—complete the detailed analysis work; ③ the interviewer—complete the visit to the “Model Reference” partner.
(3) Information collection: This stage includes the collection of information related to the best practices and effects of the superior project management team, the "model reference" partner. However, it must be established on the basis of analyzing and sorting out the intelligence within one's own project management team, so as to ensure the purposeful selection of the superior project management team. In addition, on-site visit is an indispensable part in information collection, only on-site visit can make a thorough understanding of the superior project management team.
(4) Analyze the gap between yourself: clarify the relative gap between your own project management team and the superior project management team.
(5) Formulating corrective measures: This process determines what improvement activities the project management team should do in order to surpass the superior project management team, and formulate detailed measures and plans. It generally includes the following tasks, namely: ① measuring variables related to the performance of the project management team such as cost, quality, duration, etc.; ② determining the performance level to be achieved by the “model reference” activity and how to achieve this level; ③ formulating and Implement improvement performance plans.
(6) Take improvement actions: Under the leadership of the team leader or project manager, make concerted efforts to put the rectification measures into action.
2) Resistance to the implementation of the "Model Reference Method"
In the construction of the project management team, the various obstacles often encountered in the process of implementing the "model reference" activity are as follows:
(1) Mentality: arrogant and arrogant, do not admit their own shortcomings, do not learn from others, and regard "model reference" as superfluous.
(2) Psychologically: Fear of exposing one's own flaws. Refusing "boilerplate" activities in order to cover up their own inadequacies.
(3) Habitually: Fear of showing negative resistance to changes in unreasonable but convenient working processes or methods.
(4) In action: the word "difficult" is at the top of the list.
(5) In terms of cost: the project manager does not know clearly, either he is unwilling to invest, or the investment is out of control, going to two extremes.
3) Analysis of the success factors of the implementation of the "Model Reference Method"
The elements to ensure the successful implementation of "Model Reference" in the construction of the project management team are as follows:
(1) Customer-centric: Adhere to the tenet of "satisfying customer needs first" from beginning to end, take customer needs as the "model reference" orientation, and use "customer satisfaction" as the only standard to measure process optimization.
(2) Process-oriented: Although the project management team can identify the performance gap between itself and the dominant project management team through measurement, the "model reference" is mainly to analyze the operation process that causes the performance gap to make the two project management teams What is the difference between the two, through the optimization of the process to surpass the opponent in terms of performance.
(3) Ensure that the overall interests come first: Practice has proved that the "model reference" contributes to the overall interests of the project management team, and all departments and personnel must actively implement the "model reference" that serves the overall interests of the team.
(4) Establish an open mind: Every member of the project management team must abandon the view of self-respect and not rest on their laurels; adopt an "extroverted" thinking and actively absorb the advanced operating processes and methods outside the team.
(5) Realize information sharing: Sharing information with the "Model Reference" partners enables the partner project management teams participating in the "Model Reference" to benefit each other, which is beneficial to the project management team and the country.
(6) Ensure the participation of all staff: The "Model Reference" activity involves the improvement of the entire business process of the project management team. Therefore, all team members should participate in the "Model Reference" activity to understand the concept, procedures, and important aspects of "Model Reference". All employees should participate in the "model reference" activity, that is, "model reference".
(7) Adhere to the "model reference": the market is constantly developing and changing. If you want to be victorious and unbeaten in the market, you must make the "model reference" activity programmatic, institutionalized, routine, standardized, and persistent, and avoid going through the motions. learning method.