Corporate Governance in Project Management-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Write a report on how a project can be audited for its governance. Answer: Introduction Successful completion of projects often requires the application of specific techniques that guide various project stages. Project governance involves all the major success elements of a project. Project Governance is a concept used to refer to the set of responsibilities, procedures, processes, functions regulations and policies through which projects are initiated, managed and controlled (Ahola et al., 2014). It is the framework through which critical decisions regarding portfolios, programs and projects are made in a repeatable, robust and logical manner. This report is focused on developing a checklist for project governance. Corporate governance principles that can be used in project management Corporate governance refers to a system through which organizations are controlled and directed. Corporate governance is intended to ensure organizational success (Bebchuk and Weisbach, 2010.) Some of its core principles can also be applied in the context of project management to ensure their successful initiation and completion. Fairness Any project has people who are directly or indirectly affected by its initiation and execution. Stakeholders are people who can directly affect or be affected by a projects activities, outcomes and decisions. They can be individuals, groups or organizations both from within and without the organization sponsoring a project. Examples of critical stakeholders are senior management, employees, project leader and team members, clients of organization subcontractors and members of the community among others. These groups should be involved in the project management stages through appropriate dialogue. Interests, of all stakeholders and shareholders, should be respected and taken into account in all project stages (Bebchuk and Weisbach, 2010). Responsibility Responsibility in this context refers to the state of an individual or group being answerable for something that is within their power. The project team and project manager are usually given authority to undertake a project on behalf of the project sponsor. They are therefore required to be entirely responsible for the power and authority exercised on a project. They should oversee the initiation, implementation and evaluation of a project in a way that the best interests of the project sponsor are upheld (Joslin and Mller, 2016). Accountability Accountability refers to the obligation of explaining reasons for actions taken in the course of an undertaking. Accountability principle can be applied to project management through frequent communication to the project stakeholders by the project team, concerning the progress of a project and how it is achieving its objectives. By being accountable, the project team should establish and maintain appropriate project control and risk management mechanisms (Hjelmbrekke, Ldre and Lohne, 2014). Transparency It refers to the willingness to provide precise information to project stakeholders and shareholders. The project team should keep all project stakeholders informed about primary activities involved in a project and any potential risks involved in the implementation of the project. Additionally, it should carry out its activities transparently and in a fair manner that can withstand scrutiny by stakeholders (Crawford and Helm, 2009). Transparency can make stakeholders and shareholder more confident in the ability of the project team. Issues that need to be addressed in to ensure proper project governance Transparency and Accountability Transparency is an essential issue for the success of any project. Major decisions on a project should at all times be arrived at transparently and in a manner that is consistent with established rules and regulations. All information relating to a significant decision should be freely available for all stakeholders in and be presented in forms that are easily understandable. Failure to address transparency issue can cause serious problems between the project team and project stakeholders. For example, the process of choosing suppliers for essential materials or project subcontractors must be carried out in a way that is transparent and all information regarding the process made available to all stakeholders (Guo et al., 2014). Stakeholder engagement Participation is also a vital issue that needs to be taken into consideration. All stakeholders involved in a project must be identified. This is important failing to engage any project stakeholder can derail the implementation process, causing a detrimental impact on the project. Stakeholders should be involved throughout the project cycle from the definition of project scope, Project planning, implementation and handover (Too and Weaver, 2014). Risk management The fact that no project can be said to be risk-free requires adequate preparation to deal with any potential risks. While predicting what's going to occur in a project might be difficult, failure to prepare in advance can make the situation worse. It is therefore essential that before the project is implemented all stakeholders agree how to identify, classify and prioritize risks (Zwikael and Smyrk, 2015). Risk management could involve creating a supplementary budget to cater for unforeseen adverse occurrences on a project. Project Governance checklist 1. Initiation Process Initiation 2. Planning Process Scoping Creating Schedule Budgeting Risk planning Communication planning Quality Planning Procurement Planning Formation of a project team Development of project management plan 3. Execution process Execution of project plan Team Development Procurement Communicating Quality Assurance 4. Controlling Process Change Control Project reporting Scope control Risk Control Schedule control Cost control Quality Control 5. Closing Process Contract Closeout Administrative Closeout Recommendation Numerous strategies can be employed to ensure good governance in a project. A project can be assured of excellent governance through effective involvement of its stakeholders throughout the project cycle, establishing sufficient risk mitigation strategies, defining of the duties and responsibilities of various parties involved in a project directly or indirectly, establishing clear communication channels for engaging project stakeholders and shareholders, establishing project management control processes and defining project governance models (Too and Weaver, 2014). By adhering to these deliverables, a project can be assured of good governance. The project manager is tasked with the most significant responsibility of guaranteeing good project governance. Conclusion In conclusion, Project governance is an integral aspect of the success of any project. This, however, does not exist in isolation since it can apply principles of corporate governance to facilitate successful implementation of a project. Some of these principles include fairness, transparency; accountability and responsibility. To facilitate proper project governance, issues such as stakeholder engagement, risk management and promoting responsibility and accountability also need to be addressed. Managers can also use a checklist to facilitate compliance with good project governance. References Ahola, T., Ruuska, I., Artto, K. and Kujala, J., 2014. What is project governance and what are its origins?. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), pp.1321-1332. Bebchuk, L.A. and Weisbach, M.S., 2010. The state of corporate governance research. The Review of Financial Studies, 23(3), pp.939-961. Crawford, L.H. and Helm, J., 2009. Government and governance: The value of project management in the public sector. Project Management Journal, 40(1), pp.73-87. Guo, F., Chang-Richards, Y., Wilkinson, S. and Li, T.C., 2014. Effects of project governance structures on the management of risks in significant infrastructure projects: A comparative analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 32(5), pp.815-826. Hjelmbrekke, H., Ldre, O. and Lohne, J., 2014. The need for a project governance body. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 7(4), pp.661-677. Joslin, R. and Mller, R., 2016. The relationship between project governance and project success. International journal of project management, 34(4), pp.613-626. Too, E.G., and Weaver, P., 2014. The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), pp.1382-1394. Zwikael, O. and Smyrk, J., 2015. Project governance: Balancing control and trust in dealing with risk. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), pp.852-862.