Chapter 2: The Manager, the Organization, and the Team

True/False

1. It is common practice to select the project manager prior to the project being selected.

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

2. The functional manager has expertise in the function he or she manages, but the project manager rarely has expertise in many of the projects technical areas.

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

3. The project manager is supposed to facilitate the work of the project team and must, therefore, stay aloof from the conflicts arising among project team members.

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

4. The project manager should take a careful, analytic approach to making decisions about projects.

Response: See section 2.3

Level: medium

5. If the performance of all subsystems is optimized, it follows that the overall system is optimum.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

6. The project manager must maintain a high level of flexibility in dealing with people.

Response: See section 2.4

Level: medium

7. It is appropriate for the project manager to play an active role in communications between the client and the senior management of the organization conducting the project.

Response: See section 2.4

Level: medium

8. The individual with responsibility for performing a task is more likely to overestimate the time required to complete the task than his/her immediate supervisor.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

9. The most effective program managers tell their project managers exactly what to do. The project manager should not allow functional managers to usurp his or her control of the project.

Response: See section 2.4

Level: medium

10. When it comes to assigning individuals to work on projects, functional managers and project managers are often in conflict.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

11. It is critical to a project’s success to have top management support.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: easy

12. Conflict occurs mainly at the beginning of the project.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

13. A matrix organization is a combination of pure project organization and functional organization.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

14. A pure project organization is usually too expensive for the management of small projects.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

15. An advantage of pure project organization is its great depth of technical knowledge.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

16. Cross divisional project communication is enhanced when a project is organized in a functional project organization.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

17. Functional project organizations have higher personnel costs than pure project organizations.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

18. Functionally organized projects are not seen as a high priority by functional managers.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

19. It is common to have more than one boss in a matrix organization.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: easy

20. Project team members are often faced with conflicting orders in a matrix organization.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

21. Intrateam conflicts are minimal in a matrix organization.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

22. Since the PM has position power there is no need for them to have credibility

Response: See section 2.5

Level: easy

23. Political savvy is not only an important characteristic of a project manager but is also important for project team members.

Response: See section 2.3

Level: easy

24. Morale of the project team is a key responsibility of the project manager.

Response: See section 2.3

Level: medium

25. Project team conflict stifles team creativity.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

26. Project “war rooms” discourage team cooperation, morale and communications.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

27. Matrix, pure project, and functional project organizations may exist in the same company.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

28. When making trade-offs on a project, the project manager needs to be aware that profit for the firm is always the most important of the project’s goals.

Response: See section 2.2

Level: medium

29. The job of managing work across multiple groups is called integration management.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

30. In order for a PM to be “believable” the PM must have technical and administrative credibility.

Response: See section 2.3

Level: medium

Multiple Choice

31. Fiona and her team are working on a complex project. After multiple conflicts in the initial stages of the project, the team establishes a set of guidelines and is now working cohesively to accomplish the project goals. In the given scenario, Fiona's team is in the _____ phase of team development.

a) norming

b) forming

c) storming

d) adjourning

e) performing

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

32. Samuel is a project manager who is working on his first project. He assembles a multidisciplinary team and assigns roles and responsibilities to each team member. In this scenario, Samuel is in the _____ phase of team development.

a) storming

b) norming

c) performing

d) adjourning

e) forming

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

33. Laura worked with a cross-functional team on a project. After the completion of the project, she held a meeting with the team members after which they returned to their respective departments. Which of the following phases of team development does this scenario exemplify?

a) Storming

b) Norming

c) Performing

d) Adjourning

e) Forming

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

34. Albert is managing a team that comprises individuals from various departments in his company. After facing some difficulties initially, the team members work toward resolving the issues and collectively establish certain rules to avoid any future conflict. In this scenario, Albert's team is in the _____ phase of team development.

a) storming

b) norming

c) performing

d) adjourning

e) forming

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

35. Sarah is handling a project team whose members are spread across different geographical regions. The members work independently, and this leads to several conflicts among them. In this scenario, Sarah's team is in the _____ phase of team development.

a) storming

b) norming

c) performing

d) adjourning

e) forming

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

36. Maria's team starts working on a new project. Halfway through the project, the client visits the team and requests some changes in the specifications of the project. This alters both the cost and the schedule of the project. The given scenario exemplifies the concept of _____.

a) storming

b) interface coordination

c) scope creep

d) integration management

e) administrative credibility

Response: See section 2.1

Level: difficult

37. Roger and his team have been designing a factory that will be modular in nature. They have been working on it for the past seven years, and now it is ending its developmental cycle. Roger has observed that his team is apprehensive. He has also received proposals for a follow-up project in the same area of interest with the same team. This is an example of _____.

a) projectitis

b) analytical approach

c) scope creep

d) systems approach

e) norming

Response: See section 2.5

Level: difficult

38. Cibrastruct, a real estate developer, has undertaken a project to construct a mall. It hires a contractor to call in architects to draft plans, a procurement specialist to gather the best quality of raw materials, a lawyer to ensure the proper planning permits have been obtained, and labor union specialists to assemble a group of workers who will work on this long-term project. This is an example of _____.

a) systems engineering

b) functional project organization

c) scope creep

d) pure project organization

e) technical credibility

Response: See section 2.5

Level: difficult

39. Proteus, a hotel chain, has bought some new kitchen appliances that would enable its kitchen staff to work more effectively. The senior management of the hotel assigns the task of removal of old appliances and installation of new appliances to the respective manager of the food and beverage department in each of its hotels. The manager assembles a team from within the department to perform this task. This scenario exemplifies _____.

a) projectitis

b) functional project organization

c) scope creep

d) pure project organization

e) systems engineering

Response: See section 2.5

Level: difficult

40. Martha has taken on an ambitious project that requires input from different departments within the organization she works for. She also needs contributions from external experts and contractors. She needs to bring the work of all these groups together in a harmonious whole for the project. In the given scenario, Martha needs to engage in _____.

a) systems engineering

b) integration management

c) scope creep

d) suboptimization

e) conscious capitalism

Response: See section 2.6

Level: difficult

41. The _________________ approach centers on understanding the bits and pieces in a system.

a) facilitating

b) analytical

c) systems

d) sensitivity

e) matrix

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

42. A matrix project that closely resembles the pure project is referred to as

a) a weak matrix

b) a strong matrix

c) a functional matrix

d) a balanced matrix

e) an unbalanced matrix

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

43. Which of the following is not a characteristic of effective project team members?

a) They are technically competent.

b) They are politically sensitive.

c) They have a strong orientation to their discipline.

d) They have a strong goal orientation.

e) They have high self-esteem.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

44. Altering the specifications of an ongoing project is referred to as

a) suboptimization

b) scope creep

c) a virtual project

d) projectitis

e) PMI

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

45. The PM’s job includes all of the following except?

a) Convener and chair of meetings

b) Facilitator

c) Communicator

d) Supervisor

e) Virtual project manager

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

46. The four essential skills of persuasion described Jay Conger (1998) include all of the following except:

a) Effective persuaders must be credible to those they are trying to persuade

b) They must find goals held in common with those being persuaded

c) Must give locker-room motivational speeches

d) They must connect with the emotions of those they are trying to persuade

Response: See section 2.2

Level: medium

47. During project formation stage, the major sources of conflict are all of the following except:

a) Priorities

b) Procedures

c) Technical

d) Schedules

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

Short Answer

48. Describe the difference between the analytic approach and the systems approach to solving problems in a project.

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

49. Why are negotiation skills an important criterion of a successful project manager?

Response: See section 2.2

Level: medium

50. Define “projectitis.”

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

51. It is said that the distinction between the traditional manager-as-supervisor and the modern manager-as-facilitator is diminishing in recent years. Why?

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

52. What is meant by the phrase “scope creep?”

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

53. What is a “virtual project?”

Response: See section 2.1

Level: medium

54. Briefly describe the project manager’s role as a firefighter. What sorts of obstacles do project managers have to overcome?

Response: See section 2.2

Level: medium

55. Briefly describe and contrast pure project organization, functional project organization, and the matrix project organization.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

56. Briefly list the primary advantages and disadvantages of a matrix project organization.

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

57. List the key characteristics of effective project team members.

Response: See section 2.6

Level: medium

58. What does “PMO” stand for? What is its purpose?

Response: See section 2.5

Level: medium

59. Explain the importance of credibility and why PM’s need it.

Response: See section 2.3

Level: medium

60. How are the PMBOK and PMI related?

Response: See section 2.4

Level: medium