Agribusiness Project Planning and Management Assignment

Assignment Task

Introduction

This interview report has been prepared by a group of five students as part of an assignment for the Agribusiness Project Planning and Management course. This report is the result of an interview with Mr. Hamdan bin Abu Hassan, a 45-year-old experienced project manager who is now serving in the position of Head of Department. It discusses Mr. Hamdan's primary responsibilities and tasks as a drafter for a certain private corporation. In addition, it includes the qualifications required for the job and the difficulties Mr. Hamdan encounters at work.

The purpose of this assignment is to help us comprehend the job description of a project manager. In addition, we would like to learn more about what it is like to work as a project manager generally. In addition, we pressed for a better understanding of how a project manager runs particular projects with careful preparation. We could relate to their struggles and challenges because of which they were able to request assistance in order to address the many issues they encountered in each project. Additionally, we may gain a deeper comprehension of the project manager's delivered messages. Last but not least, this assignment enables the students to address any questions or concerns they may have about the project manager in order to learn fresh information and perspectives in the future.

In order to finish this assignment, numerous actions have been taken. Before Mr. Hamdan's interview began, we held a WhatsApp chat to choose a project manager with experience and get consensus from all of our group members. Other than that, we move on to develop some interview questions so we may have a lengthy talk with him. The questions we spoke about were based on the requirements of assignment to make sure we did not forget to get all the information for the interview report. We also come to a conclusion in our discussion and make a list of the inquiries we want to make of him throughout the next interview.

Then, on the chosen day, we conducted an interview with Mr. Hamdan to make sure he was available and willing to commit to the session. Mr. Hamdan provided the information which we recorded. We also employed a recorder to capture the discourse throughout the interview session in order to prevent such unanticipated things from happening, such as losing information. After that, we organized the information we had collected and included it in the interview report. We succeeded in completing this assignment by creating the interview report along the process.

Educational Background

When Mr. Hamdan was 7 years old until 12 years old, he began his first year of school at SK Bukit Jenun, a primary school in Pendang, Kedah. He completed his secondary school education at SMK Bukit Jenun for three years, from the age of 13 to the age of 15. He then made the decision to transfer to SM Vokasional Kulim in Kedah, where he was enrolled in a course called Building Construction, in order to fulfil his desire. In 1991, after completing his secondary schooling, he enrolled in Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah, popularly known as POLIMAS, to pursue a certificate level. He spent two years of studying building services engineering. He also talked about his experience taking physical education classes for three semesters to understand basic theories and fundamentals before doing a semester of practicum. He decided to be practical and work in the well-known Hitachi Factory in the Bangi, Selangor region. He made the decision to continue his studies in the fourth semester after gaining some new knowledge and successfully completing the practical session. He succeeded to earn his studies in 1995 after spending two years studying.

Work Experience

Talking about work experience, after graduation in 1995, Mr. Hamdan worked as a quality control (QC) at one of the plastic manufacturing companies located in Sungai Petani, Kedah which is Thong Guan Industries Berhad. Thong Guan Industries Berhad is one of Asia Pacific’s largest plastic packaging companies. Mr. Hamdan worked there for about one year.

After that, in 1996, he worked as a drafter at a consulting company in Pulau Tikus, Penang namely Jurutera Perunding Rapi Sdn. Bhd. However, it was only temporary because in 1997, Mr. Hamdan had migrated to Kuala Lumpur. While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Hamdan continued his work as a draftsman at Jurutera Perunding Valdun Sdn. Bhd. in Bangsar from 1997 until 2018.

However, after almost two decades of working at the company, in 2018, Mr. Hamdan moved to a construction company which is Alliance MEP Sdn. Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. Until now, he is still working there and has now held the position of head of department. Mr. Hamdan has almost 25 years of work experience.

Views on what it takes to be a good project manager

As Mr Hamdan stated, a project manager is a professional in charge of all parts of a project from start to finish. Project managers plan, execute, and supervise projects and are frequently the first point of contact for any concerns that may develop during the process. In project planning, the project manager essentially plans for project success and is responsible for "getting things done" (Ika and Saint-Macary, 2012).

A competent project manager must have a wide variety of talents, not all of which are technical. They might be everyday talents or job-specific abilities obtained via education and training. These are referred to as soft and hard skills, and they may range from leadership, being able to motivate and encourage people, effective communication and decision-making ability, to risk management, budgeting, and project planning. Project management abilities may be transferred from one sector to another. Project management tools and procedures are universal, and a successful project manager should be able to contribute value in any context. It is critical to have the proper balance and mix of the numerous talents required to be a successful project manager. Here are some perspectives on what it takes to be an effective project manager:

Leadership ability

Leadership is essential for successful project management because it allows project managers to interact successfully with their teams. Leaders with excellent communication skills may foster trust among team members, which is vital for project success. Project managers may assist in keeping teams focused on their goals by offering clear guidance and a sense of purpose, which is essential for practical project completion. Even without institutional power, effective project managers seemed to know how to influence others. They understood when and with whom to use various power and influence. They could read other people's needs and exploit this information to seek assistance. In the name of project completion, they were positive manipulators. Their interpersonal skills and talents accounted for a large portion of their power over others.

For their projects to succeed, project managers must also be able to foster a healthy work environment. It implies they must be able to inspire their team, establish and communicate clear goals, and build a collaborative environment. If the project manager cannot do so, the team will be less productive, and the project may run late or over budget. Strong leaders may foster a work climate that encourages creativity and innovation. This environment is required for tasks that necessitate thinking beyond the box. It also allows team members to feel at ease taking chances, which is critical for any project, including new or ground-breaking ideas.

The core group must be motivated and encouraged for every project to succeed. It is where the project leader's responsibility comes in, as they must be able to excite and inspire their team to keep them working successfully toward the objective. Motivated team members are more likely to be engaged with their job and involved in the project's success. They are also more inclined to be creative and develop unique solutions to emerging challenges. Motivating a team is not always simple, but it is critical to the success of any project. Perfect this talent, and they will be able to build a high-performing team capable of great things.

Communicate effectively

It is widely known that successful project managers are easy-going communicators who do not flinch at the prospect of talking with their team or clients. It entails talking with individuals about a wide range of simple and complex issues. Project managers must also be open to communication and acknowledge that not everyone communicates similarly. Any project will fail if there is no clear communication channel. It is critical to be straightforward, transparent, and honest while managing initiatives. Knowing co-workers and understanding how they operate and communicate is vital to drive a team and meeting deadlines or primary goals. To do this, a project manager must frequently be a project chameleon. Creating a communication strategy for the team might be beneficial, but mandating a communication structure will only sometimes work for everyone. Project managers must figure out how to communicate with the diverse personality types on their team.

Aside from that, the key to project management success is maintaining continual contact with team members and project stakeholders. After all, communication breakdowns may hinder performance, especially within the project team. Implementing project management tools and file-sharing applications improves team productivity. Once a project plan is established, constant communication and updates amongst team members aid in keeping the project on track. However, project managers must keep an open communication channel with stakeholders to ensure they stay involved in the project until its completion. One efficient method is to deliver frequent updates regarding project activity and where tasks stand to the deadline.

Make ethical decisions

Influential leaders must be able to make judgements that benefit not just the project but also the individuals involved. As a project manager, they will be responsible for identifying stakeholders, assessing risks and opportunities, and making the best choices for the project. Those tested could digest large amounts of information and sorting it out. They could quickly deal with difficult situations and shift their mental focus and attention. Managers often make difficult choices that are not always popular. It is important to remember that money is not everything, and sometimes they must make choices based on what is best for the individuals involved. Developing these people-management abilities and critical technical talents will enable them to lead a team that is motivated about the success of the project.

Ability to Handle Stress

Project management is undoubtedly one of the most challenging positions since the project manager is directly liable and accountable for the project's success or failure. Some project managers feel they can handle and deal with high-stress levels, whereas others ignore or refuse to accept that they are stressed. Stress affects not just cognitive and behavioral function but may also harm their health, well-being, and family life. They may not be able to control how much stress they experience daily, but they can modify how to cope with it. It is critical to managing stress before it gets more challenging to handle and operate.

Project management do a lot of job. It takes a lot of energy and strength. Physical and mental strength is required. By definition, the project manager's role's ambiguity creates conflict, eventually leading to stress. Effective project managers handle their stress by efficiently managing time, depersonalizing and defusing conflict, embracing uncertainty, and employing humor. On the personality test, they also displayed a high level of stress tolerance.

Other than that, project managers must recognize or understand their employees' tension before learning and using stress management approaches. Learning to manage stress effectively begins with the willingness to look at themselves. Every project has problems that must be resolved. Because the project manager is the first point of contact for customers and team members when something goes wrong, it is in their best interests to anticipate any potential problems before they occur. Adaptability and issue solutions are critical for maintaining project control.

Time management skills

Time management involves allocating time between project deliverables and tasks to achieve deadlines. Successful project management necessitates an understanding of efficient time management and the capacity to evaluate productivity and efficiency compared to behaviors that may result in lost time. It is critical to divide resources properly for teams to complete high-quality work by the agreed-upon timeframe.

An effective project manager recognizes that allocating duties among team members is essential for time management. Divide critical tasks among project personnel to divide the total project into manageable components that smaller deadlines or milestones may finish within the overall project timetable. For example, good time management that "buckets" the work into smaller tasks helps prevent team pressure based on project objectives and deadlines. Set specific deadlines for each team member to provide time for the components to be reviewed before the official due date of all deliverables.

How project manager estimate time needed for each project?

Mr. Hamdan, as someone who works in the field of drafter in the construction company, the time required to complete the project is determined by the clients themselves. For example, let's say the client has given time in 3 months, so in that time, the project manager has to structure the task in the right way. It is because the construction project needs approval from many parties before being delivered to the clients. There are two types of Mr. Hamdan estimates the time for each project which are bottom-up and top-down estimating. Bottom-up estimation involves dividing larger projects into smaller, more specific activities. Then they calculate how long it will take to finish each work. Estimating time at a granular level improves accuracy as well. In addition, top-down estimating is a method of developing an overview of the predicted timeframe first. Determine the time estimate using previous projects, experience, and historical data as a reference. Both time estimation strategies complement each other effectively. When both data are compared, they have an even more precise estimate of the time required to finish the job. If the two do not agree, it does not imply that one is incorrect, just it indicates that they must revise their estimate.

Other than that, to begin with the work, Mr. Hamdan estimates the time required for each task rather than the project as a whole. The circumstances determine the degree of information needed. For example, they may want a basic outline of time estimates for future project phases, but they will almost certainly require precise estimates for the step ahead. Then, list any essential assumptions, exclusions, limitations, and data sources used. It will assist them when the estimates are criticized and allow them to detect any risk areas if situations change.

According to Mr. Hamdan, suppose that the resources will only be productive 80% of the time. Allow for unforeseen event such as illnesses, supply issues, equipment failure, accidents and crises, problem resolution, and meetings.

4.0 A discussion of a very challenging issue that they have faced as a project manager

In the interview with Mr. Hamdan, he stated that there are several challenging issues that he has dealt with, namely; dealing with team members, difficult customers, and issues with project deliverables. Mr. Hamdan in his statement said that generally, in dealing with people, a project manager must always keep his professionalism. Mental and emotional strength is a very important aspect that must be prioritized to avoid unwanted issues in the workplace. Through his long work experience, he has observed that decision that is made in circumstances where emotion overpowers judgment, could lead to serious wrong decision-making, loss of respect from other colleagues, and further managerial issues with their superiors. Hence, it is very crucial for a project manager to always have a sound mind in handling issues in the workplace, especially those that involve human interactions.

Dealing with team members

Commitment issues

When asked about his statement of dealing with team members can be a challenging issue, he elaborated that the workplace is full of adults that are bound to other personal commitments outside the workplace. In other words, dealing with team members can be challenging due to commitment issues. This includes actions and behaviour such as taking emergency leaves, not showing up for work, or not cooperating in team discussions that sometimes could seriously affect the project flow. For instance, due to personal reasons, or health problems, the team members may apply for emergency leaves at crucial times such as during project deals with clients, presentation of the project with superiors, and during paperwork submissions. Mr. Hamdan said that these issues are hard to control as the issue is heavily related to employee rights. For example, there is nothing that Mr. Hamdan can do in his power to prevent his team member from leaving during a project deal with clients when emergency leave is applied as the employees are entitled to their leaves. However, this would later affect Mr. Hamdan’s quality of work because as a project manager, his superiors will hold him accountable for the hiccups made by his team members.

Behavioural issues

Asides from having issues with team members’ sudden and emergency leaves at crucial project times, Mr. Hamdan said that he also had to deal with team members with behavioural issues. Team members with behavioural issues can be described as employees that engage in behaviour that can be detrimental to the team’s performance and dynamic. They would often lack motivation and enthusiasm in completing their part of the project, struggle to submit their work on time, and do not take accountability for their work. Mr. Hamdan in his word said that team members that have these behavioural issues really put pressure on him as his authority as a project manager would not work on these individuals. They will not comply with instructions and refuse to follow rules and protocols given while openly defying Mr. Hamdan’s authority. These behaviours have created a negative working environment and can disrupt the performance, morale, and productivity of the team.

Difficult clients

As for dealing with clients, Mr. Hamdan said that customers came in various natures of behaviour. The majority of them would have misaligned expectations for their company’s capabilities. They would put unrealistic expectations on project timelines, scopes, and deliverables, which, if not properly handled, could lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. In terms of timelines, some clients prefer constant updates on the project progress, when, and how the project will be carried out. Infrequent updates as per requested by the clients will lead to frustration and unwanted complaints by the clients. This can be challenging for Mr. Hamdan as the company usually does project updates by phase, and constantly needing to update the clients on small, insignificant progress will delay the progress of other projects that he and his team need to complete. For issues on project scope, some clients would put on extra requests for additional work and changes in the project scope, at the very last minute. This can lead to delays and increases in project costs, which they sometimes would refuse to pay. Some clients are bound to budget constraints, and they may not have enough budget to pay for the additional change that they requested in the project. When issues like this occur, Mr. Hamdan will be forced to properly communicate and ensures that the clients fully understand the details of the project. If words are not put correctly, the client may lose interest and develop a negative perception of the company.

Project deliverables

The next issue highlighted by Mr. Hamdan is the deliverables issue in project management. In a project, deliverables can be referred to as the particular result that is produced from the conducted project. Deliverables issues can be defined as the challenges and problems that exist in relation to producing the project’s result. Deliverables issues in project handling can have a huge impact on client satisfaction and on the project team’s ability in meeting their expectations. Common deliverable issues that occur in the period of Mr. Hamdan’s position in handling projects are timing issues, scope issues, and format issues.

Timing issues

Timing issues is can be defined as deliverables that are not given in time, often caused by factors such as miscommunication with clients, attitude from team members, and technical issues such as broken PCs or missing data. Miscommunication with clients may include miscommunication on the dateline. Some clients may initially want the project to be done in a certain period, and then frequently change the dateline along the way. These frequent changes may cause confusion and miscommunication between his team and the clients. Timing can also be affected by the attitude of team members as previously mentioned in this interview where they are having commitment and behaviour issues that in turn, drag the project time completion. Delivering results to clients can also late due to technical issues such as broken PCs and lost data unexpectedly occur in Mr. Hamdan’s office. When this happens, Mr. Hamdan and his team have no other option than to redo all the project details from the beginning.

Scope issues

In delivering projects to clients, Mr. Hamdan said that scope issues also frequently occur where the deliverables given did not match the scope of the project as per illustrated in the initial project charter, or the project has exceeded the project scope, which in turn increases the project costs. Mr. Hamdan explains that in a construction company, any changes made to the design will require different plans in terms of light placement, safety measures, and materials used. When a client changes their construction idea, the engineers in Mr. Hamdan’s team would have to redesign the entire project layout that in return, increase the initially agreed price quotation. This may lead to dissatisfaction on the clients’ side.

The next issue that deliverables may face is formatting issues where the deliverables are not delivered in the exact format that the client requested, causing further confusion and additional workload on his team members. For example, Mr. Hamdan and his team use AutoCAD in their drafting works in plan drawing. Clients may want the project to be used in a different format or version that is in line with their level of understanding. This may force Mr. Hamdan and his team to study and redo the plan drawing according to the requested format from his clients.

Resolution of a problematic issue they have faced as a project manager

There are several problematic issues that had been identified during the interview with Mr Hamdan as a project manager. The issues are dealing with team members, difficult customers, and issues with project deliverables. However, for every problematic issues or problem that being faced by people in this world must have a resolution to faced it. So here are some resolutions for the problematic issue faced by Mr Hamdan.

Dealing with team members

Commitment issues

In commitment issues, the first one that Mr Hamdan can do is acknowledge his team members passions and strengths. It is because Mr Hamdan can assign tasks depending on who he believes will gain the most from each duty once he has a better understanding of the kind of work that team members most love and feel a connection to. A person may feel more devoted to the project and the team as a whole if they are more engaged in their work. So, for the issues like team members not showing up for work can be avoided as they will be given the task they has passion and strengths to it. Individual conversations with team members or the distribution of questionnaires can help Mr Hamdan discover more about his team members’ passions.

Mr Hamdan also can create an environment of trust for them. An environment of trust can motivate employees to produce their best work without worrying about criticism. Mr Hamdan can promote an environment where all employees may feel confident that their managers and teammates will value them and their work. This might encourage people to take chances that might result in better performance. Mr Hamdan can listen his team members thoughts and opinions and be available for any issues to build trust among a team. By Mr Hamdan listening to these issues without passing judgement, he can encourage the idea that workers also can express their views at work.

Behavioral issues

Mr Hamdan as project managers must explain clearly to his team members the roles they will play in the project and how they will report progress during the project discussions meeting. Additionally, it is critical to explain how the accomplishment of one task depends on the accomplishment of another. So, Mr Hamdan must explain and remind to his team members that when one person does not submit their work on time, it would affect another person work and that will affect the entire progress of the work. As a project manager, it is important for Mr Hamdan to ensure his team members to keep in their mind that a project team consists of a variety of people, each with their own skill sets, expertise, different work styles, and different personalities. Mr Hamdan must be firm to those team members who did not want to comply with instructions and refuse to follow rules and protocols given by taking action on them. For example, Mr Hamdan can stop them from performing their work task and talk to them individual directly by asking them why they refuse to follow the rules and protocols. Working together on a project requires each team member to contribute in a significant way and communicate clearly.

Difficult clients

The first thing that Mr Hamdan can do as a project manager is set a very clear expectation about their company to his difficult clients before close a deal for example about timeline. Mr Hamdan must be able to identify the characteristics of his clients. If the clients seem like difficult clients then he must set a very clear expectation about their company to them. When tasks are really not finished in the period of time they think is proper, some clients become upset. Therefore, to avoid any misunderstanding, Mr Hamdan must be as clear as he can about the timeline. For example, in the first place he must clearly state that their company cannot fulfil their clients request on the constant updates on the project progress as it will delay the progress of the project.

After discussing all of this information with their client, Mr Hamdan must put it all in written contract and have the difficult clients to read and sign the contract. It is because a written contract can give additional measure of protection against any arguments. Next, for the issues of project scope, Mr Hamdan must set up a new contract if the client requests a change and be careful to clarify clear boundaries around the scope of the project from the beginning. Starting the project with a signed contract will help to avoid many misunderstandings and last-minute changes to the project's scope. However, there are many potentials for miscommunication once the contract has been written, which is why it is crucial to record all of the interactions with the client. Mr Hamdan should record every conversation he has over the phone and in person with his client. He should do the same if he has a video call. Mr Hamdan must create a folder for all of the written correspondence, including emails so that the difficult clients cannot easily do as they please.

Project deliverables

Timing issues

Timing issues that occur due to the miscommunication issue can be solve by planning a communication plan. So, Mr Hamdan must develop a communication plan in the project management. Communication is essential for information sharing throughout the majority of a project. To effectively resolve any difficulties that would impede development, it is crucial for Mr Hamdan to communicate issues, escalations, difficulties, and progress reports with the team members and clients. By developing a communication plan, the possibility of poor communication which eventually results in the project's failure can be minimized. A communication plan also assists in maintaining client’s involvement throughout the workflow. For example, if Mr Hamdan need to send a change management notification to the entire project team due to a change in dateline, he can consult the communication plan to determine how to convey that type of information most efficiently.

Scope issues

Resolution

Scope adjustments, also described as scope creep, are an issue that suddenly appears and delays the completion of your project. Scope creep, to put it simply, is when a client makes changes to the project scope while it is still being developed. As a result, the development team is forced to make numerous changes that need additional work, resources, and time. To minimize this issue, Mr Hamdan must collaborate with clients to gather data, set objectives, create specifications, and others. In addition, Mr. Hamdan needs to explain how last-minute additions, cancellations, or modifications would affect project restrictions. Last but not least, Mr. Hamdan should create a thorough scope management plan on how to monitor and prevent scope creep, and routinely remind clients of the plan, particularly when new changes are requested.

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