Question

Context  

You are working as a project manager in your chosen case organisation and a senior manager has asked for your assistance with understanding and resolving two current problems (refer below). The senior manager has asked that you provide a justified response to the two problems in the form of a written report (refer report structure below). Your responses are to be justified by recent and relevant scholarly (journal articles and eBooks) literature. The two current problems

Problem 1 – The nature of work and its management: • For your case organisation, critically argue (i.e. support your argument with scholarly literature) what activities undertaken by the organisation can be classified as operational work and what activities can be classified as project work. Then, evaluate, with the use of scholarly literature whether the managerial approaches currently being used for the management of those activities is the most suitable given your argued classification. Make recommendations based on the findings of your analysis. [Course module 1]  
Problem 2 – Structuring project work: • For your case organisation, critically analyse, using scholarly literature, whether the current use of portfolios, programs and projects for structuring project work is appropriate. If the organization is not currently using these structures, critically assess whether there is any benefit in doing so. Make recommendations based on the findings of your analysis. [Course module 2]   
Report structure For assignment 1, provide the following: Mark sheet/rubric (see separate mark sheet / rubric on the course study desk)  
Report cover sheet (similar to what you would use for a workplace report) Executive summary (200 - 300 words – not included in word count) Table of contents, List of Tables (if required), List of Figures (if required)  
1. Introduction (100 words) Introduce the purpose of your report and its structure.  
2.Organisational context (250 words) In this section, describe the organisational and project context for which you are preparing the report. You need to provide sufficient detail about the organisation that the reader can understand your responses to the two issues.  
3. The nature of work and its management (Problem 1 Analysis) (800 - 1000 words) • As per the description above provide a response justified by scholarly literature to the problem.  
4. Structuring project work (Problem 2 Analysis) (800 - 1000 words) • As per the description above provide a response justified by scholarly literature to the problem.  
5. Conclusion (100 words) • Summarise your overall findings (i.e. what are the key insights from your analysis of the two problems).   
Reference List • Only include references that you have actually cited in your report • For each issue you must cite at least six scholarly references. Of these six references at least three must be peer-reviewed journal articles less than 10 years old. Websites and videos are not suitable for use in this assignment.   

Answer 1

Project work and Operational work

*Both are performed by people,
*Both are planned, executed and controlled, and
*Both have resource limitation.
*There are only two aspects of work (or the combination of these two) in any organization; i.e., projects and operations.

Project-

The organization which purely deals with projects is known as a projectized organization, and the organization which deals with operational work is known as a functional organization. And the organization which deals with projects and as well as operations is known as a matrix organization.

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.”

The nature of the project is temporary-This means that once you deliver the deliverables (output of the project), your project will cease to exist because it has achieved its objective.
and
The project is undertaken to produce a unique output, for example, a product, service, or a result- projects are undertaken to produce a specific output. If it is a construction-related project, it may create any physical structure.

Operation-
Operations are the ongoing execution of activities that produce the same output or provide a repetitive service.
Operations do not produce new things, but they are necessary to maintain and sustain the system.
Operations are used to run regular business models, achieve the goals of the business, and support the business.
Operations are different as opposed to projects, which are known for their uniqueness.
Operations are permanent, and their only constraint is to make a profit for the organization.
Any manufacturing or production process can be an example of an operation.

The difference between the Project and the Operation:-
*Projects are unique and temporary (definitive beginning and ending), while operations are ongoing and permanent with repetitive output.
*Projects have a fixed budget, while operations have to earn a profit to run the business.
*Projects are executed to start a new business objective and terminated when it is achieved, while operational work does not produce anything new and it is ongoing.
*Projects create a unique product, service, or result, while operations produce the same product, aim to earn a profit and keep the system running.

Example:

Assuming you was given a project to build a car manufacturing facility.
Then you build the facility and deliver it to the client. Your job is completed, and the client has started manufacturing the cars.
In this example, building the facility is an example of a project, because here you constructed a car manufacturing facility and handed it over to the client and signed off.
However, once the facility starts working and the car manufacturing process starts, this will be an example of operation, because here the facility is producing a repetitive output, i.e., cars, and the process is ongoing.

Before I conclude let me tell you an interesting discussion about the project and the operation that happened between my friend and me.

A few days ago, I argued with my friend regarding the definition of a project.

He was not able to differentiate between the project and the operation. He was confused by the similar nature of projects with operations.

He was saying that an organization has completed a project to build a school building. This project is completed, and the school building is handed over to the client.

Now if the same organization gets another project to build a similar school building at another place, it would be an operation, because the organization is performing the same task.

I explained to him that even though the organization is doing a similar type of project, this is not an operation. The organization may use the experience and template/procedures from previous similar projects, but they have to start fresh whenever they get any new project regardless of whether they have completed any similar type of project in the past.

Being similar doesn't mean they're a similar or is classified as operations. Although you're constructing a faculty building, once you hand it over it to the shopper, your job is completed, and therefore the team is discharged.
Whenever you handle an analogous sort of project within the future, you may begin coming up with from scratch, develop your project team, procurement contracts, and so on. Everything are new and can begin from scratch.
Although your expertise can assist you managing the project, it's not a similar as before.
I explained to him the definitions of a project and operation and the way he will apply these definitions to his college building example.
I asked him: once the college building is completed, can the project team stay with it, or they will leave? He replied that when the college building is completed, the team can disappear. I aforementioned it consummated the primary condition of a project, that states that the character of the project is temporary.
I asked him again: can this team offer you any output, and if there's any repetition to it? He replied, affirmative they're going to provide output as a faculty building, and there's not any repetition. I aforementioned it fulfills the second condition of a project, which suggests comes area unit undertaken to supply some distinctive service, result or product.
I additionally asked him if there's any fastened budget or time length to finish the development of the college building. He said yes. I told him these are properties of projects, that they have a definitive beginning, ending, and has fixed budget.
Operations don’t have a hard and fast budget or time length.
Finally, he got the distinction between a project Associate in Nursingd an operation.
I hope these ideas area unit currently clear to you, too.