Consider reading some project management books if you are thinking of taking the PMP certification. There are many choices, including Scott Berkun's Making Things happen and the HBR Guide to Project Management. Project Management Essentials may be the best option if you are looking to pass the exam quickly. While this book is not as thorough as PMBOK, it can help you pass the exam without much trouble. It covers the basics of project management, but it's short on actionable advice and solid examples.
HBR Guide to Project Management
The HBR Guide to Project Management outlines the essentials of project management. It covers everything from creating a project charter to creating schedules. It helps you to break down large objectives into manageable tasks and monitor progress toward goals. It closes with a recap chapter and a measurement of project success.
This book can be a valuable tool for anyone who manages a large or small project. It contains 21 chapters, and gives a thorough overview of the techniques and tools required to manage projects. Clear communication is key to project success. Projects are often stressful, and a good guide provides practical tips and tools to deal with these challenges.
Scott Berkun’s Making Things Work
Scott Berkun's Making Things happen is a brilliant book about project management and the mindset that makes a great leader. This book explains Microsoft's best practices and provides practical tips that will allow you to lead better projects and teams. It is essential for those in project management roles or who are interested in becoming one.
The book is divided into four parts: Introduction, Schedules, Ideas, and Execution. The introduction explains the history and importance project management has for the business world. The next chapters will explain how schedules and other tools can be used to track progress. The book also explains how to break work up into manageable chunks.
Rescue the Problem Project
Rescue the Problem Project has been described as one of the most helpful books in project management. It offers a step-by-step process for recovering from a project that has gone off track. The book also describes how a recovery manager can work with stakeholders to make necessary changes to the project. This book has a lot to offer project managers, and their teams, valuable information.
The book discusses the causes of a problem, and offers solutions. To illustrate how to overcome a project's problems, the author draws on his own experiences.
Josephs and Rubenstein
Josephs and Rubenstein's Project Management Books are a comprehensive guide for project management. Both the books have two distinct perspectives on how to manage projects. Project management is a key concern for the authors. Projects that do not have a solid risk management strategy could fail to meet expectations. They also discuss important topics such a team's attitude, tools and methods, as well as ethics.
The book's simple language is not difficult to understand, but it is packed full of tips and useful examples. This book is designed to give insight into project management basics for novices as well as seasoned project managers. It focuses on simplifying project management and provides examples to illustrate concepts.
FAQ
What are the main four functions of management
Management is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling people and resources. It includes the development of policies and procedures as well as setting goals.
Management aids an organization in reaching its goals by providing direction and coordination, control, leadership motivation, supervision, training, evaluation, and leadership.
These are the four major functions of management:
Planning - Planning is about determining what must be done.
Organizing - Organizing involves deciding how things should be done.
Directing - This refers to getting people follow instructions.
Controlling - This is the ability to control people and ensure that they do their jobs according to plan.
What are some common management mistakes?
Sometimes managers make it harder for their employees than is necessary.
They might not give enough support and delegate the right responsibilities to their staff.
A majority of managers lack the communication skills needed to motivate their team and lead them.
Managers sometimes set unrealistic expectations of their teams.
Managers might try to solve every problem by themselves rather than delegating the responsibility.
Why is it so hard to make smart business decisions?
Complex systems with many moving parts are the hallmark of businesses. People who manage them have to balance multiple priorities while dealing with complexity and uncertainty.
To make good decisions, you must understand how these factors affect the entire system.
It is important to consider the functions and reasons for each part of the system. You then need to consider how those individual pieces interact with each other.
It is also worth asking yourself if you have any unspoken assumptions about how you have been doing things. If not, you might want to revisit them.
Asking for assistance from someone else is a good idea if you are still having trouble. They might see things differently than you and may have some insights that could help find a solution.
What can a manager do to improve his/her management skillset?
By practicing good management skills at all times.
Managers must monitor the performance of subordinates constantly.
It is important to take immediate action if your subordinate doesn't perform as expected.
It is essential to know what areas need to be improved and how to do it.
What kind of people use Six Sigma
Six sigma is a common concept for people who have worked in statistics or operations research. However, anyone involved in any aspect of business can benefit from using it.
It requires high levels of commitment and leadership skills to be successful.
What is a fundamental management tool for decision-making?
A decision matrix can be a simple, but effective tool to assist managers in making decisions. It helps them think systematically about all the options available to them.
A decision matrix is a way of representing alternatives as rows and columns. This makes it easy to see how each alternative affects other choices.
This example shows four options, each represented by the boxes on either side of the matrix. Each box represents an alternative. The top row displays the current situation, and the bottom row shows what might happen if nothing is done.
The middle column displays the impact of selecting Option 1. It would increase sales by $2 million to 3 million in this instance.
These are the results of selecting Options 2 or 3. These are good changes, they increase sales by $1million or $500,000. They also have negative consequences. Option 2, for example, increases the cost by $100 000 while Option 3 decreases profits by $200 000.
Finally, the last column shows the results of choosing Option 4. This means that sales will decrease by $1 million.
The best part of using a decision-matrix is that it doesn't require you to know which numbers belong where. Simply look at the cells to instantly determine if one choice is better than the other.
This is because the matrix has already taken care of the hard work for you. It's as easy as comparing numbers in the appropriate cells.
Here is an example of how a decision matrix might be used in your business.
You want to decide whether or not to invest more money into advertising. If you do this, you will be able to increase revenue by $5000 per month. However, additional expenses of $10 000 per month will be incurred.
By looking at the cell just below "Advertising", the net result can be calculated as $15 thousand. Advertising is more valuable than its costs.
What is the meaning of "project management?"
This refers to managing all activities that are involved in a project's execution.
We help you define the scope of your project, identify the requirements, prepare the budget, organize the team, plan the work, monitor progress and evaluate the results before closing down the project.
Statistics
- This field is expected to grow about 7% by 2028, a bit faster than the national average for job growth. (wgu.edu)
- Your choice in Step 5 may very likely be the same or similar to the alternative you placed at the top of your list at the end of Step 4. (umassd.edu)
- As of 2020, personal bankers or tellers make an average of $32,620 per year, according to the BLS. (wgu.edu)
- The average salary for financial advisors in 2021 is around $60,000 per year, with the top 10% of the profession making more than $111,000 per year. (wgu.edu)
- The BLS says that financial services jobs like banking are expected to grow 4% by 2030, about as fast as the national average. (wgu.edu)
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How To
How do you apply the Kaizen method to your life?
Kaizen means continuous improvement. The Japanese philosophy emphasizes small, incremental improvements to achieve continuous improvement. This term was created by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1950. It is a process where people come together to improve their processes.
Kaizen is one the most important methods of Lean Manufacturing. This concept requires employees to identify and solve problems during manufacturing before they become major issues. This increases the quality of products and reduces the cost.
Kaizen is the idea that every worker should be aware of what is going on around them. So that there is no problem, you should immediately correct it if something goes wrong. So, if someone notices a problem while working, he/she should report it to his/her manager.
When doing kaizen, there are some principles we must follow. The end product is always our starting point and we work toward the beginning. We can improve the factory by first fixing the machines that make it. First, we fix machines that produce components. Next, we fix machines that produce raw material. And finally, we fix the workers who work directly with those machines.
This is known as "kaizen", because it emphasizes improving each step. Once we have finished fixing the factory, we return to the beginning and work until perfection.
To implement kaizen in your business, you need to find out how to measure its effectiveness. There are many ways you can determine if kaizen has been implemented well. Another method is to see how many defects are found on the products. Another way to find out how productive your company has been since you implemented kaizen is to measure the increase in productivity.
To determine if kaizen is effective, you should ask yourself why you chose to implement kaizen. You were trying to save money or obey the law? Did you really think that it would help you achieve success?
If you answered yes to any one of these questions, congratulations! You're ready to start kaizen.