Reference no: EM133007281

Comparing operational management and project management

Operational and project management provide similar beneficial factors to enhance the performance of the organization. As opined by Demirkesen and Ozorhon (2017), project management is a process that supports an organization to provide unique products and customer service that reflect a positive nature of the impact on the organizational development process. On the other hand, operational management is a term that provides repetitive and long-term service to the organization that supports an organization to gain sustainable growth. However, while considering the similarity of these management processes there are also numerous differences among the project and operational management. As mentioned by Silvius (20'17), project management works in a specific project and the nature of this project is temporary. Conversely, operational management is an ongoing development process that supports the long-time growth of the organization.

Both management can learn several significant things from both of these management procedure. Moreover, while project management provides an effective short time strategy to enhance the manufacturing process of the organization, operations management provides long-term benefits to the organization. Thereby, through the inclusion of enhanced communication processes, operational management can gain sufficient knowledge from project management on how they provide essential service in a shorter period. Similarly, project management can gain sufficient knowledge from operational management regarding the way to provide sustainability to the manufactured product.
10 elements of project management:-

1. Project Integration Management
2. Project Time Management
3. Project Scope Management
4. Project Cost Management
5. Project Human Resource Management
6. Project Quality Management
7. Project stakeholder management
8. Project procurement management
9. Project communications management
10. Project Risk management

The project management also includes planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlling in some of their elements which are the functions of management. Planning is a decision making phase where decision like the resources to be used, cost of the activities, detail time frame of implementation, finding and setting standards for appraisal is made. It gives direction to the management process, minimizes risk and leads to balanced utilization of resources.

Organizing is giving shape to the work that was planned. Good communication skills are required to command the employees in a continuous basis to achieve the organizational goals. In coordinating, the arrangements are made so that all parts of an organization pull together towards defined goals, without duplication, without gaps and conflicts and on time. Lastly, controlling is done to evaluate and correct the performance of employee to ensure that planned objectives of organization are achieved.

Differences:
Project management is a temporary process to create unique products, services or results whereas operational management is an ongoing activity that produces repetitive and long term outputs like manufacturing products and supplying services. The role of an operational manager is ongoing while the role of a project manager is temporary.

Similarities:

Both projects and operations have a scope and objectives. The operations scope and objective will undoubtedly change and sift as needs develop and processes evolve and the work is repetitive while the projects will attempt to keep both scope and deliverable in check and eventually have a completion or end date. Both projects and operations have a teams involved in the execution of tasks.