1. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 1
Project Management (PM) Concepts Related to Course Objectives and Carrier Aspirations
Loren Karl Schwappach
Project Management Processes in Organizations, Colorado Technical University

2. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 2
Abstract
This paper is a discussion about three concepts that I took particular interest in while studying
project management. These three concepts are stakeholder identification, project manager
leadership requirements and project manger communication requirements. This paper relates
each of these three concepts to course objectives and my personal career aspirations.

3. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 3
Project Management (PM) Concepts Related to Course Objectives and Carrier Aspirations
There are three concepts that I took particular interest in while watching class instructor
videos and reading through course materials. These three concepts are stakeholder identification,
project manager leadership requirements and project manger communication requirements. I
will relate each of these three concepts to course objectives and my personal career aspiration of
becoming a U.S. Air Force officer as I continue this discussion board paper.
Project Manager - Stakeholder Identification
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) illuminates the project manager
as “The person assigned by the performing organization, to achieve the project’s objectives” (A
Guide to, 2008, p.444). The project manager is thus, the ultimate person answerable for the
triumphant completion of any project within specified quality performance requirements, time
and schedule constraints, scope and budget constraints, and whether or not the customer is finally
satisfied.
The project manager is also the leader of the project management team and is responsible
for managing the efforts and performance of his/her team. However, one of the largest problems
a project manager will encounter and must overcome at the initial stage of any project is the
identification and motivation of the project stakeholders.
According to the course objectives, after completing this course I should be able to
recognize project stakeholders, and be able to assess their issues and requirements at the
beginning stage of any project. I should also be able to incorporate stakeholders into each
project team using a well developed and thought-out project charter which spells out
requirements and responsibilities. As of the last discussion board post (Phase 3, Task 1), I
believe I knocked these objectives out of the water.

4. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 4
The importance of understanding the stakeholders involved in any activity can never be
under valuated. It is my hope that once I have rejoined the United States Air Force as a
commissioned officer I will use the knowledge I gained through this course in understanding the
importance and applicability of project stakeholders.
In the military large projects occur on daily basis. Whatever project I am undertaking in
the near future, I will certainly need to identify and incorporate each of these project
stakeholders. These may include Airmen, deployment managers, subject area experts,
contractors, and high level leadership as well as numerous others. If all of these stakeholders
work in unity, are motivated, and identified early in the projects, then I am sure to benefit.
PM Responsibilities - Strategic Leadership
The project manager’s informational role dictates that the project manager must be
capable to organize and pilot team meetings, supply vital feedback on project results, phases,
troubles encountered, and the quality of deliverables.
The project manager’s informational role requires that the project manager be capable of
using his/her expertise to create sound judgment without alienating project stakeholders through
the decisions he/she makes.
Additional objectives for this course were to guarantee that project goals hold up in unity
with corporate strategies as well as develop a project structure that is appropriate to the program
scope and by and large organizational configuration and to investigate a mixture of
organizational systems and establish how to integrate project management processes into various
corporate structures. I covered project management within various organizational structures in
the discussion board post two weeks ago (Phase 2, Task 1).

5. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 5
As an officer in the United States Air Force I hope to strategically lead my fellow
militiamen to success at every venture. In order to do this, a leader must be able to influence the
energy of his followers in order to achieve some goal. In project management this goal would be
the successful conclusion of some project while using minimal resources and completing the
project ahead of schedule and to the best of standards. Project management functions differently
from organization to organization, with some organizations being project oriented, and other
organizations being function / department oriented. Although the Air Force would probably lean
more toward the later (department / function oriented) projects continue to play an incredible
role.
During my ten years of fun and exemplarily service for the U.S. Air Force, there were
numerous occasions where I was assigned to initiate and manage large projects (from managing
large communication teams and standing-up remote field deployable communication packages at
various locations, modifying consumer satellite electronic packages, and managing global EHF
infrastructure and equipment layouts for the entire DoD). Having an understanding of the
organizational roles, stakeholders, and resources available were critical to each projects success,
and I hope to be the kind of strategic leader whose vision looks at every piece of the puzzle
before jumping feet first into the situation.
PM Roles – Expert Communicator
Lastly, the white page Competencies for Project Managers (Wourms, 2002) identifies
that a project manager must also be a phenomenal motivator, communicator, be able to talk-the-
talk, recognize and pursue standard project management methodology, be able to instruct the
project team, as well as have an active, wide and diverse grasp of technological perceptive
(essential for IT project managers). (Wourms, 2002)

6. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 6
The role of a good communicator should never be unappreciated and is indispensable for
any project manager. The role demands that the project manager maintains a superior inter-
personal role, superb informational role, and exquisite decisional role.
The project manager’s inter-personal role requires that the project manager be an honest,
personable, capable, dependable, and effective leader. This is a trait that I hope to simulate in all
of my daily activities regardless of my future ambitions. The project manager is also
accountable for working successfully with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences,
creating an environment of team unity, proactively resolving team disagreements, focusing team
member energy towards the completion of project milestones, motivating the project’s team
members toward finishing team goals, and constructing beneficial relationships with all project
stakeholders to include the project’s team members.
Good communication also relates to the final objectives required for this course. These
final objectives involve applying human resource information areas to a projects initiating and
planning processes as well as appraising cultural issues before they occur in order to avoid
project catastrophes and administer international projects productively.
I believe this concept will be the most influential of every concept I studied in this
course. Knowing how to communicate (both interpersonal and informational) might be the finest
skill anyone can ever develop. I graduated at the top of my engineering class with two
Bachelor’s degrees last quarter at CTU (BSEE and BSCE Magna Cum Laude). However
regardless of the degrees or skill sets that I have earned, I would never accomplish any of my
goals or ambitions without superb communication skills.
As an Air Force officer I will be required to hone and practice these skills daily. I will
also need to know how to use the people and resources available for initiating and planning

7. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 7
processes while understanding cultural issues. Communication is the key to both of these tasks
and is essential if I plan to succeed in the U.S. Air Force.
In conclusion it is obvious that the skill sets I learned about project management
(stakeholder identification, leadership skills, and communication) can be utilized in whatever
voyage or path I follow in this life. I am als0 planning on looking into a PM degree once I
complete my next two degrees at CTU (MSEE and MSCE).

8. PM CONCEPTS RELATED TO OBJECTIVES AND ASPIRATIONS 8
References
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (4th ed.). (2008). Newtown Square, PA:
Project Management Institute, Inc.
Wourms, B. (2002). Competencies of IT Project Managers Art, science, leadership, and
managership combined . PM Solutions, Retrieved July 13, 2011, from
http://www.pmsolutions.com/uploads/file/Expert%20Series%20-
%20Competencies%20of%20IT%20Project%20Managers.pdf