The document discusses different management styles for projects. It describes top-down management where directions come from upper management, and bottom-up management where team members have input. It suggests that while top-down management can result in bottlenecks, bottom-up lacks clarity. The best approach is a collaborative mixed style that balances top-down control and bottom-up empowerment and creativity from teams.

1. Mohamed Sheikh Omar Mohamud

2.  Considerable changes are taking place in
management and especially project
management today.
 Organizations switched from the so-called
top-down management style to bottom-up
management.

3.  Top down
 Bottom up
 Collaborative (mixed)

4.  Also known as stepwise design, break-
down and in some cases used as a synonym
of decomposition.
 The top-down approach remains extremely
popular in contemporary project
management.
 The phrase “top-down” means that all the
directions come from the top.

5.  Project objectives are established by the top
management.
 Top managers provide guidelines,
information, plans and fund processes.
 Following this approach, certainty opens the
door for potential failure of the project.

6.  Experience shows that this top-down
management often results in reduced
productivity and causes bottlenecks or so-
called lockdowns.
 A lockdown gives the project manager total
control over his team.
 Such lockdowns can lead to unnecessary
pain and significantly slow down a project’s
completion.

9.  The bottom-up approach implies proactive
team input in the project executing process.
 Team members are invited to participate in
every step of the management.
 The decision on a course of action is taken by
the whole team.

10.  Bottom-up style allows managers to
communicate goals and value, e.g. through
milestone planning.
 Then team members are encouraged to
develop personal to-do lists with the steps
necessary to reach the milestones on their
own.

11.  The choice of methods and ways to perform
their tasks is up to the team.
 The advantage of this approach is that it
empowers team members to think more
creatively.
 They feel involved into the project
development and know that their initiatives
are appreciated.

13.  However, despite all the advantages of the two
systems, alone will not make your projects
flourish.
 According to many experts, the bottom-up
approach is not the perfect solution neither top
down , as sometimes it lacks clarity and control.
 The best way is to find a balance between the
two opposite approaches and take the best
practices from both of them.