A Taste of Alignment

A Taste of Alignment

Imagine you have just graduated from a culinary school and have an appointment to demonstrate your
knowledge and skills as a chef at a very successful restaurant. The restaurant manager asks you to
prepare a dish of your choice from ingredients supplied by the restaurant�s head chef. You might opt for
a recipe of your own creation, hoping to impress with originality and flair. Or, you might go with something
basic and safe, aiming to show that you can make even a very simple dish delicious. The choice you
make should depend a great deal on the restaurant itself. You should consider the types of food on the
menu and whether the restaurant is trying to expand its choices. You should consider what clientele the
restaurant attracts and whether it would like to appeal to a broader market. The more you know about the

restaurant, the better your chances of landing the job.

Likewise, as a project manager intent on being a driving force in an organization�s success, it is
important to understand the essential nature of the business. You should know the mission statement and
strategic initiatives of the organization. You should consider how you can ensure that upper management
will be receptive to your role in recommending the right ingredients in the right amounts for each project.

For your paper, respond to the following questions:

� Explain the importance of aligning a project or portfolio with the organization�s mission statement and

key strategic initiatives.

o What issues might result if these are not aligned?

� What approaches might a project manager use to influence upper-level management in selecting
projects that align to an organization�s mission statement and key strategic initiatives?

A TASTE OF ALIGNMENT

A Taste of Alignment

Introduction

The management of projects has rapidly evolved into a standard approach of conducting
business within several organizations. This therefore determines that the key to productivity will
in many occasions be considered in the manner in which projects are managed and the necessary
tools that are needed in the implementation of a business approach within an
organization(Besteiro, de Souza, & Novaski, O. 2015). In essence, every project within an
organization should have the capacity to purposefully contribute to its strategic plan through an
approach that ensures the project to the organizations mission statement and its key strategic

A TASTE OF ALIGNMENT
initiatives. This paper therefore seeks to determine the essence of aligning a project with an
organizations mission statement and its key strategic initiatives.
Aligning an Organizations Project to its Mission Statement and its Strategic Initiatives
Within a customer oriented organization, the mission and goals of such an organization
remains directed towards meeting the needs of the consumers of their products and services. In
this case a mission basically covers what the organization needs to achieve and this is
communicated within the organization (De Souza, Carneiro, & Bandeira-de-Mello, 2015). The
alignment of an organizations project to its mission statement therefore leads to the betterment of
communication within an organization, a factor that leads to the improvement of performance
and profitability.
Through this, an organization remains within the capacity of delivering high quality
products and services to their clients with this new strategic initiative enabling such an
organization to inculcate positive attitudes within the employees as they are directed towards the
achievement of organizations productivity (De Souza, et.al. 2015). Additionally, it is also
essential to mention that the cost of running a project that is strategically aligned to organizations
mission statement remains relatively lower.
In line with this, it is therefore important to consider the fact that the implementation of
effective projects that are aligned to an organizations mission and strategic initiatives gives an
organization the opportunity to select and prioritize their projects, a factor that supports an
organizations strategy (Gemünden, 2014). Through the priority systems of the mission of an
organization, a consensus is created that only focuses on projects of high priority, a factor that

A TASTE OF ALIGNMENT
results in the portfolio of projects that have the capacity to balance threats and opportunities and
ensures a better use of an organization resource.

Issues that May Arise If These Are Not Aligned

In a case where an organizations project is not aligned to its mission statement and
strategic initiative, there is a probability that there will be an ineffective planning and utilization
of the organizations resources (Kerzner, & Saladis, 2009). Additionally, a portfolio of projects
that lacks an alignment to an organizations mission may also lack the balance between its
opportunities and threats, a factor that would make an organization fail in obtaining a consensus
in deliberating on the projects of the highest priority.
Approaches that Project Managers may Use in Selecting Projects that align to an

Organizations Mission Statement

It is essential to determine that project managers may use a selection approach that
focuses on the businesses decisions where there are high-levels of analysis in determining the
viability of a project and its ties to the organizations mission statement and strategic initiatives
(Söderlund, & Müller, 2014). In this process, the project managers are required to determine the
projects estimated duration, resources, justification, high level scope, and the finances required in
the attainment of its goals. This therefore brings into perspective the project planning process.

Conclusion

As determined in this paper, the management of projects has rapidly evolved into a
standard approach of conducting business within several organizations (Söderlund, & Müller,
2014). This therefore means that every project within an organization should have the capacity to

A TASTE OF ALIGNMENT
purposefully contribute to its strategic plan through an approach that ensures the project to the
organizations mission statement and its key strategic initiatives.

References

Besteiro, É. C., de Souza Pinto, J., & Novaski, O. (2015). Success Factors in Project
Management. Business Management Dynamics, 4(9), 19-34.
De Souza, P. B., Carneiro, J., & Bandeira-de-Mello, R. (2015). Inquiry into the Conceptual
Dimensions of Project Portfolio Management. Brazilian Business Review (English
Edition), 118-148.

A TASTE OF ALIGNMENT
Gemünden, H. G. (2014). Project Management as a Behavioral Discipline and as Driver of
Productivity and Innovations. Project Management Journal, 45(6), 2-6.
doi:10.1002/pmj.21466
Kerzner, H., & Saladis, F. P. (2010). What Functional Managers Need to Know About Project
Management. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Söderlund, J., & Müller, R. (2014). Project Management and Organization Theory: IRNOP
Meets PMJ. Project Management Journal, 45(4), 2-6.