In a business context, an organisation is a unit of people structured to meet collective goals on a continued basis. A crucial part of every organisation is the management structure which determines roles and responsibilities and how they are delegated and controlled.

Directly or indirectly, projects serve strategic goals because projects are a means of achieving the results of strategic plans that are often drivers for change. Often, they cannot be effectively executed by day-to-day operations management. Consequently, all projects must finally serve one or more of the institution’s strategic intents to be considered successful.

CORPORATE STRUCTURES

• Projects donate to the institution’s strategic goals.
• Institutions have a decision-making ranking.
• The committee makes strategic decisions and/or administrative strategies for achieving corporate goals are business unit decisions made by the individual business departments.
• The business unit forges a program to contribute a distinctive group ofdeliverables to meet business unit goals
• A project contributes an individual deliverable as part of a program.
• Operations support the endless activities of the entire organisation.

ORGANISATIONAL PLANNING AND GOAL SETTING

A company’s planning is required to decide which strategic goals are most important to the organisation and how to obtain them. Planning and objective setting transpire at all levels of the organisation.

The following model illustrates planning within the five-level organisational hierarchy.

• Level 1: Corporate Management
• Level 2: Divisional Management
• Level 3: Departmental Plans
• Level 4: Team Management
• Level 5: Individual Planning (Self-Management)

LEVEL 1: CORPORATE MANAGEMENT

• 5-10 year plans aligned with vision and mission
• Development of strategic business directions, organisational goals and objectives
• Oversight of significant programs

These three elements are generic in that they can apply to any organisation:

1. Mission – the reason for being
2. Vision – defines the field of endeavour for the organisation.
3. Strategic Plan – identifies how the organisation will achieve the vision given the objectives defined in the mission.

LEVEL 2: DIVISIONAL MANAGEMENT

• 3-5 year plans aligned with Strategic Plan objectives
• Involves in setting goals, strategies & actions with significant budget and resource allocation.
• Major programs with multiple starts and end dates

LEVEL 3: DEPARTMENTAL PLANNING

• 1-3 year plans aligned with financial cycles
• Goals, actions, broad resource & time constraints
• Complex Projects with moderate impact
• Minor programs with multiple starts and end dates

LEVEL 4: TEAM MANAGEMENT

• 12-month plans aligned to financial year
• Tasks and actions with identified resources and time constraints
• Some mini-projects with defined start and end dates

LEVEL 5: INDIVIDUAL PLANNING (SELF-MANAGEMENT)

• Tasks and short-term personal goals
• Engaged in ongoing processes