Organisational Environment
Risks associated with the organisational environment may be general or specific. General risks relate to the organisational culture e.g. are you trying to introduce innovative change into a bureaucratic or reactionary institution? This background information should be known and planned for although it may take a project manager new to the organisation some time to get to grips with the complexities of its structures and power centres. Specific risks are associated with the institutional mood at this point in time. For instance are you trying to undertake a system implementation shortly after a similar project has gone badly wrong or trying to introduce process change at a time when organisational restructuring is causing concern about potential job losses? This situation needs regular review because the successes or failures of initiatives elsewhere in the organisation can impact on your chances of success. Here are some typical examples of circumstances that may cause risk to your project:
- A similar project has failed in the past
- The organisation is being restructured whilst the project is in progress
- You have funds to spend while others are being forced to make cuts
- Many related projects are going on without effective programme management
- Your require resources/action from people over whom you have no authority
- There is about to be a new postholder in one or more senior management positions
- One or more core IT systems is changing
- Expansion/merger/location moves are taking place
- The institution is involved in an OFSTED inspection/Quality Review or the Research Assessment Exercise whilst the project is going on
