netrashetty
Netra Shetty
The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a U.S.-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as "Roundup". Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed; it provides the technology in 90% of the world's genetically engineered seeds.[2] It is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri.[3]
Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In 2005, it finalized purchase of Seminis Inc, making it the world's largest conventional seed company.
Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation, political lobbying practices, seed commercialization practices and "strong-arming" of the seed industry[4] have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the alter-globalization movement and environmental activists. As a result of its business strategies and licensing agreements, Monsanto came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009.[
According to , the management's responsibility within an organisation is to continually carry out three management functions: 1) planning; 2) controlling; and 3) organizing (as translated by 1949). It is in the organizing function that the design and decision upon the most appropriate organisational structure for achieving the organisation's goals is found ( 1993). An organisational structure institutionalizes how people interact with each other, how communication flows, and how power relationships are defined ( 1987). In line with this, the project management organisation is an integral part of the existing management structure, and must be compatible with it ( 1981). It is in these theories that the project structure of the Bossini group was based.
Figure 3 was structured based on the interview by . Following is an excerpt from the interview: ‘The project structure, Ling notes, was designed to secure the commitment of all business units and establish a feedback loop that ensured progress was regularly tracked. “The communication among top management, department heads and IT was done… and we drove things to happen on the basis of regular meetings”, says’ (2006). The organisational members involved in the project, are: (1) the management; (2) the stockholders; (3) the manager of the KM project, Mr. , who is, at the same time, the Director of Information Technology of the Group who is responsible for the overall strategic IT planning, IT service and project execution for Bossini; (4) Mr. ’s IT staff; (5) the HR Department, led by Mr. and assisted by the various branches’ staff; (6) the sales and marketing department, both headed by Ms. (in the organisational chart, though, the sales and marketing departments were separated because it functions as two individual departments) supported by the staff from both departments in the 18 branches worldwide; and (7) the 4,300 employees of the company who will carry out the project. The KM project team essentially consists of: (1) the project manager (Mr. ); (2) the IT team (who are also company employees directly under the supervision of Mr. ); (3) the employees; (4) the project sponsors (in this case, the Bossini management and stockholders took care of the expenses incurred by the KM project, so they will be taken collectively in discussion) and; (5) the administration people (composed of the sales, marketing and HR departments, which will be also taken as a group).
departments, which will be also taken as a group).
ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS OF PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS
As mentioned, Mr. , his IT department staff, the employees, the project sponsors and the administration people compose the KM project team. Since this project is basically internal in nature, there was no outside participation in the selection of team members. The main idea was to keep the team as involved as possible. Once information was disseminated within the company and support was gained from the various Bossini departments, the project rolled out smoothly.
The main roles of a project manager can be categorized into three: delegation, authority and responsibility ( 1995). ‘The delegation process involves assigning tasks to others, providing them with the authority needed to execute those tasks, and then holding them accountable for the results
‘ (1991). According to , authority may be defined as the ‘probability that a command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given group of persons’ (as cited in 2002). ‘A leader must have authority to perform his or her function. An important aspect of leadership is general acceptance of the person at the helm. True leaders do not need to constantly impose their authority directly’ ( 1994). On the other hand, a popular definition of responsibility is that it is the social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force (’s 2006). Gathering from Mr. ’s interview, his role in the KM job is to spearhead the whole project. His general responsibilities derived from this role were as follows: (1) to oversee and supervise the whole project operation; (2) regularly review project status reports; (3) conduct regular meetings with the project team; (4) make the decisions critical to the success of the project; (5) focus on change management to help the company cope up with the new system and; (6) coordinate with sponsors for project funding.
The IT department people’s role is to implement the project’s objective. They were basically in charge of: (1) information dissemination within the company regarding the KM project; (2) identifying the employees’ training needs and work hand in hand with the HR department concerning it; (3) integrate the new technology within the firm premises vitally required for the project and; (4) identify risks and work with project manager in remedying it. The employees’ role in the KM project is to carry it into action. With the role comes the responsibility of: (1) participate in the training programs to equip themselves of the necessary skills; (2) give feedbacks regarding the project; (3) attend the meetings set by the project manager and participate in the discussion and; (4) make use of the new technology according to the objectives set by the project. The project sponsors in this case the management and the stockholders, are the major decision makers and the major source of fund/resources for the project, respectively. Their main functions are: (1) approve funding if the need arises and if deemed worthwhile; (2) participate in the periodic project; (3) assign personnel as project points of contact; review and; (4) make decisions within their jurisdiction that could contribute to the project implementation. The administration people play the role of coordinators in this KM project. Their responsibilities as coordinators are: (1) to be at the forefront of the drive to improve knowledge sharing and; (2) to come up with suggestions that would help Bossini get to know its customers better. The reporting relationship in this arrangement could be inferred in Figure 3. The lines used to connect the boxes has no arrow pointing up, down, right or left, meaning communication goes in every way. But the vertical positioning of the boxes denote their reporting relationship. Meaning, the box below should report to the box or boxes above it. For instance, employees should report to everyone else in the char, as they are at the bottom. The IT team needs only report to the project manager, and in some cases, the project sponsors. As with any project team, leadership is in the hands of the project manager. As mentioned, delegation and authorization lies in his hands. Responsibility, however, is a shared thing by all project team members, and each is accountable for their actions.
Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In 2005, it finalized purchase of Seminis Inc, making it the world's largest conventional seed company.
Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation, political lobbying practices, seed commercialization practices and "strong-arming" of the seed industry[4] have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the alter-globalization movement and environmental activists. As a result of its business strategies and licensing agreements, Monsanto came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in 2009.[
According to , the management's responsibility within an organisation is to continually carry out three management functions: 1) planning; 2) controlling; and 3) organizing (as translated by 1949). It is in the organizing function that the design and decision upon the most appropriate organisational structure for achieving the organisation's goals is found ( 1993). An organisational structure institutionalizes how people interact with each other, how communication flows, and how power relationships are defined ( 1987). In line with this, the project management organisation is an integral part of the existing management structure, and must be compatible with it ( 1981). It is in these theories that the project structure of the Bossini group was based.
Figure 3 was structured based on the interview by . Following is an excerpt from the interview: ‘The project structure, Ling notes, was designed to secure the commitment of all business units and establish a feedback loop that ensured progress was regularly tracked. “The communication among top management, department heads and IT was done… and we drove things to happen on the basis of regular meetings”, says’ (2006). The organisational members involved in the project, are: (1) the management; (2) the stockholders; (3) the manager of the KM project, Mr. , who is, at the same time, the Director of Information Technology of the Group who is responsible for the overall strategic IT planning, IT service and project execution for Bossini; (4) Mr. ’s IT staff; (5) the HR Department, led by Mr. and assisted by the various branches’ staff; (6) the sales and marketing department, both headed by Ms. (in the organisational chart, though, the sales and marketing departments were separated because it functions as two individual departments) supported by the staff from both departments in the 18 branches worldwide; and (7) the 4,300 employees of the company who will carry out the project. The KM project team essentially consists of: (1) the project manager (Mr. ); (2) the IT team (who are also company employees directly under the supervision of Mr. ); (3) the employees; (4) the project sponsors (in this case, the Bossini management and stockholders took care of the expenses incurred by the KM project, so they will be taken collectively in discussion) and; (5) the administration people (composed of the sales, marketing and HR departments, which will be also taken as a group).
departments, which will be also taken as a group).
ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS OF PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS
As mentioned, Mr. , his IT department staff, the employees, the project sponsors and the administration people compose the KM project team. Since this project is basically internal in nature, there was no outside participation in the selection of team members. The main idea was to keep the team as involved as possible. Once information was disseminated within the company and support was gained from the various Bossini departments, the project rolled out smoothly.
The main roles of a project manager can be categorized into three: delegation, authority and responsibility ( 1995). ‘The delegation process involves assigning tasks to others, providing them with the authority needed to execute those tasks, and then holding them accountable for the results
‘ (1991). According to , authority may be defined as the ‘probability that a command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given group of persons’ (as cited in 2002). ‘A leader must have authority to perform his or her function. An important aspect of leadership is general acceptance of the person at the helm. True leaders do not need to constantly impose their authority directly’ ( 1994). On the other hand, a popular definition of responsibility is that it is the social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force (’s 2006). Gathering from Mr. ’s interview, his role in the KM job is to spearhead the whole project. His general responsibilities derived from this role were as follows: (1) to oversee and supervise the whole project operation; (2) regularly review project status reports; (3) conduct regular meetings with the project team; (4) make the decisions critical to the success of the project; (5) focus on change management to help the company cope up with the new system and; (6) coordinate with sponsors for project funding.
The IT department people’s role is to implement the project’s objective. They were basically in charge of: (1) information dissemination within the company regarding the KM project; (2) identifying the employees’ training needs and work hand in hand with the HR department concerning it; (3) integrate the new technology within the firm premises vitally required for the project and; (4) identify risks and work with project manager in remedying it. The employees’ role in the KM project is to carry it into action. With the role comes the responsibility of: (1) participate in the training programs to equip themselves of the necessary skills; (2) give feedbacks regarding the project; (3) attend the meetings set by the project manager and participate in the discussion and; (4) make use of the new technology according to the objectives set by the project. The project sponsors in this case the management and the stockholders, are the major decision makers and the major source of fund/resources for the project, respectively. Their main functions are: (1) approve funding if the need arises and if deemed worthwhile; (2) participate in the periodic project; (3) assign personnel as project points of contact; review and; (4) make decisions within their jurisdiction that could contribute to the project implementation. The administration people play the role of coordinators in this KM project. Their responsibilities as coordinators are: (1) to be at the forefront of the drive to improve knowledge sharing and; (2) to come up with suggestions that would help Bossini get to know its customers better. The reporting relationship in this arrangement could be inferred in Figure 3. The lines used to connect the boxes has no arrow pointing up, down, right or left, meaning communication goes in every way. But the vertical positioning of the boxes denote their reporting relationship. Meaning, the box below should report to the box or boxes above it. For instance, employees should report to everyone else in the char, as they are at the bottom. The IT team needs only report to the project manager, and in some cases, the project sponsors. As with any project team, leadership is in the hands of the project manager. As mentioned, delegation and authorization lies in his hands. Responsibility, however, is a shared thing by all project team members, and each is accountable for their actions.
Last edited: