Quality management: project manager perspective

Quality Management
In the article, “Quality management: the project managers [sic] perspective. Project Management Quarterly, 14(1), 33–38”, Patterson (1983) features quality management as one of the key issues within the Project Management Institute. Patterson claims the continuously changing world demands project managers to offer quality at an effective cost. The article claims that quality is not in-built and designed for a project. On the contrary, project managers should plan quality management and monitor it throughout the project. While quality management allows project managers to plan, scope, implement and monitor quality aspects of a project, cost-effectiveness results from quality improvement processes. The article posits quality management that project managers have a mandate forperformance, schedule, and cost that elicit quality and cost-effectiveness. Project managers should insist on quality among their staff, set common goals, and appreciate and recognize the team members’ efforts toward the project’s success. The article claims that machines have contributed to immense automation, but people are still important elements in a project. Also, supporting attitudes of quality and cost effectiveness play a vital role in projects’ success. The article asserts that quality should be prioritized to compete with foreign markets and industries. Therefore, quality management should be a discipline of project management and an instrumental part of the construction and engineering industry.
The article was very informative and engaging as I gained immense knowledge on quality management in the construction and engineering industry. I agree with the article that the constantly changing world requires project managers to focus on quality improvement. One important takeaway from the article is that it should be planned and monitored throughout a project. I was intrigued that the article provided a clear distinction between quality assurance and quality control. In this case, assurance, specifications, designs, and selection of materials while control deals with materials inspection for damages and compliance with orders’ specifications. Besides costing and scheduling, I learned that project managers play a vital role in the performance of staff organizations and in creating an attitude of quality and cost-effectiveness. Communication among team players also helps to build collaboration between the project’s staff to raise and solve problems encountered(Bond-Barnard et al., 2018). I also learned that quality improvement would provide a competitive edge against foreign competitors, thus allowing the engineering and construction industry to penetrate the autonomous market.
This article is instrumental and goes beyond the construction and engineering industry. I will use the knowledge gained from this article to enhance management quality issues in my construction company. I intend to establish a construction company to build houses for sale and construct homes on contract. I will use the learned project management processes, such as project planning, quality assurance, quality control, and monitoring, to improve my project quality. By doing so, I will achieve cost-effectiveness resulting from project management processes. I will create an attitude of quality and cost-effectiveness among my employees to ensure I achieve the desired outcomes. I will encourage communication and collaboration among my employees to they work as a team to address emerging concerns effectively. Despite the use of machines, I will ensure my project is people-oriented since they are involved in operating and ensuring the efficiency of the machine systems.

References
Bond-Barnard, T. J., Fletcher, L., & Steyn, H. (2018). Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
Patterson, J. L. (1983). Quality management: the project managers [sic] perspective. Project Management Quarterly, 14(1), 33–38.