Economic Conditions

Project management and strategic planning Name: Institution: Date: Project management is a vital aspect for the success of organizations, as projects may increase sales as well as enhance efficiency. Nowadays strategic plans incorporate project management practices to improve the effectiveness of organizations. Project management deals with the way organizations manage change and allocate time, resources, money in achieving the goals of a project (Kloppenborg, 2011). On the other hand, strategic planning deals with how organizations make plans and decisions that affect the organization over time, and the ways, through which they will achieve this, it involves making decisions that affect the whole organization (Abraham, 2012). Following the global recession, the current economic climate is one of uncertainty and hence affects the strategic decision making in many organizations. One of the main impacts of the current economic climate is that organizations now focus on reducing fixed costs in order to remain competitive. Additionally, many organizations try to minimize their operation costs and incorporate this in the strategic plans. Resulting to retrenchment is common in many firms although the economies of many countries show signs of recovery. Retrenchment could accompany divestment into cheaper options and reduction in the funds set for research and development (R&D). Before the global recession, big organizations dedicated large sums for R& D, as this would enable them to gain a competitive edge. The current economic climate has necessitated the need for cooperation among project managers, as well as calls for more prudent resource allocationsin a business world full of financial uncertainties. There is more globalization of the profession than ever before as professional information sharing and adoption of universal standards and procedures takes center stage. ...