The Organizational Structure

For one to comprehend the role of a project manager they must first understand the Organizational structure (pecking order) of the general contracting firm. A flow chart, has beenprovided as a representative example of a company whose size and annual dollar volumecontrols the employment structure and position of the project manager in their role. To controlthe operation of support staff required for general administration of the business, and with the growing demand to service the field operation, the head of the company needs to exercise overall management with the freedom from the direct demands of project operations. To accomplish this the head employs the project manager, the overseer of the project, to organize and implement project continuity. Under the direct control of the project manager is the project superintendent, project engineer, administrative assistant and accounting clerk, with increased or decreased staffing for larger or smaller projects (or when significant time constraints exist). Also working for the project manager, reporting directly to the superintendent are trades foreman and subcontractor field ersonnel. This grouping of workers perform the specific and specialty trade work for the project. The project manager has the dubious task of overseeing the subcontracts and the scope of work for each trade of a particular project. This rounds off the field reporting element of the The office related responsibilities add another tier of responsibility for the project manager to manage. Each of these employees share the responsibility of reporting information ccurately and as the project manager formats. The administrative assistant provides the clerical support and assistantship needed to maintain the many meeting minutes and logs with the project manager who is solely dependent upon for success. Where the project manager is the primary cost manager for their respective projects, the financial support needed by the project manager in payment to subcontractors and suppliers keeps the project moving smoothly. Accurate record keeping helps the project manager to project reasonably accurate profit margin The project manager also has responsibilities to control the processes that support the construction such as purchasing, receiving and warehousing of the project materials to be incorporated into the project. This function, may become the responsibility of the project superintendent for the successful purchase of the materials. Under each scenario, the project manager retains the responsibility for inventory and product controls