THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT Research Paper

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT - Research Paper Example Based on these aspects, the report discusses about the impact of social media on project communication management. The objective of the report is to understand the extent to which social media can contribute towards accomplishment of project success. Furthermore, the report also addresses about the crucial social management tools which are helpful for accomplishing good project communication. Keywords: Social media, project management, project communication, success factors, project success Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Background 4 Problem Statement 4 Scope of the Report 5 Objectives of the Report 5 Discussion 5 Background about IT and Social media 5 Background on IT Project Communication Success 5 Literature Survey 6 Contribution of Social Media to Accomplish Project Success 6 Important Social Media Tools for Achieving Effective Project Communication 6 Interpretation of Results 7 Use of Social Media in International Context 8 Use of Social Media in South African Conte xt 9 Recommendations 10 Conclusion 11 Summary 11 Learnings 11 References 12 Introduction The report is based on evaluating the impact of social media on project management. Central to the topic is the accomplishment of good project communication for ensuring project management success. Regardless of better planning, budgeting and scheduling, weak communication among team members can make a project incomplete. Communication plays vital part in leading and integrating team members. Besides, there must be shared vision, where project managers must recognize the interest of every stakeholder and must ensure that the requirements and problems are addressed. Different project activities must be notified and monitored for accomplishing the overall project objectives. Thus, a thorough communication plan is necessary for efficient diffusion of information (Garbharran & et. al., 2009). Project managers require excellent communication skills, which can encourage formal and informal discussion of prospects, innovation, improvement and results. Thus, the subject social media fits perfectly in the topic as it is related with communication. Social media provides the tools and techniques which assist in better interaction. In project management, the success is dependent on how effectively team members interact with each other and accomplish differentiated activities in a cooperative manner. The traditional way of communication is becoming more flexible as social media brings new technology to communicate. There are different applications, which can match with project communication requirements and thus can help project manager to concentrate on critical aspects of projects without neglecting communication (Transformed, 2010). Background Problem Statement Project management teams in present days face increasing pressure for providing strong performance, while simultaneously dealing with different inherent obstacles. These obstacles comprise informal characteristics of team mem bers, continually shifting project requirements, time burdens for project delivery, increasing virtualization of team members and problems of knowledge diffusion across the teams. In reaction to these obstacles, project collaboration expertise and communication techniques are helpful for project team members to perform together in an effective manner and to support in proper delivery of projects. These aspects of projects cause dilemma for proper management of team with appropriate rigor and without