Case Study about Project Management

Question: Discuss about the effectiveness of project management. Different tools of project management are evaluated and challenges in implementation of the project have been analyzed as per the requirements of the project Palm Trees Spa? Answer: Introduction Project management is of the great essence of the success of business firms. The given business report will highlight about the project of Palm Trees Spa, which is a resort. The primary function of the given project is to fulfill the desired level of customer satisfaction with the help of online reservation system. The effectiveness of the tools of project management will determine the success of the given project (Young, 2013). Background and principles of project management There is a long history of the evaluation of project management. The concept of project management has evolved in the late 19th century due to the complexities of manufacturing and transportation process. One of the biggest examples of project management was the transcontinental road back in 1862. However, the modern tools and techniques of project management evolved after 1900. Gantt chart considered be to a modern tool of project management is named after Henry Gantt. On the other hand, the critical path method was designed by two organizations namely, Remington and DuPont. United States Navy developed the concept of the pert chart. All the mentioned organizations and people have a great contribution to the aspect of project management. Therefore, this reflects that different organizational bodies had developed different modern principles and approaches of project management (Maller and Saderland, 2015). Different types of principles of management are present that the project of Palm Trees Spa can implement. The success criteria of the project of Palm Trees Spa will depend upon the application and implementation of the project management principles. Proper and effective business justification- The success criteria of the project will depend upon the overall justification of the project. The given justification of the project will vary upon the financial justification and outcomes of the project management. In addition to this, it is of a great essence for the firm to make the project validated on the eyes of the stakeholders. If the project is not financially viable and stable, then, it is not possible for the project manager to guide the project to its desired success (Morris, 2013). Effectively designed roles of the project manager- The role and function of project manager determines whether the project will succeed or not. It is of a great essence for the project manager to communicate with all its team members effectively. In addition to this, the respective manager needs to have all the desired leadership skills to motivate his fellow team members. There must be a proper clarity in his role so that the flow of work takes place effectively. In addition to this, the project manager must have a problem solving skill to solve all the issues around the project. Several stages of project management- It is great essence for a project manager to follow several stages to carry out the activities of the project. These stages can be in the form of the planning stage, implementation stage, coordinating stage and controlling stage. The project manager needs to divide all the activities of the project through proper monitoring tools of project management. The completion of each stage will determine the success criteria of the next stage (Serpella et al. 2014) Clear aims and objectives- It is of a great essence for a project manager to have a clear set of aims and objectives of the project. The critical path activities and network model of the project will depend upon the aims and objectives of the given project. For example, in case of the given project of Palm Trees Spa, the main objective is to create an online platform for customer booking to meet the needs and requirements of all the customers Analysis of external and internal environment of the project- It is important for the project manager to analyze the internal and external factors associated with the project before allocating all the respective activities to the project. The internal environment includes SWOT analysis of the project, and external analysis reflects the Pestle analysis of the project. If the project fails in terms of analyzing the desired tools of internal and external analysis, then, the project will not attain its success. Learning from experience- The manager needs to learn from his experience to integrate all the activities of the project effectively. These are the required principles of project management that is also applicable in the given case of Palm Trees Spa project. B) Success and failure criteria of the project Palm Trees Spa The success and failure criteria of the project can be evaluated with the assist of several elements. These are in the form of economic, financial, technical, environmental and socio-political viability. It is further evaluated with the assist of the following table:- Success/ failure criteria of the project Palm Trees Spa Economic viability The given resources meets the needs of the customers in a timely manner Financial viability The given project is at par with the desired budget of the project manager Technical viability Interactive website and online reservation system is running efficiently Environmental viability The given system do not have any environmental aspect of the society Socio-political viability The project is at par with the social and political aspects of the society. Table 1: Success/ failure criteria of the project Palm Trees Spa The above table reflects the success and failure criteria of the given project of Palm Trees Spa. If the concerned project meets the required guidelines, then the project will be considered as successful and vice versa. In addition to this, the viability of the project can be easily appraised with implementation of the tools required for success criteria and meeting the needs and objectives of the project (Zavadskas et al. 2012) Principles behind the setting of systems and projects to implement the given resources of the project There are several principles that are present behind implementation of systems and procedures of the project in case of every project management. Meredith and Mantel (2011) opine that the methodology used to carry out the project in an effective manner is systems in project management. In case of the given project, there is a possible requirement of different types of systems and procedures. In project management, systems and procedure are those that form the core of any project management. In the given case, the project of Palm Trees Spa has more than a few systems and procedures. These are online platform to design the website, effective software, different project management software and other technological systems. There are some key principles which help to utilize systems in the entire given project management. One of the principles is time management and cost management. The systems and procedure are required to be implemented within the desired cost and time scheduled by the respective project manager. The procedures of critical path analysis, Gantt chart and Pert Chart can be managed through utilization of cost and time management. In addition to this, systems and procedures have a direct and positive correlation between resource management in case of every project like Palm Trees Spa. Several resources are involved within the respective project management. With the help of planning and schedule management, the project can effectively manage its resource manage ment that can be success criteria for the given project (Teller et al. 2012) Key elements involved in the process of terminating the project and conducting of appraisal of the project Several key elements can lead the project manager to terminate the project. The first and foremost step of any project is a process of planning and scheduling of all activities and cost management. However, after allocation and implementation of all the given resources of the project, if they are several variances, then, the project manager can terminate the project. The variances of the project can be due to several systematic and unsystematic risks. If scheduling of any activity goes wrong, then, the possible variances can hamper the project greatly. It can lead the project towards its termination. In addition to this, if the project fails to attain its desired milestones, then, it can also fail to sustain. Project aims and objectives are also part of project milestones. Financial and non-financial analysis also plays a key role in appraisal or termination of any particular project. Therefore, if these factors go wrong, then, the project may easily be terminated. Risk assessment to ols also form the core of any given project like online web site development of Palm Trees Spa. If the project manager fails to ascertain and prioritize all the existing risks of a given project, then, the project will fail. The most important part of post project appraisal can be in the form of identification of activities that did not work out properly. It is of the great essence for the manager to slack out these activities from its respective critical path analysis. Every project manager wants his/her project to be successful. Therefore, it is important to conduct a critical analysis for post project appraisal that will lead the project to success or failure (Zavadskas et al. 2012) Human Resources required for the project of Palm Trees Spa Several human resources are required for successful implementation of the project of interactive internet system of the resort Palm Trees Spa. These can be further explained with the assist of the following table:- Human resources Roles Project manager (1) To monitor and measure all the activities and operations of the overall project from start to end. Operations manager-5 To carry out the operational activities concerning about MIS of the online interactive system System engineer-4 To develop the platform of the interactive and attractive website for online customer booking of the resort Palm Trees Spa Financial manager- 2 To manage the budget and required costs attached to the project Network engineer-3 To develop the network plan and network model of the project of online reservation system. Table 2: Human resources required for the project and their respective roles All the given resources are required until the end of the project that is implementation of effective online system. The project manager has delegated their respective duties in accordance to their individual areas of specialization. There is no retirement or redundancy planning of the selected human resources of the project. The total number of upper and middle level human resources that are required is 15. The working pattern of them is in accordance to their functions and sequence of activities as designed in the networking model of the project. The given human resources will be recruited for long-term purpose of the resort (Schwalbe, 2014). Identification of appropriate organizational structure of the given project The size of the project is huge, as it requires an effective online reservation system all across the resort of Palm Trees Spa. Therefore, the organizational structure can be in the form of functional organizational structure. All the given resources have been given their desired roles and all the activities will be performed sequentially. Since the project is all about implementation of effective online reservation system, therefore, sequential planning of activities is the critical determinant factor for its success. Due to this reason, functional organizational structure will suit the activities of the project. Other organizational structures like dedicated project team and matrix structure will not be suitable in the given case. This is mainly because; dedicated project team structure cannot be flexible to perform all the given activities of the project. The organizational structure of the project can be evaluated with the help of the following diagram:- Figure 1: Organizational Structure of the project Palm Trees Spa (Source: Pryke and Smyth, 2012) The above organizational structure will help the project to attain its respective vision and mission statement. The other two given organizational structure is not at all suitable for the required project. The main functions and responsibilities of the human resource manager are to coordinate all the functions and responsibilities in accordance to the given organizational structure of the firm. In addition to this, the role of human resource manager is to communicate all the ideas among the team members of the project. This will also further increase the efficiency of the given project. Role and structure in controlling and coordinate the project The above discussed role and structure of the project helps the project manager to control and coordinate about all the activities of the project effectively. It is of great essence for the project manager of the given manager of the project Palm Trees Spa to coordinate about all the respective resources of the project effectively. Project scheduling and project planning play an effective part based on the role and structure of the project. There are different phases and activities of the given project. These phases depend upon the role and structure evaluated by the respective project manager. The organization follows a functional organizational structure that will make the manager easier to control the project efficiently. Control of the project is to ensure that there are no possible variances of this project. If there were variances in this online development project, then, it would surely fail. Coordination of the project is also important to carry out all the possible activitie s sequentially. Therefore, the process of controlling and coordination of the project depends upon the role and structure (Leach, 2014). There are different types of control that can be implemented in every project management. These types are active control, post project control and cybernetic control. In the given case, the project manager has evaluated the tool of active control to control all the activities of the required project. The given project is about implementation of online tools and techniques of Palm Trees Spa project. Therefore, it requires an active project manager to control all the steps and activities actively (Usman et al. 2014) Different types of resources are given different roles and responsibilities to complete the project in time. The role of network and system engineer is to implement and monitor about the technical requires of the project. The financial manager will monitor the project budget and operational manager will monitor all the operations as per the requirements. The project can also implement several modern control and monitoring tools like Pert Chart, Gantt chart, Network model, etc. Leadership styles required for the particular project Different types of leadership and management styles are present that a manager of a project can implement. These types of leadership and management styles are autocratic leadership, participative leadership, transformational leadership and laissez-fare leadership. Leadership and management styles In the present project, the best type of leadership that would be suitable is the transformational leadership. In such case, it is the responsibility of the leaders to transform with the identification of the right needs and the requirements of the organization. They have the vision and help in creating the inspiration for the employees to enhance the service. The identification of the collective work is the key in the present case. The leaders identify the issue and accordingly tailor the resources and motivate to give the best to the organization. Performance of the employees is the most important aspect as the customers are satisfied based on the service. Belbins team roles This is the aspect, which entails the use of the allowable weakness. This is the priority in the team role of Belbin. The strength of the role includes factor like plant where the role-played is that of creativity and the imagination. The weakness of the person is ignoring the incidentals. The next is the resource investigator who is enthusiastic, communication and the weakness includes over optimism in all the aspects. The next strength is that of a coordinator who is matured and confident and the weakness includes being manipulative. The next is the shaper who is, dynamic and the weakness includes prone to provocation. The next in line is the monitor evaluator who is sober and strategic. The weakness is inability to inspire others. Team worker is cooperative and the weakness includes indecisive. The next is the implementor who is not so flexible. The next in line is the complete finisher who is not ready to delegate. Finally, specialist is the person who is part of the single-minde d idea. They are dedicated but the weakness includes contributing to a narrow front. Leadership of the project manager The project manager for this particular project has to be inspiring which in other words mean to be transformational. This would help and enhance the prospect of the organization effectively. This helps in motivating the employees to work collaboratively. The project manager has the capacity of dealing with the team and enhancing their performance perfectly (Larson and Gray, 2011). Motivational theory and the leadership style The motivation theory, which is best applicable, is Herzbergs hygiene models where part from the hygiene factors the motivational factors are important. This includes the promotion of the right opportunities. Opportunities are also included in the improvement of the personal growth along with the recognition of the power and the resources in the organization. The achievement is all the above-mentioned aspect is the most important aspect. In case of the transformational leader all, these aspects are important to deal with the opportunity and the enhancement of the personal and the aspects of the organization. This type of leaders has the drive of helping the employees is forming the collectivity and work in case of the achievement of the organization. This type of leader has the vision of the best elements, which would help in generating the best for the future aspects of the organization. Detailed plan of the project of Palm Trees Spa There are several key components in case of any project management. These components are time management, cost management, project schedule, project control and project risk management. Another key component of project planning is project budgeting and effective strategic planning. All the key components are included in this project of building up of interactive website and design of resort Palm Trees Spa. WBS (Work breakdown structure) is of crucial importance for the success of the given project. It helps to ascertain total amount of budget, scheduling of activities and period of any particular project. The success criteria of the project depend upon the efficiency of WBS of the given project. In addition to this, the given tool of WBS also helps the project manager to gain a certain level of commitment from all its team members and improve their performance level by setting up targets and solutions. Based on the given targets, the success criteria and milestones of the project can be measured (Prieto, 2015). Several steps can also be taken based on the variances of the project. Level A Level B Level C Palm Trees Spa 1.1Planning of the project 1.1 Meeting with the project manager 1.2 Written specification 1.3Meeting with agreed specification 1.2 Framing 1.2.1 Framing of roof and walls. 1.2.1 Installation of shingles and brick should be cleaned 1.2.2 Installation of stairs and bricks 1.2.3 Framing of windows and doors 1.3 Foundation and design of the website 1.3.1 Design of the website 1.4Allocation of resources 1.5 Install software 1.5.1 install electrics 1.5.2 install network 1.5.3 Clean up 1.6 Framing 1.7 Implementation of integrated tools of MIS 1.8 Budgetary analysis 1.9 Risk management Table 1: WBS of the project Task Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors Resource Names Task 45 days Mon 8/24/15 Fri 10/23/15 Planning of the website 10 days Mon 8/24/15 Fri 9/4/15 meet with project Manager 5 days Mon 8/24/15 Fri 8/28/15 Project Manager ,Project Technician ,Finance manager write specification 3 days Mon 8/31/15 Wed 9/2/15 3 Project Manager ,Finance manager meeting to agree specification 2 days Thu 9/3/15 Fri 9/4/15 4 Project Manager ,Project Technician ,SC Manager Foundation and design of the website 15 days Mon 9/7/15 Fri 9/25/15 5 Allocation of resources 20 days Mon 9/28/15 Fri 10/23/15 6 Implementation of attractive tools 20 days Mon 8/24/15 Fri 9/18/15 7 install electrics 3 days Mon 8/24/15 Wed 8/26/15 Electricians[2%] install network 2 days Thu 8/27/15 Fri 8/28/15 9 Trainers install software 2 days Mon 8/31/15 Tue 9/1/15 10 IT Technicians[2%] Installation of online systems 20 days Wed 9/2/15 Tue 9/29/15 11 Framing 10 days Wed 9/30/15 Tue 10/13/15 12 IT Technicians[4%],Finance manager,Project Manager Implementation of integrated tools of MIS 10 days Wed 10/14/15 Tue 10/27/15 13 IT Technicians Budgetary analysis 5 days Wed 10/28/15 Tue 11/3/15 14 Finance manager Risk assessment plan 6 days Wed 11/4/15 Wed 11/11/15 15 Controlling and monitoring of all the activities 4 days Thu 11/12/15 Tue 11/17/15 16 Table: Scheduling of activities of the project based on the WBS of the project S.no Tasks Resources Quantity Duration Cost 1 Planning Project manager 1000 10 10000 2 Website design Project manager, network engineer and systems engineer $1,200 5 6000 3 Foundation of the website 2500 15 37500 4 Allocation of resources Design engineer, Project manager $1,000 20 20000 5 Implementation of attractive tools Project manager $500 20 10000 6 Installation of online systems Project manager $2,000 20 40000 7 Framing 100 10 1000 8 Implementation of integrated tools of MIS Network and system engineer $500 10 5000 9 Budgetary analysis Financial manager 200 5 1000 10 Risk assessment plan Project manager $500 6 3000 11 Controlling and monitoring of all the activities Project manager $500 4 2000 Table: Budgetary analysis of the project Techniques to schedule project activities There are several techniques to schedule project activities. These are Gantt chart, Pert Chart, critical path analysis, etc. The below two figure reflects the scheduling of the given two projects. Figure 1: Gantt chart Figure 2: Pert Chart The total duration of the project is 45 days and the critical path of the project is 1-2-4-5-6-8-10-11-12-13-15-16. Therefore, the project manager of the project needs to minimize the total duration of the project by cutting of the slack activities. The project cost can be controlled by effective utilization of budgetary analysis and analyzing the variances of the required project. Costs can be managed by minimizing the total amount of variances effectively. It can also be done through analysis of earned value management. Methods of measuring performance Performance of the overall project of Palm Trees Spa can be evaluated with the tool of key performance indicators. It can be done through cost performance, satisfaction level of the customers, satisfaction level of employees, milestones of the project, variances in scheduling and cost management. In the given project, cost management, schedule management and feedback of the stakeholders about the online system can be considered as its important key performance indicators. This project has been kept within the required targeted costs, and targeted scheduling It is evaluated in WBS and Gantt chart of the project. All the respective key performance indicators or KPI are of great essence for this project (Snedaker and Hoenig, 2005). Change control procedure of the project There are different types of changes that can take place in case of every project management. These changes can be in the form of change of demands of the stakeholders, economic slowdown, change of schedule, addition of new activities, increased of variances of cost budgeting, natural disaster, etc. These changes can also be in the form of different systematic and unsystematic risks. Changes can take place in the form of management and leadership style of a given project like Palm Trees Spa. Different forms of structural and reengineering changes can also take place in the internal management of the organization. There are several benefits in the process of managing changes in the project of Palm Trees Spa. Firstly, the project can be completed in due course of time as per the needs of stakeholders. The project can easily attain its aims and objectives through the given analysis. The given project may also face several changes. These changes may be in the form of technical changes, changes in management, changes in design of website, etc (Leach, 2014). All the given changes can be managed as well as monitored. The project manager may prioritize the given changes or risks by preparing a contingency plan at the initial stages. This is the same for internal and external changes in management. Changes in the given project may be also monitored through effective feedback of stakeholders. Conclusion The above report concludes about the effectiveness of project management. Different tools of project management are evaluated and challenges in implementation of the project have been analyzed as per the requirements of the project Palm Trees Spa. References Morris, P. (2013).Reconstructing project management. Chichester, England: Wiley-Blackwell. Young, T. (2013).Successful project management. Philadelphia, Pa.: Kogan Page Ltd. Hyvari, I. (2006). Project management effectiveness in project-oriented business organizations. International Journal of Project Management, 24(3), pp.216-225. Klein, L., Biesenthal, C. and Dehlin, E. (2015). 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