Managing High Technology Programs and Projects - Case Study Example

?PROJECT AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT The ARM Case Study The focus is on the ARM case study which is the world’s leading semiconductor intellectual property supplier. It is a Research and Development focused business. It has a business model whereby it does not own factories but rather designs and license its technology to network partners who carry out manufacturing (The Times 100, 1995). Since it was founded in 1990 it has grown to become a major developer of digital electronic products. It has been entirely relying on high levels of creativity and knowledge of its people. The case study specifically looks at the process of research and development and show how these have been able to support the company maintain its high position in the market. Several external factors however are of concern when it comes to developing new products for the company (The Times 100, 1995). Such factors may include the need to develop low carbon products, increasing energy security and addressing the impacts on global warming. The research and development for the company operates on a model of push and pull where airs out to manufacturers their new developments so as to drive new technological innovations and the pull where the focus shifts towards market demands; what their customers want. The company’s major challenge is mainly technical or economic. With increasing complexity in technology, then the more people are needed by the company to overcome this challenge (The Times 100, 1995). But it has proved to be another challenge for the company to recruit more skilled workers that will be able to remain competent and enable ARM maintains its position in the market. Executive summary A project is typically a collaborative enterprise (Blum, 1986). It usually involves research that is conducted frequently, involving a carefully planned research design that sets to achieve a given aim. Projects are social systems within organizations that are constituted by teams to accomplish given tasks within a given period of time (Spottydog, 2003). A project is usually conducted by school going and university students or by organizations. For school going students it may require the students to undertake fact finding and analysis from either secondary sources of information or from empirically gathering data (Yuan-Yi, 2001). The final output is usually in the form of a dissertation. The dissertation will contain sections of the whole projects inception, inquiry methods analysis, finding conclusions and most at times would require them to make suitable recommendations (Konecny, 2006). On the other hand for organizations it will consist of a temporary task that is undertaken in order to create products that are unique and satisfactory services many at times in pursuit of satisfying the growing and changing demands of consumers such as the case of ARM mentioned above. (Morris Peter, 2007). Therefore the objectives of the given project will determine the target status at the end of the whole project. This will be necessary to achieve the planned benefits or the aims of the project. For example, in many countries engineering projects are specifically defined by legislation and requires that any engineering project should be carried out by only the registered engineers and companies for constructing buildings, industrial facilities, and transportation of infrastructure and such like other duties (Pinto, 2001). In such cases the project scope will be well defined within a contract from owners of the project and the engineering and construction companies. This kind of project has two major phases which are design and construction. Design phase involves drawing and calculations and the next which is the final phase will be to send the project plan to a developer who will do the construction work (Archibald, 1992). Project Brief A project in its self if a process and any process usually involves a set of interrelated actions and activities that have to be carried out in order to achieve a pre-specified result or services. The process will be characterized by the type of inputs, tools and techniques apply and the resultant outputs (Gareis, 2010). For ARM to make its projects successful it always involves a team so as to ensure successful completion. The first and most important thing is to develop a project management plan. This will provide primary source of information on how a project will be planned for, executed and completed (Chapman, 2003). The whole ARM project team will have to determine the inputs and the desired outputs. The inputs basically involve defining the project charter; review the enterprise environmental factors and the organizational process assets. From these factors an expert judgment is generated and gives the whole management plan (Chen, 1997). When we refer to a project as being temporary then we mean that it is a process that has got a definite beginning and a definite end (Lundin, 2011). This also does not imply that the project is takes a short duration of time. A project can be temporary and can end up lasting up to several years. The end of any project we can say is achieved under two clear circumstances and these are when the general objectives are met or when there is no more need for the projects which leads to definite termination (Sahlin Andersson, 2002). Most projects are intended to create a lasting result. All projects are based on fundamentally different objectives and will therefore have different plans and will equally require different resources (Clayson, 2005). Project Management . Within the plan there should be a given time frame and therefore the activities should all be clearly defined, well sequenced and estimated. The ARM ensures that there is a well-developed and controlled schedule so that all the activities are completed within the given time frame (Cleland, 2007). Other factors that they also put into consideration and are as well properly managed include costs, project quality, human resource and project communication (Meredith, 2010). All the resources should be well planned for and appropriate cost estimation, cost budgeting and cost control is done (Cleland and Kerzner, 1985). To ensure successful completion of projects the company ensures proper description of processes such as quality planning, assurance and quality control. This will ensure satisfaction of the need for which the project is undertaken. All the team players are effectively involved throughout the whole project (Cleland and Ireland, 2006). The scope of any project will always affect the project cost but never will it have an impact in the quality of the final outcome. From these results an interaction whereby the performance in certain areas will have to involve a little sacrifice from another area (Cooper and Dale, 2005). These interactions therefore need to be effectively managed for a successful project management (Vicky, 2008). Any project has got to have a project process which will always fall into two categories that is project management process where there is description, organization and completion of the project work and product oriented process which specifies, and creates the projects product. The whole process of project management and product-oriented process overlap throughout any project (Cooper, Grey, Raymond, and Walker, 2005). The company organizes its management process into sub groups where the groups are comprised of a first stage where there is initiation of the plan. This is where the project becomes authorized. It is then followed by definition and refining the objectives, selecting the best alternative course of action to attain the objective for which the project is set to address (Dow, PMP and Taylor, 2010). After planning, there will follow the execution. There will be co-ordination of all the resources and people involved in the project. It may involve scope verification and change of control, schedule, cost and quality control and reporting performance (Hass, 2007). Other than coordination monitoring should be conducted at intervals to measure progress to establish any variances from the initial plan so that necessary amendments can be made on the plan (Ludovic-Alexandre, 2011). In the process there is the last stage of closing the process. The contract is completed and settlements are made including generating, gathering and disseminating information to formalize project completion (Haugan, 2011). Risk Management Risk management is a systematic process that sets to identify analyze and respond to certain events that may have either positive or negative effects on the prospects of achieving project objectives if they happen to occur (Kendrick, 2009). Risk management involves aspects such as determining the activities cost estimates , the scope baseline, stakeholder register, cost management plan, scheduling a quality management plan and the respective documents, looking at the enterprise environmental factors and the organizational process assets (Cooper, Dale F and Broadleaf Capital International, 2005). Any project faces risks and therefore ARM project teams always look into the inputs and the expected outputs if at all the process are worth it. To ensure a good and efficient risk management plan, the company provides a consistent methodology for performing a project risk management activities, and also provide techniques and the tools for project risk management (Kerzner, 2009). The plan will have in context the data requirements for risk analysis input and also for output. It should be able to clarify how a project risk management fits into the overall project management process (Kerzner, 2004). Most important is that it should be able to offer guidance on how to proactively respond to risks. Understanding the project risks will enable the project teams to effectively contribute to fulfillment of service (Loosemore, 2006). This is achieved through the assessment of project risks and uncertainty so as to assist in decision making with regard to project development. Risk management involves a number of key steps the major one being planning for the risk. The company will have to decide how to approach, plan and execute risk management activities throughout the project cycle (Konecny, 2006). This will facilitate maximization of the outcome benefits of opportunities and will also help bring down the adverse effects that the risks can cause. The other step is determining the risk types and documenting the relevant characteristics of the risk and the ways in which they can affect the project (Lester, 2007). Once the risk events are determined then there should be a qualitative risk analysis where the risks are given priority in terms of their impacts and likelihood of occurrence (Chapman, 2003). It is also very important that ARM identifies the impacts of specific risks on the objectives of the project as this can be a great determinant of successful projects. Then further analysis is conducted for mitigation. A Quantitative risk analysis is necessary in estimating the probability that any project for under the ARM Company will meet the cost and time objectives. It involves numeric estimations and is based on simultaneous evaluation of the impacts of all identified and quantified risks (Lock, 2007). The next thing is for the team players to develop options and determine actions that will bring forward the opportunities and minimize the threats to the objectives of the project (Loosemore, 2003). Responsibilities are allocated to each team player in the project so as to ensure that each risk requiring a response is effectively attended to. Best strategies should be identified with respect to each risk, and adopts specific measures of implementation of each strategy (Ludovic-Alexandre, 2011). The last step will be to conduct risk monitoring and controlling tracks identified risks, execution of risk plans and evaluating their effectiveness in reducing risks (Lundin, 2011). Proactive behavior Proactive behavior can be described as an anticipatory behavior. The main aim being to influence either oneself, or a work environment (Meredith, 2010). The need to be self-starting by using their own initiative can be as a result of pressure for innovation, career, and models that demand greater self-direction and the growth of decentralized organizational structures (Sharon, 2009). This is very common in today’s jobs where there is great need for team work, rapid organizational changes that includes introduction of innovations and new technologies just like in the ARM company whose main focus is on development. It has been established that proactive behavior can bear fruit both individually and for organizations (Morris Peter, 2007). With improved technology, there is also increase in job stresses such as demands, role conflicts, obstacles and uncertainty (Plunkett, 1982). These put together will lead to a demand in proactive working where employees have to become more active and flexible and should embrace the need to approach cropping problems proactively. Proactive behavior affects duty performance and output in any organization. Studies have shown that proactive behavior does not impair but rather stimulate proactive actions (PMI, 2008). For any ARM project to succeed, then it will be largely determined by the performance of the employees since they make up the project team. This type of behavior can either be beneficial to an individual or the whole organization (Pinto, 2010). It may influence self-performance or the achievement of the organizational objectives. Some constructs may function as potential linking mechanisms in the relationships between both positive and negative characteristic within workplaces and proactive behavior (Van Orden, 2003). There may also be a link between job control and proactive behavior. In situations where ARM employees work with high job control, they are granted higher responsibilities and decision making. (Pinto, 2001) These employees are able to convince their supervisors that they possess enough knowledge skills and abilities to fulfill the tasks in their respective jobs and therefore their confidence to perform their duties is be increased (Crant, 2000). Engaging in proactive behavior involves rational decisions having critical assessments being an individual’s personal capability to engage in a range of relevant activities (Plunkett, 1982). Despite having its negatives proactive behavior is generally found to be rewarding within work places and therefore managers should encourage their employees to acquire the trait of being proactive, by either involving their employees in decisions based or working rules and procedures and by allocating challenging duties in order for the employee to determine which actions or steps would best suit the assigned duty (Thompson, 2005). On the other hand employees should also adopt suitable coping strategies in order to overcome negative effects of the same (Plunkett, 1982). Conclusion It is clear that project management is a process and it requires resources of various types not forgetting manpower, skills and knowledge availed by the ARM workers. It therefore calls for proper planning before initiating the whole process and throughout requires consistent monitoring but most important is co-ordination among the team members. All the activities of a project are interrelated so as to achieve major objective which is common for all projects carried out not only by ARM but by any other company. The objectives determine the resources and the type of plan to initiate for that given project. The process takes a given time period and therefore the activities should be integrated to achieve the time frame. Any given project has got various risks involved and therefore a risk management plan should as well fall in place with the initiation of the actual project. The risk management plan as well as the general project plan follows several steps that should ensure suitable ways of countering any forms of risks that may come about. There is also the element of proactive behavior that is evidently playing a big role in the determination of performance levels of ARM workers. All organization managers should encourage this form of behavior as the positive benefits overlay the negative ones. For any project to be successful all the above mentioned processes need to be given keen considerations since they will determine whether the objectives set for that project are being met or whether the project will turn unsuccessful which implies discarding the whole plan. Any given project will only take direction based on the amount of efforts and resources amounted to it. Recommendations It is highly recommendable that before initiating any project plan, the most important and crucial thing for the company to do is to set attainable objectives right from the onset as this will give a clear insight as to what the whole process is about and what is aimed at achieving (RTurner & Muller, 2003). The objectives also will give a sense of direction to all the team players involved in the process. If ARM is aiming to establish or continue with a project, they should first of all clearly understand the scope of the project that involves initiation, scope planning, definition verification and scope control (Sahlin Andersson, 2002). Prior analysis should also be conducted to ensure that the quality outcome will be desirable and most importantly that the process is timely completed and within the available resources (Scharf, 2009). Also all the perceived risks should be put into consideration during the risk response planning and this should be preceded by monitoring and controlling tracks of the identified risks (Shenhar, 2001). Monitoring and controlling the project is important also since it will provide early enough indications of whether the project will be a success or whether it is deviating from the initial structure of plan as well as giving a chance to review the process to see whether necessary changes can be made to make the project fall back to track once more (Verma, 1995). Since it is not very clear whether the proactive behavior at work is fully dependent on the job stresses factor, further studies should be conducted so as to determine whether the two have any relationship (Vicky, 2008) Reference List Archibald, R. (1992). Managing High technology Programs and Projects. New York: Wiley. Blum, M. L. (1986). Data Gathering:Experimental Methods Plus (1 ed.). United Kingdom: Harper and Row. Chapman, C. a. (2003). Project Risk Management:processes techniques and insights (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley and Sons . Chen, M. T. (1997). The Modern Project Manager. Cost Engineering, 39(3), 27-30. 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