Performance Improvement Program - Raytheon - Research Paper Example

PROJECT CHARTER General Project Information Project PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Executive Sponsors: RAYTHEON INTEGRATED DEFENSE SYSTEM Department Sponsor: MANAGEMENT TEAM Impact of project: TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF SERVICES OFFERED TO CLIENTS 2. Project Team Name Department Telephone E-mail Project Manager: DAN SMITH PESIDENT OF RAYTHEON 2228571 dansmith@raytheon.org Team Members: DANIEL JONES FINANCE 2226474 danieljones@raytheon.org MITCHELE BROWN PROCUREMENT 2228578 mitchelebrown@raytheon.org ANGELA RISTYRA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2223564 angelaristyra@raytheon.org MICHAEL JUAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 2229917 michaeljuan@raytheon.org 3. Stakeholders The project will have a direct impact on our clients and they are the people who will be affected most by the changes that the project will bring to the company. They will enjoy better quality services and products even though they will haveto dig a bit deeper into their pockets. The company’s shareholders will also benefit from higher dividends once the project is fully implemented in accordance to the developed plans. The company itself stands to benefit from increased profits and a better public image. Project Purpose Raytheon aims at continuously improving performance so as to better its processes. To do this, the project that has been rolled out has specifically been set to help improve the practices that Raytheon is based on. These practices include: The Integrated Product Development System (IPDS), The Achieving Process Excellence initiative (APEX), and The Raytheon Six Sigma strategy. The IPDS is used to determine whether or not any new program that Raytheon wants to implement is viable or not. APEX brings together all business programs and units for efficiency in running the company as a whole. The Six Sigma Strategy is used by the company to improve its business operations. The improvement project as a whole aims at making sure that these best practices upheld by Raytheon function as they are supposed to for the general well-being of the company. The purpose of the project can be further explained as: 1. Ensuring that the products and services required by the company’s customers are of high value. 2. To ensure that there is continuous improvement knowledge on how the company operates. 3. To eliminate any wastage of time or resources that are spent aimlessly in the provision of required services. 4. To consistently align the employees with the goals of the company. Objectives 1. To increase the company’s profits by at least 30% from the current levels. 2. To increase the quality of products and services offered to our clients and ensure 100% efficiency in both. 3. To reduce production and running costs of the company by 20%. Project overview The project has been segregated into different sections to see it to completion and fulfilling of the above listed purposes (Persse, 2008). The methods and techniques identified are: • The Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Program Management College; • The Raytheon Program Start-up process; • The Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Program Management Forum; and • The Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems—Program Structuring, Learning, and Effectiveness. The Program Management College is meant to provide training courses for the company managers and for other employees as well. Raytheon has always faced challenges in phasing out the start-up process of many of its running programs. To improve on this, it has established the Program Start-up process to ensure that every initiated program in the company has more than enough to see to it that it starts on a high note. The Program Management Forum aims at providing opportunities for managers to network and exchange ideas with managers of other companies on the best managerial skills. The management of the company has identified the existence of a gap in its business model whereby they report to the wrong people. This led to the creation of Program Structuring, Learning and Effectiveness to ensure more accountability on everybody’s part. This project is further based on a strong matrix model where reporting is done through integrated business models and cross business teams. These models are aimed at ensuring that the company is effective, efficient, and capable and utilizes its working capacity to the maximum. Business need for the Project Raytheon has identified the need to improve its services and products. One of the major reasons for so doing is the rapid increase in the rate of competition for the services and products it offers. The company wants to become the best in the world of defense and information technology, hence the need to roll out a program that will help it to achieve this goal. The company has also established various goals that it wants to achieve by the end of the year 2014 and the management believes that this project will help in the achievement of these goals. Further, the project is aimed at ensuring that the current performance level of the company improves by at least 30%. The business also needs the project to help in achieving the targeted profit margin increase by the end of the year. Work Breakdown Structure The Raytheon project is based on a strong matrix model that is further rolled out into the integrated business team and the cross business team. The President of Raytheon, Dan Smith is in charge of both teams as well as their collaborative operations. For the effective running of the project, each team has its own areas of operation while still been monitored by junior managers. The integrated business team, for instance, oversees the running of various program offices while reporting to the relevant business area depending on the program under observation. On the other hand, the cross business teams are in charge of people, processes and competitive discipline among the project enforcers. Program management responsibilities as a whole are left out to the Director of program Structure, who ensures that the project runs as earlier planned and that any changes to be made are absolutely necessary. Risk Analysis Raytheon has a history of having improper start-up procedures for its programs and any anticipated projects. This has in many instances led to the company running out of resources and eventually resulting to incomplete programs and projects. The same risk applies to this project. If effective measures are not put into place to ensure that all the required resources are available, the company risks having yet another halfway done project to its title. The resources required for this project are adequate funding, availability of human labor and the technical knowhow of how the company operates a well as its goals. If the company fails to plan properly on how the project will be implemented, it also runs the risk of carrying out a project half way and then lacking ideas to see it to the end. Business and Resources needed to complete the Project One very crucial resource for this project is a well prepared program team that will see to it that the project sees the light of day. In the beginning of the program, every member of the company will be required to make a commitment that they will support the team where and when necessary to see to it that the project is successful. The team is required to understand the project goals as well as their roles and responsibilities towards t achievement of the identified goals. Monetary resources are also required to see to it that the project runs without any interference for lack of them. Monetary resources are allocated on the basis of reasonableness and distributed to ensuring that the company’s objectives are fully met. It is estimated that the project will cost the company roughly $3 billion. Other resources required are physical in nature and they include computers, documents, files and offices. Benefits of the Project to the Organization At the end of the day, the employees and managers of Raytheon will learn to work as a team. The implementation process of the project will also lead to increased accountability of the company staff as each is assigned specific duties which are supposed to be met and the results reported to the relevant authorities. In the course of the implementation process, the managers and employees will undergo various trainings to ensure that they have adequate skills and knowledge to work and run the company. In the long run, the company benefits from having more skilled and knowledgeable people working in it. The company will benefit from the provision of better quality services to its clients as is documented in the purposes of the project. How I would run the Project Effective implementation of the project will require teamwork among all the members of the company. The best way to achieve this would be by ensuring that decision making is an all-inclusive activity. This will mean that consultations on the best way forward will be done among the senior and junior staff of the company. I would also set an example by being responsible and accountable for any duty that I am assigned to in the course of the implementation process. Reference Raytheon Business Excellence: Accelerated, Tailored Solutions to Meet Customers’ Critical Needs. Retrieved from http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/rtnwcm/groups/iis/documents/content/iis_mos_business_excellence.pdf Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=78327cc20b&view=att&th=1456959174d968fa&attid=0.1&disp=safe&realattid=f_hu29vwzn0&zw Top of Form Persse, J. R. (2008). Process Improvement Essentials: CMMI, Six Sigma, and ISO 9001. Sebastopol: OReilly Media, Inc. Bottom of Form Read More