Project Team Strategies - Essay Example

ABDGIL = 2+3+4+5+7+7 = 28

ACFJKL = 2+6+7+3+6+7 = 31

ACKL = 2+6+6+7 = 21

Therefore, the critical path is ACEJKL.

A

• The expected completion time for the project

From the calculations above, the expected completion time for the project is weeks. This is from the critical path.

• The probability that the project will take longer than 35 weeks to complete

This is gotten from the Z table which is 0.003.

Question 2

The ideas of Professor Belbin and the team roles identified. How such knowledge can be used in the selection of members for a project team.

A good team member should be a resource investigator. Such a team member will be able to use their inquisitive nature to find new ideas and bring them to the team. Such a team member should be outgoing and explores any opportunities that comes by. The team member will help the team to develop contacts that will help them. However, such a member should always be reminded of what he or she is supposed to do because they mostly forget to follow what they should.

A team worker is an important characteristic for the members in a group. These are the members who will identify the job that is required and do it on behalf of the other members. Such a member is co-operative and always listens to what the other members have to say because they do not like confrontations. Such a member will be helpful in a project because he or she will make sure that the required job is done on time.

A coordinator is essential for a team that needs to complete a project on time. These members concentrate on the objectives of a team. They are the ones who allocate specific jobs to the other team members. This will ease the completion of a project. They are the ones who are mature and are able to identify the talents of other team members.

There are team members who are a plant to a team. They are the creative ones and know how to solve problems. Such members help the team in solving problems when they occur. The problems can be between the members or issues to do with the project. Their creativity and imaginative nature helps them in solving the problems. They usually come up with ideas that help in solving difficult problems.

A monitor evaluator is the logic eye in a team. This is because they make judgments when need arises. They are able to view all the options and make accurate judgments. However they are sometimes slow when it comes to making decisions. An implementer would help a group to carry out effective strategies. They are the ones that help in turning ideas into real actions by organizing the work that should be done.

Question 3

How ideas and techniques associated with the following terms evolve during the lifecycle of a project.

• Project scope management

This is the process that will ensure the scope of a project is well defined and accurately mapped. The processes help the supervisors and managers of the project to be able to allocate the required amount of work for the completion of a project successfully. It is an efficient tool for identifying limitations and the key success factors. This helps inn the identification of the boundaries of a given project.

• Estimating and costing

Before starting a project, the team will be able to calculate different quantities like what they will spend on a specific job for a project. This gives an idea that is estimated of the costs of the works to be done. This also offers an idea of the time that will be required for the project to be completed. This aids in controlling the expenditure when the project starts.

• Work breakdown structure

This deals with dividing the work of a team into sections that can be managed. The project is broken down to components that can be managed easily. This assists in organizing the project accurately through assigning responsibilities to the team members. This helps in controlling the project for successful completion.

• Risk management

This is a process that involves the identification, assessment and control of threats to a project. The threats can be in different forms like finances, legal liability, errors in strategic management or even accidents when a project is being done. The project manager can use a strategy like risk avoidance to deal with this.

Question 4

How the application of project management concepts and techniques was a major factor in the successful staging of the 2012 Olympic Games in London

The 2012 Olympic Games in London led to the creation of Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) which was established in 2006. They were to construct avenues and infrastructures that would host the games. Their responsibilities were shared among the private sector. ODA was able to organize the project until it was successful.

They were able to come up with a strategic framework through a mission and objective that was to guide them. Their mission was to deliver infrastructure and venues for the 2012 Olympic Games in London on time so that they can leave a lasting legacy. Some of the objectives that they put in place were:

• Creating infrastructures and facilities that are related with the games and according to the budget put in place for the development.
• Delivering both Olympic and Paralympic venues to the required designs according to the budget that was agreed on.

The team had to put in place the themes that they will prioritize on which included equality, inclusion, safety, health and security among others. The strategies were put in place for each of the themes by specifying the goals and objectives to be achieved for the games to be successful. These responsibilities were given to the people responsible for them like the contractors.

There were also delivery strategies that the team put in place. This was putting into considerations that the deadline for the project could not be moved. The management of the project made sure that they got the right workers to deal with the job. They were also able to set a budget that was realistic. They came up with the budget that they thought was appropriate and stuck to it and also the decisions were made at the right time. This allowed the partners to deliver their services on time.

Question 5

Comparing and contrasting the corporate business strategies and business strategies of Emirates and Ryanair using the differentiation/competitive choice model of Porter.

Corporate business strategies identify opportunities that are outside the industry it is operating in. Thus, it mostly aims at being diversified. When other businesses join them, they should consider the strategies put in place by the corporation. The corporative aims at making contributions to the efficiency, competitive advantage and profitability of the other businesses that have joined them. A corporate is able to manage the business while divided into units that works separately. The performance of the corporate businesses depends on the efforts of the managers of each unit.

For Emirates and Ryanair cost leadership, differentiation, hybrid and focus strategies are what matters. The airlines have a number of frills strategies. They combine low prices which have low added value. The low prices that they offer help them get more customers. They offer low prices than their competitors with similar products and services. These are their cost leadership strategies because they try to be the producers of low cost in the airline industry. The prices that they offer are either the averaged prices in the industry for them to make profits or below the average prices in the industry for them to get their market share. Through this they are able to explore the available sources of cost advantage by being the producers of low costs in the industry. Hybrid strategies helps in achieving differentiation and at the same time be able to offer low prices compared to the competitors. This depends on the ability of the airlines to enhance the benefits to the customers through the low prices and be able to maintain and develop their differentiation in the market.

Question 6

The significance of organizational culture in enabling a company to adapt to its environment and the factors that influence its development .Ideas of Professor Handy in his book “The Gods of Management”

Organizational culture the ideologies, principles and values of people forms the culture. These aspects have a strong influence on the organization and dictates how a certain job will be performed. Every company has its own unique culture. These are the principles, values and ideologies that the people in a company share. The culture of a company is the determining factor in the success of the company. The culture of a company helps in uniting the workers from different demographics. This is because the workers come from different families, traditions and even backgrounds that have their own cultures. By sharing a culture in the work place, the people will have a sense of unity and be able to understand each other. This promotes communication and reduces conflicts in a company. An organizational culture that is shared in a company promotes equality because it ensures that no worker is neglected but are all treated equally.

This also helps in keeping the staff motivated to the company. They will be more eager to contribute to the success of the company. They will have a high sense of accomplishment for working in such a company that cares about them. Organizational culture brings about a competition that is healthy. The workers will strive to offer their best in order to be appreciated and recognized by the superiors in the company. This will increase the quality of work and help the company to develop. Organizational culture offers guidelines to the staff. It gives them a sense of direction that keeps the workers going. They are able to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Question 7

The typical analysis sequence that an organization may go through to evaluate its external environment and the association academic models/tools often used at each stage to assist in this task

There are a number of models that can help an organization in evaluating the external environment. SWOT analysis is one of them that help in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that will be involved in a given project. The external environment will be analyzed through the existing opportunities and threats. These can be political, social-cultural, technological or political issues.

PEST analysis is another tool that is used to scan the macro environment in which a company exists. It aids in understanding the technological, socio-cultural, economic and political environment that a company operates in. It can be used to the evaluation of the market growth or decrease like position and the direction of a company. The political factors are the regulations put in place by the government like laws on employment, and policies on tax. The economic factors are things like the growth of the economy, inflation and interest rates. The social factors are things like the growth in the population, the attitudes towards health issues and the age demographics. Technological factors are things like investments that are done in innovations like the rate at which technology changes.