SA Adventures Unlimited - Essay Example

? I. Introduction: The Company, its business and analysis of the problems it faced.  South American Adventures Unlimited or SA Adventures Unlimited is a “high-end” adventure trip organizer in South America. The business was borne out of Michael and Jill Rodriguez‘s love for adventure who thought of creating a livelihood that both of them enjoyed. The first organized trip which was a three week excursion across Ecuador and Peru that became a resounding success which prompted the business to expand its size and scope. From that single trip, it has grown to having 16 different excursions scheduled that includes trips to Central America. Additional personnel were also recruited that shared their similar passion for South America and the outdoors. As the business grew, the Rodriguez’s however are beginning to experience problems. Two of the tours were beyond the budget because of unanticipated costs which eroded the year’s profit. They also had to refund 30 percent of the tour fee because the group was stranded for five days in Blanco Puente after missing a train connection. Customer satisfaction is declining as customers were beginning to complain about the quality of accommodation and the price of the tours. The Rodriguez’s were also having hard time tracking cost across their projects and did not know their financial position until after their taxes were prepared. Clearly, the Rodriguez’s are having hard time coping with the demands of their expanding business. Excursions were poorly planned resulting in missing train connection and poor accommodation which severely undermined customer’s satisfaction that ultimately reduced their profits. Worst, their inability to track their costs across projects made it more difficult for them to plan future excursions which could undermine the business’s viability. II. Extent of the Application of Project Management to Ventures Unlimited The Rodriguez’s case is a classic example how a poorly planned and executed project could impact the business’s bottom line. It also showed that as an organization expands, mere passion for adventure will not suffice for the business to succeed. It now calls for a sound understanding and practice of an effective and efficient Project Management. The nature of SA Adventures Unlimited business is all about Project Management. Each excursion or project that SA Adventures organizes is unique, complex, non-routine, one time effort that is limited by time, budget, resources with the objective of satisfying the customer (Gray & Larson, 2011). Thus, it is imperative that SA Adventures Unlimited must have a good grasp about Project Management to effectively and efficiently utilize human and nonhuman resources to reach predetermined objectives (Gray & Larson, 2011). Such, the extent of the application of Project Management to SA Ventures Unlimited is pervasive in all its operation due to the very nature of business which is organizing excursions that is project based. Project Management is complex. Unlike the traditional task in an organization where functions are segmented, Project Management is non-routinary and requires a lot of problem solving, coordination and time management to get a project done on time, within budget and in accordance to customer’s specification (Gray & Larson, 2011).  The repercussion of failing to define, plan, executive and deliver the service is already obvious in the SA Adventures Unlimited case that it resulted to an erosion of profit and uncertainty to plan future excursions. The nature of the job at SA Adventures Unlimited also required interfacing between the customer and the companies capabilities. Being the interface between the company and the client, SA Adventures Unlimited personnel have to reconcile customer expectation with what is feasible and reasonable (Gray & Larson, 2011) and have to resolve issues that may arise as they execute the project. In executing the project, this would require a delicate balancing act between the trade-offs of time, cost and performance to get a project done to the customer’s satisfaction (Gray & Larson, 2011).  This delicate balancing of SA Adventures Unlimited of time scheduling (so as not to miss connecting trains), cost (so as not to go over budge) and performance (to keep the customer satisfied) only demonstrates that the extent of the application of Project Management is pervasive in almost all aspect of its operation. III. Kind of training in project management that should be administered Effective and efficient handling of a project such as a tour and an excursion involves mastery of the four phases of project lifecycle that includes definition of the project, planning, execution and delivery of the service (Gray & Larson, 2011). Specific task assigned to each personnel must be carefully carried out for the tour to be executed on time, within budget with an end to satisfy the customer. For this task to be completed effectively and efficiently, an appropriate training must be administered. A. Rodriguez’s – Being the owner, it is assumed that the Rodriguez’s oversees the general operation of the business. In the product life cycle of organizing a tour, the Rodriguez’s must be trained in defining the specification and limit of the excursion according to the negotiated contract. Developing the budget for each excursion must also be carefully prepared and as such, the Rodriguez’s must also be trained in budgeting. Research showed that a poorly defined scope is the most frequently mentioned barrier to project success and as such, the Rodriguez’s must be adequately trained in defining projects (Gray & Larson, 2011). As projects multiplied, tours must be planned carefully. This includes scheduling and budgeting. Such, the Rodriguez’s must be trained not only about scheduling and budgeting but also software’s on how to effectively managed schedule and budget. Example would be the MS Project and Excel. B. Administrative staff – the three administrative staff serves as the support system between the company and the customers. Their job requires coordination and liaising with a lot of people not only across departments and specializations but also with outside entities such as hotels and carriers (Gray & Larson, 2011). Administrative staff need not only be an outdoor enthusiast but must also be proficient in operating an office and should be trained for it. C. Tour guides – are the interface of the customer with company and other entities involved in the tour (example, hotels for their accommodation). They are the ones involve in the delivery of the tour and it is imperative that they should be trained in budgeting and risk management. This will allow tour guides to keep their costs within budget and to minimize risk by planning and anticipation. It is also imperative that they should be trained in MS Project or any software in scheduling for they are the one in-charge in executing the itineraries of a tour. IV. Conclusion According to Harol Kerzner project management is complex as it involves numerous complicated and interrelated skills (qualitative/behavioral, organizational, and quantitative (2006). Despite of this, most project managers have not received formal training in project management except by occasional workshops (Gray & Larson, 2011). This makes a project precarious because the implementation of a project or a tour is dependent on the mere experience of the Project Manager and not on solid understanding and grasp of project management. This lack of training makes learning project management costly as demonstrated by the Rodriguez’s in the case who are struggling in managing their expanding business. While the couple (Michael and Jill Rodriguez) was highly educated, they received no training in project management that they were not able to handle their expanding business well. They made costly mistakes which had eroded their profit. Their inability to determine their financial position also made them anxious to plan ahead which undermined the future expansion of their business. The case demonstrated how important it is to manage projects/tours properly. Failure to do so will result in costly mistakes which could sabotage a promising business as illustrated in the case. This necessitated training that project managers should learn from the experience of others and not necessarily from their own mistake which could cost them their business. References Kerzner, Harold (2006). Project Management Best Practices. Achieving Global Excellence. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Gray, Cliffor & Larson Erik (2011). Project Management: A Managerial Process. 5th edition. McGraw Hill. Read More