Phase 3 Discussion Board - Assignment Example

Management: Phase 3 Discussion Board Heather Allen Colorado Technical Online Dr. John Richard Horne PM600 – 1302A – 02 April 24, Thesenior management of HLR Inc. in the last strategic planning meeting came to the realization that serious initiative had to be taken to ensure an intended growth of above 35% come the end of the next financial year. The focus would be on the untapped markets, enlargement as a company and coming up with plans for development. It was clear that there was lack of uniformity in the information set up of the organization.

This resulted to inaccuracy and inefficiency. Potential business and customer information was also not well documented due to poor record keeping methods by the staff. They were therefore not satisfied in the process that was being used by the company at that time. It was then decided that an upgrade of the information technology system would help alleviate most of these problems as it is a priority area. To handle this, there is thus need to acquire newer technology to eliminate the much utilized manual system.

The automation of the sales projections software is also vital for the marketing team. There is also the need to configure the entire system to ensure consistency within the departments and the branches. There has been failure in the past and therefore proper planning is imperative to ensure success of the intended project. A team from six departments would be constituted. The major challenge that has been identified in the company was the inadequate skills within the organization. All these are achievable though there is constraint in time and also the budget is massive.

It is prudent to remember that everyone who is directly or indirectly linked to a project has a role to play (NASA, 2012). This project at hand therefore has several stakeholders who will take part in its management and running to ensure its success. HLR Inc. as an organization forms the basis through which the various parts of the project implementation will be carried out. As the project manager and the team charged with the responsibility for the project, it is our duty to ensure that this project exceeds the expectations of the previous IT projects.

We have to deliver on time and properly manage the budget as allocated. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the other department heads also depend on the success of this project. Customers are the backbone of HLR Inc. According to NASA rules, 2012, it is important to find out from the clients what they think about a major shift. This is because they are the greatest beneficiaries. Our clients thus form a good group of stakeholders. Moreover, their input would help enhance their satisfaction.

The marketing team that would benefit from such automation will have a greater say too. In terms of consumption, they are customers to this project as well. The people who will employ this system are also important. For instance, the management of HLR Inc., from both the headquarters and the other branches, the various departments such as IT, sales, product fulfillments, customer service and the billing to name just a few. This project will significantly affect if not all then a bigger part of the organization.

The business units also have to deal with the customers and the procurement units. Furthermore, as part of corporate social responsibility of our firm, the general public is also a stakeholder. This is because each one of them at one time of their life may relate to our products. They are the users of the final products. The sponsors can never be underrated since they provide the major part of funding of the project to be developed. Another stakeholder is the contractor and supplier to the company.

This is because HLR Inc. as a company lacks the necessary expertise for the job and we will therefore outsource from other more experienced agencies which provide human labor and skills for hire. These people will also work hand in hand with our team to ensure the success of this project. There is need for careful analysis of the stakeholders (Galorath, 2008). People who will work as a team without undermining other people’ efforts are required. Proper communication is also a key tool for identifying stakeholders.

Multi-sensory learning technique would help us develop a more efficient means of communication (Fleming and Bonwell, 2004). Other qualities are the ability to be visionary. This helps the team in its planning and execution of the project to ensure delivery. The sponsors of this project are the senior management of HLR Inc. The direct link to them will be the CIO. They are the ones who formulated the project charter and chose me to manage the project. In addition to this, they are charged with the responsibility of coming up with the budget and deciding the timeline within which the project should be completed, in this case, eighteen months.

They are the ones who also came up with the idea of having staff from the five other departments instead of the project being handled in its entirety singly by the information technology team. This project will propel HLR Inc. to greater heights in terms of efficient service delivery. In conclusion therefore, besides having a team to steer it to success, we will form a committee. This will comprise individuals from the stakeholders stated above and they will spearhead the processes in the project charter.

Their duty will be to carry out planning processes, execution of the plans, monitoring and evaluating the viability and the value of this project. Everyone will be expected to exercise teamwork competency. Reference Farrokh Alemi (2008) Project Management: History of project management. http://gunston.gmu.edu/healthscience/ProjectManagementInIT/HistoryProjectManagement.asp?E=0 Jerry Madden (2010) One Hundred Rules for NASA Project Managers: Process excellence through evidence-based management.

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