The Concorde Aircraft Project - Case Study Example

Project Management Introduction The story of aviation and the history of human flight would not be complete without a mention of Concorde since it represented the realisation of a dream that one day people could travel faster than the speed of sound. Following the Second World War, it was commonly assumed that the sound barrier could not be broken until (like many other limits assumed to be final) it was. The Concorde aircraft hoped to bring supersonic flight to the public since it had a cruise speed of Mach 2.02 with a cruise altitude of 60,000 feet which goes into the limits of the upper atmosphere (Wikipedia, 2006). The conceptualisation, development and production of the aircraft took several years since the treaty between Britain and France was signed in 1962 but test flights of the Concorde could not be conducted till 1967 while scheduled flights could only be conducted in 1976 (Wikipedia, 2006). At the same time, after many years of faithful service as well as rising and falling fates, the Concorde was retired in 2003. As a product, it does present the complete lifecycle of a product going from an idea to a cultural icon to the eventual death of the product. The overall command and control for a project like Concorde would have to be handled by many individuals who are experts in their fields but one person would have the responsibility of conducted the entire project. There are several skills and competencies which one could seek when looking for a person to handle a project like Concorde of which the most important would be planning skills. However, before a discussion is made regarding the project manager’s skills and abilities, it would be logical to examine some of the primary activities involved with the project. Activities Required The first activity required for the Concorde project would be to secure the required financing for the project. In historical terms, the idea and the product itself was so costly that no single company could manage to come up with the financing required for the project. In fact, Britain and France had to pool their resources before the production and prototyping process could begin (Wikipedia, 2006). A project manager here would need to be a part of the negotiations between the two countries so that s/he can guide the political process away from the technological process to create as little interference as possible. Once the financing or financial backers have been secured for the project, there is a significant cost involved in terms of time and money which concerns the mobilisation of the project. This activity is also the phase where the team of people working on the project can be expanded considerably. Here, the project manager needs to recruit core members of the team who can help the company create the end product. Technical, manufacturing, production and aviation experts all need to be recruited for the company. Considering that such a project has never been undertaken, experts in the field of supersonic passenger flights could be hard to come by. Therefore, the project manager has to seek out people who s/he thinks are good enough for the company and can handle the tasks which are given to them by their respective managers. In this scenario, the people sought by the project manager should have similar skills to him/herself along with expertise in the field for which they are being recruited. Once the aircraft has completed the technical planning phase, the project manager has the considerable responsibility of finding buyers for the aircraft and planning the marketing program before production begins. Concorde found several airlines ready to buy the aircraft given the specifications it was to be built to and airlines from Air Canada to Iran Air had given orders for the aircraft even before it was tested (Wikipedia, 2006). Additionally, the project manager who finds a significant number of orders for the craft will create a source of revenue for the company since a part of the payment has to be made at the time the order is placed. That will create a source of revenue for the company which would certainly help in a project of this magnitude. Once test flights have been made and the company is ready to deliver the aircrafts to buyers the project manager has to turn into the products biggest fan and continue to promote Concorde as the best plane on earth. Additionally, the project manager might need to negotiate additional routes for the aircraft which are lucrative for the company. This was actually one of the central problems with the Concorde programme since it failed to initially get the rights to fly over the Atlantic between America and the U.K (Wikipedia, 2006). The Concorde programme was also hurt very badly when the oil crisis happened in the early 70s. Many orders for the aircraft were cancelled and the company found that airlines did not want to invest in a ‘gas guzzling’ aircraft which would be very expensive to fly and maintain as a part of any fleet (Wikipedia, 2006). The project manager should revaluate the project continually and if the feasibility of the project is expected to be negative for any length of time, there should be a serious discussion regarding the cancellation of the project altogether. A project like the Concorde aircraft has two consumers to care for. The first and primary consumers are the airlines who buy the craft and the secondary customers are passengers who experience the flight and the benefits of using the equipment. It appears that Concorde failed to impress both of them on any aspect of the experience except speed and the novelty of flying on the fastest civilian craft in service. It has been reported that although the service was absolutely first class, the passenger comfort level was sacrificed to a huge extent since the engineering requirements had made the seats smaller and left little head room or leg room for passengers (Wikipedia, 2006). Finally, given that the Concorde programme finished in 2003, the project manager should also be pragmatic enough to understand that profits and economics often guide the decisions taken by buyers. Therefore, if a product has ended its lifecycle, it should be given a graceful send-off rather than to continue operations even at a loss. Clearly, the people working with the Concorde were pragmatic enough to see it happening and the aircraft was bid farewell after years of service. Project Manager Skills and Competencies While there is a complete set of educational and professional requirements which can be created to seek out the perfect individual for managing this project, it is very unlikely that a ‘perfect’ candidate could be found. Therefore it is often necessary to find the best person for the job rather than continue to wait and hope for the perfect person to arrive. In terms of education and experience, with a project of this magnitude more is better. The project manager should have a masters or a doctorate degree in managing large projects while several years of experience in the aerospace industry would also be useful. Since the Concorde project was to be conducted with the collaboration of the French and British governments, it would be a bonus for the project if the project manager selected was fluent in both English and French. While this is not a requirement, it would make it considerably easier for the project manager to operate and manage operations on both sides of the channel if s/he were familiar with both languages. Additionally, cultural familiarity with the French as well as the English side would also help matters. Leadership In terms of competencies, the first competency which the project manager should have is a strong set of leadership skills. This means having the ability to motivate people and get them interested in the project itself (Turnwe, 1993). While money is always a good motivating factor, the cult of personality can also be used to establish leadership and get people to go the extra mile when they need to be pushed towards a high objective. An effective leader does not have to lead by consensus but the leader has to lead the company towards success. In the case of Concorde, there are hundreds of people who can eventually be counted as a part of the team working on the project therefore it is possible that each one of them has to see the project manager as an inspirational leader who can guide them towards successful completion. At the very heart of the reason for leadership skills is that a good leader gains the ability to control people even when they are not inclined to take a certain path (Turnwe, 1993). Since the project manager is supposed to more aware of the bigger picture, with leadership skills s/he can guide people even when they are not ready to take certain actions. Management Skills While management skills are often seen as being different from leadership ability, the person at the top is expected to act as both a manager and a leader since certain aspects of the job make the person act as a leader while others demand the skills of a good manager (Burke, 2003). Management skills are important when the project manager needs to assign certain tasks to certain people or to make the correct financial decisions regarding the running and control of the project itself. Of course it does not mean that the project manager should also be an accountant, but familiarity with managerial finance is certainly required. Negotiation Skills In no case can a project like the Concorde could be handled without having deals and agreements with hundreds of suppliers and dozens of customers who would be investing millions of pounds into the company by buying its product. From the price of the paint which goes on the outside of the plane to the price at which it is supplied to its customers, every step requires a negotiation or two between the managers of the project and other parties. At the highest levels, negotiations can last weeks or months if they concern legal issues, sovereignty and the rights to travel certain routes. In all these situations, the presence of the project manager is more or less mandated and his/her personal negotiations skills would be very important in these cases. Of course this responsibility can also be delegated to those who are more familiar with the technical and the legal issues involved but at some level the negotiation may require a personal touch which can only be provided by an adequately skilled project manager. Planning Abilities Planning is the last but not the least of the abilities a project manager needs to handle a project like Concorde. Planning in this context also means the ability to see and project trends as they come to pass (Harrison, 1985). At the same time, the project manager has to be an expert in logistics, scheduling and other aspects of planning which require careful consideration especially when it comes to large projects. A project manager who can plan the project lays down the foundations of a good beginning since others who are under him in the organisation chart only need to stick by the plan which will ensure effective delivery and on time completion of the deliverables. Conclusion I feel that all of the information given above barely scratches the surface of what goes into a project like Concorde. As stated earlier, the aircraft and the project itself comes across as a dream since it allowed anyone who could afford a ticket to fly faster than the speed of sound. A feat which was reserved for the best pilots of the RAF and other air warriors of the world but with the inception of the Concorde the same thrill of speed was brought to lesser mortals. To manage and complete this project in the real world is certainly an achievement of which Britain, France and the world at large can be equally proud of. Works Cited Burke, R. 2003, Project management, planning and control techniques. John Wiley and Sons. Harrison, F. 1985, Advanced project Management. Gower Turnwe, R. 1993, Handbook of project-based management. McGraw Hill. Wikipedia. 2006, ‘Concorde’, Wikipedia.org, [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde Word Count: 2,052 Read More