The Role of Project Manager as Planner, Controller and Community Stakeholder - Coursework Example

The role of project manager as planner, controller and community stakeholder BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE The role of project manager as planner, controller and community stakeholder Technical summary and case identification Thermae Spa in Bath was recently renovated to improve infrastructure to support specific market groups and provide a new dimension of service in spa therapy and relaxation. This construction project would leave an aesthetic mark in Bath amidst an aging yet historical infrastructure, therefore its impact on community lifestyle and microeconomic sustainability were key considerations for project leadership. The success of the project can be illustrated through a visual tour of the facility, with a quality procurement model for all reconstruction projects. However, determining whether the renovation was a success moves beyond architectural tangibles and considers elements of planning and control when external stakeholders are supporting the project or criticizing its long-term value and benefit. Successful project management through an environment with ongoing disputes and interruptions whilst attempting to maintain a positive stakeholder relationship requires dedication to planning, establishing control systems for employees and systems and customer/partner relationship management. The same can be said for the Forth Bridge renovation project, as it entails economic considerations on the local community as well as measurable changes in best practice related to maintaining quality stakeholder relationships. Planning involves a focus on human resources development, maintaining quality in not only construction but in collaboration and controlling process and resource allocation in the most cost-effective method available. Both the Forth Bridge and Thermae Spa encountered delays and complications during the renovation phase, however in relation to planning, control and stakeholder service, both projects met or are meeting their intended goals. This is the nature of project management: “Ongoing, high quality business relationships with customers have been recognised as a source of competitive advantage…the ability to control these relationships and enhance their quality is important to satisfaction” (Myhal, Kang & Murphy 2008, p.445). In major renovation projects involving multiple stakeholder groups, relationship development over a long-term project is a key function both for planning and for control. Key personnel will be acting as representatives of the renovation business or sponsor organisation, thus training in public relations should be included in the training curriculum. Project management is identifying the impact of human personnel, as related to basic fundamentals of sociology and psychology, and planning a system that best fits the learning or personality profile of subordinate workers. At the Bank of Ireland, a new technology was adopted that encouraged staff members to log their complaints, thus empowering them to take action and perform a resolution through self-motivated means (Etherington 2009). Further, Tarricone & Luca (2002, p.55) identify that problem solving, communication, collaboration, social and interpersonal skills and time management are target skills desired by employers. A project manager must motivate more than tangible procurement and work allocation but understand the complexity of self-motivated team methodology and control systems when disruptions are caused due to the low-performing workforce. Part of establishing controls is removing controls if the workforce remains dedicated, through quantitative measurement, to meeting project goals. This is the rationale for focusing on these three elements of project management: planning, control and community relationships related to corporate social responsibility. The majority of the project-related problems incurred by Thermae Spa and Forth Bridge were rather standardized and predictable pitfalls expected in a project of this size with multiple sponsors and financiers. It is the methodology by which stakeholder relationships are handled that required a critical analysis since the projects, in some way, touched multiple community stakeholders in lifestyle or in business development. The problems at Thermae Spa and Forth Bridge Dyer (2006) presents the results of a study that identified key attributes of project leadership. Ninety five percent of project managers cited poor communication for the root of their project failures. Forth Bridge represented a renovation scenario funded by multiple sources, both governmental and through external investment. Key stakeholders maintained an element of control over the project through legislative channels and through the judicial system in the event of non-cooperation or lack of contractual fulfilment. In the pursuit of identifying appropriate funding, regulatory bodies maintained external concerns regarding budget allocation and infrastructure development costs that were left to ongoing discussions in the preliminary stages of the project plan (Scott 2009). One of the key failings in large scale projects, according to Al-Ahmad, Al-Fagih, Khanfar & Alsamara (2009) is overscheduled subject matter experts. The primary foundation for supporting the project financially is a tightly-controlled environment with considerable legislative burdens. Financing without governmental support might have avoided complex negotiations related to community spending and council government, however procurement of these investment funds might have taken longer than through these delayed and over-scheduled channels. All of this illustrates the necessity of understanding key stakeholders and their role within the organisation during the planning stage so as to gain an understanding of externality motivations and their ability to impact forward momentum in projects. Part of planning is setting up the operational components needed to drive the project forward successfully. For Thermae Spa, procurement of architectural experts and delivery of on-time high quality materials begins the planning process. However, workers allocated to meet strategic timeline delayed due to over-scheduled sponsors and regulators creates an unpredictability in the project that requires reassessment of relationships and the role of suppliers. Crawford (2009) refers to best practice in this industry with 93 percent of organisations considering project size and 92 percent considering technical complexity using informal methods and tools to achieve cost estimates. Best practice then, in construction and renovation projects, is to use instinct and perceptual knowledge in full degree as much as statistical analyses related to process and masonry. Adudi (2010) suggests that part of establishing best practice is to document conversations with project owners, log what agreements have been reached, and then build a standard from what currently exists within these discussions. The need for a manager that can build a collaborative environment and plan for contingencies from partner-created delays reinforces the importance of planning in relationship to community stakeholder involvement. At the very fundamental level, the Forth Bridge construction project required consideration by all stakeholders regarding its community reputation as a long-standing icon in the community. The basic connotation and hard interpretation of the bridge is that of a ‘witch’ or an ‘old hag’, the goddess of Winter (geograph.org.uk 2010, p.1). The point is that community perceptions about the aesthetics or functionality of the bridge are measured against the motivation to consider new construction or move forward with renovation. Costs are some of the most obvious factors to consider in this range, as part of planning, however how the project will impact community will create new concerns with public relations, media exposure and potentially dealing with community level protests against the project. Perkins (2007) identifies that most project failures involve some level of cultural conflict and no contingency. The project manager must plan adaptive strategies at the fundamental human relations level and act as a representative or moderator for all stakeholders involved. Another example of stakeholder relationships in the role of project manager is the expectation of functioning as a corporate representative to community stakeholders. Cooper’s Lighting, a large supplier of commercial and residential lighting products, held a creative contest spotlighting community citizens with architectural and electrical knowledge to reinvent potential lighting scenarios using famous architectural hotspots. Thermae Spa was included in a student representation who conceived of new underwater LED fixtures and lighting columns as part of her design (cooperlighting.com 2008). This is free publicity that can be manipulated in the planning phase by identifying opportunities to partner with various community or national businesses identifying positive corporate social responsibility. Even though an internalized project manager would not deal with a high volume of external community influence, for large-scale projects impacting community recreation and infrastructure, it is unavoidable as in the case of Forth Bridge and Thermae Spas. Thermae Spa opened four years later than expected in the original planning phases and ran two times over budget (Guthrie 2006). The majority of problems stemmed from financing disagreements and conflicts among different developers. These would be controllable elements if performance tools were used to measure discussions, identify contingencies with basic knowledge of negotiation tactics and bargaining, and are part of the project leader’s role as a spokesperson and operational controller. Dyer (2006) again reminds that unconscious incompetence is another root cause of project failure. The project manager should identify low-performing or misaligned leadership directly involved with control elements related to budget or actual construction efforts and develop strategies to combat disagreement. This can be accomplished through a formalized needs analysis or a functional analysis template found in psychology texts or management journals. Control concerns are part of the project manager’s tasks and responsibilities, especially related to the functional elements of community infrastructure projects. The renovation of Forth Bridge will cause gaps in traffic, thus creating economic concerns to local businesses. It was due to the fact that a completely new bridge would have limited financial impact on Fife and Edinburgh that renovation was chosen as the project path (Sutton 2007). Therefore, with the assistance of partners and community authorities, ongoing traffic regulation and ensuring quality of community commuting becomes a consideration in the project team. There are liabilities in the role of project manager, under most risk assessment models, that identify opportunities for problems related to interaction with citizens and business representatives. The well-being and security of those re-routed for renovation activities become a fundamental risk concern to the project manager. Control is also measurable in the quality of relationships between suppliers providing materials to avoid increasing their selling power in the market. Perkins (2007) offers that keeping eyes off of suppliers leads to project failure. Procurement bidding and contractual development will determine many cost issues associated with the materials supply chain, something more imperative when using high quality materials used in Thermae Spa. The project manager in assessing return on investment or cost of goods sold (or other standardized accounting tools) will recognize opportunities to reduce suppliers or invite market competition. The ability to understand what is driving compliant or non-compliant supplier behaviour along with the distribution network necessary to support business function are control factors within the scope of project leadership ability. Establishing electronic systems to improve customer relationship management under control models assists the project manager to have instant access to documented supplier profiles or discussions that occurred in contractual development. Having a risk management focus or guideline for analysis is a control method to reduce supplier bargaining power and gain collaboration from key supplier stakeholders. Conclusion The role of planning, control and the stakeholder relationship as part of corporate social responsibility is vital. There are tangible assessment tools with statistical diagrammes and software variety to support technical function of special projects as advanced as Thermae Spa and Forth Bridge. These are tools that vary by resource availability and the broad focus of the project under consideration or already in the midst of construction. However, less quantitative research is necessary in the role of project manager as the impact of external and internal stakeholders drives the pace of project momentum when time management is a key factor to consider. Productivity analyses only indicate a narrow picture of how the project is progressing whilst qualitative studies related to human behaviour and risk management are just as vital. Risk assessment acts as a control tool to identify and isolate potential problems before imposing liability to the success of the project. Planning, control and the stakeholder relationship are tightly connected to the operational role of project management. High quality business relationships are vital to gain collaboration and ongoing respect for the project, taking into consideration how the community views renovation and construction efforts. The ability to assess and control human dynamics whilst presenting a positive public image through supplier and sponsor networks is the primary goal. Both Thermae Spa and Forth Bridge are successes for managing these duties successfully for controllable project scenarios. References Adudi, G. (2010) [internet] Establishing project management best practice: where do you start?. [accessed 19.11.2010] [available at http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/establishing-project-management-best-practice-where-do-you-start.html] Al-Ahmad, W., Al-Fagih, K., Khanfar, K., & Alsamara, K. (2009). A taxonomy of an IT project failure: root causes, International Management Review. 5, 1, pp.93-106. Cooperlighting.com. (2008). [internet] Cooper’s lighting 32nd annual source awards – 2008 competition winners. [accessed 19.11.2010] [available at http://www.cooperlighting.com/content/source/awrds/32ndannualsourceawards_student.pdf] Crawford, J. (2009). [internet] Project management best practice benchmarks, PM Solutions. [accessed 19.11.2010] [available at http://www.pmsolutions.com/collateral/research/PM%20Solutions%20Research%20Compendium%202009.pdf] Dyer, S. (2006). The Root Causes Of Poor Communication, Agency Sales. 36, 12, pp.52-55. Etherington, L. (2009). The service1st programme at Bank of Ireland, Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Strategy Management. 16, 1, pp.4-7. Geograph.org.uk. (2010). [internet] Forth Bridge. [accessed 18.11.2010] [available at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1002211] Guthrie, J. (2006). Legal battle likely over Bath’s delayed spa project, Financial Times. Jul 31, p.2. Kappelman, L., McKeeman, R. & Zhang, L. (2009). Early warning signs of IT project failure: the dangerous dozen, EDPACS. 40,6, p.17. Myhal, G., Kang, J. & Murphy, J. (2008). Retaining customers through relationship quality: a services business marketing case, The Journal of Services Marketing. 22, 6, p.445. Perkins, B. (2007). 12 things you know about projects but choose to ignore, Computerworld. 41, 11, p.34. Scott, D. (2009). Treasury attempts to settle Forth Bridge row with Holyrood, Public Finance. January, p.9. Sutton, H. (2007). £1bn for Forth Bridge replacement, Regeneration & Renewal, London. Feb 23, p.10. Tarricone, P. & Luca, J. (2002). Employees, teamwork and social interdependence – a formula for business success?, Team Performance Management. 8, 3 / 4, pp.54-60. Read More