Project Management - Active Building Complex - Essay Example

Project management Introduction Business entities, government and developmental s undertake mega projects aimed at making a difference in the community. Projects are very complex to handle and usually require careful planning otherwise they may terminate prematurely. Consequently, project management plays an imperative role in ensuring projects is. Projects are to the volatile macroeconomic forces that may sometimes adversely affect the process of execution. The external forces present projects to a number of risks that must be mitigated otherwise they may escalate and become major impediments and slow down the progress of the activity undertaken. Project planning and budgeting helps project managers to take pro-active measures to avoid some of the risks that emerge from the external and internal environment that surrounds the contractors (Kerzner, 2013). Project planning is an iterative process. Tasks undertaken are interdependent of each other; hence, failure of a subsystem affects the whole systems. Project planning rescues the project team from unforeseen circumstances due the high uncertainty that is with a majority of projects. The first stage of the project plan is identifying the goals of the project. In the stage, beneficiaries of the project are identified and the stakeholders. Their needs are so that the project is designed to meet them. A schedule is then developed to establish the amount of time and resources that will be. A budget of the resources necessary is prepared to determine the cost of executing the project. Additionally, a Human Resource plan is also developed to determine the skills that will be needed to accomplish the mission. Furthermore, a communication plan is outlined indicating how progress of work will be. Lastly, a risk management plan is created to provide measures that can be taken to shield activity from interference (Turner, 2014). Mode Sante, a company, based in France launched an ambitious plan of constructing ultra modern leisure complexes. The company outsourced for contractor through a competitive bidding process who were supposed to build one of the facilities in Uxbridge. With a capital as a constraint, the new Active Being Complex had to be built according to the specifications provided with the minimum cost possible. A capital amount of £300,000 had to be allocated prudently towards installation of a new IT infrastructure, security system, music and public address systems and other amenities that were to be in the new building. Interestingly, an old building that had been left unattended for many years was leased. The move was positive given that the cost was significantly lower than constructing a new building. Moreover, the staff responsible for undertaking had to be recruited and trained rigorously to be equipped with the necessary skills that were required to complete the project successfully. The project required 22 staff members to be recruited and trained for the mission of the undertaking. Conversely, a marketing camping had to be carried out to create awareness to the public and other stakeholders in the planned activity. In addition, the time factor had to be considered. The project was expected to kick off on May 1st, 2015 and then be by April 1st, 2015 (Meredith and Mantel 2011). The construction of the Active Being complex was an overwhelming experience. Valuable lessons could be from the case study of the company in terms of the project management process. The team involved in the activity worked in unison to ensure the project was a success albeit the numerous challenges that surfaced in the middle of the implementation process. Human capital played a significant role in carrying out demanding tasks assigned to the different teams that were involved in the process. Additionally, a proper inventory system had to be enforced to ensure suppliers delivered raw materials within the required time frame. Precisely, effective project planning and budgeting played a significant role in the success of the project (Grey and Walker, 2005). Project planning is not a one-off activity. It is an iterative process that requires frequent monitoring and evaluation. Without project planning, project deliverable might not be achieved. The objective of project management is to achieve the desired quality of a project within the stipulated time frame, with the resources available and ensuring the activity covers the anticipated scope. Construction of the Active Being Complex had to take place within May 1st, 2015 and April 1st, 2015.The amount that was allocated towards the construction was £300,000.Budgeting is one of the issues that undertaken in planning for a project. Numerous costs are in a project; hence, it is important to budget for the various expenses that are and also have a contingency plan for uncertain events. Through budgeting, funds are allocated to different departments. When projects are, costs of materials may fluctuate, employees may demand increased wages. Such variables are likely to push the cost of operation to skyrocket something that may become a hindrance given that they were unplanned for during the planning stage (White and Fortune, 2002). Consequently, the project may the project may suffer cost overruns. Mode Sante had to allocate the £300,000 accordingly for various activities. During the opening of the project, £5,000 had to be spent towards the groundbreaking ceremony. The recruitment and hiring process was apportioned £45, 000. £53,500 went towards sundries, construction of the first floor, second floor and the ground floor. In addition, £200,390 was allocated towards the payment of salaries and wages and purchasing of raw materials. The budgeting practices of the company fits with theories developed by specialists in the field of project management. White and Fortune, (2002) suggests that projects must have a clear time frame that is required for the competition otherwise objectives of the project might not be. Investing in projects that do not have a specific deadline and budget could result in loss of funds (Pich, et al., 2002). Budgeting and scheduling are an activity carried out during the planning process of a project. There are three types of budgets namely, top-down budgeting, bottom-up budgeting and iterative budgeting. A budget is supposed to be carried out to give an estimate of the expected costs that the company anticipates incurring. It provides a plan on how the resources of an organization are going to be within a specified timeframe. A model of budgeting has been developed to demonstrate the trends associated with budgeting (Huchzermeier and Loch, 2001). Cost Time Source: Project Insight During the initial stages of a project, the amount of resources required is very high. Organizations spend a lot of money purchasing materials necessary for the work and other activities that must be before the project is. As time progresses, the amount of resources required slowly starts to decline. A formula is on how the funds are expected to be. When the project reaches the competition stage, resources needed diminish significantly. Mechanisms are also laid down to come up with proper disposal methods for the remainder of the resources is unutilised (Ward and Chapman, 2003). The graph above reflects an accurate picture as was the case in building the Active Building Complex. A lot of materials were required at the initial stages of the project. Windows, paper wall, doors, security cameras, handles tubes and other equipment had to be. Although the items could be in the future, the purchasing activity was only a one-off process. Replacing the items was an activity that could be undertaken later as part of the monitoring and evaluation process of the project. Gym, toilets and reception equipment were also budgeted for during the planning process (Meredith and Mantel 2011). Budgets can be prepared using a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It is a useful tools those breakdown activities that need to be to a particular time. Additionally, the deliverables of a project are indicated in a WBS. Resources required giving project outcomes such as labour, and other expenses are in a WBS. The cost for all tasks is calculated and added to come up with the total of all costs. The total cost represents the actual cost. A comparison is with the expected values to find out the variances in project costs. Once a is detected; an investigation is launched to establish the cause of the variance. Estimating the costs in a WBS is done using a number of approaches. It can be done using the experience of the project manager. Project managers are in their areas due to the exposure they have. Consequently, they can comfortably predict the anticipated cost of an activity (Grey and Walker, 2005). Risks must be managed appropriately because they affect project planning. Risks pose opportunities and threats to a project. Given the fact that the environment is very dicey and chaotic, project planning sometimes may be rendered irrelevant. Despite having such hindrances, mitigation measures must be developed to deal with the threats. A risk identification process is used to detect some of the risks that may arise. The severity of each risk is so that proper strategies can be created to deal with the threats that arise (White and Fortune, 2002). Conclusion The construction of the new Active Being Complex demonstrates the path taken with project implementation. Successful project execution is interdependent on with how stakeholders plan and budget for activities. Projects are a complex system and must be in a systematic manner. If a subsystem of a project fails, the whole projects risk collapsing. Proper planning should be in all departments involved since all play a vital role. Stakeholders need to hire employees with the relevant skills required to perform tasks. Contingency plans have to be made to prepare for emergency cases. Risks must be controlled to avoid threats arising from environmental forces. Budgets must be ready to ensure the project is economically sustainable. Reference List Grey, S., and Walker, P. (2005). Project risk management guidelines: Managing risk in Large projects and complex procurements. J. Wiley. Huchzermeier, A., and Loch, C. H. (2001). Project Management Under Risk: Using the Real Options Approach to Evaluate Flexibility in R.D. Management Science, 47(1), 85- 101. Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons. Meredith, J. R., and Mantel Jr, S. J. (2011). Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley & Sons. Pich, M. T., Loch, C. H., and Meyer, A. D. (2002). On uncertainty, ambiguity, and Complexity in project management. Management science, 48(8), 1008-1023. Project Insight, (2015).Project Management and the Comprehensive Project Budget. [23.3.2015]. < http://www.projectinsight.net/project-management-basics/basic project-budget> Turner, J. R. (2014). The handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92). McGraw-hill. Ward, S., and Chapman, C. (2003). Transforming project risk management into project Uncertainty management. International Journal of Project Management, 21(2), 97- 105. White, D., and Fortune, J. (2002). Current practice in project management—An empirical study. International journal of project management, 20(1), 1-11. Read More