Managing Projects of Jones Ltd - Case Study Example

Case Study: Managing Projects of Jones Ltd. Total Number of Words 767 Introduction Established back in 2001, Jones Ltd. specializes in the supply of office equipments (desks, chairs, filing cabinets, and dividing partitions). Operating its main factory outlet, the company is composed of a general manager, an assistant manager, 2 admin staff, 4 sales personnel, and 3 warehouse staff. To cut down on unnecessary operational expenses, the top management decided to hire another company to transport the products directly to its customers and market distribution channels. As part of the company’s expansion plan, Jones Ltd. is about to make its newly purchased building operational. Aside from making use of the same staffing structure at the existing site, Jones Ltd. will invest on new sets of computers and information technology in order to keep the company’s supply chain more up-to-date and efficient. As a newly hired project manager, activities within the specified time frame and budget needed to successfully manage the business expansion plan of Jones Ltd. will be tackled in details. Project Management Process Step I – Assemble Team As part of the project planning team, a group of IT experts, competitive electrician, and interior designer with ergonomics background will be subcontracted to set-up computers and teach Jones Ltd’s internal stakeholders on how to use the IT system. Step II – Define Project Objectives and Project Scope The main objective of the project is to review and implement strategies for the opening for trade of the new building. As part of the main objective, proper selection and installation of IT system should be decided upon by the IT subcontractor and the rest of the internal stakeholders to enhance the supply chain process of Jones Ltd. Step III – Define Project Scope A simplified work breakdown structure (WBS) will be use to increase the chances that the IT subcontractor and Jones Ltd’s stakeholders would all agree to the proposed scope of the project. Doing so will make it easier on the part of the project manager to subdivide the projects into smaller components. The following WBS will be included in this project: 1. Gather and select the best qualified IT subcontractor for Jones Ltd. 2. Appoint a freelance interior designer who has knowledge on ergonomics to design the workplace suitable for Jones Ltd. employees. 3. Temporarily hire the service of a competitive electrician to double check and ensure that electrical wires and sufficient lighting are safe to use. Step IV – Construct an Initial Plan After defining WBS, a logical network diagram with estimated duration will be organized by the team to enable the project manager easily monitors the specific activities that will take place over a certain period of time. (See Table I – Schedule for Initial Plan below) Table I – Schedule for Initial Plan Schedule Task 1/2 week Gather Jones warehouse employees to brainstorm in selecting the best qualified IT subcontractor for Jones Ltd. 1st week Encourage Jones’ warehouse employees to brainstorm with the selected IT subcontractor concerning the warehouse IT requirements. 1st – 3rd week Allow IT subcontractor to work on the warehouse software requirements. 2nd week Appoint an interior designer who has knowledge on ergonomics to design the workplace suitable for Jones Ltd. employees. 2-1/2 week Allow interior designer to discuss with electrician the required lighting, etc. Step V – Additional/Deduction on Human Resources, Costs, Risk Management Since the warehouse department will be utilizing the use of IT system, there is a need to cut down on the number of warehouse staff from three down to two. Basically, cutting down the number of warehouse staff will enable the company save on unnecessary operational cost for manpower. To avoid possible conflict or legal cases coming from the warehouse staff, the project manager should suggest that that the general manager should offer the warehouse staff to have a better work and profit opportunity in sales. This strategy offers a win-win situation between Jones Ltd. and its employee. The one-time cost for implementing the said project can be costly. In line with this, the following budget allocation will be considered throughout the planning and implementation stage: Short Term Expenses: US $ Investment on warehouse IT system 500,000 Interior Designer’s Fee 10,000 Electrician’s Fee 5,000 Total Short Term Expenses 565,000 Step VI – Publish the Plan As soon as the proposed project plan has been effectively communicated and agreed upon by the rest of Jones Ltd’s stakeholders, the project manager will formally publish the plan for implementation purposes. Using electronic system, a soft copy of the formal project plan will be sent to the top management of Jones Ltd. Likewise, a hard copy will be posted on the company’s bulletin board to ensure that each employee will be properly informed of the new project plan. Step VII – Monitor Project Progress On a regular basis, the project manager will monitor the progress behind the implementation of the said project. Together with the information gathered directly from the rest of the project team, the project manager will compile the project progress report and make necessary adjustments concerning the actual completion, the following week forecast, and balancing the budget allocation. In line with this, all expenses will be accounted in the balance sheet statement together with the official receipts coming from accredited suppliers. Step VIII – Indicate and Implement Necessary Adjustments in the Project Plan After each of the project plan stages has been completed, the project manager will decide on whether there is a need to make necessary adjustments. For instance: The IT system will be tested after the software is ready to use. In case any of the stakeholders would give any forms of suggestions on how to improve the newly developed software, the project manager will discuss with the IT subcontractor specific changes that needs to be done in the warehouse software. The same process will be applied in the case of the interior design and electrician. Step IX – Close Project As soon as all requirements are met successfully, the project manager will close down the project. In line with this, the project manager has to finalize the accounting for the budget allocation and present the actual project cost to the general manager of Jones Ltd. Skills and Competencies Required to Enable Project Manager Successfully Implement its Proposed Business Expansion Strategies Resistance to change is expected to arise out of Jones Ltd’s stakeholders. For this reason, the project manager has to acquire necessary interpersonal communication and leadership skills. The said qualities will enable the project manager to successfully implement the proposed business expansion plan. Over the years, a lot of researchers and supervisors from all types of organization struggle to answer the question “what makes a leader?” (Bambacas and Patrickson 2008). In line with this, Barling, Slater and Kelloway (2000) noted that there is much empirical scrutiny of leadership and management theory that focuses on the question of influencing the follower’s motivation in an efficient and effective manner. Leaders that are classified as transformational leaders are the ones that do not practice positional authority. Instead, these people are committed to train the subordinates to become a leader in their own way by being able to work under less supervision and express themselves freely within the business organization (Bass and Riggio 2006). Since transformational leaders and followers are all equal in the sense that they work towards one organizational goal as a team, the use of this type of leadership style is effective in terms of convincing Jones Ltd’s employees to actively participate throughout the implementation process. Upon examining the transformational leadership model using a set of variables, Tracey and Hinkin (1996) revealed that transformational leadership style has a direct impact over the followers’ employment satisfaction. Given that the transformational leaders are able to make the work experience of each employee enjoyable, the followers tend to willingly participate more in achieving the organizational goals. As a result, the research study of Jandaghi, Matin and Farjami (2009) concludes that the application of transformational leadership style within an organization could contribute to the organization’s success. Transformational leadership style is composed of four major components or characteristics known as: (1) charisma or idealized influence; (2) intellectual stimulation; (3) inspirational motivation; and (4) individual consideration (Bass and Riggio 2006, p. 3). By empowering them and aligning the objectives and goals of the followers with the objectives and goals of the leaders within a large organization, these four major characteristics enable the followers to grow and develop themselves as the future leaders. As a form of a referent power, personal charisma is an important characteristic of a good leader since it could attract the followers to cooperate well with the leader related to emotional intelligence, charisma is highly correlated to a person’s ability to monitor their own emotions around other people (Palmer et al. 2001). For this reason, transformational leaders are capable of effectively managing the followers without having employees lose their self-confidence (Sidani 2007). In general, there is a strong connection between charismatic leadership and transformational leadership (Fairhurst 2007). This is due to the fact that transformational leaders possess the ability to create vision for future development, insinuate intellectual stimulation, and be an inspiration to his/her subordinates. According to Barbuto (2005), the leadership behavior of a leader which includes charisma is highly correlated to the leaders’ work motivation. It means that the combination of transformational and charismatic leadership style could effectively motivate employees to have fun at work without sacrificing the quality of their work performance. The use of effective interpersonal communication skills could positively improve the followers’ attitudes and behavior regarding the proposed project plan (Mayfield and Mayfield 2006). In line with this, Wood and Kroger (2000) argued that it is not sufficient to view communication as a tool for description but “a medium for interaction” (p. 4). In line with this, Howell and Costley (2006) explained that “[c]ommunication skills are needed to carry out all the leadership behaviors; it also enables the leaders to have the opportunity to show the low-ranking employees they care”. There are many benefits associated with the use of interpersonal communication skills. Among these includes enabling the project manager to establish and create a warm, empathic, and trusting relationship with the rest of Jones Ltd’s employees. In fact, it is through interpersonal communication that transformational leaders could extend charisma or idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and individual consideration when managing and leading the rest of the project team. Conclusion In making the newly bought building operational for Jones Ltd, there is a strong need to consult the expertise of a competitive interior designer with ergonomics background and a qualified electrician on top of subcontracting the warehouse IT system. Basically, hiring the service of interior designer with knowledge on ergonomics could minimize the possible health care cost associated with poor working condition. On the other hand, hiring the expertise of an electrician will minimize the risk of electrical failure in the long run. Having a good vision is not enough for a project manager to successfully lead the implementation of a project plan for Jones Ltd. To increase the success rate of implementing the proposed project plan, the project manager should not only have a good transformational leadership skill but also a competitive interpersonal communication skill. Combining the two competency skills will increase the chances that the project manager will be able to fulfill his role and responsibility for the company. *** End *** References Bambacas, M., and Patrickson, M. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment. Journal of Communication Management , 12(1), pp. 51 - 72. Barbuto, J. (2005). Motivation and transactional, charismatic, and transformational leadership: a test of antecedents. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies , 11(4), pp. 26 - 40. Barling, J., Slater, F., and Kelloway, E. (2000). Transformational leadership and emotional intelligence: an exploratory study. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal , 21(3), pp. 157 - 161. Bass, B., and Riggio, R. (2006). Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Fairhurst, G. (2007). Discursive leadership: In conversation with leadership psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. 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