Project Plan to Better Meet Customers Needs - Term Paper Example

 TERM PAPER, MS PROJECT PROJECT PLAN (PROJECT MANAGEMENT) 2 PARTS WRITING PART/ MS PROJECT PART Introduction It is important to highlight that this paper delves I the decision of project of plan and management. The paper has been divided knit several sections to enhance clarity, neatness and ease of fathoming the many contents that have been discussed in the paper. The term paper has been a research to determine the various market aspects ranging from the customer needs and problems, the expected risks, the benefits that are expected and the resources to be allocated to for the effective running of the project (Abrams, 2003). Statements of the customers’ needs The consumers have had the challenges of monopoly from a certain firm and this has made them to pay large amounts of money to consume their products. Another challenge that they have had as well is that as a result of the monopoly, the quality of the of the products that are offered by the firm are also not given priority by the firm itself owing to the fact that they know there is no other firm that would pose stiff competition. The customers therefore need products that are fairly charged, high quality ensured and that the customers complain are as well taken into consideration. To get all these, it is important to highlight that there was a market scan that was done (SWOT Analysis) (Abrams, 2003). STRENGTHS Strong market positioning Strong market networks Very strong sales promotional techniques WEAKNESS Fixed financial challenges The customer persuasion is difficult. OPPORTUNITIES Good image and reputation because of the pricing and quality of output. The customers and employees are quite loyal towards the business THREATS Stiff competition in the market Assumptions There are various assumptions that are always, made by the consumers. These are as discussed below: i. The commodities provided in the market in good quality. ii. The prices charged are affordable and fair. iii. They will always find all the commodities that they want in the market. iv. They know their sellers in the market. v. All the information provided by the sellers is true. Project scope The scope of the project covered Boston city and 1000 people were used for the study. They were given questionnaires to fill on the challenges that they get from the monopoly. And the answers were as shown in the chart as well as the table in the last section of the paper (Abrams, 2003). Deliverables There are the various items or products that sre offered after the project is accomplished. It is important to highlight that the deliverables are quantifiable and can be measured into various sizes or units. In this context, it can therefore be reiterated that the deliverables can either be tangible or intangibles. The tangible deliverables can be the various tangible products of the institution and also the physical resources used in the production process of the products. On the other hand, the intangible deliverable can be the services that the staff can be sent to go and provide to the customers such as on the product usage or even during the launching of the product in the market. There are various channels of distribution that the business is organizing to ensure that the products reach the consumers in good time and in good condition. The shorter the chain used in delivering the products to the consumers, the greater the chances of satisfying the consumer need urgently and in good time. This can as well be used as a competitive advantage. The chain of delivery will involve both the retailers and the wholesalers. The chain below therefore shows how the products are distributed from the warehouse of the business (Abrams, 2003). Resources It is important to highlight that there is no project that can be managed and operated without sufficient resources. For the operation to be effective, the following are some of the resources that an entity requires for operation: financial resources, physical resources, technological resources as well as the human resources (Abrams, 2003). i. Financial resources:- this begins from the capital that is required for the initial starting of the whole project. Below is therefore a sample of the financial budget that the project will need for the operation in 1 month and also in 1 year (Abrams, 2003). Expenses Expected Monthly Cost Expected Yearly Cost Rent US $ 50 US $ 600 Salaries and Wages US $ 12000 US $ 144000 Supplies: Technological, Equipment, and Furniture (computers, software, copy machine, desks, chairs, etc.), other US $ 11000 US $ 132000 Advertising and Other Promotions US $ 350 US $ 4200 Utilities: Heat, Electricity, etc. US $ 350 US $ 4200 Telephone and Internet US $ 180 US $ 2160 Insurance US $ 15000 US $ 180000 Other (Taxation) US $ 2000 US $ 24000 Other (Transport) US $ 25000 US $ 300000 ii. Human resources: in every operation, it is quite obvious that there will be the need to have human beings in the operating the various machines and equipment used in production. That is regardless of whether the kind if project is labour intensive or capital intensive (Abrams, 2003). Role Responsibility General manager Manager formulates all the policies and ensures that all the policies formulate are implemented. The manager also does supervisory roles in the business. Accounting department Makes regular checks on the financial records if the business or the project. Provides all the financial resources needed for every operational role needed in the business. Purchases and supplies department This is the department that is concerned with the doing of purchases and also the delivering the various products of the business. Human resource department This is the department that is concerned with the hiring and firing of staff, recruiting new staff, solving problems between the staff and the management, amongst the staff themselves and between the customers and the management. The marketing department This is therefore the department that is concerned with marketing roles of the business to attract more customers to purchase the products. This could be in the form of advertisements. Maintenance department This ensures that there can be no dangerous hazards that arise because of the complicated machinery. The core service here is on the safety of the equipment and the staff running the project using the complex machines. Quality Assurance officer Conducts regular assessments and check-ups on the products that have been produced. This gives out the quality desired by the customers to suit their taste. iii. Physical resources: there is no project that will never need the physical existence or location for being accessed or operating. There will be need for some piece of land, various machines and equipment for the operation as well. In a nutshell, these are the tangible and visible facilities that one can see in every organization (Abrams, 2003). iv. Technological resources: with the development and advancements in the level of technology, most of the projects are always having their operations done online. This begins from the advertising of the various products and location to the consumers of the products, the online marketing, storage of the various data and information that are important to the management for the decision making process and also important for communication with the various stakeholders who are also very key to consider for effective operation (Abrams, 2003). Schedule The schedule therefore shows the various events and actions that will be done for the project to quite successful in the market. Day Event 1 Doing quality checks on the products that are offered and the whole premise to ensure it is safe from the various hazards. 2 Conducting of interview on the various persons who the business wants to include as part of the staff for operations. 3 Training of the qualified of the people who have excelled in the interview and giving them the organizational policies during the orientation. 4 Launching of the project in the market through product testing to see the consumer reaction on the out produced. 5 Delivering the products to different markets to establish a stronger market base from various areas. 6 Getting consumer feedback and then making adjustments to suit the consumer taste and preference. Price Pricing is the attaching of some monetary value to the commodities that are offered by the business. In this therefore, the business will use skimming pricing to come up with better pricing mechanism. Skimming pricing: This is a suitable strategy because you set prices after making a scan in the market and knowing the prevailing market prices. This type of pricing therefore can be an added advantage as the prices will be on the basis of what has been in the market that is adjusted accordingly and appropriately in a manner that suits and favours the customers. Price is therefore the value attached to the item or product (Abrams, 2003). Risks Risks are the contingencies that a project can undergo during the process of the making or even after completion. Below are therefore various types of risks that can affect a project or an investment: Credit risks: these are risks that are always incurred due to default in the repayment. A good example of this kind of risk is on the bonds whereby one fails to make payments because of the expected interest that should be paid on top of the amount of money that has been borrowed or lent (Abrams, 2003). Market risks: these are risks that are incurred because of the changes of prices in the global market. In this context, a business may purchase stock at a fair price from a good company only to incur losses when the prices fall in the world market. This would make the investor to sell at lower prices than the price used for purchasing (Abrams, 2003). Interest rate risks: these are risks that are always incurred majorly on the issues f bonds and the expected interest rate to be paid. It is important to reiterate that if there is an increment in the interest rate on stocks and bonds, there will be consequent decrement in the price of the product offered in the market (Abrams, 2003). Business risks: these are types of risk that are incurred because of the operational activities of the business. These risks can be triggered by several factors such as the legal cases that are filed in court forcing the company to be closed temporarily while the proceedings are on-going. This would in turn lower the profitability of the business (Abrams, 2003). Inflation or purchasing risk: this is a type of risk that is incurred when the sales cannot do the inflationary rate in the market thereby making the business to get losses (Abrams, 2003). Liquidity risk: this is a type of rich that is always expected by the business people in the evasion of the possible losses. It is a situation where the business cannot be readily converted into cash that is by being sold to evade losses (Abrams, 2003). Expected benefits It is important to highlight that thee will be several benefit that will be expected from the project will be as follows: i. There will be consistency when various matters of making decision. ii. The project will be very flexible and will be very first in adopting with the future changes in technology. It will also be very caring and listening to the customers whenever there is need for change. iii. The project will increase the number of people that will be employed in the various branches in the global market. iv. The project will optimize on sales while maximizing on the profitability. v. Another benefit that will be realised in the project is on the transparency and openness in the every administrative role executed by the various departmental mangers. References Abrams, R. (2003), The successful business plan; secrets and strategies, UK, The Planning Shop. Appendix customer response number of people quality poor 634 high 127 moderate 239 price high 842 affordable 158 customer care poor 929 good 71 delivery fast 132 slow 651 moderate 217 Chart showing the customer response Read More