Stay Fit - Experiences Gained from the Project and Applicability of the Theories Learned - Case Study Example

Project management Introduction Working on the Stay Fit project involved applying information learnt in and gaining experiencein real project planning and management. The paper discusses the experiences gained from the project and applicability or inapplicability of the theories learnt from the project Stay Fit. The first part briefly explains the project followed by theory used in the project and consequent conclusion of the article. The project entails various challenges that the team must overcome to be successful. Working as a single person may be challenging but it may be more challenging to work as a group if there is no proper coordination. These challenges come in different forms, which may include work ethics, communication styles and understanding barriers. Description of the project The project involved group work of six individuals planning to show fitness in winning tender from Mode Sante Company in their expansion of their branches. Our work was to budget effectively with the available amounts to cater for all expenses in start and continuity of the complex. Work involved drafting an efficient budget for the renovation of the business complex and considering salaries of the employees at the complex. As part of the team, I was supposed to participate in the project planning and management process. We were supposed to work with strict deadline and resources hence the need to distribute roles among the group members. Members of the team needed to consider time, cost, workload, resources, risk aspect and quality of the project. Furthermore, our group identified ways of dealing with risks and ensuring they do not occur again in the future. The risks constituted operational issues and natural factors. We would also be responsible for the success of the project and continue monitoring the work progress. The theory fit for the project In the project management, there was a need to plan, focus on the deadline and act appropriately in trying to meet all the project goals. In our group, I would say that these qualities were there bin every team member during the budgeting process. As a member of the group, I felt that those who were working with were professional in their works who were motivated in carrying out the duties as required. Every member of the group identified areas they are good at and looked for further information on how to do their duties. Continuous meeting among group members also ensured members got the project update from each other and increased ability to work together. With this kind of team participation, finishing the job before the deadline was not difficult as expected. Working in this kind of project needed reliable and flexible structures for high quality services output. Project excellence depends on shrinking time, uncertainty, high-quality requirements and environmental pressures (Brinkkemper, & Jansen, 2012, p. 126). Considering this with team member brought a revelation that less time was available to complete the project hence the need to work efficiently. Members were ready to give more of their time and other resources to developing the budget and plans for the project management. Team members understood this during the budgeting hence collaborated in carrying out the duties to attain the best results in time. This shows that knowledge in management is vital to achieving quality result in project management. The use of bottom-up budgeting system in the budgeting allowed collaboration of the members in deciding the amount to each project lines. This kind of system enhanced teamwork among members. The group management also had easier time in considering sectors to allocate more funds. Working with the team in this process gave the experience of managing and coordinating funds and duties among members (Montana & Charnov, 2008, p. 289). Coordination was important in making sure all the section in the complex achieved best renovation by the allocated funds. Management of this complex project gave an insight and the needed experience in jobs. Quality in the project achievement became an important factor for the members. This also meant spending more time on the project planning and producing a budget that needed more time to form. Moreover, during the whole process the idea of limited time kept members working with the need to advance and complete the project before the deadline. Members concentrated more on perfecting requirements for their task after duty division. Every member had to check the trending prices for their lines before the budgets to increase the accuracy of the budget. The process involved intensive search for information that was necessary. The idea showed that to manage the project effectively, every member must be actively involved in working to achieve the goals. Furthermore, consideration of the whole budget required attention of all members after finding all the expenses in different sections of the project. In attempting to ensure the project become successful self-management and work ethics played an important role in making the team collaborative (Kerzner, & Learning, 2013, p. 304). The group members respected personal views from fellow members. Group members also kept time for the meetings and other project deadlines. Use of work ethics went a long way in ensuring member work collectively to achieve the same goal in budgeting Theory not fit for the project At the beginning of the project, the group tried random duties where every member could pick in the complexity theory. Through this theory, there was hope that the group members would be creative in their work and give a solution to the existing challenges in a better way. In the work of Gordon and Curlee, project management should allow some chaos to realise creativity in the project (Curlee, & Gordon, 2011, p. 1). By allowing this, member of the group could not figure what to start with and line of responsibility. The theory led to the loss of time that the project system values. The system made it difficult to implement the project plans hence there was need to revert to an organised system. The system allowed everybody to be responsible for his or her lines of duty (Montana & Charnov, 2008, P. 289). The budgeting technique was important in limiting the amounts used in the project. The limited resources led to a difficulty in allocating funds to various section of the project. Members needed more funds to be allocated to their lines in order to carry out the work effectively. This system of budgeting brings conflict to parties involved in sharing an amount in the budget (Pinto & Venkataraman, 2013, p. 1). In the organisational levels, limiting funds can lead to manoeuvring of the managers in search for more funds. In the allocation of the funds and managing the time of the deadline, I felt that there was uncertainty in our funds allocation. Since the project was important in getting tender, the best way to the allocation of funds would be the most convenient. This brought a feeling of lack of competence in the budgeting from the group. At the same time, there was a risk of the whole project failing to meet the goals. The time factor also gave the team some pressure, as part of it had been lost in attempting to use the complexity theory. These factors resulted in increased risk of the whole process failing. At the same time, having members working on different parts of the project independently due to varied priorities caused constrains in the resources. Frequent meeting of the members and discussion on the need to have the whole project successful solved this problem. Another problem the group faced included meaningful knowledge gathering and storage. Conclusion In conclusion, project management is beneficial not many different situations. Skills that an individual gains in dealing with other members are important in the daily life. One of the best practices in project management is formation of teamwork in achieving goals (Groman, 2012, p. 11). Formation of a team improves the quality of results obtained in project planning and management. I have considered the whole approach in the project management and realized the ability to learn from such projects. The project also showed challenges in applying some of the theories such as complexity theory in achieving the best result. In this way, there is need to evaluate project environment before attempting a theory. Moreover, adjustments in the projects are necessary for achieving the best results. The project was good not only for course work but also in real life experiences where decisions depend on the situations at present. Bibliography Brinkkemper, S., & Jansen, S. (2012). Collaboration in outsourcing: a journey to quality. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. Curlee, W., & Gordon, R. L. (2011). Complexity theory and project management. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. Kerzner, H. R., & Learning, I. I. F. (2013). Project management - best practices achieving global excellence. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. http://rbdigital.oneclickdigital.com. Ljungman, G. (2009). Top-Down Budgeting - an Instrument to Strengthen Budget Management. Washington, International Monetary Fund. Marlene Groman (2007). A Model of Best Practices for Project Management Strategies in an Administrative Computing System Implementation in Higher Education. New Delhi: ProQuest Montana, P. J., & Charnov, B. H. (2008). Management. Hauppauge, NY, Barrons Educational Series. Pinto, J. K., & Venkataraman, R. R. (2013). Cost and value management in projects. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. Read More