London 2012 Olympics Project Analysis - Case Study Example

Project Analysis Name ID Number Lecturer’s Name Date Introduction of London 2012 Olympics The project in analysis is the 2012 London Olympics. The project was centered in the Olympic Park situated in East London, which have a clear view from many sporting venues. The climax of the project was held from 27th July to august 12th 2012 when the actual field events were held. London 2012 was an international multi-sports event organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The venue was selected in 2005 where Great Britain was a bid led by the former Olympic champion Joe Coe and London Mayor Ken Livingstone beating other world biggest cities. London 2012 venue was selected in 2005 where Great Britain won a bid led by the former Olympic champion Joe Coe and London Mayor Ken Livingstone beating other world biggest cities. In relation to the above facts, it is clear that the London 2012 Olympics required a lot of planning so as to ensure that the project became a success. This involved having a large workforce and this could require planning, strategizing, as well as managing diversity and work- life balance. Olympic Games are complex and big events, which in turn trigger a lot of interest to the whole world, and these events are largely transmitted worldwide through the internet and the media (Lock 2012). The objective of the project was to ensure that world sports men and women come together and connect the Olympic family together with their fans. Another objective was to that the Olympic park and all the other requirements were delivered in time so as to have sustainable legacy. There was also the objective that the event would benefit the country economically, socially and bring health and environmental benefits. To help improve in the way UK as a nation performs in the event. Stakeholders’ analysis The project involved different groups of stakeholders which included more than ten thousand athletes from two hundred and four countries, which are referred as National Olympics Committee (NOC). Olympics and Paralympics saw about 10,500 athletes coming from 204 nations, and 302 medal events took place. More than 21, 000 renowned media relayed the games to the world and an audience of 4 billion people. London 2012 Olympic Games fall in the category of the most complex and biggest events held in the world, and it had a workforce of 200,000 people together with 70,000 volunteers, 100,000 contractors and 6, 000 staff. During this event, 26 sports and in them 39 disciplines were contested across 34 venues (London 2012). Strategies used in managing the project The project employed three key strategies human resources, performance management and planning to ensure they the project was a success. The London 2012 Olympics employed human resource strategy for it to be a success. As much as technology was in place and contributed largely to the airing of the events through the media and the internet, the force behind the technology is human beings. Most services provided in the world are delivered by people, hence the essence of putting human beings’ welfare in check. Research shows that, human resource management is essential in running the world, as poor quality customer service is caused by low quality human resource management and poor quality human relations. The London 2012 Olympics had on board 200,000 people working to make the project a success, and managing this work force really required a lot of human resource strategy (Fiel & Keller1998). Planning is an essential aspect of project management and business integration. There is need to have part of the team that is charged with the planning in every project. According to the Official London 2012 Website, LOCOG was responsible for planning and preparing the London 2012 Games (2012). Led by the chairperson Seb Coe and Deighton Paul, the Chief executive, there was vast project planning, which saw them come up with all the aspects of planning that will see delivery of a successful project. This is because there was need to coordinate all the departments of the project. Planning about the fund was done in advance and most of the finances were from the private sector. Sources like broadcasting rights, sponsorship and selling merchandise sourced a total of 2 billion pounds (Official London 2012). Integrating project planning and other aspects like strategy and employee development is necessary in making planning a responsibility of the organization. When planning, there is supposed to be an attempt of forecasting the likelihood of whether there will be a disparity between demand and the supply of labor, and therefore, prepare the correct adjustment policies. When planning, there is the need to put in mind the external environment versus the internal supply (Field, M. & Keller 1998). Performance management was another strategy that the project used to ensure that every stage of the process was as per the set objectives. This is done through developing team capabilities and improving performance of individuals and teams. In the early 1980’s is when the performance management term gained popularity, when quality management programs acquired paramount importance for achievement of quality performance and advanced standards. With the rise in quality and popularity of performance management, tools like leadership development, job design, reward system and training also received the same impetus together with the conventional performance appraisal process in a new widespread framework (Field, M. & Keller 1998). Performance management is a continuous and cyclical process in nature. It is important to always note that performance management is the process that sets the platform on which rewarding of excellence is done, by aligning personal employee accomplishments, as according to the organization’s objectives and mission of ensuring that the organization and the employee understand the need for specific job in achieving the outcomes and results. Performance management for the 2012 London Olympics Games would not have been possible for each and every person who was involved in making the event a success. Bearing in mind that there was a workforce of 200,000 people, it would have been hard to monitor the performance of each and every stakeholder. Planning the work plus setting expectations for more than 200,000 people itself is taxing enough, leave alone monitoring, rating and rewarding the performance of the people. According to David Stubbs, the head of sustainability for 2012 London Olympic Games, the London Olympics saw the need for a system that would manage the event, but none was available (Official London 2012). This was because of the hefty and diverse workforce on board. These strategies helped the project to ran according to its plan and become a success. This comes as a result of careful planning which have the following benefits. Proper project planning gives a direction that all the stakeholders should follow in achieving the project goals and objectives. In project planning accountability is important and because of wide scope of the project (Field, M. & Keller, 1998). There is need to have department and their heads who are responsible and accountable on completion of various tasks. Another benefit of proper planning as it can be taken from London 2012 Olympics is that there is need to have adequate resources lined up for the project so as to ensure that the project there is no interruption of the project due to inadequate resources. Another benefit is problem anticipation where the project team in the planning phase outlines the problems that can arise and plans for them in case they tend to come up during the project. This helps to continue with the project without interruptions from the project. There is need to have a human resources plan that will ensure that all the employees are utilized according to their limits (Method123 2003). After employees plan their assignments, they can invest time developing the skills to complete their assignments. Some employees have the skills needed and increase those skills during the project. Other employees learn new skills. The company benefits from the growing knowledge base of its employees. Planning also helps the project team to have a time limit on each phase of the project to ensure that the delivery of the project is not delayed. These are the factors that contributed to the success of 2012 London Olympics because the project team had a clear plan that was followed to the letter. Recommendation Every project manager should ensure that the planning process is taken care in the best way possible to ensure that all the required resources are available before any project starts. The managers should also ensure that they lead from the front so as to motivate their employees to perform their duties in the best way possible. The managers should also plan for human resource to be deployed in the project. Conclusion In conclusion, project planning is very important for any project to achieve its goals and objectives. This part of management ensures that an organization that before any project is undertaken the required resources are available. In London 2012 Olympics, the event required extensive planning and project management. This calls for a strong project team with experience and knowledge in handling such issues. The lessons learnt from this project are that there is need to review results of the past projects so as to identify the gaps which led to not achieving the best results. Human resource planning is also important in project management and planning because they are the real executors of the project. References Official London 2012. The official website of the Olympic movement 2012. London, viewed 24 October 2012, http://www.olympic.org/london-2012-summer-olympics. Method123. (2003), Project Management Guidebook [online] Australia. Method123. Available at: http://www.thoughtware.com.au/documents/method123-ebook.pdf [Accessed: 01 April 2013] Field, M. & Keller, L. 1998. Project management. Cengage Learning: London. Lock, D. 2012. Project management. Gower publishing Ltd: New York City. Read More