Federal express (slp module 02) - Essay Example

Federal Express SLP Module 02 How Project Management Influences Other Departments and Functions of This Organization (i.e., Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, etc…) Federal Express relies on an Intranet based on Netscape technology to coordinate communications efforts throughout the company, and a large part of the information that is communicated to all of the different departments includes project management information. In the case of Federal Express, every department in the company is affected by the system’s ability to quickly disseminate critical information that can influence the day-to-day operations of areas such as marketing, finance, accounting, human resources, and more (Netscape Solutions Enterprise, 1999).

According to Netscape Solutions Enterprise, “Intranet applications and information ranging from personnel guidelines, tax forms, employee evaluations, and project management documentation are currently or will soon be available to all corporate employees of Federal Express. Two critical intranet applications currently in use at Federal Express are one for publishing internal technology reports and another delivering adjunct help-desk support for internal staff. The intranet-published technology reports keep Federal Expresss technology staff current and help them stay abreast of project specifics, plans, and implementation procedures.

The help-desk application is designed to streamline customer support by Federal Express information systems” (Netscape Solutions Enterprise, 1999, pg. 1).How project management specifically affects the different departments within an organization such as Federal Express depends on the type of project that is underway. For instance, replacing the computers in the marketing department would directly affect the marketing department, but may have little effect on human resources. “Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time effort, for example, construct a building or implement a new computer system.

Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining project goals and objectives, specifying tasks or how goals will be achieved, what resources are need, and associating budgets and timelines for completion” (Free Management Library, 2008, pg. 1).The Difficulties or Limitations for Implementing the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) and CRM (Critical Path Method) in This Organization The limitations for implementing the PERT and CRM methods at Federal Express are the same as they would be for any other organization that chose to implement these techniques.

According to Hugg (1996, pg. 1), “A central weakness of both PERT and CPM is the inability to deal with resource dependencies. Resource dependencies are those that concern the availability of resources whether they are human, mechanical or fiscal (PERT/CPM considers only causal dependencies, the completion of a prior task). PERT/CPM also assumes that additional resources can be shifted to a project as required. Because, in the real world, all projects have finite resources to draw on the estimates and expectations are frequently skewed.

Because of this weakness, a significant portion of the PM community believes that PERT/CPM creates unrealistic expectations, at best. As a result, management of projects using only PERT/CPM can be difficult and frustrating for worker, Project Managers and stakeholders alike.”ReferencesFederal Express intranet delivers information enterprisewide. (1999). Netscape Solutions Enterprise. Retrieved May 2, 2008, from http://wp.netscape.com/comprod/at_work/customer_profiles/fedex.htmlHugg, B. (2008).

Thinking in project management terms: Basic methods and calculations. Minnesota State University. Retrieved May 2, 2008, from http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:zqhEBpak50kJ:krypton.mnsu.edu/~tony/courses/609/PERT/tech.html+pert+weaknesses&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=usProject management. (2008). Free Management Library. Retrieved May 2, 2008, from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/project/project.htm