Building an Irish Pub in Rome - Case Study Example

Building an Irish pub in Rome Introduction: The project in question aims to set up an Irish pub in Rome. In carrying out this task, there are certain features that must be borne in mind, because they will be significant in the Roman context. One of these is the need to procure licenses from the Italian Government to sell food and drink and a special license may be required to sell Irish beer in particular. Secondly, it also appears likely that it would be necessary to adhere to legislative measures on health and safety as well as other measures; therefore one of the steps identified in the WBS is the need to ensure that safety checks are completed by the authorities. Another essential step in the process would be identifying potential suppliers of refurbishing materials as well as bar and kitchen supplies, so that the bar can be well stocked up before it opens. Cost assumptions would need to be made on the basis of estimations about the prices of materials available from suppliers. The last stage of the project would involve the promotional activities associated with setting up the Irish bar in Rome and based upon the list of activities as identified above, the Work break down structure has been derived below: Work Breakdown Structure: At the outset, the scope of the project needs to be defined. This is to be followed up by a plan of action whereby three steps must be executed at the same time, namely (a) liaising with authorities to procure the necessary licenses (b) determining the team members to form a part of the core team and (c) finding out the local suppliers of building materials and supplies. Each of these tasks links to related tasks, as shown in the WBS chart below: The Work breakdown structures are used to make complex projects more manageable by breaking them down into work segments that can be more effectively estimated in terms of costs and time frames and also supervised effectively (www.brighthub.com). The WBS has the advantage of listing out all the tasks that need to be completed in connection with the project and arranging them in a framework that allows the facility of viewing the entire project in an encapsulated form , wherein each sequence contains a list of tasks that fall into that particular category. In this instance, a total time frame of about four months has been scheduled, commencing around the 15th of March and ending by the 20th of July, per critical path identified below: On the basis of the above, it may be noted that the milestone tasks can be identified as below: Deliverables in this project: The objective of this project is to set up an Irish bar in Rome, which not only offers food and drinks but also provides music and entertainment. The proposal seeks to develop this pub within premises that will be leased or purchased; however in either case, it would be necessary to make some structural and design changes in order to transform it into a bar, before it can be opened for business. The targeted date for the opening of the bar by throwing an opening night party is for the 20th of July, while the commencement date of the project is an immediate one, i.e., the 15th of March. This allows a total time frame of about three months for completion of the project. The deliverables in this project would therefore comprise a well stocked kitchen and bar, together with arrangements to provide music, after securing the necessary licenses. They would include the kitchen ready with the necessary electrical and gas appliances such as stoves, dishwashers and microwaves, as well as the necessary pots and pans to prepare dishes. Yet another deliverable in this aspect would be the chef and assistant helpers. Apart from the kitchen, an air conditioned and furnished restaurant and bar with the necessary chairs and tables would be yet another deliverable. A barman and bar attendants would also fall into the list of deliverables. The third major deliverable after the kitchen and bar would be the toilets for the customers and staff, with plumbing facilities to be prepared as well; thus plumbing and air-conditioning need to be added to the list. The deliverables mentioned above are the actual physical aspects that need to be demonstrated. But apart from this, human resources deliverables would include the chef, barman and all other members of staff. Additionally, there would also be some product related deliverables, i.e., the efficacy of the systems such as electrical and heating systems to ensure that they are completely safe and can pass government rules and regulations as have been stipulated. These are the deliverables are mandatory and need to be in place before any initiatives can be taken to make the pub operational and they would fall within the major framework and scope of the project. The list of deliverables would also include food and drink supplies, crockery and cutlery, chairs, bar stools and other furniture, lighting and sound fixtures and accessories such as music discs, lighting stands and lampshades, bottles, beer taps, fresh and other kinds of food supplies. In particular for the opening night party, it could be necessary to also ensure supplies of stocks of food and drink, as well as promotional materials like calling cards, brochures or any other form of promotion that the core team formulates. Network Diagram: The network diagram for this project is appended to this Report. On the basis of the network diagram, it may be noted that defining the scope of the project is a stand alone activity, which of necessity, needs to precede all other activities. However, this can be followed up with a network of three separate activities, each of which contains a sequence of tasks that can all be commenced at the same time. For example, liaising with the authorities to obtain licenses can be commenced at the same time as enquiries are made into the sources and costs of building and bar materials. This is because working with the Government is likely to be a time consuming process sin Italy and therefore, it is in the interest of project completion to commence this activity as early as possible. Moreover, formulating the main team members at the beginning of the project would be helpful to ensure that this core group of individuals are able to formulate the project assumptions, thereby allowing for cross verification as different activities are carried out. It may also be noted that the network diagram allows for three sequences of activities to be carried out at the same time, while also ensuring that activities precede or succeed each other as necessary. For example, before any refurbishing activities can be commenced in the kitchen and bar, it would first be necessary to source suppliers and draw up cost estimates. Those activities would therefore precede the actual refurbishment work. Also, the refurbishment work would need to precede work that needs to be done on the sound and electrical systems. If the bar is to be successful, then an effective advertising campaign needs to be devised. This is a process that would be time consuming and needs to be carefully planned and executed through the use of a good strategy. As may be noted from the network diagram, the time frame that is allowed for planning and devising an effective advertising campaign is totally about three months , because the process of making cost assumptions commences on April 16th, while the preparation and initiation of the advertisement campaign ends in the first week of July. Similarly since the process of approaching Government to seek licenses and ensure that safety procedures are adhered to is commenced in March (on the 15th), but ends only in the second week of May, it effectively means that an adequate amount of time is allowed to factor in possible delays caused by bureaucratic processes. This would ensure that project completion times are not compromised. Thus, on the basis of the WBS and the network diagram, the critical path that could be identified in respect of setting up the bar in Rome would be as follows: Level 1 - defining the scope of the project Level 2 – (a) Liaison with authorities (b) determining local suppliers (c) determining core group and team members Making cost assumptions Level 3 - (a) Advertising and promotion (b) refurbishing the kitchen and bar, completing plumbing and electrical systems, arranging advertising, promotion and the opening night party. Conclusions and Recommendations: The critical path as depicted above identifies the important milestones in this project, and the different levels at which they can be executed. The Work Breakdown Structure and the Network Plan have broken down the complex plan into three distinct levels of priority, identifying the predecessor and successor tasks. For example, deriving the project assumptions and cost assumptions are a priority, because without firstly defining the scope of the project and then arriving at an estimate of costs, it would be difficult to plan effectively for anything else. Moreover, finding out who the local suppliers are and the kinds of products that can be obtained from them would be an essential prerequisite to ordering supplies and goods that are necessary for socking up the bar and getting it ready. Based upon the above analysis, it may be noted that the proposal to set up and Irish pub in Rome is likely to require a significant amount of attention to be paid to two aspects (a) advertising and promotion and (b) liaising with the Government. Thus, commencing these activities simultaneously with the planning and execution of the project would be vital to ensure completion by the deadline date of 20th July. Prior to commencing any kind of work on the project, it would first be necessary to formulate the project assumptions and also draw up the projected costs that would be entailed in ensuring that supplies are adequate for the bar and the chances of success of its operations are quite high. It may also be noted that in order to achieve a smooth transition into the Italian environment, it may be necessary to ensure that some of the members included on the core team of planners should also be Italian, or should be familiar with the marketing and sales environment within Rome. This would ensure that the best possible marketing strategy is available to ensure that the Italians and people of other countries who are in Rome are not only open minded in terms of tasting Irish beer, but are actively encouraged and motivated to visit the pub and sample it. Another factor that would be significant in the Italian context is the delays that could arise when dealing with the bureaucratic manner of functioning that is operational within Italy. The business environment in Rome is quite different from that in the U.K., despite both countries being a part of the EU. While there may be some benefits that are derived from common EU membership, in that it may be possible to freely import Irish beer into the country, there are also bound to be some cultural differences that would impact upon effective marketing of the product in Rome. For instance, the Italians have a much more relaxed way of doing business and are prone to spend quite a lot of time engaging in social niceties before actually getting into business discussions. Hence, it would be necessary for the core planning and execution team to understand these cultural differences and conform to them in order to achieve the maximum levels of success. On the basis of the above, it is therefore recommended that after the initial definition of the scope of the project, three phases are commenced simultaneously, i.e., dealing with the Government, identifying suppliers and formulating an advertising campaign. The time frames set out in the project proposal as identified above in the WBS and the Network Diagram would enable the three phases to be carried out concurrently and allow adequate time to achieve all the desired targets. This would be a much better strategy to follow as opposed to adopting a sequential program of activities, because that could mean the project is not completed within the time frame allotted for completion of the project and the date of the opening night party. Secondly, it is also recommended that a strong and effective marketing and advertising strategy is developed but in association with local people, so that it has the maximum efficacy in achieving the kind of sales that are desired. It would first be necessary to promote the Irish beer and stimulate the curiosity of the Italians and motivate them to try something new which is different from their usual range of wines and other alcoholic drinks. Lastly, although the time frame for active execution of this project has been set out as above, it appears quite likely that the actual preparation may need to commence much earlier. It may be necessary to do a considerable amount of leg work to study the local environment, the market and the people, through consumer research surveys. Going door to door and handing out small samples of Irish beer to discover what kind of a reaction is forthcoming from the Italians would be an effective strategy to plan how the advertising could be targeted successfully at the general Italian public. Since Rome is a very popular international tourist destination, it is likely to boast a global mix of tourists including people from the UK and USA, who are likely to be customers for the product anyway. But targeting people from other countries could require a more focused and well planned advertising strategy which could be achieved through good market research. Read More