Management Project - Airline Start Up 1

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The Dissertation/Management Project

Paula Stephens

Questions you may have:

• What do I need to do?

• What is a Client Project?

• Why am I acting as a Consultant?

What Have I Got to Produce?

• There is one piece of assessment for this module that is comprised by 2 parts; the

management project and the final reflection.

• It is a 12,000 word management report

• IT IS NOT a 20,000 academic research project (a traditional Dissertation)

• You are taking on the role of a consultant bidding for a project (for your company). This will test important business skills

• The better the report bid…..the better the final

grade

Do I Need to Gather Primary Data?

• You are bidding to win a Client Project (the client is

your company). You need to identify what would be

done in the future

• If you provide the data then you have worked for free.

• This is not a good way to survive in business and be able to eat!

– If you were to win the bid,

– then you would get the money,

– then you would do the work

You are showing the Client that you know the best

way to achieve the required aims of a specific

study !!!

What is the process of a Client

Project?

Client projects follow basic steps:

1. Client identifies a problem/issue to be addressed

2. Client provides a PROJECT BRIEF that generally describes the nature of the

problem/issue

3. Client asks interested companies/consultants to BID for the work

4. Consultants submit a report that clearly shows and explains how they

would do the study

5. The Client selects the bid that best fits their needs

6. The Client gives the successful Consultant the money to do the work

7. The Consultant does the tasks that were identified in the BID report

The client project will be identified by yourself – you are looking for a

project your company would benefit from.

You will not be expected to work out the costs of the project – we want you

to focus on the relevant methods to use

Why Am I a Consultant?

• One of the key skills for a manager is to be able to understand what is

required in a task and set out the best way to achieve it

• This is essentially about COMMUNICATION – a fundamental management skill

• Clients can exist within a company as well as outside e.g. departments

looking for projects to be completed; scarce resources to be bid for

• Bidding for a research project is a good way of developing a range of research

and communication skills

• You have to THINK AHEAD about what would need to be done

• The purpose of the report is to show the client What you would do and

Why you would use the methods identified

• If you can not show a ‘client’ what you would do for them you are not

communicating well…. you will lose the work or get sacked

Project Management Theory

• What is a Project?

– “A human activity that achieves a clear objective against a

timescale”

(Source: The Association of Project Managers)

– “A non-repetitive activity that is goal oriented, has a set of constraints, has a

measurable outcome and changes something”

(Source: Maylor, 1996)

The Deming Cycle

• PLAN:

– Design or revise business process components to improve results

• DO:

– Implement the plan and measure its performance

• CHECK:

– Assess the measurements and report the results to

decision makers

• ACT:

– Decide on changes needed to improve the process

Characteristics of a Project

• All Projects have: -

• Stakeholders

• Uniqueness

• Objectives

• Resources

• Schedules

• Quality

• Uncertainty

• ‘Finiteness’

• Change

Types of Client Project

Even though a Client project is an individual study there are types of

project that are commonly asked for:

• An Evaluation study

– A Client needs part of the business or specific task reviewed to see if it has

achieved the targets set

• A Feasibility study

– A Client wants to do something new and needs a study to identify whether it is possible and or desirable e.g. Launch a product into a new market

• A Scoping study

– The Client is interested to find out what factors may be

relevant in a different business activity

It is a good idea to work out if your Client project is one of these

Methods & Tools

Whatever the type of project you will need to identify relevant and

recognised Methods & Tools

The nature of the Client project will help to work out what methods are

relevant, e.g.

• An Evaluation study would normally require Cost/Benefit tools as part of the approach

• A Feasibility can often make use of a PESTLE to identify broader trends

relevant to the study

• A scoping study may be based on a particular industry so could use Porter’s Five Forces and Market analysis models

• Stakeholder mapping is often a very good model to identify relevant individuals and

groups who should be involved in the study

It is important that the relevant subjects are identified for the particular study that you are

going to do as the Client briefs will be different

• What is A3 Reporting

• Key Elements of A3 Reporting

• (1) The Research or Project aim • Background & Context

• (2) The Objectives

• Pragmatic problem solving • Academic problem solving

• (3) Supporting Evidence

• What methods are relevant to the study?

• (4) Gantt Charting

• (5) Contribution

– The Value of your approach to the Client

• Tutorials 3 & 4

What is A3 Reporting?

• A structured problem-solving approach used by industry (e.g. Jaguar & Toyota,

EADS Cassidian et al) that aims to improve operational performance;

• Central to this is the training of people within a structured problem-solving

methodology that uses a tool called “The A3 Problem-Solving Report”.

• The methodology follows steps to proceed from – ‘problem identification’ to

‘resolution’ in a fashion that fosters learning, collaboration, and personal

development.

What is A3 Reporting?

• How?

– The problem-solver / project manager records the results of investigation and

planning in a concise ONE-page document (i.e. the A3 Report) that helps

facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration;

– The term "A3" simply derives from the paper size used for the report;

– Industry actually uses several styles of A3 reports for solving problems,

for reporting project status and for proposing policy changes-each

having its own "storyline."

• For the Business Project module we have focused on ONE simple

bespoke version of the A3 report;

– It is the most basic style, making it the best starting point and has been

adapted for you to -Plan, Do, Check & Act as you progress through your

projects - (“The PDCA Cycle”, Deming, 1986) .

The A3 Report Student Name and Number - Report Title -

1 Research aim or Project aim

What is the background? What is the reason/rationale/motivation for this project?

4 Methods

Explain the main steps of the study

Use a Gantt Chart to track and report your project milestones.

2 Objectives

What does this project intend to do – i.e. the deliverables? What questions will it answer for the Client? What problems will it solve for the Client? You should be able to identify this in clear bullet points 5 Contribution

The Outcomes: -

Will the project achieve its aims – critical reflection of proposed approach. What are the advantages and potential weakness of the proposed approach in terms of delivering the stated aim and objectives.

3 Supporting Evidence

What are the main topics that underpin this project?

What literature has informed the research?

What Methods would be suggested to do this study? What evidence is there from industry to support these choices?

A3 Report – Why use it?

• Most problems that arise in organisations are addressed in superficial ways, what

some call "first-order problem- solving."

– I.E. we work around the problem to accomplish our

immediate objective, but do not address the ‘root

causes’ of the problem so as to prevent its recurrence.

• By not addressing the ‘root cause’ we can encounter the same problem or similar

types of problem again and again and as a result, operational performance does not

improve.

A3 Report – Why use it?

• The A3 Process helps people engage in collaborative, in-depth problem-solving

methodology – it is rigorous and underpinned by management theory;

• It drives problem-solvers to address the ‘root causes’ of problems which

surface in day-to-day work routines;

• The A3 Process can be used for any situation and in any type of organisation;

• Our research and continuous interactions with industry informs us that

when used properly (i.e. the process is followed and

completed) - the chances of success improve dramatically.

A3 Report – Why use it?

• So, this is why we are offering A3 Reporting to help you manage your projects;

• Not only will A3 help you now, but also in the future, as embedded in the A3 process

are 7 key employability skills recognised by industry.

Employability Skills

• Self-management

• Team working

• Business and customer awareness

• Problem solving

• Communication and literacy

• Application of numeracy

• Application of information technology

Employability Skills

• Underpinning all these skills / attributes, the key foundation, must be a positive attitude: a 'can-do' approach, a readiness to take part and contribute, openness to new ideas and a drive to make these happen.

• Employers also value entrepreneurial graduates who demonstrate an innovative approach, creative thinking, bring fresh knowledge and challenge assumptions.

– http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/uploaded/CBI_HE_taskf

orce_report.pdf

– www.cbi.org.uk/pdf/20110509-building-for-growth.pdf

http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/uploaded/CBI_HE_taskforce_report.pdf

http://www.cbi.org.uk/pdf/20110509-building-for-growth.pdf

(1) The Project aim

• What is the aim of the Client Project?

– What is the (strategic) reason/rationale/motivation for this project? i.e. what is the

range of problem(s) or issues involved?

– What impacts / implications would these problems

have if: -

• You attempt to address them in your project?

• If your project or the organisation does not address

these problems / issues

(2) The Objectives

• What does this research / project intend to do – i.e.

the deliverables?

• What questions will it answer for the Client?

• What problems will it solve for the Client?

• You should be able to identify this in clear bullet points

(3) Supporting Evidence

• What to research?

– You need to identify the methods that you would use to do

the study for the Client (if chosen)

• How do you do this?

– Understand the relevant topics for the Client problem

– This will help identify relevant models and tools that could be used to do the

study

• What do I use to help me?

– Academic Theory – most models come from work by academics to help

solve business problems

– Industry examples – what methods have already been

used in order to solve similar problems?

(4) Methods

What are you practically going to do for the Client?

• You need to be able to show the specific activities that would need to

be completed in order to the project to be done successfully.

• Each Method or Tool identified in Section 3 will need tasks to enable the data to be

gathered and analysed.

A way of making sense of these activities is through Gantt Charts

• Main advantage of Gantt charts – they are a useful communication tool & easy to

understand – “a picture paints a thousand words”;

• Provides a compact overview of responsibilities & progress on the project;

• Helps to calculate the start and finish times of each activity on the

Gantt chart.

(4) Methods - Gantt Charting

• What is a Gantt Chart?

– Henry Gantt a pioneer of scientific management – work

study

• Gantt Charts highlights the “critical path” in a project.

• Gantt charts are simple representation of a project from the view of the TIME taken for each activity and the RESOURCES required at any point in time;

• Used to monitor actual progress against a plan e.g. on a month-by- month, week-by-week or day-by-day basis;

• Gantt charts can be produced separately for each

person or parts of projects to show their total workload;

• Arrows can be added to show the interrelationships and interdependencies of different activities;

• Any slack or float time can be shown in each activity;

How to complete a Gantt Chart • Starting at the end date of the research / project and work backwards to: -

– Identify all of the specific activities needed for the total project – i.e. compile an ‘activity list’;

– Avoid general headings e.g. Data gathering, PESTLE analysis, etc

– What are the start and end dates of these activities?

– Understand each activities dependencies & interdependencies

– E.G. Some activities can only start when a previous activity has completed – it is therefore dependant upon that earlier activity!

» These activities are likely to be on the projects “critical path” – i.e. the longest duration through the project and MUST always be completed on time;

– E.G. Some activities can take place simultaneously, i.e. at the same time as other activities!

» These activities are likely to have “slack” or “float” times attached to them and will not be activities on the projects critical path

– Identify these key milestones between the end date and today

– Map the activities onto your Gantt Chart

(5) Contribution • What were the actual outcomes or Deliverables?

– Will Research project achieve its aims?

– What are the potential the unexpected benefits /

drawbacks?

– Did you set “SMART objectives” for the Research / Project?

– What was the innovation, impact, knowledge embedded

and contribution made by the research / project?

(5) Contribution

• Specific - precise outcomes

• Measureable - ways of measuring success

• Attainable - always achievable but innovative and challenging

• Realistic - achievable within defined constraints

• Time-bound - always a stated time for

achievement

Finally

• Remember all of this needs to be completed on ONE A3 page

report – please see examples provided by the Tutor in class.

– So:-

• More than one page will not be accepted!

• There maybe lots of data that underpins the A3 but: -

– We want to see it summarised on your A3 report!

– Can you focus and prioritise?

• A3 illustrates a Manager’s ability to “Manage by

exception!”

• Can you demonstrate this skill?

Thank you!