project management assignment
mohamedabbas77
PMCasestudy.pdf
BBA222 Project Management Case Study 1
Task:
The following assignment is and individual task. Questions and tasks:
o Considering the type of projects that both companies are carrying out lately, what is the business strategy (corporate, competitive and functional) that both companies are following? Consider the last 10-15 years in each company.
o How the organizational culture of each company can affect the development of the projects? Support your answer with some examples.
o Based in the information provided in the case study and in your own research, how do you consider that both companies include the concepts of business ethics and corporate social responsibility in their projects? Support your answer by citing some examples.
o What are the main stakeholders for the projects carried out by each company? Contextual information
o The case study presents general information about two companies: Starbucks and PortAventura World. All the information gives an idea of how the strategy of each company has being set during different stages and also which type of projects are the companies developing to achieve the business objectives.
o Different times needs different business strategic approaches and therefor different types of projects. Projects can’t exist with business.
You must submit a formal document in pdf format.
Formalities:
Wordcount: 750-1000 Cover, Table of Contents, References and Appendix are excluded of the total wordcount. Font: Arial 12,5 pts. Text alignment: Justified. The in-text References and the Bibliography must be in Harvard’s citation style.
Submission: week 3 – Deadline for submission is Sunday 14th February at 23:59 CEST. – Via Moodle (Turnitin)
Weight: This task is a 15% of your total grade for this subject.
It assesses the following learning outcomes:
Outcome 1: Describe the need for a project- based approach inside organizations Outcome 2: Understand the role of project management as a strategic element inside organizations
FROM BUSINESS STRATEGY TO PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
By: Miguel Sánchez Araujo
STARBUCKS: MORE THAN JUST COFFEE
It all started in Seattle, in 1971, with three partners: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel and writer Gordon Bowker, founded the first Starbucks coffee shop on 2000 Western Avenue, as a coffee bean shop for machines. The name comes from the novel Moby-Dick (the whale), specifically that was how Captain Ahab's ship was originally called. In 1986, businessman Howard Schultz bought Starbucks coffee shops, converted them into cafeterias, and a year later began opening branches outside of Seattle and in other states around the country. The first Starbucks outside the United States opened its doors in the city of Tokyo in 1996, and since then there has been a massive expansion of the business, so that today there are more than fourteen thousand Starbucks cafes around the world, distributed in more than fifty countries on five continents. MISSION In 2008 the company adopted a new mission statement: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” (Starbucks, 2021) VALUES (Starbucks, 2021) With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values:
Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome. Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our
company and each other. Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect. Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results. We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.
Fig. 1. Starbucks current logo. Source: Starbucks Webpage
Fig. 2. Starbucks founders: Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl
(left to right). Source: tentulogo.com
LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION STRATEGY
From 1990-1995 the first great growth and expansion of the company took place in the United States, with an average ratio of store openings of 52% per year.
From 1996-2001 the company's first international expansion took place, focusing on Asia (Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong), the Middle East (Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates), Australia and New Zealand, with an average store opening ratio of 38% per year.
From 2002-2008 the second international expansion of the company took place, focusing on Latin America (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru) and Europe (Germany, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Portugal), with an average store opening ratio of 20% per year.
From 2008 to 2011 the growth of the number of stores came to a sharp halt, partly due to the great global economic crisis. During this period the company's international expansion slowed down and the company focused on the launch of new products and services (Starbucks VIA® Instant, My Starbucks Rewards® loyalty program, Starbucks Card mobile payment, free unlimited Wi-Fi, Starbucks Digital Network, etc.), as well as the opening of new support centers for coffee producers (Rwanda)
Fig. 3. Growth in number of stores (1971-2015) Data provided by Starbucks Webpage
DURING CRISIS PERIODS (GLOBAL RECESSION 2008-2011 AND PANDEMIC 2020-2021) In the online business magazine Restaurant Business, journalist Jonathan Maze wrote “As its sales started taking a big hit in 2008 from what was then the worst U.S. recession in 80 years, Starbucks began closing locations. It closed 650 global locations that year. It closed another 300 the year after”. (Restaurant Business, 2020) About the current pandemic situation, the same journalist expressed that “It’d be easy to say it’s worse now. After all, same-store sales were expected to decline as much as 19% in the U.S. last month and 17% for this fiscal year. The worst quarterly result back in 2008 was a decline of 10%.” (Restaurant Business, 2020) After the COVID-19 first wave in the U.S. CFO Patrick Grismer said “Today we have an industry-leading digital platform and a rewards program that didn’t exist back in 2008, 2009, that’s an important part of our competitive advantage and gives us more resilience today compared to 10 years ago.” (Restaurant Business, 2020)
PORTAVENTURA WORLD: MORE THAT JUST A THEME PARK PortAventura Park was inaugurated in 1995, between the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca (Tarragona), and it became the first theme park in Spain. Today, PortAventura is one of the main European resorts, a destination for family and business leisure and offers a wide complementary offer to the theme park. With 5.2 million visitors during 2019. it is one of the main attractions of the Costa Dorada (Spain). PortAventura Park was the most visited theme park in Spain and the sixth in Europe during 2017. In the company’s Annual Corporate Responsibility Report from 2012, is stablished its Vision, Mission and Values as follows: (PortAventura, 2012)
VISION: “To be the best destination for family, business and residential leisure in Europe”.
MISSION: “Create and offer our clients and residents unique and varied experiences, in a natural, privileged and exclusive environment, with a unique and socially responsible vision”.
VALUES: “Commitment, quality, team spirit, passion for the client”.
Fig. 4. PortAventura World logo.
Source: PortAventura World Webpage
Fig. 5. PortAventura Timeline 1996-2012. Source: PortAventura Annual Corporate Responsibility Report from 2012
THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPANY During its first 15 years, PortAventura World focused on increasing the offer within the theme park, including new attractions/rides practically every year. Likewise, it continues with the strategy of providing the client with a comprehensive experience, which is why it opened several hotels, a convention center and several golf courses. Also, its commitment to the environment is clearly reflected in the effort to obtain various environmental management certifications such as the EMAS distinction (European in nature), both for the amusement park and its hotels. This aspect is undoubtedly a very important aspect of your business strategy.
Fig. 6. Dragon Khan. The first roller coaster of PortAventura Park. Source: PortAventura Webpage, 2021
THE LATEST MEMBER OF THE TEAM In 2016, the company started to build the new resort dedicated to the Ferrari brand, as well as the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi, which is called Ferrari Land. It is located within the PortAventura World resort, occupies an area of 6 hectares and was inaugurated on April 7, 2017. The main attractions are:
Red Force: One of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in Europe, with 112 meters high, 180km / h of maximum speed and 880 meters of travel.
Thrill Towers - two 55 meter high drop towers, which unlike Hurakan Condor, gondolas drop and rise at high speed. They are based on the movement of the pistons of an engine. One is a controlled fall tower and the other is a free fall tower.
Maranello Grand Race - A 550 meter family racing circuit. Flying Dreams: flying theater. Racing Legends: omnimax simulator Junior Red Force: Children's version of the park's star attraction, Red Force.
According to the PortAventura World press release, the total initial investment of the project is around 100 million euros.
Fig. 6. Ferrari Land Project Render. Source: Autobild.es, 2021
Questions and Tasks
Base your answers and arguments in the case study and your own research.
1. Considering the type of projects that both companies are carrying out lately, what is the business strategy (corporate, competitive and functional) that both companies are following? Consider the last 10-15 years in each company.
2. Based in the information provided in the case study and in your own research, how the organizational culture of each company can affect the development of the projects? Support your answer with some examples.
3. How do you consider that both companies include the concepts of business ethics and corporate social responsibility in their projects? Support your answer by citing some examples.
4. What are the main stakeholders for the projects carried out by each company?
Rubrics
Exceptional 90-100 Good 80-89 Fair 70-79 Marginal fail 60-69 Knowledge &
Understanding (20%)
Student demonstrates excellent understanding of strategic concepts: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture. Uses vocabulary in an entirely appropriate manner.
Student demonstrates good understanding of the task and mentions some relevant concepts regarding strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture. Demonstrates use of the relevant vocabulary.
Student understands the task and provides minimum theory regarding strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture and/or some use of vocabulary.
Student understands the task and attempts to answer the question but does not mention key concepts regarding strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture or uses minimum amount of relevant vocabulary.
Application (30%) Student applies fully relevant knowledge regarding business and project strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture.
Student applies mostly relevant knowledge regarding business and project strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture.
Student applies some relevant knowledge regarding business and project strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture. Misunderstanding may be evident.
Student applies little relevant knowledge regarding business and project strategy: project justification, organizational structures and organizational culture. Misunderstands are evident.
Critical Thinking (30%)
Student critically assesses in excellent ways, drawing outstanding conclusions from relevant authors.
Student critically assesses in good ways, drawing conclusions from relevant authors and references.
Student provides some insights but stays on the surface of the topic. References may not be relevant.
Student makes little or none critical thinking insights, does not quote appropriate authors, and does not provide valid sources.
Communication (20%)
Student communicates their ideas extremely clearly and concisely, respecting word count, grammar and spellcheck
Student communicates their ideas clearly and concisely, respecting word count, grammar and spellcheck
Student communicates their ideas with some clarity and concision. It may be slightly over or under the wordcount limit. Some misspelling errors may be evident.
Student communicates their ideas in a somewhat unclear and unconcise way. Does not reach or does exceed wordcount excessively and misspelling errors are evident.
