Week Two - Post-Graduation Adventure

Post-Graduation Adventure

Read the Post-Graduation Adventure case on p. 154 in Ch. 5 of Project Management: The Managerial Process and submit an APA paper for the following

Note:

- As a hint, you should have an intro paragraph, 3 sections in the paper body (1 for each question) and a closing paragraph.

- In item 1 you must clearly state the project management methodology (i.e Top down, waterfall, etc) you are using and then apply it to the trip project. As another hint There are 4 trips being looked at here originating from the USA....one to Spain...one to France...one to South Africa...one to Vietnam....do not ignore any of them in your discussion.

- When you discuss cost in item 2 I need to see real values...this means you will do some research on costs. Not looking for you to be a travel agent and provide costs to the penny but there should be enough data to be able to make a decision of where to go based on cost. Costs should include more than just an airline ticket (think of when you go on a trip and all the other costs involved in taking a trip like hotel, food, etc). As a hint, the easiest way to show, compare, discuss the costs is to place them in a matrix/table with the various locations you are going to and show the total cost for an easy comparison.  

- Item 3 asks for non-cost; I need to see at least 2 non-cost items discussed and how they are impacting your decision on where to go (for example, Spain and France weather are bad but Vietnam and South Africa have great weather so they are scoring higher based on the non-cost factor of weather, etc, etc); only discuss non-cost items (you already have discussed cost in question 2). For example do not discuss money exchange rates here....that would be a cost factor.  Something like the weather would be a non-cost item....and since I just gave you that one, weather cannot be one of your 2 items discussed....if it is in your paper you earn no points for it.   

- In your paper conclusion I should see your recommendation of where to go based on your paper discussion/findings. This is where you have looked at both the cost and non-cost factors to make a decision. You may find that cost might outweigh the non-cost items or possibly it is the other way around where non-cost drives the decision or possibly a combination of them both. The purpose of the assignment is to help you gain insight that when you are working on a project you should consider all factors involved and not rush to a decision based on one factor.

Josh and Mike met each other as roommates during freshmen year at Macalister College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite a rocky start they became best friends. They are planning on going on a two-week adventure together to celebrate their graduation in June. Josh has never been to Europe and wants to visit France or Spain. Mike spent a semester abroad in Aarhus, Denmark, and traveled extensively in Northern Europe. Even though he never went to France or Spain, Mike wants to go to some place more exotic like South Africa or Vietnam. For the past week they have been arguing back and forth over where they should go. Josh argues that it will cost too much to fly to South Africa or Vietnam, while Mike counters that it will be much cheaper to travel in Vietnam or South Africa once they are there. Each of them agreed that they can spend no more than $3,500 each on the trip and could be gone for only two weeks. One evening when they were arguing with each other over beers with friends, Sara said, “Why don’t you use what you learned in your project management class to decide what to do?” Josh and Mike looked at each other and agreed that made perfect sense.

1. Assume you are either Mike or Josh; how would you go about making a decision using project management methodology?

· Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) – “deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team”. (https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com)

· “ Deliverable-Based Work Breakdown Structure clearly demonstrates the relationship between the project deliverables (i.e., products, services or results) and the scope (i.e., work to be executed)”. (https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com)

· Deliverable (Service) – planning the two-week vacation adventure

· Scope (Cost) - Comparing the Costs and determining which location will be affordable.

2. Looking first at only cost, what decision would you make?

· Paris, France

· Hotel (breakfast included) (13nights) + Flight (2 roundtrip tickets) + Car (13 days) + taxes & fee = $4,661.00 / 2 = $2,330.50 per person

· Food $763.10 (lunch & dinner) / 2 = $381.55 per person

· Entertainment approx.... $300 / 2 = $150.00 per person

· Arc de Triomphe $14

· Notre Dame Cathedral Towers $11.74

· Palace of Versailles $23.48

· Eiffel Tower $19.49

· Barcelona, Spain

· Hotel (breakfast included) (13nights) + Flight (2 roundtrip tickets) + Car (13 days) + taxes & fee = $2,422.00 / 2 = $1,211 per person

· Food $650.00 (lunch & dinner) / 2 = $325.00 per person

· Entertainment approx.... $400 / 2 = $200.00 per person

· Free Bike tour

· Barcelona Half-Day Modernist Walking Tour $40 / 2 = $20 per person

· Picasso Walking Tour and Museum $84 / 2 = $42 per person

· Wine Tasting & Tapas $120.00 / 2 = $60 per person

· Johannesburg, South Africa

· Hotel (breakfast included) (13nights) + Flight (2 roundtrip tickets) + Car (13 days) + taxes & fee = $3,533 / 2 = $1,766.50 per person

· Food $2,366.00 (lunch & dinner) / 2 = $1,183.00 per person

· Entertainment approx.... $650 / 2 = $325.00 per person

· Hike Table Mountain & Wine Tasting $214 / 2 = $107.00 per person

· Table Mountain Aerial Cable Car & Bus Combo $93.62 / 2 = $46.81 per person

· Township Eco Tour $85.16 / 2 = $42.58 per person

· Da Nang, Vietnam

· Hotel (breakfast included) (13 nights) = $3218.12

· Flight $4,025 / 2 = $2,013 per person

· Food $400.00 / 2 =$200 per person

· Entertainment $300 / 2 = $150.00 per person

I would recommend Mike and Josh to go to Barcelona, Spain because its affordable.

3. After cost, what other factors should be considered before making a decision?

· COVID-19 – not all attractions will be open to visit

· Violence – possibility of being robbed or assaulted

References

https://championtraveler.com/price/cost-of-a-trip-to-paris-fr/#:~:text=The%20average%20price%20of%20a,night%20for%20the%20entire%20home.

https://www.budgetyourtrip.com/france