Project Management Plan Baselines

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Project Management Plan Baselines

Course Code: BUS633: Project & Operations Management (FTJ2124A)

Project Management Plan Baselines

When business managers want to take their business to the next level, it is vital to develop a strong project scope statement that business managers can present to the investors and future partners. Having a project scope statement can make the business plan go smoother. It is necessary to incorporate unexpected changes in the project scope statement because it will be impossible to plan for every aspect of the business (Kloppenborg et al., 2019). International Logistics Service (ILS) wants to take its business to the next level by acquiring Walmart as its new partner. With the companies new warehouse, employees, and equipment, they can now grow the business and take on greater partnership in a new market such as the Philippines. Some internal challenges need to be addressed in the project scope statement before this new partnership can occur.

As the project manager for International Logistics Services (ILS), it is vital to create the necessary business plan to attract future investors. ILS has acquired the necessary warehouse, trucks, and employees to acquire new partners but has some obstacles to tackle, such as fixing safety concerns, equipment issues, documentation organization, and high utilities. In ILS’s quest to acquire a new partnership with Walmart, they need to prepare a project scope statement that will lay out their business plan that will showcase how they will fix their internal problems before they present their plan to their investors such as Walmart. Throughout this paper, there will be a discussion on the project goals using the project scope statement and how it will relate to overall business objectives. There will also be a discussion on the project deliverables that will showcase how the company will resolve the current problems in the logistics operations and outline the acceptance criteria for each deliverable that will lead to delivering high-quality results. The project’s limitations or boundaries will be established, and a summarization of the change control process that ILS will use during the project, including a risk management plan. Lastly, there will be an emphasis on how leadership will approach adding on a Human Resource team that will improve operations, reduce waste and costs, and ensures a safe work environment is available to protect the planet.

Project Scope Management

When creating a project scope management, being detailed about the scope of the project and the desired outcome is key. In addition, ILS has to fix its internal issues with safety concerns, equipment issues, high utilities, and employee and customer dissatisfaction. The first course of action will be to retrain the employees on safety and set the expectations that safety is a top priority and non-negotiable. Acquiring new equipment will support the safety concerns as well as consumer and employee satisfaction with increased productivity. Having an organized system will help with employee and consumer satisfaction that will help promote the business’s success and control the areas of opportunity. The new structure of organization and equipment will help reduce costs in areas such as the high utilities. Having a plan around project deliverables will enable resolution of the current problems in the companies logistical operations

Project Deliverables

Having a resolution to the companies problems is key to the success of ILS to move forward with their new partnership with Walmart in the Philippines. First, ILS will need to analyze their financials by creating a budget for each part of the project to ensure that the companies financials stay intact and do not go over budget on any projects. Second, ILS project managers will need to evaluate the current internal issues of the company and put in place resolution and prevention tactics that will help solve the existing internal problems of ILS. Third, obtaining new equipment will tremendously help the companies safety and efficiency issues that have cost the company a ton of funds. Fourth, the ILS team will need to create detailed documentation of the companies’ business plan and create an organized system to place the documentation that will keep the project documents easily accessible. Lastly, ILS employees will go through new and additional training on how employees can excel within their roles and properly work safely. This enhanced training will ensure that employees feel that they can complete their jobs at a high level while working safely. By getting all employees on board will help support the acceptance of the project deliverables for the new business venture.

Acceptance Criteria

Each project deliverable is designed to help support the company in the success of the companies new venture. Having a budget in place will showcase how the company can adequately spend funds; employees and investors will accept that because an overspent budget will cut into other business areas like employee pay or recognition. ILS having an open-door policy that allows employees to come to the project manager with issues that they can resolve quickly will reduce employee dissatisfaction and increase morale. The employees will be delighted with the new equipment that will increase productivity and decrease safety and disorganization issues the company currently is facing. ILS putting together effective documentation systems will also create high employee productivity and consumer satisfaction. Finally, with the new training put in place, the employees now have a sense of value that they can excel within their roles and perform at a high level. With every new project, there will be limitations or boundaries that must be put in place for the company to progress.

Project’s Limitations

Within any business project, there will be limitations that project managers must put in place that will be the necessary decision to make for the project’s success. The limitation that ILS will have to put in place will be that if employees are not willing to work within the new business guidelines, especially around safety, they will not be able to stay on the team. There has to be some limitation with the cost of equipment so that they do not go over budget. Even though the goal is to replace all equipment, there should be top priority equipment that needs to be replaced and some equipment that can be repaired until more funds are available. ILS does not want to put themselves in major debt, so keeping the cost low and only spending funds when necessary will be a boundary that has to be set. There will have to be some changes to the project that may arise, so having a plan put together for those changes is good to have within the business plan.

Change Control Process

When creating a plan for a new business venture, those plans do not always stay on the course of action. Having alternative solutions is important so that the project does not fail just because the first plan did not go accordingly. Some alternatives plan that ILS can take is that the management team may need backfill options for employees who do not want to follow the new expectations. Having additional employees in place will reduce the slow down of the project if there is no one available to do the job. ILS needs to consider that Walmart may not want to do business with them even after the necessary changes are made, so having an alternative company that ILS can work with is good to have within the business plan. Overall, many obstacles will arise when doing this project that ILS will need to be prepared for. Building a strong leadership team that supports the needs of ILS, Walmart, and the Philippines is vital to the project management plan.

Leadership, Human Resources, and Operation improvements

When expanding the business plan, some key players that need to be involved with the business’s success are the leadership team. The leadership team should study the country they are expanding into and their leadership style to make the necessary adjustments when presenting the business plan. Countries like the Philippines are rich in culture, focusing on kinship, family, and social acceptance (K, 2019). ILS must incorporate the Philippines culture within their project management plan by ensuring that kinship is at the forefront by getting to know the Philippines leaders on a personal level before business deals are done. The Philippines leaders want to know that anyone wishing to do business in their country focuses on making their company better. ILS will have to ensure that they partner with local suppliers and hire people living within the community. ILS will also need to include these expectations in their business plan to Walmart. ILS having a human resource (HR) team will benefit the success of this expansion into the Philippines and with Walmart.

Having a Human Resource (HR) team can help business managers hold their team accountable in corporate training and development that will promote business success. HR teams help with day-to-day operations because all employees will know that someone will be holding them accountable if they are meeting expectations and knowing they have growth opportunities. HR teams help push the development process for their workers and support them with changing culture and behaviors that will benefit the business (Costa, 2014). ILS will benefit from having an HR team because there are many training and efficiency gaps that need to be closed before the partnership with Walmart. ILS will also benefit from having an HR team because they will have a neutral party available where employees can go to and vent about company issues that ILS can address before legal gets involved. All of the tactics that ILS is putting in place will improve the companies’ operations, reduce waste and costs, and ensure there is a safe work environment while focusing on protecting the planet.

Companies want to control the business areas that will cause them a financial loss that is within their control. ILS will help their operations with the newly purchased equipment that will help with employee efficiency, safety, waste expense, and organization. The new organization system will also help with the companies’ efficiency and operations that will increase consumer satisfaction. Having the HR team retrain employees on safety expectations helps reduce employee injuries that the company is currently experiencing. ILS has already added to the project management plan a focus on CSR that will help protect the communities they serve. Having a handle on how the amount of pollution the company is putting out will help the planet and the Philippines. The new equipment will also help with the reduction of pollution to the environment. With ILS’s focus on these things and a risk management strategy, it will help them in the long term.

Risk and High-quality management, and Change control

No company can foresee the risk that may happen to their company, but having a plan to mitigate risk will help reduce financial loss. Companies need to prepare for the uncertain by having a plan for climate change, technological disruption, geopolitical risk, threats to the global supply chain, cyber-crime, data protection, and privacy (Culp, 2020). ILS can learn from other companies that have faced these types of risks, so having a plan for the unknown can help with a ton of damage control. All of the programs that ILS is putting in place will help them deliver high-quality results. Providing high-quality results will help improve company morale and consumer satisfaction. As long as every executive on the team from business managers, project managers, supervisors, and HR plays a role in sticking to the plan, the company will manage the changes that are being made. Everyone has to play their part in the company’s success, making senior leadership feel comfortable that the project will be successful.

Senior Leadership

It is vital to get senior leaderships by end and approval when taking on major projects. Without their stamp of approval, the project may not get completed properly or approved. ILS will present to senior leadership their new teams that have been put together that have focused on training and development for their employees that will help with their safety and efficiency issues. They will also present how they have set up a new organizational system to help with operational efficiency and employee satisfaction. They will also present how the new equipment will help with several issues such as energy cost, employee safety, and operational safety efficiency. Lastly, they will present how all the plans will support the companies CSR strategy for the community they serve and their employees. These plans will also benefit Walmart because if ILS is running smoothly, it will help Walmart increase its profits. If Walmart and ILS are profiting, all stakeholders involved will be happy with the collaboration.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a plan in place promotes the business venture’s success, and without a proper plan, a project will fail and cost the company a lot of money. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), 9.9% of every dollar has not been used properly due to a lack of project performance and planning (Chavez, 2019). It is vital that companies trying to expand into a foreign market with a new partner use proper planning techniques such as the project scope planning statement to be successful. Gaining the by end from employees and investors will also make this business venture flourish. Without every party bought in, it causes internal problems and employees not invested in making the company successful. ILS must incorporate how leadership will approach adding on a Human Resource team that will improve operations, reduce waste and costs, and ensures a safe work environment is available to protect the planet. Taking into consideration how to incorporate risk management and ensuring the senior leadership is bought into the project. There will be curve balls thrown at ILS’s project managers, so it will be key for them to quickly pivot when necessary to make the project a success long-term.

Appendix

See attachment for the following:

1. Project Schedule

2. Project Budget

3. PMP

References

Chavez, M. (2019, April 22).  The Power Of Purpose In Projects. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelchavez/2019/04/22/the-power-of-purpose-in-projects/?sh=129852155344

Costa, N. (2014). Training, innovation and human resources - Why are they so important in business?  2014 11th International Conference on Live Maintenance (ICOLIM), Live Maintenance (ICOLIM), 2014 11th International Conference On, 1–5. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1109/ICOLIM.2014.6934361

Culp, S. (2020, October 1).  Why Risk Management Is More Important Than Ever. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveculp/2020/10/01/why-risk-management-is-more-important-than-ever/?sh=6b656bd630b6

K. (2019, September 18).  Filipino Leadership - What Are The Distinct Filipino Leadership Styles? Philippine News. https://philnews.ph/2019/09/18/filipino-leadership-styles-what-are-the-four-distinctive-filipino-leadership-styles/

Kloppenborg, T. J., Anantatmula, V., & Wells, K. N. (2019).  Contemporary project management (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.