STR 581 week 5 (1050 words required) 6-7 hrs

Implementation Plan, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plan Analysis

Implementation Plan, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plan Analysis

An implementation plan will support the strategies and goals of a business’s strategic plan and also how to achieve them. It is important the strategic plan demonstrates the mission and vision of an organization. Organizational changes are inevitable and necessary for companies to achieve their mission and goals. It is critical for an organization like Hilton to implement a change management strategy to ensure project success. Defining key success factors requires thorough communication with all stakeholders. Understanding what project success looks like to each stakeholder will help strategic leadership control the scope of any change. Risk management is typically understood as a reactionary tactic to a potential issue. In this case, Hilton will negate a large amount of risk in the planning phase by shifting project responsibility to the core competencies of the respective stakeholder.

Strategic Plan

A strong implementation plan will transform the ideas brought forth by management into a reality and provide the framework for achieving company vision and applying the business’s overarching goals and mission. The promise of Hilton is to provide the consumer with the most pleasant and comfortable service possible, and by many customers viewpoint, Internet accessibility is a key factor in their lodging experience. The objective of Hilton will attract as many consumers that have an acute interest or desire for Web accessibility and capitalize on that amenity, providing the fastest and most efficient Internet to the current and returning guest. A properly developed implementation plan will itemize the plans, strategies, and goals of a business’s strategic plan and also how to achieve them.

Technology and information sharing is at peaking point in society, especially amongst travelers and, any innovation or resource that is aiding or complementing the digital trend, is sure to separate their product and service from the competition. Utilizing the functional tactics of upgrading to a standardized and exclusive company such as Cisco will not only attract more Hilton customers but also Cisco loyal consumers as well. Action items include the approach Hilton uses to acquire the business opportunity and also the agreement between management on the benefits that each company gains from pursuing the strategy at hand.

It is important for Hilton to define a date in which all Cisco equipment is installed and operating at maximum capability. Setting milestones realistically will help management to not feel the pressure of getting it done although inevitably it does and in the most prompt fashion possible. Milestones help to track where a business is in relation to the goals that it has set out to accomplish.

Cisco is an optimal choice for Hilton to use for resource allocation, which is the division and appropriation of jobs, tasks, or duties in a specific point in time. Hilton can analyze other areas of improvement or betterment by outsourcing there commercial internet provider, allowing Cisco to manage that area of business. Management and employees are bestowed upon the task and of those specific tasks of ownership also, although Cisco will provide all external equipment including routers, modems, hubs, and access to the system through the Internet; they will not be responsible for the information needed for the consumers to access the service. Hilton will be required to provide the information needed for the task at hand, and while they are disseminating the information needed by the customer, Hilton is also the acting owner of the services that they are providing ("Is Cisco Services Right For Your Business", 2010).

Acquiring Cisco as a partner or counterpart is an advantageous move for Hilton. It will allow the consumers continue to interact with their personal or business lives while lodging at the Hilton, increasing mobility and collaboration. Hilton will provide the consumer with easier and faster options for information, which will inversely improve company processes and relationships. This merger will offer a better value for monies spent, which creates a satisfied consumer, which in turn produced returning and loyal customers ("Is Cisco Services Right For Your Business", 2010).

Organizational Change Management Strategies

Companies have to change to keep up with competition, and to get a competitive edge. Organizational changes are necessary for companies to achieve their mission. Hilton Hotels can achieve greater customer service by using modern technology. Hilton Hotels can keep a record of customer preferences. If customers like a certain genre of music that music can be playing when they enter the room. If a customer likes a certain smell their room can always smell that way. Hilton can make checking in and checking out easy and painless. For example a customer can have a key card that they carry like a rewards card. When a customer checks in online the customer room will be sent to them via text and they can use their card to get access to their room. When the customer checks out online then their key is deactivated, making the card unusable. Customers will be able to ask for the same room if it is available, and will be able to bypass the front desk. The member card can also be attached to a form of payment, so the customer can use that same card for Hilton’s room service, vending machine and valet parking.

Key Success Factors

To ensure the implementation plan will work there have to be success factors put in place to measure progress; these factors will also serve as guidelines for the plan. Key success factors are the functions, activities, or business practices defined by the market and viewed by the customers, that are critical to the vendor/customer relationship (Dix, n.d.). One key success factor that the internet quality improves at all properties; for this factor to be determined surveys will have to be conducted. An overall improvement in quality and speed will have to be recognized and a belief that the network is more secure will have to be present. Another key success factor for this implementation is that the costs structure works; this means the cost to implement the plan will generate a revenue stream for the organization. A slight increase in room costs per night will be included in the room costs of the properties that have switched over and weighing this increase against the costs of the implementation will let us know where our break-even point is. Based on the pricing information provided on Cisco’s website the budget and break-even analysis (estimated) for implementing 10 routers that will service approximately 10,000 rooms is below.

Based on the information above the average room rate would have to increase by $27.60 for the company to break even and to generate a decent profit the average room would have to increase by $30. An increase of $30 per room could generate a profit of $12,000 for the 10,000 rooms that have been switched over. The next step in the process is to develop a risk management plan that will determine whether the implementation is feasible for the company and establish any contingency plans that need to be put in place for the process.

Project Risk Management

There are five basic phases project management. The second phase is where the stakeholders define the scope of the project and publish a project schedule (“Project Management Institute”, 2004). Scope definition contains the most risk because it is the area where each stakeholder defines their project responsibility. Once all stakeholders agree on scope requirements, it is up to the team members to monitor and control the variables to complete the project to specification, under budget, and on time. A vague project scope could cause cost overruns and reduce overall profit at Hilton. For example, Cisco could quote the same hardware solution for every hotel location upgrade to reduce raw material cost through economies of scale. If Hilton agrees to this proposal, construction variance at different locations around the world could increase project costs. Cisco would want to renegotiate the cost for any location that requires a more expensive hardware solution to meet the minimum Wi-Fi speed.

Hilton’s scope negotiation should require that Cisco creates a Wi-Fi service in each location that adheres to a minimum Mbps (mega-bytes per second). Requiring Cisco to demonstrate a minimum Mbps at each hotel location to receive payment will protect the budget for this project. If construction variance drives a more expensive solution, Cisco would have to cover the cost delta. This negotiation strategy will protect Hilton and help them forecast spending and revenues more accurately. This risk management strategy also protects Hilton from having to make decisions that are not a part of their organizational core competencies. Core competencies are “capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage for a firm over its rivals” (Hitt & Ireland, 2016). The expectation is that Cisco’s confidence in their core competencies will increase the likelihood of this agreement.

Conclusion

Stakeholder communication and proper planning will protect any project. Understanding project scope and what project success looks like to all stakeholders is important for successful project closure. If at the end of a project some of the stakeholders are not satisfied, how can strategic leadership deem the project a success? Defining the relationships and responsibilities of each stakeholder and communicating throughout each project phase is critical for project success. Having a plan, defining success factors, communicating potential risk and the mitigation thereof reduces the impact of negative project variables.

References