The Analysis of the Management Tools - Essay Example

? Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive summary Mobtech intends to commercialise 100 ML mobile phone devices to boost its general sales. Asa result, Mobtech has appointed a team of eleven executives picked from sales and marketing department to plan and implement the commercialisation process. The targeted market is in the United Kingdom and euro zone, where Mobtech intends to sell five hundred thousand 100 ML mobile phone devices before the end of March 30, 2012. The project management tools and techniques that the project team will use to schedule and allocate resources as well as monitor and evaluate commercialisation performance includes work based structure, Gantt chart, critical path method and earned value management. Work based structure defines the scope and work effort relationship hierarchy of all commercialisation activities on the other hand; Gantt chart indicates general sequence and period that project activities will take. Critical path analysis (network) illustrates logical sequence of all project activities while earned value management technique measure the overall progress and performance of the project from the beginning to the end. The commercialisation project is expected to last for twenty-five weeks. The activities involved in the commercialisation of 100 ML are conducting market research, team building, marketing plan preparation, product launch, product promotions, acquisition of licenses and formal requirements, protection of property rights and distribution of the product to various selling points. For the team to plan and implement commercialization of 100 ML appropriately, the team members must be highly prepared and cohesive. This will be achieved when the leader clearly defines company’s missions and vision; support innovation; make the team think success; value product and service superiority; pay attention to details; value all the team members and reward team work. Commercialisation of 100 ML is expected to cost Mobtech ?1727460. 1.0 Introduction Mobtech is one of the youngest mobile device developers in the market and has recently developed 100 More Life (ML) new mobile phone devices. The company intends to sell five hundred thousand 100 ML devices before the end of March 30, 2012. Production of the new mobile device is aimed at boosting company’s sales before the end of the first quarter of 2012. 100 ML is convenient to use, carry and has long lifespan. It is also sleek and will appeal to wide variety of customers globally. Commercialization of 100 ML will be undertaken by a team of eleven executives from the sales and marketing department and is expected to last for not more than twenty-five weeks. Project management is one of the disciplines in professional and educational realms, which will enable sales and marketing team of Mobtech to manage commercialization of 100 ML effectively. Schwindt (2005) asserts that project management theory prescribes project management techniques and tools that are used to schedule, allocate resources and monitor as well as evaluate performance of any given project. The project management techniques and tools that are important in managing the marketing and sales project of Mobtech include work based structure, Gantt chart, critical path method and earned value management. The marketing and sales team of Mobtech is responsible for planning and implementing the entire project from the beginning to the end. However, they are free to engage industry a consultant in areas that they feel external input is critical for planning and implementing the sell of 100 ML mobile devices. To do this, they will borrow heavily from project management theory. The project plan will define project objectives, strategies, monitoring and evaluation techniques as well as the budget. The sales and marketing cost will cover market research, team building, marketing plan preparation, product launch, advertisement, licenses and formal requirements, trademark, commissions and distribution. To prepare the project plan, sales and marketing team will use project planning techniques and tools. Therefore, Work Based Structure, Gantt Charts, Earned Value Management and Critical Path Analysis will be used extensively during the commercialization of 100 ML. 2.0 Tools and Techniques for Project Management 2.1 Project Management Tools For any given project to be successful, it is important for every project manager and team to fully understand and utilise project tools and techniques in managing his or her project. Project management tools assist project managers and their team to apply logic during project planning phase. According to Cleland and Ireland (2006), logic is critical for effective planning and smooth running of the project from the start to the completion. The tools that will be utilised in managing commercialization of 100 ML include work based structure (WBS) and Gantt charts. According to Kasse (2008), a work based structure refers to a project management tool, which helps project managers and their teams as well as project sponsors and consultants to define and organise all tasks of work that must be done to make the project achieve its objectives. It is important because it outlines the work effort relationship hierarchy of the entire project. Therefore, work based structure assist project team to organise the project accurately, assign responsibilities, explain project scope and estimate cost, risks and time associated with the project. The table below shows some of the key activities that will be involved in commercialising 100 ML mobile device. Table 1: Product commercialisation key activities Activity Duration in weeks Market research 4 Recruitment and selection 3 Team building 1 Marketing plan 4 Project budget 2 Product launch 2 Dispatching team members 4 Product distribution 1 Advertisement 8 Figure 1: Work Based Structure for commercialization of 100 MT The second project management tool utilised during the planning phase of this project is a Gantt chart. Gantt chart refers to a graphical representation, which indicates the type of tasks to be done and completed at a specified time (Haynes 2002). It indicates the general sequence of projects tasks. However, it does not show explicitly relationships among project tasks. Therefore, it does not reveal the effect of delaying one task on other tasks or entire project. In addition, it fails to show how the project will be impacted by shift of project resources. Most Gantt Charts are maintained manually and is easy and simple for small projects but cumbersome for large projects. Figure 3 in the appendices indicate Gantt chart for commercialising of 100 ML mobile devices 2.2 Project Management Techniques There are two project management techniques that this project will utilise to manage progress of commercialising 100 MT handsets. They are the critical path method (CPM) and earned value management (EVM). Critical path analysis refers to a network logical diagram of a project that illustrates all project tasks in a logical sequence. It has a start and finish date. Lock (2007) confirms that critical path show interdependences between different tasks and ensure that the project tasks are undertaken in a sequence. Through the critical path analysis, logical mistakes can easily be identified. It is a better tool of project management because it allows the project team to identify and quantify priorities on the basis of estimated task duration. Therefore, it identifies priority tasks that must not be delayed because the overall project will also be delayed. Network analysis also enables separate planning and scheduling of project tasks. Table 2: Network for marketing and sales project activities Preceding activities Activity Duration in weeks A Market research 4 B Recruitment and selection 3 C B Team building 1 D AC Marketing plan 4 E CD Project budget 2 F E Product launch 2 G BF Dispatching team members 4 H EFG Product distribution 1 I H Advertisement 8 Figure 2: Network of activities for commercialization of 100 MT Earned value management refers to project management techniques, which is used to measure the performance of the project at a given period of time objectively. It measures progress of the project, forecast completion date and final cost as well as provide budget and schedule variance along the way. Earned value management is critical because it measures the scope, schedule and cost of the project all at once. Earned value technique will be used during commercialisation of 100 MT mobile devices because it can accurately predict the problems that a project may experience in future. According to Budd and Budd (2005), earned value management technique combine both schedule performance and cost performance to determine whether the company gets value for the money spent on a particular task of the project. The technique is based on the principle that when the tasks of the project are completed, they earn value. The earned values are then compared with actual and planned expenditures of the project tasks. This helps the project team to determine project performances as well as forecast future performances trends. The physical progress of a project is measured in monetary terms, therefore cost and schedule performances can be measured in the same terms using the earned value management technique. Earned value management help project managers to reduce risk, increase accountability, track project progress and improve communication and visibility with shareholders. However, earned value management has own limitations. First, earned value management does not measure the quality of the project. Secondly, earned value management technique requires a project plan to be quantified. However, projects that are discovery in nature or agile software are difficult to quantify. For such projects, it is not possible to use earned value management technique. To compute the earned value management values, it is important to budget all tasks of the project. The budget should be expressed in monetary terms. Earned value management also includes computation of costs, variances and performance indices. Some formulas for computing earned values are listed below. E V = BAC ? percentage of actual work EAC = BAC ? CPI ETC= (BAC - EV) ? CPI CPI = EV / AC SPI = EV / PV Where; Actual Cost=AC Estimation At Completion= EAC Budget At Completion= BAC Estimate To Complete= ETC Cost Performance Index= CPI Schedule Performance Index= SPI Earned Value =EV Planned Value= PV 3.0 The Commercialisation Process Taking a new mobile device to the market is a mixture of nostalgia and uncertainties. To market and sale a mobile phone handset in the market demands detailed preparation to gain confidence and trusts of the customers, especially in a market where there are many competing brands. Preparation will involve developing a market plan, building marketing and sales team, launching and distributing the product to its customers through dealers stationed in different part of the United Kingdom. Before 100 MT mobile devices are introduced into the United Kingdom’s market, it is important to make a detailed market plan. Therefore, the team leader will lead his or her team to develop a market plan for 100 MT mobile devices. In the marketing plan, the marketing and sales team will state smart objectives, which will then be achieved through an effective marketing strategy. The marketing strategy will clearly state the target market, value proposition, promotion and distribution channels that will enable the company meets its objectives. In a snapshot, the marketing and sales team targets twenty major cities in the United Kingdom. The key objective is to sell five hundred thousand 100 MT mobile devices before April 1st, 2012. Major advertisement will be done in the media and promotions will be carried out in London. The distribution of 100 MT mobile devices will be done through identified 1000 agents located in United Kingdoms major cities. As part of the project, the team will also seek to develop an effective and comprehensive promotion programme that will reach million of potential customers in the United Kingdom and euro zone. The project team will establish 100 ML mobile device as a fashion brand and shall host opening party to celebrate the device birthday party during the launch. Other promotion activities include device show, public relation campaigns and advertising to draw a huge media campaign as well as maintain strong brand awareness. Before project activities begin, it will be necessary to create a cohesive and likeminded team. The company will use a number of team building activities to establish a strong and cohesive team. Some of the team building activities will be a blindfold hunt and story narration. The team leader shall ensure that all the project team members know and understand the Mobtech’s mission and vision. The project team is also tasked in making budgets for the project. The cost of each task in the project will be based on economic conditions and existing rates. All the necessary resources for successful completion of the project will be considered and factored into the budget. The project team anticipates spending about ?1,727,460 in commercialization of 100 ML mobile phone devices. The project team will also ensure that 100 ML is trade marked. 4.0 Managing and Leading Project Team Wheelan (2009) asserts that building high performing team is a prerequisite for project success. This is because success in every endeavour depends on the competency level of both the leaders and their team members. Often, teams suffer from internal conflicts, haphazard decisions as well as anxiety and frustration of team members. To reduce unnecessary problems in the team, the team should be managed well. Therefore, it is a duty for every team leader to develop capable and highly motivated team to carry out the entire task within the scope of the project. A team leader will be appointed to lead the marketing and sales team and will be assisted by another member of the team. To develop loyal, intelligent, high performing and successful team, the team leader should clearly define company’s missions and vision; support innovation; make the team think success; value product and service superiority; pay attention to details; value all the team members and reward team work. To manage and lead the marketing and sales team, first and foremost the team leader should define Mobtech’s mission and vision. Each member of the team must know and understand Mobtech’s mission and vision in his or her finger tips. Mobtech’s mission and vision shall be displayed on the wall of the project team’s meeting room and work spaces of all team members. Mobtech’s vision is to be the leading provider of high quality mobile phone devices in Europe. Secondly, the team leader needs to support innovation and encourage each team member to think differently. This will make it possible for team to come up with ideas that will make the team do their task differently. As a result, new unexpected solutions to problems will be easily generated within the team. Third, every member of the team must always think about success. This is because the power to achieve begins from the mind. When team members anticipate success, they will remain focus and dedicated to make the commercialisation of 100 ML a success (Pope 2008). Fourth, the marketing and sales team must offer best (superior) services to clients who purchase the 100 ML. Fifth, the team members must be keen to details. Therefore, team leader shall scrutinize recommendations from all quotas and set clear expectation for the entire team on quality, packaging and timing of both product and associated services. Sixth, the team leader should value all team members without discrimination. A team function like system. Therefore, for the whole team to be effective and efficient, the welfare of every team member shall be considered. Members of the team shall help a member sort out his or her problem when it is reasonable to do so. However, if the team member causes unnecessary trouble, he or she shall be expelled from the team because the team does not have extra time and energies to meet unreasonable demands of an errant member. Finally, the team leader needs to reward often his or her team for every achievement. Every good behaviour, achievement, loyalty, contribution and bravery demonstrated by the entire team during project planning and implementations shall be reasonably rewarded. The team is asking to be allocated ?172746 to reward the team members during project planning and implementation. Therefore, the team leader should reward an entire team and only reward individual member under very special circumstances that all team members shall approve. This is because it is not wise to elevate any member above the others as this action will disrupt team’s harmony. In addition, the team leader should be flexible, trustworthy and concern about the welfare of his or her team members. He or she need to train to be knowledgeable, good communicator, consistent, accessible, creative, rewarding, thankful and focused (Diamond 2007). The team has already been selected. It is made up of Ray Barnes, Richard Lewis, Evans James, Roger McGrath, Kate Borwick, Victoria Hoey, Ian Barney, Katharine Waugh, Jane Malthouse, Paul Clement and Susan Boff. 5.0 Conclusion Mobtech intends to launch a new mobile phone device into the market of the United Kingdom and euro zone to boost its current sales levels. Mobtech is a young entrant and will compete with mobile telephone giants. The new telephone mobile device is called 100 More Life (ML). Therefore, the company has appointed a team of eleven people from its sales and marketing department to carry out the project to fruition. The project is expected to last for twenty five weeks only. As per the objectives of the project, the company intends to sale over five hundred thousand 100 More Life (ML) mobile phone devices before the end of March 30, 2012. Project management techniques and tools such as work based structure, Gantt chart, critical path analysis and earned value management will be used by the project team to develop an effective commercialization of 100 ML into the United Kingdom ‘sand euro zone markets. The team will develop a market plan that will guide the project implementation. Activities identified as key to planning and implementation of the project include market research, selecting and building a team, budgeting and distributing products among others. The overall budget for the commercialisation of 100 ML was estimated at ?1,727,460. A leader will be appointed among the team leaders to lead the project commercialization team. The team leader should plan to develop highly capable and cohesive team to facilitate commercialization of 100 ML. To develop a good team, the team leaders will have to define clearly company’s missions and vision; support innovation; make the team think about success; value product and service superiority; pay attention to details; value all the team members and reward the team accordingly. 6.0 Referencing Budd, IS & Budd SC 2005, Practical Guide to Earned Value Project Management, Management Concepts, Vienna. Cleland, ID & Ireland, RL 2006, Project management: strategic design and implementation, 5 edn, McGraw-Hill Professional, London. Diamond, EL 2007, Perfect Phrases for Building Strong Teams: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Fostering Collaboration, Encouraging Communication, and Growing a Winning Team, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York Haynes, EM 2002, Project management: practical tools for success, 3rd edn, Cengage Learning, New York. Kasse, T 2008, Practical insight into CMMI, 2nd edn, Artech House, Norwood. Lock, D 2007, Project management, 9th edn, Gower Publishing, Ltd., Hampshire, England. Pope, S 2008, Team Leader Workbook, Human Resource Development, Massachusetts. Schwindt, C 2005, Resource allocation in project management, Springer, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany Wheelan, AS 2009, Creating Effective Teams: A Guide for Members and Leaders, 3 edn, Sage publisher, Willoughby, N 2000, Incredibly Easy Project Management: A Mildly Heretical Perspective, Trafford Publishing, Canada. 7.0 Appendixes: Table 3: Project costs Cost centre Amount Market research ?259119 Distribution ?145106.4 Advertisement ?293668.2 Marketing plan preparation ?172746 Licenses and formal requirements ?8637.6 Stationeries ?17101.8 Communication ?1727.4 Commission (dealership) ?604611 Trademark ?7773.6 Product launch ?20729.4 Team building ?16410.6 Team allowances ?172746 Contingency ?7083 Total ?1727460 Figure 3: Gantt charts that indicate commercialising 100 ML mobile device. Read More