Implementation Plan for Friar Tucker Galleria Project Essay
Implementation Plan for Friar Tucker GalleriaFriar Tucker International is faced with the issue of selecting amongst viable projects.
There are five projects in the pipeline (Kalimpong, Friar’s Nest, Braithwaite Greens, Templar Towers and Galleria). As Senior Manager, Projects, it is my responsibility to provide guidance to the Project Selection Committee on the best approach to take in choosing one out these alternatives. The implementation plan will show what project was chosen, why it was chosen and the planned steps for execution of the project.A successful organization ensures that projects in the implementation pipeline support the organizational strategy and have the appropriate project mix (Wheelwright and Clark, 2003). To do this, the organization has to come up with an Aggregate Project Plan. Such a plan, which is usually coordinated by a Project Selection/Steering Committee, enables resources to be used more effectively, for example by coordinating test resource effort for related projects at the same time. Being that the common complaint in most project-based organizations is that of over-commitment of resources, such a project mix will result in higher employee satisfaction. This technique is also referred to as Process Management.
In their article for the Harvard Business Review On Point Collection, Adler and associates claim that the replacement of project management practice with process management practices results in between 30% to 50% savings in delivery time for projects (Adler et al., 2003).While navigating the minefield of project selection and implementation, the effect of individual and organizational politics cannot be ignored. The stakeholders have to be identified and managed accordingly to ensure project success.Friar Tucker’s StrategyFriar Tucker International (FTI) is a hospitality services chain. The strategy of the company is outlined in its vision and mission statement. The vision of the company is “to be among the top ten hospitality service providers in the family entertainment business, based on our superior service levels and innovative marketing”. The company’s mission statement is “to attract more visitors and customers through food and entertainment facilities, and ensure a great family experience”.
FTI intends to expand into the areas of entertainment hospitality, cuisine business and corporate entertainment.In addition, the company is implementing a new strategic approach. Due to the fact that the company is experiencing a boom in projects for implementation, the CEO of FTI, Ricardo Bellini, has set up a Project Selection Committee (PSC). The PSC is to put in place a process for determining optimal projects to pick. It also needs to ensure that projects chosen align with strategic objectives.According to Wheelwright and Clark, the following steps are required to take this type of strategic approach.
Determine existing resource capacityIdentify desired mix of projectsEstimate number of projects existing resources can supportDecide which projects to pursueAccording to an article in the Harvard Business Review On Point Collection (Wheelwright and Clark, 2003), the different project types are:Derivative projects: These are projects for incremental changes such as new payroll system versions or new packaging of marketing information. Fewer resources are required for this type of project.Breakthrough projects: These are major changes that create entirely new product categories and markets. A significant number of resources need to be committed to projects of this type.Platform: These are fundamental improvements to existing products in the areas of cost, quality and performance. These should form the core number of projects.
They are less demanding than breakthrough projects but more involving than derivative projects.Research and Development: The projects invest in future developments in the industry by committing resources to research and development. These projects create new materials and technologies that usually result in commercial enterprise.Alliances and Partnerships: These are projects that are undertaken in concert with other groups, industries and companies with a common goal.
These are easy to miss when it comes to project planning and resource allocation.An area that cannot be overlooked is stakeholder management. Projects have stakeholders who have an interest in and may even have control over the project.
Stakeholders can be defined as those people who have a stake (or interest) in the project. It is the project manager’s role to define their needs relative to the project. The perils of not involving stakeholders in project discussions far outweigh the cost of involving them because some projects fail because the needs of a stakeholder were not addressed. It is important to manage the expectations of stakeholders.
If stakeholders have concerns about the project, they may be able to exert considerable influence on those who make project decisions.Stakeholder management can be defined as: ‘Managing the key stakeholders on a particular issue in order to take into account their agendas, and also to influence them in order to achieve your business (and possibly, personal) goals.’Stakeholders are those individuals who are the decision-makers, advisers, implementers, or recipients of the project outcome.Stakeholder management necessary for the purpose of: * helping to make critical decisions * defusing and dissolving organizational politics, and * enabling the discussion of policies.
In order to estimate where a stakeholder is positioned, you will need to see the world from the stakeholder’s perspective.Stakeholder management can be done through the use of the stakeholder analysis grid (Piercy 1991, Grundy & Brown 2002), which identifies the key stakeholders, evaluates whether they yield high, medium or low influence, evaluate whether they are for the proposed action, against it, or neutral, examine the overall picture and devise the appropriate plan for repositioning the necessary stakeholders.I would, in private, draw up a grid of all stakeholders (below) and focus on a communication strategy in order to identify which stakeholders to communicate with, when, how, and with what message.StakeholdersRicardo Bellini (CEO)Diane Vickers (Vice President, Sales)Alfred Brimstone (Senior Manager, Human Resources)Dennis McGee (Vice President, Hospitality)Alan Tamala (Business Development Manager)Arlene Del Lazaro (Management Consultant)Having set out the groundwork for the strategy and stakeholder management, the most appropriate project to chose is the Galleria project.This is because it aligns with the corporate strategy of hospitality services provision.
In addition, it provides an inroad to one of the proposed areas of expansion (entertainment hospitality). Of all five projects, Galleria has the highest forecasted revenue of $35m. It also has relatively low investment and time to breakthrough.
The implementation plan will be discussed next.Unique Implementation Plan for Completing the Galleria ProjectThe following are the action items:Action Item DeliverableTimelineWho is ResponsibleSet up Multiple Screen theater2 yearsAtoll SolutionsSet up indoor gaming facilities1 yearAtoll SolutionsSet up Restaurant1 yearAtoll SolutionsSet up Bistro style cafes1 yearAtoll SolutionsSet up Shopping Mall3 yearsAtoll SolutionsFor a project of this size of investment, a company that has been around long enough and has successfully implemented projects of this type is best. This is why Atoll Solutions is suggested regardless of the premium they charge.A Potential risk is the fact that this is the first time FTI has taken on a project in the area of entertainment hospitality. This is a technical risk.
Risks of this type usually lead to increased budget and schedule delays if not handled properly. However, this risk is mitigated by the choice of Atoll Solutions who have been in this business for 25 years.Implementation Planning ProcessIt is during this phase that project plans are drawn up and project deliverables and requirements are defined. The following steps constitute the planning process at Friar Tucker International.Create a Schedule:In order to do this,§ Tasks to be completed are defined,§ Probable costs determined,§ Employees and contractors and other resources are determinedFine-tune the schedule:The schedule may have to be adjusted based on resource availability, the need to reduce the time frame and other such issues arising.Track progress:The schedule from start to finish is communicated and progress is tracked. The tool (or output from the tool) also gives capability for generating reports to the project team and project sponsors.
ConclusionThe Galleria project at Friar Tucker has been extensively reviewed to ensure it is a feasible project for the organization to embark upon. The project has been found to align with the organization’s strategy and the views of stakeholders have been taken into account. A vendor has been chosen best on best suited requirements for a project of this size. We can safely predict a successful implementation as long as the proper project management process is followed, issues are escalated appropriately and there is stakeholder and management support for the project.REFERENCESGrundy, T. (2001). Strategy Implementation through Project Management .London: Thorogood Publishing Ltd.
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