Project Management for Business Expansion

The given assignment is about preparing a project management plan for expanding Spynet International's business in the Kennington market. The plan involves setting SMART targets, identifying risks using a risk matrix, and creating a Gantt chart and network diagram to schedule tasks and manage resources effectively. This approach will help achieve the goal of business expansion within 182 days instead of 227 days.

PROJECT PLANNING

INTRODUCTION
Project management has one of the highly important place at the workplace of any
organisation. Under this, different functions are included to meet objectives and aims of the
company which are like planning, implementation, execution etc. Under this, planning has key
role when management prepares objectives of the firm. The present study is based on Spynet
Broadcasting Limited company which going to expand with the new name i.e. Spynet
International in Kennington market. Goal of the project is prepared on the basis of SMART
targets which is Business and Financial Development in the present research. The project
describes about different phases as well as processes to expand the business. Apart from this,
various tools and methods of scheduling such as network diagram, critical path, Gantt chart etc.
are explained. Beside this, risks and issues which are associated with the project through risk
matrix are shown in the present project.
SMART Targets
In the present case, a firm is expanding its business along with adding some more
products. Name of expanded or relocated organisation is Spynet International where 5 language
channels are added. Therefore, name of the present project or report is Relocation and Extension.
Along with expanding business the management wants to improve financial performance as well
in the Kennington market (Barasa and Jelagat, 2013). Further, SMART goal of the project is
development of business and financial both. Segregation of the goal in accordance to SMART
targets is mentioned below: S – Specific: First letter of SMART targets i.e. S denotes that objectives should be
specific which management should strive to achieve . Here, purpose is to expand firm in
new market with new name Spynet International which is very specific. Along with this,
it wants to develop performance in terms of financial where it has particular objective i.e.
increasing net profit by 16% till the next accounting period. M – Measurable: The goal which prepared in the company is mandatory to measurable .
In the present scenario, Spynet wants to add more languages in the channels which can be
easily measured. Apart from this, increasing net profit of potential business by 16% in
Kennington market is also measurable by the Spynet International firm.
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 A – Achievable: As per this letter of SMART targets, the goal of company should
achievable within proper time frame. When employees of the Spynet will work properly
then easily able to achieve (Chen and Zhang, 2013).
 R – Realistic: All the people of potential company are willing to work upon the framed
objective. Due to this accountable factor, goal of the present business is realistic.
 T – Timely: According to the last letter i.e. T refers to time factor in which goal of the
business must be achieved within proper time frame. In the present scenario, to boost up
net profit by 16% whole one financial period will be required.
Project Stages and Procedures
Project Stages
At the time of introducing any project in the workplace of business, management go
through different steps. For that, at the initial level the manager prepares overall plan after
considering various required stages. Generally six stages are to be considered by the entity at the
time of expanding firm in Kennington market (Schwalbe, 2015). The basic stages of business
expansion are states below:
1. Strategy
2. Preparation
3. Designing
4. Testing
5. Launching and
6. Closing stage
Project Procedures
In order to achieve desired objectives of the company it is essential to prepare specific
process. Under the subject of project management as per the all stages activities are framed
which are supportive to expand firm in Kennington market successfully (Kerzner, 2013).
Moreover, for Spynet International company, overall procedures of business expansion are given
below:
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Activity Name of activity Predecessors Duration of activity
completion (in days)
Expanding the company in Kennington market i.e. Spynet
International
227 days
Strategy Step 18 days
A Select particular country or market for
expanding firm
- 8
B Set out the goal for expanding entity A 6
C Prepare the strategies and tactics to meet set
goal
B 4
Preparation Step 48 days
D Analyse conditions of potential market B, C 10
E Assess the literatures and past information D 12
F Carry out the research of Kennington market E 17
G Assess level of demand of Spynet's product
in potential market
F 9
Designing Step 43 days
H Select one product in which demand is
higher in new market
F, G 11
I Design of prepare layout H 15
J Prepare design of the products and services I 17
Testing Step 24 days
K Give product sample to people of
Kennington market
J 10
L Take feedbacks and reviews from sample I, J, K 5
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consumers
M Make changes in the goods as per the
reviews if required
L 9
Launching Step 52 days
N Enter in Kennington market with the
company name Spynet International
M 14
O Marketing of the firm through social media N 18
P Attract local community of new market
towards firm
O 16
Q Start to sale the goods and services in
expanded market
O, P 4
Closing Step 42 days
R Collecting feedbacks from the consumers
along with proper suggestions
Q 23
S Use the advices and reviews in the Spynet
International
R 6
T Make proper and effective corrections R, S 13
Application of Proper Project Scheduling Tools
In the planning or scheduling of the project management, wide range of methods as well
as techniques are considered by the company. The reason is that, all the tools are supportive in
order to make effective plan and meet with the objective. In the present study, if the manager of
Spynet International firm considers such tools then able to make clear path to expand business.
Very basic tool which is generally used in the project is Gantt chart (Burke, 2013). Apart from
this, network diagram which is helpful to derive critical path of the business expansion is also
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one of the major method of project management. Further, on the basis of present case study such
tools are prepared below:
Gantt Chart
The tool of project management which reflects activities completed in horizontal lines
within specific time frame is known as Gantt chart. Apart from this, planned work is also
compared with the completed which is helpful to take effective decisions by the management
(Müller, Glückler and Aubry, 2013). For business expansion of Spynet International firm, Gantt
chart is such as follows:
Illustration 1: Gantt chart: Part I
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Illustration 2: Gantt chart: Part II
Network Diagram
Another tool used in the present study is network diagram which indicates two kinds of
activities in the overall plan like critic and non-critic. For the project manager, it is essentially
required to consider all the critical activities and can avoid those which are of the non-critical
nature. Further, it connects first activity of the plan with second and so on through which critical
path is derived (Sözüer and Spang, 2014). Moreover, network path in order to expand Spynet
International company in Kennington market is stated below:
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Illustration 3: Network Diagram
Critical Path
Along with network diagram and Gantt chart, last significant tool for the project is
critical path. It reflects those project activities which are compulsory to consider for business
expansion through which total duration reduced. Those activities of the business expansion
which can be avoided from the overall schedule are supportive to decline total project duration.
Henceforth, it can be said that, through this particular tool the management is able to reduce
duration of the project completion in appropriate manner (Cooke and Williams, 2013). For
expanding business in Kennington market, critical path along with modified duration is
mentioned as below:
Critical path: 1+2+4+5+6+8+9+10+12+13+14+15+17+18+20
Duration of the project: 8+6+10+12+17+11+15+17+5+9+14+18+4+23+13 = 182 days.
After considering the above path of critical activities it can be said that, project
management of Spynet International firm can avoid total 5 activities. The modified duration
derived from the project management of business expansion is only 182 days which was 227
days in the scheduling. Therefore, before 45 days the present project will complete or business
will expand in the potential market i.e. Kennington.
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Risk Assessment
One of the significant part of any project is risk assessment as well along with the
planning and tools. Under this section, various obstacles and risks associated with the project are
once identified by the manager. After that, their impact on the overall project that is business
expansion, is analysed. With the help of this, project manager of Spynet International
organisation can take effective actions for reducing the risk level. Moreover, the method in
which risks are identified and then analysed influence on objectives is considered as risk
assessment (Zwikael and et.al., 2014).
Risk Identification
Art the workplace, several kinds of problems arises which create adverse impact on the
project. When the management expanded business in Kennington market, different issues arose.
Basic problem was failure of the project in which risk level and impact both were at the highest
extent. Apart from this, the company enters in new market where it may be possible that demand
of its product decline. It leads to adverse effect on increasing sales and net income at the end of
next fiscal period. Other risks are also associated with the business expansion project which are
like selection of market, technical issues, declining efficiency of workforce, situational problems
etc (Rees-Caldwell and Pinnington, 2013). The cause of considering risk identification part in the
project management is that, the project manager can take corrective actions for resolving issues.
Therefore, level of influence will also impact in favourable conditions and objectives can be
achieved within time frame.
Risk Matrix
The chart which shows various risks and issues involved in project management along
with their level of impact is known as risk matrix. Any of the member of project can know that
which kind of issues can arise in the project. Further, level of risk and impact on overall project
is also identified which lead to support for completing the goal in proper direction (Sánchez,
2015). Moreover, risk matrix for the present scenario is such as follows:
Risk Matrix
Level of risk /
Impact of risk
Very low Low Medium High Very high
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on the project
Very high Project
failure issue.
Selection of
the market
amy be
wrong.
High Reducing demand of
Spynet's products and
services in potential
market.
Rules, laws and
regulations of new
market.
Improving
level of
expenses.
Improper
analysis of the
Kennington
market.
Risks occur
on the basis
of situations.
Lack of
using time
management
strategies.
Medium Issue regarding to
incompletion of the
project.
Unskilled workforce.
Low Decreasing
level of
efficiency
of
employees.
Very low Technical
risks
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Causes of project failure
It is not mandatory that each and every project always complete within targeted time
frame. It may be possible that project can get fail where desired objectives and goals not
achieved. There are some reasons by which project failure comes into consideration which are
stated below:
 Poor planning is one of the main cause which lead to create negative impact and bring
failure.
 Time factor is another important aspect in which adequate timke frame is highly required
to complete the project otherwise it can gets fail (Symonds, 2011).
 In addition to this, in the Spynet company if manager of business expansion not has better
skills and experience then problem of failure may arise.
 Moreover, due to poor communication issues project cannot become success.
 At the workplace, proper coordination among whole team or workforce is also required.
When relations between employees is not proper then leads to create issue of project
failure.
CONCLUSION
It can be summarised from the present study is that, planning is one of the essential part
for achieving business goals and objectives in proper direction. When the objectives of project
are prepared by considering SMART targets then the company is able to achieve goal in proper
and adequate manner. Moreover, with the help of different stages as well as procedures, the
project manager is easily able to make plan for expanding business in Kennington market.
Further, to prepare schedule network diagram, Gantt chart as well as critical path are taken into
consideration. Beside this, it can be ascertained from critical path that, present project will be
completed within 182 days instead of 227 days. Apart from this, there are several types of risks
associated with expanding Spynet International organisation in new market. Such issues are
described with the help of risk matrix.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barasa, F. and Jelagat, T., 2013. Community participation in project planning, management and
implementation: building the foundation for sustainable development. International
Journal of Current Research. 5(02). pp.398-401.
Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.
Chen, W. N. and Zhang, J., 2013. Ant colony optimization for software project scheduling and
staffing with an event-based scheduler. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.
39(1). pp.1-17.
Cooke, B. and Williams, P., 2013. Construction planning, programming and control. John Wiley
& Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Müller, R., Glückler, J. and Aubry, M., 2013. A relational typology of project management
offices. Project Management Journal. 44(1). pp.59-76.
Rees-Caldwell, K. and Pinnington, A. H., 2013. National culture differences in project
management: Comparing British and Arab project managers' perceptions of different
planning areas. International Journal of Project Management. 31(2). pp.212-227.
Sánchez, M. A., 2015. Integrating sustainability issues into project management. Journal of
Cleaner Production. 96. pp.319-330.
Schwalbe, K., 2015. Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.
Sözüer, M. and Spang, K., 2014. The Importance of Project Management in the Planning Process
of Transport Infrastructure Projects in Germany. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.
119. pp.601-610.
Zwikael, O. and et.al., 2014. The moderating effect of risk on the relationship between planning
and success. International Journal of Project Management. 32(3). pp.435-441.
Online
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Symonds, M., 2011. 15 Causes of Project Failure. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/15-causes-of-project-failure.php> [Accessed on 16th
August 2017].
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