Project Management and Mergers and Acquisitions

The assignment discusses the role of project managers in managing merger projects, from initiation to completion. It emphasizes the importance of time management and cost management in ensuring successful mergers and acquisitions.

Business Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1. Define the key characteristics of any project?........................................................................1
2. What is the Scope Statement for a project? What role does the Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) have in such a statement?................................................................................................1
3. Using the information below, plot out a full project Gantt chart and identify the critical
path. How many days does it take to complete the project?.......................................................2
4. What approaches exist to generate a budget for a specific project budget?............................2
5. How can project risk arise? Outline the various responses to risk that may be taken within
project management....................................................................................................................2
6. What quality methods would you introduce to ensure a project is completed successfully?. 3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
2.1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................3
2.2 Overview of merger and acquisition processes.....................................................................3
2.3 The stages of a Project process.............................................................................................4
2.4 Project planning....................................................................................................................4
2.5 Stages involved in execution of project................................................................................5
2.6 Monitoring and controlling the project.................................................................................6
2.7 Concerns of a business..........................................................................................................6
2.8 Termination of the project.....................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business law is a law which governs the commercial transactions of an organisation.
Mergers and acquisition is one of the important business activities, which allow different parent
companies to be merged into a single unit. And, a project is used in an organisation for
understanding the various activities to achieve business and non-business objectives efficiently.
A project could be considered by an organisation for effective planning and implementation of
the business and non-business activities.
The report deals with an M&A project management emphasising on a range of activities
required for managing a project successfully. Also, the report focuses on the concerns, processes,
and control problems associated with the management of project.
TASK 1
1. Define the key characteristics of any project?
A project is an activity taken up by individuals and organisation in order to achieve
organisational objectives effectively. (Turner, 2014.) The various characteristics of a project are
as follows:
 Temporary: This means that the project is not infinite, as it has a starting point
and an end point. The end result is achieved through fulfilling all the objectives
of the project.
 Unique deliverable: A project is based on the aims which are deliverable, and
these are addressed before starting a project, for instance, a product, a service,
etc.
 Progressive elaboration: A project progresses in stages and these could be
analysed by continuously evaluating it.
2. What is the Scope Statement for a project? What role does the Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) have in such a statement?
Every project, whether big or small, comprises of a project scope statement. A project
scope statement is a tool which is useful in determining the milestones, requirements, constraints,
etc. pertaining to a particular project. It sets the boundaries for examining whether the project
deliverables are within or outside of scope of a project. For instance, a project scope statement
might include objectives, issues and risks, etc.
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A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tool which is used to manage a project
effectively by further disintegrating the tasks, meaning thereby, it divides the entire project into
small tasks and ensure that these are achieved or accomplished. According to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), WBS is a “deliverable oriented hierarchical
decomposition of work to be executed by the project team.” (Kerzner and et. al., 2017.) The use
of WBS in a project is that it outlines the map of a project. It disintegrates the project into
simpler units starting from the top into subcategories on the basis of hierarchy, which helps in
allocation of resources, better monitoring and controlling the project, etc.
3. Using the information below, plot out a full project Gantt chart and identify the critical path.
How many days does it take to complete the project?
A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart, which is used in project management. It helps in
understanding a schedule to plan, coordinate and track different tasks in a project report. This
tool was given by an American engineer and social scientist, Henry L. Gantt in the year 1917,
and therefore, is termed after him.
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4. What approaches exist to generate a budget for a specific project budget?
The most difficult task of project management is to estimate how much it is going to cost.
This is the most important challenge before a project manager, to prepare budget estimation for a
project, as the manager has to use his abilities to draw out an accurate budget.
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There are two approaches (Meredith & et. al., 2011.) for creating a budget, which are as
follows:
1. Top-down approach: This approach is used for deciding as how much a project
will cost and accordingly, allocating money in between different deliverables.
2. Bottom-up approach: By this approach, estimation of total cost of a project is
done, through, estimating the cost of the lowest level work deliverable and then
escalating.
5. How can project risk arise? Outline the various responses to risk that may be taken within
project management.
In any project, risk is a possibility of loss or injury, which might arise in case something
goes wrong, even after assessing the project for potential risks. Project risk management is
identifying these risks, in order to ensure that these do not have adverse effects on the project.
The responses, which could be taken in a project management, are as follows:
For Threats For Opportunities
Avoid – risk could be avoided by changing the
project.
Share – an opportunity could be shared in
order to maximise the benefits.
Transfer – risk could be transferred to third
parties.
Exploit – the resources are realised for taking
advantages of the project.
Reduce – various steps could be taken to
reduce risks.
Reject – contingency plans are used in case
opportunities arise as before that no steps are
and gains are rejected.
6. What quality methods would you introduce to ensure a project is completed successfully?
Project quality methods are the processes or activities ensuring that the project goals are
achieved while maintaining quality. Various project methods to ensure project is successfully
completed are as follows:
 Planning quality – identifying the quality requirements for the project.
 Performing quality assurance – preparing checklists and audit to check the quality of
deliverables.
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 Performing quality control – ensures that the project is meeting the quality goals.
TASK 2
2.1 Introduction
The projects pertaining to merger and acquisition comprises of company mergers,
acquisitions or transitions of business into one company. Various different parent companies are
merged or acquired by a single company or a group of companies, and in the given case the ABC
company, a UK based food and drinks Public Limited Company, is planning on to acquire DEF
Ltd., which is a well-known high street frozen food retailer in the UK. As this time, the company
is considering in-house expertise on the merger, John, a senior employee is considered for
planning the project. So, an M&A project is to be drawn out for the company for effective
planning, implementation and termination of the project, also, considering the time management
and budget estimation for the project.
2.2 Overview of merger and acquisition processes in an organisation
In the current business scenario, mergers and acquisitions are becoming more and more
popular. Restructuring a company is done to deal with the increased competition and the
changing market conditions. Any organisation could be restructured by merger, acquisition,
amalgamation or take-over, which are used interchangeably but are different terms. Merger and
acquisition, in general terms, is a combination of two organisations into one single organisation.
There are various types of mergers, (Cooper and et. al., 2014) such as horizontal, vertical, co-
generic and conglomerate, and in the given case study horizontal merger is used by the
organisations, which takes place in between the two organisations competing in the same
industry. The parent organisation can look for potential targets in the market, which suits the
company’s strategies for M&A and arrive at a valuation for the whole process.
2.3 The stages of a Project process
For making a project in any organisation on any topic, the project life cycle stages
(Larson, E.W., and et. al., 2014) are considered, which are as follows:
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Source: Project Life cycle stages, 2018
1. Initiation – means starting with the project, deciding the scope of the project, selecting a
project manager, etc. are done in this stage. In the case of ABC Ltd., the company is
considering in-house expertise and has decided to appoint a senior employee, John for
the project.
2. Planning – includes the planning of tasks or deliverables for the project by the project
manager. In this stage the manager could divide the tasks by using WBS to divide the
tasks into simpler smaller tasks, which are called as the pockets. Here, John could use his
expertise to plan the merger project and decide on the tasks which are to be performed in
furtherance of the project.
3. Execution – means performance of the tasks which were decided in the planning stage of
a project. Here, John would form a project team to carry on the tasks of the project. He
would also oversee the progress of the project and the performance of the tasks by the
project team.
4. Managing and controlling – a project manager requires to monitor and control the tasks
of a project, and analyse what progress has been made in the project. The project
manager of the merger project, John would here, examine the progress of the project
through monitoring and controlling the project team, progress of deliverables and
assessing the risks.
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Figure1: Project life cycle stages

5. Closing – is the final stage of a project wherein a project is completed and the
deliverables or tasks are delivered to the stakeholders. Here, John would deliver the
project to the stakeholders after finishing of the project report.
Qualities of a project manager
A project manager, being a leader should be possessing excellent communication skills
along with required qualifications for carrying out the project objectives. Also, he should be
competent to take up the responsibility and should be able to work diligently in the changing
environment to deal with the contingencies. (Dodgson, M., and et. al., 2013) As a project
manager, an individual should be having ability and skills for forming a team and delegating the
work, also his team should have trust him, as without the trust of his team he would not be able
to carry on with the project. Further, he should be enthusiastic and confident, and should be able
to provide guidance and he should be having a problem solving attitude.
2.4 Project planning
1. Integration management
This stage of planning a project incorporates six key areas, which are, forming a roadmap for a
project, developing a plan for project management, management of project execution, controlling
project, and performance of change control and finally, closing the project. This process also
manages the issues and changes needed in a project, and also develops a contingent plan, if
needed.
2. Work Breakdown Structure
This is the process where the tasks are disintegrated into simpler units so that project is
manageable and could be accomplished. The complex tasks are broken down into simpler units
by following the two approaches of WBS which ensures the timely completion of the project and
helps in effective allocation of finances & resources.
3. Time management
The planning for time management helps in scheduling the project tasks and estimating time for
completion of project. Allocating time for completion of project ensures that the project is
effectively monitored and controlled. The time management has a direct nexus with the cost
management in a project.
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4. Cost management
Cost management in a project deals with the allocation of financial resources in achieving the
targets of the project. This includes budgeting and planning the amount which would be spent by
an organisation in completing the deliverables.
2.5 Stages involved in execution of project
The execution of project is a stage wherein the plan made by the project manager is put
into action. The project manager takes care that the project is in progress and the project team is
working on the deliverables. The stages involved in project execution are important in
understanding, how a project can be effectively executed.( Galpin and et. al., 2014) The project
execution stages comprises of managing quality, risk management and procurement
management, which are explained as follows:
1. Quality Management: The quality of project is first decided in the planning stage and
then the quality is monitored and assured. The quality is monitored and controlled by the
project manager through various stages by various means, such as auditing. The plan for
quality is made in accordance to the project, while the quality assurance is checked by
auditing, and the monitoring of quality is done by examining the progress of deliverables.
In the company ABC Ltd., the project manager, John can ensure that the quality
parameter set out for the project at the time of initiation of the project, are met or not. The
project manager could use various tools for examining the quality of the project and its
deliverables. If he is not able to examine the quality then the end result of the project
report would not satisfy the expectations of the stakeholders.
2. Human Resource Management: People are important while undertaking a project. And,
the human resource management in a project means managing the teams or group of
people involved in the project. The project completion requires that various tasks are
done, for which project team is formed to undertake the tasks assigned. The project
manager ensures that the teams are performing properly by guiding, coaching, praising
them. John, being the project manager in ABC Company limited, is responsible for
management of individuals involved in the project. He has to ensure that the team is on
the right track while performing the project otherwise this could cause concerns for him
in the completion of the project.
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3. Communication Management: A communication plan is drawn out for execution of a
project as the project manager needs to communicate with the internal as well as external
stakeholders, for which effective plan is required. This stage includes developing of a
plan, managing the stakeholders' expectations, articulation of the information etc. John,
the project manager of the organisation has to ensure that elaborate plans are drawn out
for proper flow of information in an organisation. He has to make sure the expectations of
the stake holders are satisfied, at both levels, internal as well as external.
4. Risk Management: Risks might arise in a project at any stage and risk management is
required for developing responses for risks arising in the project, so the risk does not
impact the project adversely. The management of risks is done for both threats and
opportunities in a project. In the project, John should work upon early identification of
the risks, whether threats or opportunities, which would help him in combating the
adverse effects of risks in the project. He should plan for reducing, avoiding and
transferring the threats, while share, exploit and reject the opportunities in the project.
2.6 Monitoring and controlling the project
Project monitoring is a stage, in which track of all the project related developments is
recorded. It includes the progress in achieving the tasks, records the team performance,
identifying the risks etc. The project manager can only work diligently on a project, if he is
aware of the progress of the project, that is, if he is overseeing the tasks and closely examining
the tasks. The project managers for monitoring and controlling the project uses various tools,
such as, time management and budgeting. The project in ABC Company is for acquiring another
organisation which needs effective control and monitoring. The project manager could adopt
critical path analysis (CPA), (Harrison and et. al., 2017.) which identifies all the project activities
and their time durations along with efforts put in those activities. With the help of CPA the more
time consuming activities of the project are re-planned and rescheduled to ensure more business
effort, time and cost are not over exploited in completion of these activities.
2.7 Concerns of a business
The project manager could go through following concerns pertaining to a project:
 Product quality: The quality of a project is foremost important. The quality standards of a
project might raise concerns for the project manager.
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 Risk assessment: Assessing risks in a project is the most difficult task in managing a
project, as it impacts the progress of a project. The project manager should be able to
identify the risks at an early stage, as this helps in building responses to prevent the risks
in a project.
 Cost estimation: This is another concern for the project manager, as the cost is estimated
in the beginning of the project and monitoring costs during the execution of the tasks, it
might become a matter of concern for the project manager.
 Staffing: This could be another area of concern for the project manager as this could
cause an issue at the later stages, where the manager, realises that there are not adequate
or competent people to finish off the project tasks.
2.8 Termination of the project
Project Termination is the last phase of a project, which begins after completion of the
project and ends after certain other acts are done to close the project. In this phase, the
project manager draws an analogy to record the experiences gained from the project so that
the mistakes made in this project are not repeated in the future projects. (Heagney, 2016.)
This stage involves filling of project reports, such as making and filling checklists of
outcomes of the project, finalising the payments, conducting meetings, and making a post
evaluation of the project. And, finally, the project manager has to do a post project appraisal,
wherein he examines that the project time, budget and deliverables met with the standards
decided for the project are not. The project manager identifies the final cost and makes a
comparison of it with the authorised cost for the project, further, he notes the actual time
taken in completion of the project and again, compares it with the time given by the
management of the company and sees whether there were any variations in the time
estimated and actual completion of the project.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that in the changing business trends, there is an increase in mergers
and acquisitions of businesses. The case study of ABC Company acquiring another company
DEF Ltd., helps in understanding the M&A project reports and the role played by a project
manager in planning, implementation and termination of the project. The report clearly gives a
brief of how a merger project report could be made. The roles and importance of project manager
in managing the project is also discussed, focusing on his capabilities to diligently work in order
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to finish off the report on time. The importance of time management and cost management is
also emphasized in the report, as these two factors play an integral role from initiation to
completion of the project.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cooper, C.L. and et. al., 2014. Advances in mergers and acquisitions. Emerald Group Publishing.
Dodgson, M., and et. al., 2013. The Oxford handbook of innovation management. OUP Oxford.
Doherty, T.L., and et. al., 2014. Managing public services-implementing changes: a thoughtful
approach to the practice of management. Routledge.
Galpin, T.J. and et. al., 2014. The complete guide to mergers and acquisitions: Process tools to
support M&A integration at every level. John Wiley & Sons.
Harrison, F. and et. al., 2017. Advanced project management: a structured approach. Routledge.
Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.
Kerzner, H. and et. al., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling,
and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E.W., and et. al., 2014. Project management: The managerial process (Vol. 6).
Grandview Heights, OH: McGraw-Hill Education.
Meredith, J.R. and et. al., 2011. Project management: a managerial approach. John Wiley &
Sons.
Turner, J.R., 2014. Handbook of project-based management(Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-
hill.
Turner, R., 2016. Gower handbook of project management. Routledge.
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