Key Issues for Strategic Transformation Programme in SB

This report discusses the key issues to be considered for the overall strategic transformation programme in SB, a global technology company. It covers the acquisition with WN, manufacturing outsourcing, new product development, risk management, programme control, and more.

Consultancy
Report

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART A...........................................................................................................................................1
Main Body:......................................................................................................................................1
Key issues to be considered for the overall strategic transformation programme................2
Programme scope and deliverable and detailed analysis of project development projects....3
Estimating and scheduling issues for the programmes...........................................................3
Risk and issues management..................................................................................................4
Programme management Organisation, governance and stakeholders..................................6
Programme control.................................................................................................................6
Contracting and supplier management...................................................................................7
PART B............................................................................................................................................8
Advantages and disadvantages of project management framework.......................................8
The framework which can be used.........................................................................................9
Recommendation....................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In the modern world technology plays a vital role in an organization. Every organization
adopts modern tools and techniques according to their demand in the working premises (Aas,
2017). Those management which adopts modern tools and techniques in their working premises
tend to cope up more easily with rivalry prevailing in the open market place. Modern and
advance technology aid organization to easily cope up with threats occurring in the market. It is
very essential to adopts modern tools and techniques in order to meet the emerging needs of the
customers. SB is undertaken to complete the report. It is a global technology firm which is
located in Washington State, USA. It is well -known for providing wide variety of hardware
components for their targeted customers. This assignment covers key issues to be considered for
the overall strategic transformation programmes. Critical evaluation of programme scope and
deliverables is done in order to make improvements in them. Various key issues are identified for
the programmes in order to frame strategies to overcome them. Justification of Risk management
strategy is done. Along with this programme control method for managing the transformation is
studied so as to attain best results.
PART A
Main Body:
According to the scenario SB is a global technology company whose headquarter is in
Washington State, USA. It is providing wide variety of hardware components to their targeted
customers. But now they are thinking to diversify their business in the market. Their strategy is
to render low cost and value products to their customers across the globe. Organization is
thinking to create high value bespoke software goods for specialist clients but now they do not
have this competency. SB vision is to deliver totally integrated quality technology system to it's
customers. In order to provide low cost products of high quality to the end users they are
outsourcing their business in Far East. Business is facing many issues like, poor quality, low
cost production, location, political factor and so on. The key change project are, acquisition of
WN, Manufacturing outsourcing and in- house, New product development (Software), New
software development centre of excellence. The strategic change is done in order to capture huge
market capture, reduced operating costs, new products and to ensure diversification (Akwetey,
2015).

Key issues to be considered for the overall strategic transformation programme
To run the business successfully in the international market is very important to overcome
the issues. Management frame unique tactics to resolve the issues occurred by any means. By
doing so productive results can be gained easily in the open market place. SB is a global
technology company who is expanding business in other nation in order to capture huge market
ratio as compare to rivalry. The issues considered for overall strategic transformation programme
are illustrated as under:
Acquisition with WN: SN has expanded its business across through acquisition with WN
and by internal growth. Business is able to grow in the market due to their strategy of low cost
production and sourcing in the competitive world. SN has agreed to purchase large integrated
Mobile phone so as to diversify their business in Europe. Through acquisition with WN firm is
able to obtain competitive advantages against rivalry (Glendon and Clarke, 2015). Company with
the help of acquisition is able to cope up with European Competition. Various issues faced by
organization like, location, political factors, achieving in adding value and so on. In order to over
this issues firm’s management is framing unique tactics in order to save their reputation in the
market. All this factors need to be managed properly in order to retain their skilled and potential
employees for longer time duration. Researcher of the firm need to analysis location by this
chances of raising the profit sharing raises accordingly (Briere, Oosterlinck and Szafarz, 2015).
Team of the company should be flexible enough to cope with dynamic environment. If the
political environment are stable they are able to met the emerging needs of the customers at low
cost production. As well as serving them high quality products as compare to competitors. If this
issues are not managed properly then it will create huge impact of staff working in various
sectors . Organization goodwill will come on stake if the top level management is unable to
tackle the issues of adding value to the products and the political conditions occurring n the
particular nation.
Manufacturing- outsourcing/ inhouse: In order to be in the leading position among SN
expanded their business in Far East. But business faced the issues of quality controlled so they
are thinking to open in their own nation. Along with this project management change is not
aligned with strategic objectives due to which set standards are not attained in the set time
duration. As the quality is not managed properly SN is switching their business in their home
country. By this they will be able to maintain the quality of the product and will be able to
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satisfy customers needs and wants easily. So, SN decided to switch their business from Far East
to USA (Carvalho and Rabechini Junior, 2015) . But by this step many employees will be losing
the job from their host country due to which companies reputation is on stake. Management is
framing strong and unique tactics to resolve the issues so that customer base ratio is not reduced.
Programme scope and deliverable and detailed analysis of project development projects.
In order to compete in the competitors in the open market place it very essential to
analysis project development projects. Through this huge market share can be captured as as well
as emerging needs of the customers can be fulfilled easily. SN is a global technology which is
focusing on producing hardware in low cost but of high quality. Organization is planning to
complete the project in the coming two years in order to create tough competition for others
prevailing in the open market place. In order to compete with competitors management is
adopting structured programme and project management approach. Through this programme is
able to enhance their portfolio management, uplift business and programmes and project
performance. By this company is able to full-fill it’s traditional hardware market in the global
market which is a positive mark for the business. P3M is currently at level two and management
of the organization is trying to raise at the level of 3. Through this model they will be able to
render hardware products to the end users at low cost with high quality in order to generate huge
profit which can be further used in growth and development of the business in other nation which
is capable enough to producer high quality hardware products at low cost and their location and
political condition is stable in nature. By this organization will be able to successfully deliver
high quality hardware products it can be attained only by moving level 3 in the competitive
market place (Ghaisas, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, 2016).
Estimating and scheduling issues for the programmes.
SN is adopting structure programme and Project management approach in their working
premises. But in the present scenario it is at level 2. Management need to raise to level 3 so that
productive results regarding providing high quality hardware can be attained easily. As this
model is focusing on three aspects like, improve business, project management and performance.
Effective strategies and skilled employees need to hire in order to raise this model from level 2 to
level 3 in the open market place. They need to work on their strategies on which are working like
producing hardware at low cost. In order to raise the level of model SN management need to
work hard day and night so that P3M model can be raised from level 2 to level 3. By this issues
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of the programmes can be resolved to large extent in the open market place. Along with this team
of the management need to continuously monitor the political factor so that business activities
can be mould accordingly. By this the problems emerged due to the model can be resolved to a
large extent. On the other hand employees need to be trained effectively regarding the model
implementation and its functions so that they can easily adopt to its modification in less time
frame. In order to compete with the competitors in the global market it is essential to identify
ways to resolve them so that tough benchmark can be created for others (Giannakis and
Papadopoulos, 2016).
Risk and issues management
The company SB which is a global technology company which provides variety of
hardware components to clients is aiming at developing high value bespoke software products
for its special clients who need solutions for their technological problems. The new vision of the
company is to build an integrated technology system which will provide quality software
services to its customers. For this the company wants to start various interrelated projects which
will help it in ensuring diversification of its strategy, increase in its market share, develop new
products and also help in reducing its operating costs (Kobayashi, Hara and Usui, 2017). The
company might face some potential risks while starting the change projects so that the company's
vision can be successfully achieved. These risks needs to be identified so that required steps
which will help in mitigation of these risks can be taken. Risk management strategy are
structured approaches which help in dealing with risks in an efficient manner so that the
company can achieve the desired goals within time and within the budget it has ascertained.
Following are the risks which can be faced by SB while trying to achieve its new vision:
 As the company wants to extend its competence in building software so that a
competitive advantage in the market can be achieved, it is aiming at acquiring WN which
is a Mobile Phone Manufacturer in Europe. WN is a low-cost producer and has a large
manufacturing and software development site in Europe which will help SB in providing
customers integrated technology system at low costs. The risks that the company can face
in this process are the risk of location, risk due to the political factors of Europe and also
the risk of developing the desired product which will help the company in being
successful in integrating hardware manufacturing operations. The company can mitigate
this risk by choosing the location which will be most suitable in decreasing the costs and
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will have abundance of resources that are required by the company (Korpela and et. al.,
2017). Also risks related to political factors can be reduced by following all the rules and
regulations of the country so that it can function in the legal framework. Also as the cost
of the company decrease it is also important that value is added for customers which can
be done by increasing the quality control so tat quality of new product can be maintained
high.
 The other problem faced by the company are related to quality as the company has its
manufacturing base in the Far East where due to low labour costs though the production
costs decreased but there was a heavy compromise in the quality of the products that
were developed. This risk can be mitigated by managing the change projects effectively
so that the quality of the products can be kept high which will help the company in
attaining the attention of customers towards its new products.
 As the company intends to move its manufacturing bases from the Far East to the USA
there will be a heavy loss in jobs in that country. This will affect the reputation of the
company as the earning opportunity from those workers will be compromised. This risk
can be mitigated by the company by considering all the stakeholders before taking any
action and also by forming an effective communication plan which will help the workers
to understand the reasons behind the shift which is taking place in the company.
 The company also faces the risk of managing the software development as SB primarily
deals in hardware development. It is essential to manage the plan roll out and
development process so that the project can be successfully completed. This risk can be
dealt by the company by managing the quality of process which will help in maintaining
high quality of the project (SIVASUBRAMANIAN and Apte, BMC Software Inc, 2019).
 Further the company might face the risk of building a new software centre for excellence
in Europe as there will be difficulty in choosing an appropriate location, finding sources
of finance, construction and design of building etc. These risks can be mitigated by
appointing a consultancy firm which will help the company to select the best location
where the company can establish its centre which will help in achieving the company
objectives on time.
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Programme management Organisation, governance and stakeholders
The structure of organisation determines the way on which information is shared among
all the members so that effective decisions can be made and goals can be achieved in the desired
manner. The existing organisational structure of SB is functional structure which means that
tasks are allocated among all the workers based on their skills and talents which helps in
completion of task in an effective way. However, SB can follow matrix structure in which the
team members have dual reporting relationship where they have to report both to the functional
manager and product manager which helps in effectively completing the task that is allotted to
them. This will help in delivering good practices in the company and governance so that ethical
actions are taken while performing the activities of business. While acquisition of WN the
employees of the company can be well managed through this structure as they can be controlled
and managed in an efficient manner which will help in managing the change project that will
help SB in software development.
SB developed its manufacturing base at Far East as it offer the company cost benefit because of
the cheap labour available. However quality issues are faced by the company in outsourcing in
these nations as low control is done on their activities. The company is considering to move its
work from Far East to USA so that strong governance can be maintained on the activities which
will help in monitoring the quality of the work. This will affect the jobs of many people in Far
East and will affect the reputation of the company. For dealing with this issue it is important that
the company formulates a plan which will help in effectively communicating about the plan to
all the stakeholders so that they can be convinced about the shifting of company. This will help
the company in manufacturing the newly developed products in an efficient manner whilst
reducing its manufacturing cost and adding value to its clients (Vijayasarathy and Butler, 2015).
Programme control
For managing a programme it is important to implement programme control methods so
that these can be controlled in a manner which helps in production of desired goods and services.
These controls help in financial control, schedule analysis, vendor management etc. so that all
the stages of project can get completed on time and within budget. While acquisition of WN it is
important that SB evaluates cost which is involved in acquiring the company so that the
competitive advantage can be achieved in the market by integrating software technology system
so that higher customer value can be generated. Also risk management is important so that the
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risks that are involved in expanding the project can be mitigated which will help the company to
complete its project in an effective manner.
The milestones which will be achieved by the company after successfully implementing the
change projects are : development of software which will help the company in diversification so
that the market share of the company will increase along with increase in its profitability. Also
the company will be able to manufacture quality products so that value can be added for
customers as they can be provided with advanced and integrated technology system at cheaper
rates which will help in attracting a large customer base. The company will also be able to
develop interface mobile technology along with bespoke software that can be made available to
its special customers. The company needs to adopt a structured programme and project
management approach so that the performance of the project can be enhanced which will help in
gaining huge advantage to the company. The P3M (Project, Programme and Portfolio
Management) can help in improving the capability of firm from level2 to level3 which are
essential for growth and development of the company so that the desirable results can be
obtained within 2 years. The milestone can be achieved if the change programme gets completed
within 2 years so tat the board of directors can scale the progress of the project (Zurawka,
Schaeuffele and Carey, 2016).
Contracting and supplier management
Procuring is related to obtaining something from a supplier by evaluating all the available
options so that the best option among all can be selected which will help in gaining the items
selected to be gained at lower price and high quality. This helps in adding value to the company
as the supplier which is selected worth the amount which is spent by the company in both
qualitative and quantitative terms. While searching for the supplier SB needs to focus on two
major factors which is cost of the items and their quality so that better products are offered to the
customers which will help in achieving the company goals on time. The selection must be done
from the government approved list of suppliers so that authentic supplier can be chosen who can
provide high quality of products at reasonable rates. This procurement is important as it
determines the value of products which are manufactured and will also determine the price at
which the products are offered in the market.
The company in order to contract a consultancy for building a centre of excellence initially need
to gain necessary information about the consultancy as it had previously faced failure with the
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DCC consultancy firm. For selecting a consultancy firm so that the centre of excellence can be
established it is important that management is properly done by the company so that quality of
the project can be ensured which will help the company in establishing the centre in London so
that all its functional units can be consolidated in Europe. The consultancy will help in advising
the company about the location where it can construct the building of the centre, the sources of
finance which can be used to source the company so that all the required resources can be
gathered which will help in establishing a building the suitable location. This will help the
company in selecting the most cost effective location so that pleasant working atmosphere can be
offered to its employees which will help in improving their efficiency with which they perform
their tasks.
PART B
Advantages and disadvantages of project management framework
A project management framework consists of various processes, tasks and tools which are
used in completing the project in an efficient manner. These frameworks are required so that
the project can be well planned, managed and controlled in order to achieve the desired
results. The two project management framework which can be used by SB so that the project
can be completed in the desired manner are Agile and waterfall framework. The agile
framework are suited for planning and guiding the project process in which small sections or
iterations are developed so that the project gets completed in an efficient manner. This
process exhibits many core values and behaviours so that trust, flexibility, empowerment
and collaboration among the team members can be created which is useful for efficient
project completion (Veckie and Veckie, 2015). The advantages of using this process is that
it helps in providing customer satisfaction through rapid and continuous delivery of useful
software. This process is also helpful in delivering useful software for the customers
frequently which will help in the growth and development of SB technology. However, the
disadvantages of using this technique are it is difficult to calculate the efforts which are
required to be put at the beginning of the software development cycle. Also there is a lack of
focus on necessary designing and documentation which are required to complete the project
in a suitable manner.
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The waterfall project management process on the other hand helps in breakdown of the
project activities into linear sequential phases in which each deliverable is dependent on the
previous deliverable so that the project gets completed in a step-by-step manner. The
advantages of using this method are that the necessary steps and materials required to finish
the project are clearly stated at the starting of the project which remain constant all through
the project work. Also a detailed documentation is done which helps in completion of the
project in a sequential manner. However, this method has certain disadvantages like there is
a lack of flexibility as the requirements of the project are determined at the starting of the
project. Also strict regulation and monitoring is required so that the project geets completed
within the set deadline.
The framework which can be used
The project management which can help in achieving the desired goals of SB technology is
the agile framework. This framework will help SB in forming various software solutions to
the customers frequently so that they can be attracted in a large number which will help the
company in providing them with integrated software systems so that maximum customer
satisfaction can be obtained. This framework also help in designing good software which
provides solutions to the customers and can also help SB technology in achieving its
objectives. This framework is relevant as SB mainly deals in providing hardware solutions
so in order to efficiently entering the software market it is necessary to provide unique and
innovative solutions to the customers (Sadownik and et. al., 2016). The challenges that can
be faced by the company is building coordination and cooperation among the team members
and also in estimating the deliverables that are required to build a software. These creates
challenges for SB technology as the company is thinking of acquiring WN which requires
investment and the building of new software frequently will increase the burden of finance
in the company.
Recommendation
The project management programme creates an impact on the results which are achieved the
project which makes the choice of management process very important. This will also help
in improving the performance of the project so that the results which are achieved can help
in increasing the profits of the company. The project management process which can be
used by SB technology is agile which will help the company in building a software that can
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help it in attracting a large customer base. Following are the recommendations which are
made for SB so that the project gets completed on time:
 The company must develop an efficient communication system so that the team
members can effectively communicate with each other.
 The company should select a consultancy firm in England which can provide a
suitable location for conducting the project prudentially.
 The company must employ people with diverse ideas so that new software solutions
can be built to be provided to the customers.
CONCLUSION
From the above it can be concluded that in order to remain in the competitive world it is
very essential to adopt modern technology in their working premises. Business is able to expand
in the market when it is come up with diverse product in cut throat competitive world. Business
is able to gain competitive advantages against rivalry when the issues are overcomed properly in
cut throat competitive world. Numerous overall strategic transformation programme is identified
so that strategies can be designed accordingly to overcome them. Risk management strategy is
discovered so that issues and problems can be resolved immediately to attain productive
outcomes. The .main focus is done on how organization should structure and organize for good
practice delivery and governance so that easily organization is able to meet the set standards in
the open market place. Programme control methods for managing the transformation is examined
so that tough competition is created for rivalry in cut throat competitive world. All the issues
are showcased so that business business is able to diversify business in the open open market
place.
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