Managing a Successful Business Project

This project covers aim, objectives and project management plan, WBS, Gantt chart. It also includes different research methods and data is analysing and interpret to draw valid outcomes and provide appropriate recommendations.

Managing a Successful
Business Project
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1.................................................................................................................................................4
P2.................................................................................................................................................5
P3.................................................................................................................................................7
M1................................................................................................................................................9
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
P4.................................................................................................................................................9
M2..............................................................................................................................................12
D1..............................................................................................................................................12
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................12
P5...............................................................................................................................................12
P6...............................................................................................................................................19
M3..............................................................................................................................................19
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................20
P7...............................................................................................................................................20
M4..............................................................................................................................................20
D2..............................................................................................................................................20
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................20
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................22
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INTRODUCTION
Equality and diversity are significant aspects of organisation and management requires to
emphasize on treating all the individuals equally and ensuring that no discrimination takes place
at workplace (What is Equality and Diversity? Why is it important?, 2019). Marks and Spencer is
one of the leading retailer of United Kingdom who deals in home and food products and
clothing. It was established in 1884 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom. This project
covers aim, objectives and project management plan, WBS, Gantt chart. It also includes different
research methods and data is analysing and interpret to draw valid outcomes and provide
appropriate recommendations.
TASK 1
P1
Aim of project:
The aim of this project is “To assess the different ways through which an organisation
can remove discrimination and maintain diverse work place. A case study on Marks & Spencer”.
Objectives of project:
The main objectives in relation to this particular project are as follows:
 To get an understanding about the terms Discrimination, Equality and Diversity.
 To assess the significance of maintaining diverse workplace for Marks & Spencer.
 To identify distinct ways by which discrimination can be removed and an equally diverse
work place can be maintained by Marks & Spencer.
Project questions:
The research questions associated with this project are mentioned below:
 What is Discrimination, Equality and Diversity concept?
 What is the significance of maintaining diverse workplace for Marks & Spencer?
 Which are the distinct ways by which discrimination can be removed and an equally
diverse work place can be maintained by Marks & Spencer?
Literature Review:
1. Understanding about Discrimination, Equality and Diversity
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As per the view point of Crane, and Matten, (2016), Equality and Diversity are all about
acknowledging that each individual has a right to treat equally and fairly, irrespective of their
age, gender, religion, race, caste, sexual orientation etc. In relation to workplace, equality is to
make sure that employees are not discriminated on the basis of certain characteristics like age,
gender etc and treated equally. On the other hand, take into account the differences among
individuals and placing positive value on those is diversity. For all the organisations, it is crucial
to treat all the individuals equally and maintain diverse workplace. When the individuals are
unable to enjoy their human rights on equal basis due to unjustified distinctions maid in law and
policy. In order to maintain healthy work environment, it is very necessary for the company to
treat all its employees equally, without any discrimination.
2. Significance of maintaining diverse workplace for Marks & Spencer
According to the viewpoint of Konrad, Yang, and Maurer, (2016), Workplace diversity is
very significant for the organisation as this help in fostering mutual respect among the workforce
and assist in developing a healthy environment. It is important for the company as it assist in
improving productivity and accomplishing organisational goals. Diversity assist in choosing
wide range of work force on the basis of their talents. Having diverse employees helps Marks &
Spencer in gaining competitive advantage in market.
3. Distinct ways to remove discrimination and maintain equally diverse work place
According to the opinion presented by Cristian Grossmann, 2020, there are some ways
through which the manager of Marks and Spencer can remove discrimination and maintain
diverse workplace. Developing inclusive workplace policies is one of the ways through which
manager can developed diverse workplace. Apart from this, clear communication of all these
policies within organisations is crucial to make sure that the executed initiatives are effective.
Moreover, providing diversity training to work force will also assist in removing discrimination
and developing a healthy workplace environment.
P2
A formal document or plan which defines the way project is going to be performed is defined as
project management plan. It involves information about goals, budget, deliverables, timeline,
scope etc. which are crucial and assistive in keeping the project on track (Basak, and Khanna,
2017). It consists of some elements which are discussed below:
Cost It is the amount of money which is invested to gain effective results from
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project. In order to finish this project effectively, the estimated cost is 5000
pounds. The costs related to this project are as follows:
Cost breakdown of Project:
Investment £550
Research & Development cost £750
Expertise £450
Resources for execution of equality and diversity £1500
Employees Training £750
Cost of executing variations in workplace £1000
Total £5000
Scope This element ascertains the future value of project. This project has wider
scope as assist organisation in gaining good understanding about significance
of maintaining equally diverse workplace determining and executing the
strategies that assist in removing discrimination and maintaining diverse
workplace (Flick, 2015).
Time In any project, time is the most essential aspect which depicts initiation and
completion of project. For completing this project in a successful way,
approximately 4 months are needed by the project manager.
Quality For ensuring effective and accurate outcomes of project, quality is the crucial
aspect. So, it is needed by the project manager to use appropriate method for
gathering data. Questionnaire is used in this project to ensure collection of
accurate data and maintaining the quality of project.
Communication Effective communication of project activities and tasks is very necessary to
make sure its completion on specified time. The project manager make use of
emails and telephone to exchange or communicate information associated
with the project (Clinton and Whisnant, 2019).
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Risk For each and every project, some kind of risk is associated. It is the
uncertainty which brings deviations in original outcomes of project. Lack of
time and lack of funds are the two major risks associated with this project
which may hamper its performance and completion time.
Resources For completing a particular project, some resources are needed involving
physical, technological, human and financial resource. To complete this
project successfully, adequate amount of funds is needed along with skilled
and competent team members to perform each activity of project in an
effective way.
P3
Work breakdown structure:
A hierarchical tree structure which breakdown the project into manageable portions is
referred as work breakdown structure (Drews, and Van den Bergh, 2016). This tool is use by
project manager in order to understand the work which has to be done in successful way to
produce effective deliverables. It helps in organising the work in manageable way and performed
effectively.
Gantt Chart:
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A tool which is useful for planning as well as scheduling projects is termed as Gantt
Chart. It helps project manager in assessing the starting and finishing time of project,
ascertaining resources required to complete the project and developing plan to complete the tasks
systematically (Huntington, 2018). It also assists manager in managing the dependencies among
tasks.
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M1
In order to monitor and complete aim and objectives of project, development of a
comprehensive project management plan is effective. This plan consists of elements like cost,
scope, time, quality, communication, resources and risk which assist in successful completion of
project. Apart from this, use of work breakdown structure and Gantt chart is also effective in
monitoring activities of project and its ensure timely completion and accomplishment of goals
and objectives.
TASK 2
P4
Research methodology involves different methods which assist in performing the study in
systematic way. Some of the research methods are discussed below:
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Qualitative method: this is the method which is associated with collection of non-numerical
information or detailed data on the topic. Through using this method, the project manager is able
to collect in-depth information on the topic which help in drawing valid outcomes.
Quantitative research method: in this method, numerical information is acquired by project
manager. The reason behind selection of this method is that it assists project manager in
presenting the findings of project in better way (Israel, and et. al., 2017).
In relation to this investigation, project manager make use of both qualitative and
quantitative research methods in order to reach to better outcomes and presenting them
effectively.
Sources of Data collection:
There are two sources through which data can be collected by project manager including
primary as well as secondary data collection.
Primary data collection: this is the method which is associated with collection of first hand
data which is completely new and gathered through using the tools like questionnaire and
interview.
Secondary data collection: this method is associated with collection of second hand data
which is previously published by another individual. It can be gathered through using books,
journals, articles etc.
Both type of data is gathered in this project in order to collect detailed information on the
topic and draw valid and reliable outcomes.
Sampling: simple random probability sampling is a method which is used by project
manager to select sample size without any biasness. The sample size associated with this project
is 20 respondents who are the employees of Marks and Spencer.
For collecting information, the questionnaire is provided below:
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Contact no:
Email:
Q 1) Is maintaining equality and diversity assistive in improving morale of employees
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within Marks & Spencer?
a) Yes
b) No
Q 2) How discrimination impacts on productivity of employees within Marks & Spencer?
a) Positively
b) Negatively
c) Neither positively nor negatively
Q 3) How effective it is for Marks & Spencer to maintain equally diverse workplace within
the company?
a) Highly effective
b) Effective
c) Neither effective nor ineffective
d) Ineffective
e) Highly ineffective
Q 4) What is the importance of maintaining diverse workplace for Marks & Spencer?
a) Improves productivity
b) Promotes creativity and innovation
c) Improves brand reputation
d) Enhance culture of company
e) Diverse pool of talent
Q 5) Which is the appropriate way to remove discrimination and build equally diverse
workplace?
a) Render diversity training
b) Develop diverse teams
c) Develop diverse friendly policies
d) Providing equal development opportunities
Q 6) According to you, how discrimination affects the morale of employees within Marks &
Spencer?
Q 7) As per your opinion, what can be the adverse impact of discrimination for
organisation?
Q 8) Suggest any other strategy which is appropriate for company in removing
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discrimination and maintaining equally diverse work place?
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M2
The different research methods applied to the study includes primary and secondary data
collection method which assist in collecting between information on the topic. Apart from this,
qualitative and quantitative methods are utilized so that both numerical and non-numerical
information can be acquired to make sure that validity and reliability of the project can be
maintained. Moreover, the use of simple random sampling also assists in removing the biasness
world gathering data and maintain accuracy and reliability of study.
D1
The project management processes used to manage the project effectively and
accomplishing the objectives. the use of questionnaire for collecting data assist in gaining
accurate responses from the respondents. The use of quantitative method assists in collecting the
numerical information which in turn assist in maintaining accuracy. However, it is time
consuming method and takes lot of time in collecting the data. On the other hand, secondary data
collection method helps in acquiring detailed information on topic, however the accuracy of the
data is less.
TASK 3
P5
Analysis of data
Q 1) Is maintaining equality and diversity assistive in improving
morale of employees within Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Yes 18
b) No 2
Q 2) How discrimination impacts on productivity of employees within
Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Positively 2
b) Negatively 17
c) Neither positively nor negatively 1
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Q 3) How effective it is for Marks & Spencer to maintain equally
diverse workplace within the company?
Frequency
a) Highly effective 10
b) Effective 7
c) Neither effective nor ineffective 1
d) Ineffective 1
e) Highly ineffective 1
Q 4) What is the importance of maintaining diverse workplace for
Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Improves productivity 4
b) Promotes creativity and innovation 5
c) Improves brand reputation 3
d) Enhance culture of company 4
e) Diverse pool of talent 4
Q 5) Which is the appropriate way to remove discrimination and build
equally diverse workplace?
Frequency
a) Render diversity training 5
b) Develop diverse teams 6
c) Develop diverse friendly policies 4
d) Providing equal development opportunities 5
Q 6) According to you, how discrimination affects the morale of employees within Marks &
Spencer?
Q 7) As per your opinion, what can be the adverse impact of discrimination for
organisation?
Q 8) Suggest any other strategy which is appropriate for company in removing
discrimination and maintaining equally diverse work place
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Interpretation of data
Theme 1: Is maintaining diversity and equality assistive in improving morale of employees
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Q 1) Is maintaining equality and diversity assistive in improving
morale of employees within Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Yes 18
b) No 2
Interpretation: According to the chart, it is depicted that according to 18 out of 20
respondents, maintaining equality and diversity is helpful for organisation in improving morale
of employees and the remaining 2 respondents said that it is not assistive in improving morale of
employees.
Theme 2: The way discrimination impacts on productivity of employees within organisation
Q 2) How discrimination impacts on productivity of employees within
Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Positively 2
b) Negatively 17
c) Neither positively nor negatively 1
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Interpretation: According to the above chart, it depicts that 2 out of 20 respondents said
that discrimination impacts positively on productivity of employees in Marks and Spencer, as per
the opinion of 17 respondents, it impacts negatively on productivity of workforce and the
remaining 1 respondent said that it neither influence positively nor negatively on productivity of
employees.
Theme 3: Effectiveness of maintaining equally diverse workplace within the company
Q 3) How effective it is for Marks & Spencer to maintain equally
diverse workplace within the company?
Frequency
a) Highly effective 10
b) Effective 7
c) Neither effective nor ineffective 1
d) Ineffective 1
e) Highly ineffective 1
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Interpretation: The above graph stated that according to 10 out of 20 respondents, it is
highly effective for Marks and Spencer to maintain equally diverse workplace, seven said that it
is effective to maintain diverse workplace, according to one respondent it is neither effective nor
ineffective, one individual said that it is ineffective and according to remaining one person, it is
greatly ineffective for organisation to maintain equally diverse workplace.
Theme 4: Importance of maintaining diverse workplace for Marks & Spencer
Q 4) What is the importance of maintaining diverse workplace for
Marks & Spencer?
Frequency
a) Improves productivity 4
b) Promotes creativity and innovation 5
c) Improves brand reputation 3
d) Enhance culture of company 4
e) Diverse pool of talent 4
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Interpretation: The above graph depicts that as per the 4 out of 20 respondents, the
importance of maintaining diverse workplace for company is that it improves productivity, 5
respondents said that it is important as it assist in promoting creativity and innovation, 3
respondents said that it improves brand reputation, according to four respondents it is important
in enhancing culture of company and the remaining 4 respondents said that it is important in
bringing diverse pool of talent the 10 Marks and Spencer.
Theme 5: Appropriate way to remove discrimination and build equally diverse workplace
Q 5) Which is the appropriate way to remove discrimination and build
equally diverse workplace?
Frequency
a) Render diversity training 5
b) Develop diverse teams 6
c) Develop diversity friendly policies 4
d) Providing equal development opportunities 5
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Interpretation: It can be interpreted from the above chart that 5 out of 20 respondents
said that providing diversity training to employees help in removing discrimination and
developing equally diverse workplace, six people said that developing diverse teams is an
appropriate way for company. According to 4 respondents, developing diversity friendly policies
is an effective way and the remaining five people said that providing equal development
opportunities to all the employees is an appropriate way for company to remove discrimination
from workplace and ensuring diversity.
Theme 6: The way discrimination affects the morale of employees within Marks & Spencer
Q 6) According to you, how discrimination affects the morale of employees within Marks &
Spencer?
Response: According to 19 out of 20 respondents, discrimination affects negatively on the
morale of employees in Marks and Spencer and the remaining one respondent has no idea about
the impact of discrimination on morale of employees.
Theme 7: Adverse impact of discrimination for organisation
Q 7) As per your opinion, what can be the adverse impact of discrimination for
organisation?
Response: As per the opinion of seven respondents, the adverse impact of discrimination for
company is low morale of employees, 6 respondents said that it harms the productivity of
organisation and according to the remaining seven respondents, the adverse impact of
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discrimination is that it increases the absenteeism rate of employees.
Theme 8: Other appropriate strategy for company to remove discrimination and maintain equally
diverse work place
Q 8) Suggest any other strategy which is appropriate for company in removing
discrimination and maintaining equally diverse work place
Response: Most of the respondents out of 20 suggest that providing all the employees with equal
opportunities for growth and development is the most appropriate strategy that support in
removing discrimination from workplace and maintaining diversity and few respondents said
that providing diversity awareness training is the appropriate strategy.
P6
As per the above analysis and interpretation, it is recommended to the Marks and Spencer
that, it must be administering diversity training to workforce so that they get aware of the
significance of maintaining equality and diversity in workplace and discrimination can be
removed. Apart from this, the management should emphasize on hiring employees with diverse
skills and capabilities as this will assist in maintaining adequate talent within the company and
also help in maintaining diverse workplace. Moreover, executing diversity friendly policies
within the workplace is very necessary so, management should develop effective policies and
execute them appropriately in order to remove discrimination and promote equally diverse
workplace.
M3
For maintaining authenticity and accuracy of information, project manager makes use of
different methods and tools. Selection of appropriate techniques make the manager able to draw
valid outcomes of research and render organisation with recommendations that support in
reducing discrimination and maintaining diverse workplace. The use of qualitative and
quantitative methods along with primary and secondary data collection methods support in
ensuring the authenticity of research.
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TASK 4
P7
Undertaking this research project helped me in learning many new things. It assisted in
developing my skills and knowledge base which in turn help me in my career growth. By the
assistance of this project, I learnt about various aspects associated with the project which will
assist me in future in performing the similar project in more effective way. However, I faced
some difficulties when undertaking the project due to lack of time. As the time is very limited for
completing the project, some of the activities got delayed due to which I faced difficulties in
finishing them within a specified time. But, with the assistance of team members, I was able to
complete the project timely and accomplish objectives successfully.
M4
For meeting the stated objectives and supporting learning and performance, the process of
project management plays noteworthy role. It supports in ensuring that all the activities are
performed in systematic manner and completed effectively. This help in mitigating the objectives
of project and contribute in finishing the project within specified time frame. Apart from this,
this project highly contributes in improving my own learning and performance and make me able
to perform the task effectively.
D2
This project accomplish all the objectives set initially. Undertaking this project assist in
determining that it is significant for organisation to remove discrimination from work place and
provide employees with healthy work environment. It also supports in maintaining diverse
workplace culture that supports in improving productivity. The project management plan
developed initially supports in better planning of tasks and ensuring effective outcomes. Overall
experience from this project is very good and it increases my learning and knowledge base which
will help me further in future.
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it has been concluded that it is very crucial for company
to maintain equally diverse workplace so that productivity can be enhancing and firm is able to
gain competitive advantage in market. In addition to this, treating all the employees equally will
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assist in developing an inclusive workplace where all the employees work productively to
accomplish organisational goals. Providing training to employees and developing effective
diversity policies will help organisation in reducing discrimination and promoting diverse
workplace culture.
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APPENDIX
Appendix: Project Logbook Template
Name:
Project title: “To assess the different ways through which an organisation can remove
discrimination and maintain diverse work place. A case study on Marks & Spencer”.
Week 1 Date:
Update on weekly research/tasks achieved
Points t o c o n s i d e r :
What have you completed?
I have completed the project “To assess the different ways through which an organisation can
remove discrimination and maintain diverse work place. A case study on Marks & Spencer”.
Did you fulfil task requirements?
Yes, I fulfil all the task requirements .
Are you on track and within deadlines set?
Yes, all the project was on the track and all the activities were completed within set deadlines.
Did you need to make any changes to your project management plan ?
No, I did not need to make any changes in project management plan.
Week 2 Dates
Any risks and/or issues identified?
Points t o c o n s i d e r :
Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of skills required for undertaking research/tasks?
Yes, I identified the risk associated with lack of time management skills due to which sometimes it
becomes very difficult to complete all the activities on time.
Did you identify any additional risks/issues that have an impact on the project management plan ?
No, I did not identify any additional risks or issues which have an influence on project
management plan.
Week 3 Dates
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Problems encountered
Points t o
consider: What
barriers did you
face?
Lack of
adequate
amount of
resources as
well as time
were the key
barriers I did
face.
How did you
overcome them?
By using
Gantt Chart
and Work
Break Down
structure, the
barriers were
overcome.
Week 4
New ideas and change of project direction
If some more time was available, then the project can be completed more effectively.
Week 5
What have I learnt about myself this week?
Points t o c o n s i d e r :
How did I feel when I had to deal with tasks/problems? Did I find it useful to complete the tasks?
When I had to deal with tasks and issues, I felt nervous. Yes, I find it useful to
finish the task.
How well have I performed? What did I contribute? What can I improve on next week?
I performed very well in the project and contributed my cent percent efforts in
successful completion of the project. I can improve my time management skills.
How might this learning apply in the future?
This learning will help me in performing the similar or other projects more effectively.
Week 6
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Tasks planned for next week
Points t o c o n s i d e r :
Which tasks are priority?
Collection of authentic and reliable information is the priority.
Have you set aside sufficient time for completion?
Yes, I have set aside sufficient time for completion.
Week 7
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
On Time
Week 8
Supervisor comments to address
Appendix: Performance Review Template
 What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
The project accomplishes the objective of assessing the different ways through which
Marks & Spencer can remove discrimination and maintain diverse work place.
 Did the project succeed in its aims/ how do you know? Specifically,
please outline any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, the project succeeded in its aim as all the respondents revealed their
positive response towards the research outcomes.
 What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of
the project (e.g initial inception, project activities and project
outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
The thing which went well includes Data collection through using various
sources as by these sources, satisfactory amount of information was
gathered. All the aspects associated to the project like initial inception,
activities of project and outcomes were performed on time that help in
proper evaluation of project.
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 What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled?
Was there timely identification of issues and resolution during the
project process?
Lack of time management skills and ineffective communication created some
issues during project. However, these issues were tackled through utilizing
effective communication tools and prioritizing the work. Yes, all the issues
were identified on time and resolved timely during project process.
 What did you learn from undertaking the project?
By undertaking this particular project, my knowledge regarding topic as well
as research skills gets improved.
 How would you rate your performance as a management consultant
leading the project?
As a management consultant leading the project, I will give 9 rating to my
performance out of 10 as I put my 100% efforts in ensuring successful
completion of project.
 What strengths and weakness of your performance did you identify?
I identified my strengths as strong ethics and good problem solving skills and
my weakness as ineffective communication and lack of time management
skills.
 How will this inform and support your continuous professional
development?
The research project helps in enhancing my knowledge base, skills and
competencies which make me able in accomplishing research objectives
effectively that in turn supports my constant professional development.
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