Project Management Report: Managing ABC Ltd's Acquisition of DEL Ltd

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of project management principles applied to ABC Ltd's acquisition of DEL Ltd, a high-street frozen food retailer. It covers essential project characteristics, the importance of project management in achieving goals within specific timeframes, and the five key stages of the project lifecycle: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closure. The report also discusses the significance of project initiation documents and explores various knowledge areas in project management, such as scope, time, and risk management. A feasibility study's importance is highlighted, along with a network diagram and critical path analysis. Furthermore, it examines the skills and competencies required by a project manager, including leadership, time management, negotiation, conflict management, and entrepreneurship. The report concludes by addressing project lifecycle stages, processes, leadership, and management and control problems associated with managing such a major project, emphasizing the need for effective resource allocation and objective fulfillment. Desklib provides this and many other solved assignments for students.

Managing Projects

INTRODUCTION
Project Management can be explained as the process where process like initiation, plans,
execution, controlling and closing the effort of a team plays the crucial role for attaining the
goals within a specific time period. The main area which is needed to be focused is that any of
the project must be completed on specific time period. In context of the file the chosen
organisation is ABC Ltd which is been performing well within the market and they are even
good at doing successful merger and acquisition. In context of the file, company will do
acquisition with DEL Ltd which has been currently dealing in the market as a known high street
frozen food retailer. Here, various topic will be included in which it will be explained about
Project Life cycle, WBS, Gantt Chart and many more.
TASK 1
1.
There are number of characteristic of any project which has been explained below:
 Project is always helpful for the organisation as well as customers to whom company is
going to target.
 The main characteristic of any project is that it mainly consists both start and end note
due to which working condition becomes easy.
 Mainly projects do have unfamiliarity due to which lots of adjustment are required to be
done by the team (da Rocha, Kemmer and Meneses, 2016).
 Project helps to attain the goals within the specific time period.
 It does have the definable purpose, end item or results.
 This are prepared for the small time period due to which it becomes easy to set the fix
target that when then to complete and how it is needed to be completed.
Importance
 Project helps to attain the goals within the specific time period: It is important for
business organisation to understand that whenever they enter into any of the project they
directly thinks how an when to complete this respective task and it can be easily done
with the help of project management. Each and every people are clear about their roles
and responsibility in it which even helps to enhance the communication system of a
company.

 It consists starting and ending note: When it comes to project management, it has a
great importance because it helps to find that when an organisation is required to start the
task and when they are needed to end it on a positive note.
2.
There are five different key stages of Project Life Cycle and they have been explained
below:
 Initiation: It is the beginning step where objectives are needed to be decided and what
can be the importance of that respective objective is needed to be understood.
 Planning: It is the stage where proper planning is required that how and when any of the
work is needed to be done. The main thing which is needed to be focused is that while
doing planning each and every area should be focused properly (Dao and et. al., 2016).
 Execution: This is the stage where execution need to be done in which all of the work
should be done according to the pre planning process.
 Monitoring and Controlling: It is the stage which has a huge importance because it
directly or indirectly helps to understand that whether work is being done properly or not
and if in any of the situation it is not being done in a systematic manner then legal actions
can be taken easily.
 Closure: This is the final stage where work is needed to be ended and even it is
necessary to check it in that whether company has been able to accomplish its target or
not.
3.
In present scenario, project initiation documents play the crucial role because it helps to
ensure that any of the project have a fix objective for attaining the goals in given time period.
Secondly, it always acts as a base document for any of the particular project where it is necessary
for the project manager has a great role to be played (Görög, 2016). In short, it helps to
determine about the issues and problem which can arise in between, through which chances
automatically increases for attaining the goals of a company.
4.
There is different knowledge area in project management and among them some of them
are listed below:

Project Integration Management.
Project Scope Management.
Project Communication Management.
Project Time Management.
Project Cost Management.
Project Procurement Management.
Project HR Management.
Project Risk Management.
Project Procurement Management
Significant of project management
Project Scope Management: It is related with the scope of a project that how project
can be done and what are those areas which is needed to be focused. It is very crucial for
business organisation that how they perform about determining the scope (Illiashenko and
Strielkowski, 2016). In short, the main importance of project management is that it allows to take
suitable decision that how work can be done.
Project Time Management. It is also very important for any of project manager to
determine about the time which is required to complete the project. The main importance is that
it gives the idea that when work is needed to be completed and for that who should be involved.
5. What is feasibility study? Briefly discuss its importance in Project Management.
Feasibility study can be defined as the process which is mainly used by the project
manager as it includes economic, technical, legal and scheduling consideration which directly
helps to ascertain that project can be concluded successfully. It is used in that situation where
project manager is confused about the work whether it is appropriate or not to start any of the
project (Javani and Rwelamila, 2016). The main importance of feasibility is that it gives the idea
that how company can prevent themselves from entering into the project that create serious
issues for them.
6. Draw the network diagram and Calculate the critical Path
It is important for project manager to track the progress of project by dividing their different
activities into smaller parts (Dao and et. al., 2016). It makes easy for team members to
understand their roles and responsibilities which brings motivation to work hard and achieve

allotted task within given time frame. For this, WBS and Gantt chart is structured in following
way:
TASK 2
Skills and competencies required by the Project Manager
Skills of a Project Manager:
In the context of project manager of ABC Plc., it is perhaps the most critical and deciding
factor in the execution of all procedures specific to a particular project. This involves planning,
organizing, time and cost management and many more that help managers to accomplish their
pre-planned targets. The skills necessary for project management are as follows:
 Leadership- Consider all the data, i.e. during the execution of the program. ABC Plc is
the acquisition of DEF Ltd, the project leader must be the person who can actually

achieve the objectives of the company (Remington and Pollack, 2016). The
management's duty is to prepare the project, examine and assess the decision to support
the project quickly and efficiently. Leading the management's task is to collaborate with
the superiors and take up their new ideas to help them succeed.
 Time Management: Director of ABC Plc is acquired by DEF Ltd., must have the
experience to handle time-related activities, such as conferences, workshops, etc. The
management's duty is to schedule, examine and assess the decisions made to operate the
project quickly and effectively. Completion of the project in a calculated manner and in
time directs the director towards achieving the desired goal and revenue (Sachdeva,
Kapur and Singh, 2016).
 Negotiation: Understanding where to negotiate well may be regarded as another key skill
needed by the ABC PLC project leader during the acquisitions of DEF Ltd. It is difficult
for each person to remain satisfied while achieving the specific objectives of a particular
topic. This skill may assist the project leader to maintain all parties more comfortable
with the demands.
Competencies of a Project Manager:
Project manager in an organization such as ABC PLC, i.e. trying to deal at the world
level, should have business goals to control the task and recognize the requirements of the project
management process to ensure to achieve the right outcomes. It is the manager's responsibility to
create project-related skills and abilities in a company. Some of the competencies are explained
below:
 Conflict Management: It is essential for the project manager of ABC Plc to develop
peace and a sound atmosphere during the acquisition with DEF Ltd (Salah and Moselhi,
2016). Without suitable engagement and better communication between the people of
ABC Plc, it can lead to violence and conflict between them. It is the duty of the director
or project manager to resolve disputes between workers, either with supervisor or with
colleagues.
 Entrepreneurship: For project manager of ABC Plc during the acquisition of DEF Ltd,
the manager has to distinguish the possibilities and actions needed to achieve the
objectives. Entrepreneurship is a key element that the director needs to achieve the goals
of the company. The plan should be regulated by the supervisor in a creative way.

Project management process
While speaking about ABC PLC, project management applies generally to the decisions
made by the project manager to achieve particular goals and targets within a given period.
Together with this, five distinct stages of project management could be regarded as a specific
process. Those stages have been explained below:
 Conception and Initiation: It is regarded to be the first level which could assist a
corporation like ABC Plc to start with the objective of setting new levels within a defined
period (Basu, 2017). This phase is related with two aspects: the Project Charter and the
Project Initiation, which are described below:
Project Charter: In the current scenario, it can be seen that the company like ABC ltd is
thinking about expanding the organisation where manager will try to find the the way that how
they develop the program
Project Initiation: In general, this stage of a specific project covers the
objective, secondary, primary and other targets.
 Definition and Planning: This stage tells that how ABC Plc implement the plan for the
purpose of obtaining effective result. This can help organisation to compete in the market
in best possible manner. Project launch or Execution: After preparing the formal process work, another stage is
the correct execution of the work, which ensures that the firm's project manager can work
effectively by applying policies and regulations in a proper manner. The next task that
Manger needs to improve on is to execute the research when scheduling systems are
created by Manger. Performance and Control: This is an essential part of the project manager that activity
conducted out in the project work needs to be measured or tracked by supervisors, so
that costs can be reduced in an accurate manner (Castro-Nova, Gad and Gransberg,
2017). More than ABC Plc, the company's management system has to control all the
research that is going to happen in the contract work. So the key role of the supervisor is
to check after the work flow. Project Close: The main thing which is required to be considered is that how any of the
project is being ended (Crowley, Hinchliffe and McDonald, 2017). Moreover, ABC Plc

company management demand that the next phase be the successful reduction of the
work force upon completion of the project plan.
Project Life Cycle stages, processes, leadership, and management and control problems
connected with managing the life cycle of this major project
The life cycle of the project is a method that allows the manger to find resources and help
the plan move towards the progress of the work of the project. The work and intention to be
brought out in the project work must be fulfilled in order to satisfy the objectives of the projects.
Thus, ABC project manager, can include some of the stages which are explained below:
 Initiation phase: This phase is the first step of project life cycle, the goals of the project
which requires to be identified, as well as the evaluation of the business issue and the
identification of possibilities. Here project manager of ABC needs to meet documentation
verifying work on the more flexible problems which can be taken into account. It is
essential for company to develop the suitable group so that goals can be accomplished.
Also, team leadership should have the administrative approach while doing the project
(Dehdasht and et. al., 2017).
 Planning Phase: It is necessary that planning should be done in appropriately way so
that targets can be achieved by utilising the resources and even skilled labours which is
very important for organisation. As project manager of the organization, it was important
for the management team and workers to make use of the adequate resources. The best
place of work must be given to qualified workers. Here, coordination plays the crucial
role.
 Implementing phase: This aspect is the execution of the action plan which has been
drawn up by management. Proper cooperation between the teams is required such that
work can be done. At this stage, workers are growing, that have the right way to achieve
the goal. As a business director who needs to draw up a budget plan after that assets are
to be provided by the project management and therefore employees working for the
betterment of project work needs to be corrected in an efficient manner. Team Leaders
need to inspire their staff in an accurate manner. Closing Phase: After all above discussed steps, the next phase is the closure of the task
in which project manager overview all pre-taken steps along with their respective

outcomes so as to determine whether it will be profitable for business after completion of
project or not. All the resources and efforts of employees utilised under the project are
properly analysed and on the basis of which final results can be evaluated.
Control problems linked or connected with management life cycle:
Every manager is required to face some of the problem in their management life cycle.
Some of the issues which are being focused by the manager of ABC ltd are explained below:
 Time management: Time is an appropriate factor affecting the task in an accurate
manner, and therefore each project's working time plays a key role as well as time affects
the manager. It is said that if business perform well then it has the positive impact on the
work which is performed by the team. Employees will have to keep time in opinion for
excellent team work. For each project, both the start and the end of the period are the
crucial elements that influence the team leaders.
 Resources: Suitable allotment of resources as per the requirement of different task
ensures project manager in getting profitable return in future. Here, it is necessary that
skilled employees should work in effective manner so that more opportunity can be
created. The project management of ABC Ltd. has not been able to identify qualified staff
for some time when it has ever been necessary to be unable to get to the right time so that
it creates issues in project work.
 Technological factor: It is said that technological factor plays the crucial for any of the
business organisation because it gives the idea that company can perform the task in
suitable with utilising the resources in proper way. In context of ABC ltd, there manager
is required to upgrade the technology so that they can perform any of the task in effective
manner (Smyth and Vanclay, 2017).

CONCLUSION
It has been summarized from the above analysis that whenever any of the project
administration performs the task, it should be performed such as manner so that positive
outcomes can be achieved. For effective growth and attaining targets, several skills are required
within the manager. In addition, for the growth of a business it is necessary that company must
focus on project life cycle and leadership qualities. This can simply help the company to achieve
the target within the specified time period.

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