Managing The Successful Business Project : Assignment

Managing Successful
Business Projects

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario..........................................................1
P2 Produce a project management plan......................................................................................2
P3 Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart........................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
P4 Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods..5
Learning when to delegate and when to get involved.................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
P5 Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques.......................................7
Learning when to delegate and when to get involved...............................................................11
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to
draw valid and meaningful conclusions....................................................................................12
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
P7 Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives........................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
In today's competitive era, digital technology aid in development and success of a
business concern. With the help of this technology, company can gain competitive
advantage by producing innovative services in an effective manner. Social media is a part of
digital technology which help an organisation to attract large number of customers in a short
duration. This project report is based on Continental Consulting Limited which work as a

consultancy firm. It is a company which is situated in London with a main aim of business
process re-engineering and potential. CEO of the company works with 22 consultants and
research expert. Researcher and consultants helps in improving use of IT as well as they
provide innovation which help in increasing organisational capabilities (Boulianne, 2015).
This report include project aims and objective which help in satisfying provided case
scenario of Continental Consulting Limited. This report will further cover the project
management plan along with its all components which includes time, cost, resources, risk,
communication, quality and report. Along with this, structure of work breakdown and Gantt
chart, various methods, techniques are included in this report.
TASK 1
P1.Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario
Digital technology is branch of scientific knowledge which deals with creation and
practical use of computerized devices, systems and methods. It can be said that concept of
digital technology has increased number of opportunities for organisations by which
profitability level can be maximised. The given concept is beneficial for both companies and
lifestyle of people. Continental Consulting Limited is business consultancy and research
headed by Marlo Bindas as CEO. The company is planning to adopt new technologies and
innovative ideas to enhance market share and maximise profitability. This new technology
adopted will be based on innovative and latest techniques (Broekemier and et. al., 2015).
This will helps company to provide better experience to customers and also contribute in
gaining competitive advantage at market place. It can be said that adopting new and
innovative technologies will help Continental Consulting Limited in giving stiff competition
to its rivalries and capture huge market share. Also, helps in enhancing their profitability
ratio at global marketplace.
Background of research
Continental Consulting Limited is the company originated from United
Kingdom, and achieved remarkable presence at international marketplace. It is research and
business consultancy headed by Marlo Bindas as CEO. Its potential customers include small
and medium manufacturing companies which are located in and around London and Greater
London (Bruns and et. al., 2015). The company procured the latest equipment, computer and
IT facilities at the time of establishment before 8 years ago. It has been identified that Marlo

works with team of 22 expert consultants and researchers. With vast change in technology,
Continental Consulting Limited is facing many problems and competition. In order to
overcome this issue management of company felt need to upgrade technologies and bring
capabilities of companies at maximum. For this purpose, company has conducted an
effective research for analysing market place to know about latest and innovative
technologies. Also, to check that adoption of latest technologies will help to give stiff
competition to its competitors or not. In this regard, best suitable aims and objectives have
been prepared by the researcher which have been defined as below:
Aim: “To evaluate importance of social media in enhancing business growth of
small business”. A case study on Continental Consulting Limited.
Research Objectives:
 To understand the concept of Social media.
 To identify different ways by which small businesses can grow. To evaluate influence of social media on business growth of small businesses.
Questions:
 What is the concept of social media?
 What are the different ways by which small businesses can grow?
 How social media influences business growth of small businesses?
P2. Produce a project management plan
Project Management Plan is a structure document which reveal how a project is managed,
controlled, and executed by a company. It is a detailed document which includes secondary
management plans, guidelines and various planning work. With the help of Project Management
Plan company can take effective decisions which is based on different task (Cawsey and Rowley,
2016). In order to adopt latest technologies, it is essential for the management team to modify
their project management plan. It includes different components such as cost, quality, resources,
time period, risk and many more.
Managers of Continental Consulting Limited, should develop a proper project
management plan in order to apply digital technologies in their firm. This will helps them in
analysing and conducting different activities which is related to technology implementation.

Implementation of technology includes use of social media which will help in connecting with
their consumers in more effective manner. While implementing technology in an organisation
there are various risk which is associated. Some measures can be taken in order to reduce these
risks. Some of the essential element for project management plan are as follows:
Cost- Finance is the most essential part for every organisation in order to achieve its aims
and objectives. Management team of Continental Consulting Limited should have adequate
amount of money in a systematic manner while evaluating the effect of digital technology on the
company. Various types of cost is incurred at the time of installation of plan, purchase cost and
employee cost. For implementing technology in an effective manner company required 800
pounds and according to the researcher point of view 900 pounds is required. On the basis of
market scenario, manager of Continental Consulting Limited should prepare a budget plan.
Scope- This element of project management plan comprises of list of some specific goals
as well as developing responsibilities for each team member. In context to Continental
Consulting Limited they are implementing digital technology which can affect the purchasing
behaviour of customers. With the help of social media technology, individuals are aware about
the products and services offered by the company. Company should analyse and evaluate each
and every element which brings better results (Fardouly and Vartanian, 2016). Similarly, from
the researcher point of view, to analyse scope they need to enhance knowledge and skills, with
the helps of tools and techniques for carrying out plan effectively.
Quality- It is the most crucial element of project management plan. The scholar is
responsible for maintaining quality of the research project. Result cannot be achieved if the
quality is not maintained by researcher. For effectively carrying out work, high quality of
software should be used. Continental Consulting Limited mainly focuses on the quality of
project before implementation of technology. In order to maintain high quality, proper
techniques can be used by researcher. For example, primary and secondary data is used by them.
Resources- It is a productive factor required at the time of accomplishing activities in an
organisation. Continental Consulting Limited using various resources for smooth running of
business activities. These resources can be funds, staff, building, machinery, and many more.
According to the researcher, required resources are funds, questionnaire method and many more.

Time- It is very important for a scholar to ensure that each and every activity should be
completed in a given time period (Felix, Rauschnabel and Hinsch, 2017). Continental Consulting
Limited should proper training to their staff for successful accomplishment of work. Here,
company can achieve their objectives in 2 to 3 months and from point of view of researcher, it
can be attain within 1 to 2 months.
Communication- For communicating relevant data and information to the staff
members, proper communication channel should be followed by the company. With the help of
which Continental Consulting Limited managers and employees can do proper interaction in
order to achieve goals and objectives. Similarly, researcher should clearly communicate for
successful accomplishment of their project.
Risk- Continental Consulting Limited face various risk which can be their
communication channels, financial risk, proper use of resources. For effective result,
management team should consult with employees, before implementing technology in the
company. According to scholar point of view, funds, limited period of time can be risk while
conducting this research project.
P3. Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart
Work Breakdown Structure
It is a method in which complicated projects are divided into a smaller parts.
Basically this work is done by the project managers, for managing project effectively. Work
breakdown structure helps in to identify various factors such as risk , estimating cost and
time and also it provide guidance on given project to the team members (Fuchs, 2017). The
aim of work breakdown structure is to manage a given project by step-by-step manner and
to break the task from higher level to lower level as, form of hierarchical tree structure.
(Work Breakdown Structure, 2017)

Gantt Chart
This chart is found by Henry Gantt in 1915 and it apply in project management for
control an activities and their aim is to make sure that the work can be done on time. It is a
horizontal bar chart which defines the relevancy between task and time (Grizane and
Jurgelane, 2017). Company use Gantt Chart for implementing their projects effectively such
as consulting agencies,marketing teams, human resources and so on.

TASK 2
P4. Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods
Research can be completed in systematic manner by adopting various research
methods. The role of research methodology is to collect information and then prepare a
research report in effective manner. Their are two type of research methods that is
qualitative research and quantitative research which are described as below:
Qualitative Research: In this research, researcher study a human behaviour which
helps them to find information or appropriate solution on the problems. The aim of this
research is to collect information in detailed regarding their research topic. Along with this
research, primary data helps in gathering information in various manner such as in -depth
interviews, structured and non-structured interviews, focus group and so on.
Quantitative Research: In this research researcher gather an information regrading
their research topic in the form of numerical or statistical data. The aim of quantitative
research is to collect only measurable data for prepare a research report in effective manner.
While quantitative research collect statical data by the various techniques such as
questionnaire, surveys, face-to-face, telephonic interviews and so on.
Data Collection: it is a process in which information is collected by investigator for
providing a solution to the research problem (Hassan, Nadzim and Shiratuddin, 2015). Data can
be collected by two ways such as primary and secondary data. While in this research report,
researcher is using both primary and secondary sources for providing authenticity of this report.
Primary Data: This refers to first hand data which is collected by the the researcher or
user for himself or specific purpose. primary data is also known as real time data. It means
researcher collect data first time by using various sources such as interview, questionnaire,
surveys, focus group and so on. In this method, researcher takes huge time in collecting data .
Along with this it helps researcher to gather accurate information for research problem and
provide authenticate outcome of their research report.

Secondary Data: It means data can be collected by some other user or researcher though
past record and also it known as second hand data. Secondary data can be collected by following
ways such as published data or unpublished data (Jones, Borgman and Ulusoy, 2015). In
Published data includes historical or statistical documents, bank report, trade journals,
publications of government and so on. Whereas unpublished data includes letters, diaries,
unpublished biographies and so on. This data is economical in nature and consume less time for
gathering information.
Questionnaire: It means a set of questions along with multiple choice of answers
mentioned in formal paper for the aim of collecting information from their respondents. In
this report, researcher prepare questionnaire to analyse the opinion of 30 respondents. By
adopting this technique scholar can easily accomplish required results.
Questionnaire
Q1) Do you know about Digital Technology?
Yes
No
Q2) Does digital technology can help the organisation in enhancing their business growth?
Agree
Disagree
Q3) What are the main benefits small businesses can gain with the use of digital technology?
Improvement in skills of employees
Attaining goals and objectives of organisation
Q4) What are the ways by which small businesses can enhance their business growth?
By using social media
By understanding the needs and demands of customers.
Q5) What are the major issues faced by small-scale organisation in growing their business?
Cash Flow management

Learning when to delegate and when to get involved
Q6) Provide recommendation to Continental Consulting Limited by which they can enhance
their business growth by using the concept of digital technology?
TASK 3
P5. Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques
Theme 1: Digital Technology
Q1) Do you know about Digital Technology? Frequency
Yes 22
No 8
INTERPRETATION: Digital Technology means any information which is used or
passed by a computer or electronic equipments for enhancing a knowledge or creativity skills.
Along with this, technology changed the way of doing work by using or also helps in learning
new things such as some new concepts, other languages and so on. According to the above
specified pie chart it has been analysed that, concept of digital technology play a very important
22
8
Yes
No

role in the business. It enhance the productivity and level of creativity. Along with this, out of 30
respondents, 22 respondents knows about the digital technology. By using digital technologies it
maximise their profit and enhance the productivity of their business. Whereas 8 respondents are
not aware about the concept of digital technologies as, they prefer less use of technology in their
business because they have a perception that their will be increase in operating cost of their
business.
Theme 2: Digital technology can help the Continental Consulting Limited in enhancing
their business growth
Q2) Does digital technology can help the Continental Consulting
Limited in enhancing their business growth?
Frequency
Agree 20
Disagree 10
INTERPRETATION: As per the above mentioned pie chart it has been analysed that digital
technology help an organisation to enhance the growth of their business. It provide various
opportunities to the company and their employees such as they can easily expand their business
20
10
Agree
Disagree

by using digital technology. Digital marketing tools can be used for training, development,
promotions, branding and marketing. As it helps in growth of business with enhance
profitability. In present context, out of 30 respondents, 20 respondents said that they are agreed
to this thought as digital technology helps in enhancing a growth of Continental Consulting
Limited. Along with this, digital technology help them to pass or convey a message or
information regarding their product and services at global market. Whereas, 10 respondents
disagree because they think technology is not very important for promotion and marketing of
their products.
Theme 3: Main benefits small businesses can gain with the use of digital technology
Q3) What are the main benefits small businesses can gain with the use
of digital technology?
Frequency
Improvement in skills of employees 15
Attaining goals and objectives of organisation 15
INTERPRETATION: As per the above mentioned pie chart it has been analysed that digital
technology helps small businesses to improve the skills of their employees in order to
15 15
Improvement in skills of
employees
Attaining goals and objectives
of organisation

accomplishment of goals and objectives effectively. Digital technology is useful for both small
and large businesses as it helps in enhancing the growth of their business. In present context, out
of 30 respondents 15 respondents says that digital technology help in improving the skills of
their employees. This is because it enhance their creativity or generate high revenue at low cost.
Whereas remaining 15 respondent says that digital marketing help to make a creative plan in
order to achievement of long term goal and objectives of their organisation.
Theme 4: Ways by which small businesses can enhance their business growth
Q4) What are the ways by which small businesses can enhance their
business growth?
Frequency
By using social media 16
By understanding the needs and demands of customers. 14
INTERPRETATION: As per above stated graph, it can be interpreted that there are various
ways to enhance growth of small business. Out of 30 respondents, 16 respondents says that
growth of small business can be enhanced by use of social media. As, it is a new way to reach
potential buyers, boost sales and promote business for their own good. Whereas, 14 respondents
16
14 By using social media
By understanding the needs
and demands of customers.

says that business can increase its growth by understanding needs and demands of customers. As,
small businesses have less capital investment so they focus on customer satisfaction by fulfilling
their needs and demands rather than adopting innovative and latest technologies to their business.
So, both the ways are effective tool for enhancing business growth of small businesses.
Theme 5: Major issues faced by small-scale organisation in growing their business
Q5) What are the major issues faced by small-scale organisation in
growing their business?
Frequency
Cash Flow management 18
Learning when to delegate and when to get involved 12
INTERPRETATION: From the above graph, it can be stated that small-scale organisations face
various issues while growing their business enterprise. For increasing the growth at competitive
market place, company need to adopt appropriate methods which can aid in enhancing brand
18
12
Cash Flow management
Learning when to delegate and
when to get involved

image which can be beneficial for the overall growth of the company. According to 18
respondent out of 30 says that one of the major issues faced by small-scale enterprises is proper
management of cash flow. Management team of the company or finance department is liable for
managing the availabilities and non-availability of funds. Remaining 12 respondent says that for
small-scale organisation it is quite difficult to manage the staff. There are different departments
in an organisation, so it become hard to manage every employee or department for a single
person.
P6. Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to
draw valid and meaningful conclusions
 It can be recommended that concept of Digital Technology is very broad concept as
it provides numerous benefits to business concerns. So,company should make
maximum utilisation of digital tools and techniques.
 Also, it has been evaluated that adopting new equipments, computer and IT facilities
will help in profit maximisation and enhanced productivity.
 This also helps in increasing customer base by attracting and influencing customers
by fulfilling their needs and demands.
 In context of Continental Consulting Limited it has been recommended that to
survive in market good market research should be conducted which will help to
utilise digital technology in efficient and effective manner.
 It is also recommended that company can use social media, mobile applications and
other digital tools for promotion and advertisement of products and services among
large number of customers within short span of time and low cost. As, this will help
in maintaining harmonious relations with customers.
 Company should also focus on providing training and development to its employees
regarding the latest technologies and market. As, this will help in increasing
efficiency and work commitment.
TASK 4
P7. Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives
When I was implementing this plan, various difficulties have been faced while carry
out this whole project in a proper and systematic way. For executing a particular task, I need

to collect some informations and data with the help of primary along with secondary
methods. This report also help me in retaining more information and knowledge about
digital technology. Apart from this, I also fight with some factors related with funds and
time. As both the element is important at the time of research which helps the researcher in
getting positive outcomes. For collecting information, I have used questionnaire approach
with the help of random sampling technique. From the point of view of participants, it is
clearly defines that social media and digital platform plays an important role in customers
behaviour and actions. I tried my best in this research project to achieve the goals and
objectives of plan.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned report it has been concluded that managing a successful
business project is quite complex process as there are various environmental as well as
organisational functions included in it. Digital technology and its impact on growth of small
business is important aspect which has been studied in this report. Digital technology
ensures efficiency and promotes innovation. This report also focusses on preparation of
effective project management plan along with recommendations regarding the technologies
that company is going to adopt . A questionnaire has also been prepared in this report so as
“To evaluate importance of social media in enhancing business growth of
small business”. A case study on Continental Consulting Limited. to know about views of
customers regarding technologies, equipments and their satisfaction level. Lastly, this report
deals with research aims and objectives.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Boulianne, S., 2015. Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current
research. Information, communication & society. 18(5). pp.524-538.
Broekemier, G., Chau, N. N. and Seshadri, S., 2015. Social media practices among small
business-to-business enterprises. Small Business Institute Journal.11(1).
Bruns, A., and et. al., 2015. The Routledge companion to social media and politics. Routledge.
Cawsey, T. and Rowley, J., 2016. Social media brand building strategies in B2B
companies. Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 34(6). pp.754-776.
Fardouly, J. and Vartanian, L. R., 2016. Social media and body image concerns: Current research
and future directions. Current opinion in psychology. 9pp .1-5.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A. and Hinsch, C., 2017. Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research. 70. pp.118-126.
Fuchs, C., 2017. Social media: A critical introduction. Sage.
Grizane, T. and Jurgelane, I., 2017. Social Media Impact on Business Evaluation. Procedia
Computer Science.104. pp.190-196.
Hassan, S., Nadzim, S. Z. A. and Shiratuddin, N., 2015. Strategic use of social media for small
business based on the AIDA model. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.172.
pp.262-269.
Jones, N., Borgman, R. and Ulusoy, E., 2015. Impact of social media on small
businesses. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 22(4), pp.611-632.
Miller, D., and et. al., 2016. How the world changed social media (Vol. 1). UCL press.
Siamagka, N.T and et. al., 2015. Determinants of social media adoption by B2B
organizations. Industrial Marketing Management. 51. pp.89-99.
Sigala, M. and Chalkiti, K., 2015. Knowledge management, social media and employee
creativity. International Journal of Hospitality Management.45. pp.44-58.
Tuten, T. L. and Solomon, M. R., 2017.Social media marketing. Sage.
Yadav, M., Joshi, Y. and Rahman, Z., 2015. Mobile social media: The new hybrid element of
digital marketing communications.Procedia-social and behavioral Sciences 189.
pp.335-343.

APPENDIX
Template for evidence collection to be attached with the report by the learner:
Project Logbook for the chosen organisation:
Name of the learner: Name of the Supervisor:
Project Title: Date:
Update of weekly research/ tasks achieved
(Account for a minimum of six weeks with dates)
What have you completed?
Did you fulfil Task requirements?
Are you on track and within deadlines set?
Did you need to make any changes to your project
management plan?
Comments
This research is prepare to analyse and examine the
importance and role of social media technology in the
growth and development of SMEs.
I have fulfilled all the requirements of this project.
This research project is accomplished within the given
time period.
No need to modify project management plan as it is
already related with all scope.
Any risks and / or issues identified?
 Did you identify risks/issues with a lack of
skills required for undertaking research
tasks?
 Did you identify any additional
risks/issues that have an impact on the
project management plan?
Each task come with some uncertainties which
influence me while executing works, tasks and
procedures. One of the biggest issue arise while
collecting information, as every individual have their
own opinion and perception which made the research
work more complex.
Additional risk arise when data is collected from
individuals as every single person have their own view .
Problems encountered
 What barriers did you face? While conducting research, two barriers was faced
which is lack of funds and shortage of time.

 How did you overcome them?
The problems were overcome with the help of Project
management plan (PMP) along with this arranging
required resources and data in advance for successfully
accomplishment of goals.
New Ideas and change of project direction With the use of social media and mobile technology
researcher can easily accomplish this project within a
given period of time.
What Have I learnt about myself this week?
 How did I feel when I had to deal with
tasks/problems?
 Did I find it useful to complete the tasks?
 How well have I performed? What did I
contribute?
 What can I improve on next week?
 How might this learning apply in the
future?
Sometimes I feel pressurize while accomplishing some
task.
Yes
With the help of some key skills and capabilities, I
complete this research project within a given time
period.
For successfully accomplishing aims and objectives, I
have to enhance capabilities and skills to get work done
until next week.
To reach at desired goals and objectives primary and
secondary research is the most useful resource to attain
learning.
Tasks planned for next week
 Which tasks are priority?
First preference is to collect required data with the help
of which advantages and disadvantages of social media
can be analysed.

 Have you set aside sufficient time for
completion?
Research is not an easy task for me. Several
modifications are require to assist managers while
completing the research in a specific time period.
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind) Accurate
Supervisor comments to address
Signature of the Supervisor and date:
Template for Performance Review to be attached with the report by the learner:

 What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
IT plays an important role in accessing growth and opportunities because it helps to attain
desirable goals and objectives.
 Did the project succeed in its aims/ how do you know? Specifically, please outline
any evaluation and assessment undertaken.
In digital technology, social media and its techniques play very important role in
accomplishment of goals and objectives.
 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.
All the information collected by me, help in taking right decisions at right time.
 What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there
timely identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Problem emerged during the project involved time management and resistance of
candidates which influenced the outcomes in negative manner.
 What did you learn from undertaking the project?
It has been learned that digital technology is effective tool for collection of various
information and knowledge.
 How would you rate your performance as a management consultant leading the
project?
I prefer to provide 7 out of 10.
 What strengths and weakness of your performance did you identify?
My strength is that I am a good leader and possess leadership skills. But my weakness is
that I am too much focused.
 How will this inform and support your continuous professional development?
By organising this research report I am able to attain knowledge for digital technology
which will helps in increasing consumer base at global level. So, this report is very
supportive for continuous professional development.