Organizing a Mini-Conference: Lessons Learned and Recommendations

As a project manager, I had the opportunity to organize a mini-conference in London for large companies like Walmart and Tata group. I accepted the challenge and started planning the event by defining its theme and inviting foreign delegates from around the globe. Despite facing some issues with coordination and timings during the event, it was overall successful thanks to proper staffing and provision of adequate budget for food, logistics, and accommodation. Through this experience, I learned the importance of planning and execution in project management, and I have made recommendations for future events, including ensuring client approval, proper staffing, and prioritizing participant satisfaction.

Planning Project

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Element 1: Group cultural dynamics...............................................................................................3
Brief overview of the cultural as well as ethical background considerations of the conference
participants...................................................................................................................................3
Element 2: London's ethical, cultural, political and social context.................................................5
Detailed overview of the London................................................................................................5
Opportunities and benefits of investing in London.....................................................................6
Main attractions in London..........................................................................................................9
PESTLE Analysis......................................................................................................................11
Element 3: Project planning...........................................................................................................12
PART 1:.........................................................................................................................................12
PROJECT PLAN FOR MINI CONFERENCE.............................................................................12
PART 2:.........................................................................................................................................22
Reflection on group discussion on plan.....................................................................................22
ELEMENT 4: CONFERENCE SESSIONS..................................................................................23
ELEMENT 5: CONFERENCE EVALUATION..........................................................................26
Evaluation of Mini-Conference.................................................................................................26
Evaluation of data collected form the Questionnaire................................................................28
Reflection of Conference...........................................................................................................30
Recommendations......................................................................................................................30
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................32

Introduction
The London 2017 “Mini conference” would be held on 23rd January 2017. The
conference is being carried out for the purpose of meeting grounds for likeminded people to
carry out lifetime partnership. The focus of the mini conference would be over bringing the
organizations together to have similar set of goals and work together. The major intention of the
Mini conference is to invite the companies for making investment in travel and tourism sector in
London (Hans, Herroelen and Wullink, 2007). These firms are well known organization who are
making immense amount of profits and are involved in carrying out welfare activities of the
society as well. These firms would be encouraged to make investment of their surplus of funds
into companies in London. It is being recommended that the return on investment would offer
secure fall back plan in the future course of time. The Mini-conference has made an invitation to
150 delegates and 50 has showed their interest in attending as well as making an investment in
the conference.
Certain companies that have been invited involve Tata Group a conglomerate in India that
has ethical and transparent principles. In addition to this another company is Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. The firm is biggest giant retailer that promotes the culture relating with integrity. The
company has developed policies relating with ethical behaviour that assist it in attaining success
to a greater extent. Another firm is Samsung that is conglomerate and works with the aim to
satisfy the needs of the individuals that are residing in London. Wool worth is another business
that is giant retailer. The firm is Australian based and is making efforts to offer fresh food the
individuals.
Element 1: Group cultural dynamics
Brief overview of the cultural as well as ethical background considerations of the conference
participants
There are several cultural and ethical background from where the conference participants
belongs to. The various companies that are being invited in the conference belongs to different
countries which possess several belief and religion. The detail on cultural and ethical background
considerations of the participants of conference have been enumerated in the manner stated as
3

under:
4

 Tata group: The Company is Indian multinational conglomerate holding firm that has
headquarter in Mumbai Maharashtra India. The company belongs to India. The languages
that are being spoken here includes Hindi and English. The religion that are being
followed here is comprised of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism as well
as Sikhism. India's population is rich with diverse cultural as well as ethnic groups (Zhao,
You and Zuo, 2010). The diversity in ethnicity as well as cultural origin of the Indian
population are being shared by other individuals of Indian subcontinents that includes
inhabitants of Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan as well as Sri Lanka. Maximum people in India
consume rice as their staple (Yang and Wang, 2009). However other than this takes
wheat, barley, maize and millet. Wheat, pulses with chana and rice are essential staples
within Indian diet. The food preferred by them is rich in curries and spices. The clothing
in India is determined with the colourful silk saris worn by women. Further the traditional
clothing among men is Dhoti. Wal-Mart stores Inc.: It is an American multinational retail firm that carries out its chain
of hypermarket, discount departmental stores and grocery stores. The firm is
headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. There is presence no official
language that is spoken US. The language that is unofficially being spoken within US
includes English and Spanish (Collyer, Warren and Stevens, 2010). United States is
Anglo majority that is economically as well as politically dominant. One of the major
characteristics of the country as nation is its legacy of slavery as well as persistence of
social and cultural inequalities on the basis of race. In US, nearly all the types of religion
are being practiced (Shattuck and et.al., 2011). Most the people are Christian and some
are Muslims. In American style the clothing vary in terms of social status, region,
occupation as well as climate. Jeans, baseball caps, cowboy hats as well as boots are
considered as certain items that are being attached with Americans. The American cuisine
is being affected by Europeans as well as Native Americans in its early times. At present
there is presence of number of foods that is being commonly determined for Americans
(Lee, Pena-Mora and Park, 2006). This includes hamburgers, hot dogs, cheese, meat loaf,
potato chips as well as macaroni. Americans has dysfunctional relationship with the
food. It is well known for its obesity crisis and love for convenience food.
5

 Samsung: The Company is South Korean multinational conglomerate firm that has been
headquartered in Samsung Town, Suwon, South Korea. Here the people speak Korean
language. The people of Korea believes in sincerity and follow the protocols while
meeting, eating, praying and even in celebrating which is regarded as the most important.
The Korean adds flavor to their traditional; lifestyle as well as rice malt that is served
with Kimchi which is their specialty (Zhao, You and Zuo, 2010). Cold noodles, bulgogi,
dakgalbi are regarded as some of the famous dishes in Korea. The Hanbok is the name
that is being given to the traditional attire within Korea. It is considered as the official
government and national dress in Korea.
 Woolworths: It is considered as the largest retailer in Australia. It is supermarket shore
chain that forms duopoly of Australian supermarket, that together accounts for about 80%
of the Australian market. The firm is headquartered in Bella Vista, New south Wales
Australia. The dominant language since colonization is English with some
multilingualism between the majorities of population (Finney and Corbett, 2007). The
Australian English varies from that of British as well as American English but this does
not vary to a greater extent regionally. Before colonization, Aboriginal individuals were
sustained through range of flora and fauna. The individuals in Australia consume meat,
bread, vegetables and potatoes (Yang and Wang, 2009). Nearly all the food is eaten
except seafood. In Australia there is no single uniform national costume. The dressing
style in Australia is demonstrated in modern design of dress by emerging as well as
established designers. The local dress that is being worn in Australia includes bushwear
as well as swimwear in addition with the Indigenous and Australian designs.
INVITATION LETTER
Dear Sir or Madam
The London 2017 “Mini conference” would be held on 23rd January 2017. The conference is
being carried out for the purpose of meeting grounds for likeminded people to carry out
lifetime partnership. The focus of the mini conference would be over bringing the
organizations together to have similar set of goals and work together. The major intention of
the Mini conference is to invite the companies for making investment in travel and tourism
sector in London. The conference would be organized by ABC charitable society. The society
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possess the database of the firms that are likely to make investment in the travel and tourism
sector within London UK.
The entry ticket for three day conference will be £ 500. This includes accommodation facilities
at Hilton. Along with this all meals will be offered. Later in night tour of sight seen within
London would be offered.
For the purpose of prior booking kindly provide £ 100 in advance. A with this we would send
you the conference pack that covers all the information on the sessions of the conference.
Further it also includes the letter of invitation that can be presented by you for the purpose of
immigration.
Looking Forward to see you at conference
Sincerely
XYZ
Manager of conference
Element 2: London's ethical, cultural, political and social context
Detailed overview of the London
London has always been a dream city for every individual. It is the most populous city of
England and United Kingdom. It is a leading global city which is having strengths in areas such
as arts, commerce, education, fashion, finance, healthcare, research, entertainment, tourism etc.
From the investment point of view, it is one of the leading financial centres. The city comes on
sixth position in terms of GDP measurement. Many tourism bodies have regarded London as the
most visited city in terms of the international arrivals. The city also has a diverse range of people
and cultures (Batini, Viscusi and Cherubini, 2009). There are more than 300 languages spoken
within the greater London. The urban area is the second most populated area in the entire
European Union.
Opportunities and benefits of investing in London
There can be high number of benefits and opportunities of making investment in Travel
and tourism sector in London. These are as follows:
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Rich in various segments – One the major benefit of investing in London is that the city is very
rich in different types of areas. It includes finance, arts, commerce, fashion, media, healthcare,
tourism, research, transportation etc. This sounds a great opportunity for the investors. It is
evident from the facts that there are about 392400 people employed in London (Tasevska, Damij
and Damij, 2014). More than 530 foreign companies are being listed in London and it represent
20% of the global foreign equity listings. Apart from that there are 251 foreign banks in the city
which adds to the strength greatly. It forms the largest concentration of the higher education as
there are 43 Universities (Yang and Wang, 2009). The city also holds first position in terms of
software, multimedia development and design. Technology readiness is another factor which can
act as great opportunity for the investors.
Tourism – Tourism has always been a major strengths for London. It has provided huge amount
of popularity to the government of the city (Jahangirian, Eldabi, Naseer, Stergioulas and Young,
2010). In the year 2015 it was ranked as the most visited city across the glove with having almost
65 million visits. London also holds a good position in terms of cross border spending. Tourism
can be considered as one of the prime industry for the city.
8
Figure 1: Number of Tourists spending city wise 2015
(Source: MasterCard)

The above graphs shows the overnight international visitor spending. It can be noticed
that London top the charts. This shows the popularity of the destination with regard to tourism. It
is expected that this popularity will increase in the upcoming years. Hence investing in the city
can be a profitable venture for the investors.
Best talent in UK- Another good reason that why the investors should invest in London is the
availability of best talent. It offers one of the best and most diverse workforce. This is because
the city is a highly cultured and it consists of people from various ethnics (Aloini, Dulmin and
Mininno, 2007). There is availability of some of the best professional services. Hence this can be
very exciting for the investing companies. Employees play a very important role in the success of
the organization. They are highly responsible for enhancing the level of profits. So availability of
wide range of people can be very exciting for the investors.
Various ethnic groups – London is a destination enclosed with various kinds of ethnic groups.
60%18%
13% 1%5% 2%
percentage of ethic groups
white Asian Black Arab mixed others
Figure 2: Ethnic Groups in 2011 Census
The above graph discloses the percentage of the various ethnic groups existing within the
place. According to the Office for National Statistics, 59.8% of the population is white, 18.4% is
Asian, 13.3% is Black, 1.3% is Arab, 5% is mixed and 2.1% are others. According to the reports
36.7% of the Greater London is born outside the UK. There are more than 300 languages spoken.
Hence this gain sounds a great opportunity for the investors. Presence of so many ethnic groups
increases the availability of potential customers for the investing companies (Collyer, Warren
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and Stevens, 2010). It is anticipated that their products and services will be availed in good
numbers. Hence it can be said that there are many things which are present from business point
of view in London.
First choice for the headquarters – London has also been identified as the first preference for
establishing headquarters. It is evident from the fact that many bigger brands are having their
respective headquarters in the country. The major reason for this preference is the availability of
the large amount of resources within the city. It is quite easy to establish a base when the
conditions are favourable (Aloini, Dulmin and Mininno, 2007). Another major reason is that the
city is a catalyst to Europe which is the biggest single market in the world. The dominance of the
London as the business capital of Europe can be noticed. As per the reports 40% of the globe’s
biggest companies selects to base themselves at the above destination. Hence it sound great from
the investment point of view.
10
Figure 3 Dominance of London

Main attractions in London
Looking at the present world tourism, London is leading the chart of most popular place
in the world. However, there are several tourist attraction places in London which attracts high
number of people from around the globe (Batini, Viscusi and Cherubini, 2009). In terms of
investment, varied companies are targeting to expand their business in London because it holds
the maximum number of footfall during the season as well as without season as compared to the
other destinations in the world.
One of which is British Museum which exhibits the works of man from prehistoric to
modern times from different parts of the world. It highlights the Rosetta stone, the Parthenon
sculptures and the mummies in the ancient Egypt collection. It is visited by 6 million people
every year which is one of the biggest attraction point in London.
Similar to this, National Gallery of London is another major stop for visitors as it
showcase the crowning glory of Trafalgar square which consist of Western European Painting
from 13th to the 19th Centuries. People pay for this place to see the paintings of Van Gogh, Da
Vinci, Botticelli, Constable, Renoir, Titian and Stubbs etc (Collyer, Warren and Stevens, 2010).
However, the collection of this Gallery is so unique that people pay lot of money to visit the
place.
Adding to the tally, Natural History Museum is another popular and tourist attraction
point in London. However, it is the permanent dinosaur exhibition as well as boasts its collection
through showcasing biggest, tallest and rarest animals in the world. Herein, people visits the
place to see a life sized blue whale, a 40 million year old spider, and the beautiful central hall
(Collyer, Warren and Stevens, 2010). For kids this is considered as the most attractive
destination. Apart from this, the most attractive part of this place is that it provides free entry due
to which large number of audience visits this place during the visit to London.
Coca-Cola London Eye is the major feature of London’s skyline. It boasts some of the
city’s best views through its 32 capsules. However, with 10 tonnes and 25 people capacity these
capsules showcase the finest experience to the people. The gradual rotation in one of the 32 high-
tech glass capsules takes approximately 30 minutes and gives person an ever-changing
perspective of London.
These are some of the major attraction of London where it generates the maximum
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number of footfall from around the globe. In context to expand business or invest in the capital
historical places like these assist in generating better chance of attracting large number of people
while making their visit to such place (Finney and Corbett, 2007). On the basis of these places
companies like Samsung, Walmart, Tata and Woolworth can invest in the capital. For instance,
opening a retail outlet of Walmart or Woolworth or the store of Samsung or Tata will help the
course of companies to showcase their products and services to such large number of audience.
By the means of expanding business operations in London, cited companies can easily enhance
the revenue generation which indeed leads to generate higher profits and long term sustainability.
PESTLE Analysis
There is presence of several external factors that has greater impact on the economy of
UK. These have been enumerated in the manner stated as under:
 Political factors: Since 2001 terrorists attacks the security has taken a step within
London. The government of UK has taken several steps in order to increase security
within UK. In addition to this regulatory authority has developed various policies relating
with taxation that can affect the operations of the companies that are operating in London
to a greater extent (Yang and Wang, 2009).
 Economic factors: The attacks of terrorists affected the economy of world and UK. The
economy of UK is affected by the factors that includes inflation and rate of interest. By
the means of growing strengths of sterling and especially Euro has made the financial
market stronger in UK (Batini, Viscusi and Cherubini, 2009). Thus this has increased
capabilities of investment within UK. Socio-cultural factors: Social immersion within the determination in addition to the
patriotic commitment as well as loyalty in relation to the nation is the thing that is being
constituted by National identity. The society members are able to get bonded by the sense
of belongingness that assist in enrichment of the national pride. This results in motivation
of the people to work. Therefore as an aspect of entertainment the tourist would be
attracted to a greater extend. Technological factors: There is most advanced technologies that are being used in
London while carrying out the games for the entertainment of the tourists as well as
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visitors. This is in order to make the game more interesting (Jahangirian, Eldabi, Naseer,
Stergioulas and Young, 2010). The latest partners of technology includes Acer that has
offered suitable and highly advanced system of security. In order to avert types of
emergency incident or security attacks the service of security have been devised across
the globe in order to handle terrorist attacks. Environmental factors: It is being determined that the pollution level is high in London.
Thus it has impact on the cities across London. There has been continuing superseding of
EU laws regarding air quality by London that is much dangerous as well as cannot be
accepted. It is important for British regulatory authority to take strict action in order to
prevent as stop pollution.
 Legal factors: The laws as well as their legal impact on the London Olympics is required
to be cordial as well as supportive (Shattuck and et.al., 2011). It is important for the
organization to consider the legal aspect while planning to invest in London.
Element 3: Project planning
PART 1:
PROJECT PLAN FOR MINI CONFERENCE
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Task Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors
Auto Scheduled CONFERENCE PLANNING 184 days Tue
5/31/16 Fri 2/10/17
Auto Scheduled Theme 25 days Tue
5/31/16 Mon 7/4/16
Auto Scheduled Theme 5 days Tue
5/31/16 Mon 6/6/16
Auto Scheduled Generation of theme ideas 7 days Tue 6/7/16 Wed 6/15/16 3
Auto Scheduled Agree theme 3 days Thu
6/16/16 Mon 6/20/16 4
Auto Scheduled Creation of theme description 5 days Tue
6/21/16 Mon 6/27/16 5
Auto Scheduled Creation of theme 5 days Tue
6/28/16 Mon 7/4/16 6
Auto Scheduled General 19 days Tue 7/5/16 Fri 7/29/16
Auto Scheduled Appointment of Project manager 2 days Tue 7/5/16 Wed 7/6/16 7
Auto Scheduled Agreement of conference pricing 2 days Thu 7/7/16 Fri 7/8/16 9
Auto Scheduled Creation of conference plan 3 days Mon
7/11/16 Wed 7/13/16 10
Auto Scheduled Produce agenda 2 days Thu
7/14/16 Fri 7/15/16 11
Auto Scheduled Production of detailed plan 5 days Mon
7/18/16 Fri 7/22/16 12
Auto Scheduled Creation of budget for
conference 4 days Mon
7/25/16 Thu 7/28/16 13
Auto Scheduled Agreement of conference budget
with Treasurer 1 day Fri 7/29/16 Fri 7/29/16 14
Auto Scheduled Immigration and visa
consideration 17 days Mon
8/1/16 Tue 8/23/16
Auto Scheduled Selection on the types of Visa 2 days Mon
8/1/16 Tue 8/2/16 15
Auto Scheduled Process of application 15 days Wed
8/3/16 Tue 8/23/16 17
Auto Scheduled Financial cost determination 21 days Wed
8/24/16 Wed 9/21/16
Auto Scheduled Determination of Transport cost 3 days Wed
8/24/16 Fri 8/26/16 18
Auto Scheduled Determination of Hotels cost 5 days Mon
8/29/16 Fri 9/2/16 20
Auto Scheduled Determination of Conference
venue rental cost 4 days Mon
9/5/16 Thu 9/8/16 21
Auto Scheduled Determination of Advertising and
promotion cost 2 days Fri 9/9/16 Mon 9/12/16 22
Auto Scheduled Determination of Printing cost 2 days Tue Wed 9/14/16 23
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9/13/16
Auto Scheduled Determination of Conference
packs cost 1 day Thu
9/15/16 Thu 9/15/16 24
Auto Scheduled Determination of Food and
beverages cost 2 days Fri 9/16/16 Mon 9/19/16 25
Auto Scheduled Determination of Speakers
security cost 2 days Tue
9/20/16 Wed 9/21/16 26
Auto Scheduled Speaker selection 18 days Thu
9/22/16
Mon
10/17/16
Auto Scheduled Identification of possible
speakers 2 days Thu
9/22/16 Fri 9/23/16 27
Auto Scheduled Drawing up shortlist 3 days Mon
9/26/16 Wed 9/28/16 29
Auto Scheduled Invitation to speakers 2 days Thu
9/29/16 Fri 9/30/16 30
Auto Scheduled Confirmation of speakers 2 days Mon
10/3/16 Tue 10/4/16 31
Auto Scheduled Obtaining speakers biographies 3 days Wed
10/5/16 Fri 10/7/16 32
Auto Scheduled Obtaining and agreeing session
abstracts 4 days Mon
10/10/16 Thu 10/13/16 33
Auto Scheduled Circulation of abstracts around
speakers 2 days Fri
10/14/16
Mon
10/17/16 34
Auto Scheduled Venue 76 days Fri 7/29/16 Fri 11/11/16
Auto Scheduled Identification of candidate
venues 4 days Tue
10/18/16 Fri 10/21/16 35
Auto Scheduled Attaining venue quotes and
availability 4 days Mon
10/24/16 Thu 10/27/16 37
Auto Scheduled Agreeing on venue 2 days Fri
10/28/16
Mon
10/31/16 38,37
Auto Scheduled Agreement on date 1 day Tue
11/1/16 Tue 11/1/16 39
Auto Scheduled Signining venue contact 6 days Wed
11/2/16 Wed 11/9/16 40
Auto Scheduled Updation of conference budget 2 days Fri 7/29/16 Mon 8/1/16 14
Auto Scheduled Deciding menu 1 day Thu
11/10/16 Thu 11/10/16 41,42
Auto Scheduled Check on AV requirements 1 day Fri
11/11/16 Fri 11/11/16 43
Auto Scheduled Marketing 25 days Mon
11/14/16 Fri 12/16/16
Auto Scheduled Communicating date, theme and
venue at prior conference 2 days Mon
11/14/16 Tue 11/15/16 44
Auto Scheduled Put the information of 3 days Wed Fri 11/18/16 46
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conference on website 11/16/16
Auto Scheduled Creation of press release 2 days Mon
11/21/16 Tue 11/22/16 47
Auto Scheduled Sending out press release 5 days Wed
11/23/16 Tue 11/29/16 48
Auto Scheduled Creation of Linkedln discussion 4 days Wed
11/30/16 Mon 12/5/16 49
Auto Scheduled Feeding twitter constantly 3 days Tue
12/6/16 Thu 12/8/16 50
Auto Scheduled Creation of conference related
newsletter articles 2 days Fri 12/9/16 Mon
12/12/16 51
Auto Scheduled Publishing newsletter 4 days Tue
12/13/16 Fri 12/16/16 52
Auto Scheduled Presentation 14 days Mon
12/19/16 Thu 1/5/17
Auto Scheduled Communication of presentation
deadlines to presenters 2 days Mon
12/19/16 Tue 12/20/16 53
Auto Scheduled Draft presentations submitted 2 days Wed
12/21/16 Thu 12/22/16 55
Auto Scheduled Circulation of draft presentations
around speakers 1 day Fri
12/23/16 Fri 12/23/16 56
Auto Scheduled Interactice session walkthroughs 3 days Mon
12/26/16
Wed
12/28/16 57
Auto Scheduled Final presentation submission
and placed under change control 4 days Thu
12/29/16 Tue 1/3/17 58
Auto Scheduled Creation of QA Form 1 day Wed
1/4/17 Wed 1/4/17 59
Auto Scheduled Print out of presentation for
delegates 1 day Thu 1/5/17 Thu 1/5/17 60
Auto Scheduled Staffing 11 days Fri 1/6/17 Fri 1/20/17
Auto Scheduled Drawing up requirements for
staffing 1 day Fri 1/6/17 Fri 1/6/17 61
Auto Scheduled Confirmation of Host 2 days Mon
1/9/17 Tue 1/10/17 63
Auto Scheduled Confirmation of check-in staff 3 days Wed
1/11/17 Fri 1/13/17 64
Auto Scheduled Confirmation of floor manager 2 days Mon
1/16/17 Tue 1/17/17 65
Auto Scheduled Confirmation of conference
report writer 2 days Wed
1/18/17 Thu 1/19/17 66
Auto Scheduled Agreeing free places to
committee and other attends 1 day Fri 1/20/17 Fri 1/20/17 67
Auto Scheduled During the conference 2 days Mon
1/23/17 Tue 1/24/17
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Auto Scheduled Health and safety consideration
on the venue of conference 1 day Mon
1/23/17 Mon 1/23/17 68
Auto Scheduled Diversity consideration (religion,
dietary, access and disability etc.) 1 day Tue
1/24/17 Tue 1/24/17 70
Auto Scheduled Post conference evaluation 13 days Wed
1/25/17 Fri 2/10/17
Auto Scheduled Placing presentations and
reporting on website 2 days Wed
1/25/17 Thu 1/26/17 71
Auto Scheduled Sending out any agreed output 1 day Fri 1/27/17 Fri 1/27/17 73
Auto Scheduled Writing to thank presenters and
offers feedback if needed 3 days Mon
1/30/17 Wed 2/1/17 74
Auto Scheduled Creating conference report 2 days Thu 2/2/17 Fri 2/3/17 75
Auto Scheduled Sending out the conference
report in the next newsletter 3 days Mon
2/6/17 Wed 2/8/17 76
Auto Scheduled Sending conference report to
press 1 day Thu 2/9/17 Thu 2/9/17 77
Auto Scheduled Submitting final project P/L to
treasurer 1 day Fri 2/10/17 Fri 2/10/17 78
Gantt chart
17

The above project plan has been developed for
the purpose of organizing mini-conference in the city of
London. The conference is being carried out with the aim
to attraction the investors from different nations,
region to make investment in travel and tourism
sector in London. This is in order to increase the
attraction towards the city of London. In order to
18

carry out the mini-conference plan has been devised (Tasevska, Damij and Damij, 2014). This
includes series of activities that are essential for carrying out the plan in an effective manner.
Along with this it involves the time duration for the effective accomplishment of the activities
without creating delay in the plan. It is essential for the completion of the project plan within
specified duration of time.
The development of the plan includes three aspects. This is comprised of planning that is
done to be carried out prior to the conference, during the conference and after the conference.
Such is effective in attainment of different activities of plan in an effective manner. With this the
targets of the conference can be attained to a greater extent (Yang and Wang, 2009). The project
plan includes the activities that relates with immigration and visa consideration. This is regarding
sending the visa to the clients that are being invited for the sake of making investment in
London’s travel and tourism sector. The group of investors would be invited for varied region
across the globe. This would act as an aid for the investors in visiting London for mini-
conference in an effective manner. It is important for the members of team for mini-conference
to make invitation to the guests of mini-conference at prior as they can make arrangements
regarding this in an appropriate manner when they know that they are being invited to take part
in a particular session. It is significant for the team of project planning to take into account the
financial cost that would be incurred while carrying out the project plan. It is being done with the
aim of deciding on the cost within which the entire project can be accomplished in an effective
way (Shattuck and et.al., 2011). The factor of cost covers expenses that relates with
transportation, hotels, conference venue rental, advertising and promotion, printing, food and
beverages, speakers, security as well as conference packs. Through this finance can be allocated
to the different activities in an effective manner. Such play a significant role in attainment of
conference targets within specified budget. This also has major role in keeping a track on the
amount of financial resources that is being involved in attainment completion of the project plan
in an effective manner.
While the project plan of mini-conference is being carried out it is important for the
planners of the project to take into account health and safety consideration on the conference
venue. This is important to avoid the hazards that might occur while the conference is actually
being carried out. Such possess significant role in eliminating the risk that is uncertain. As the
mini-conference is being held at the location that is London and the invitees are from several
19

destination that are across the globe. Thus there is greater needs towards diversity considerations.
This is terms of religious, dietary, access as well as disability (Tasevska, Damij and Damij,
2014). The background from which the representative of several location would come is
different thus it is important to develop the plan by considering the such aspect so that investors
from varied locations can be made comfortable and further they can attracted towards the
investment in particular location in an effective manner.
There are several tools as well as approaches that are being used for the purpose of
advertising the campaign. This is being done by the means of using website, email, social media
like twitter and Facebook so that the mini-conference can be promoted and greater number of
investors can be invited to the location. This would effectively assist in inviting the potential
investors to make investment in travel and tourism sector in London. With this larger mass of
customers can be persuaded to invest within London. This has significant role in making
promotion of the London in an effective manner. In order to carry out the project plan there is
greater importance towards making recruitment of the conference team planning members as
they are the only means that can carry out the plan in an effective manner. Along with this it is
important to make recruitment of the personnel that are highly talented in carrying out the project
plan in an effective manner. This acts as an aid in attainment of the desired conference targets in
an effective manner (Zhao, You and Zuo, 2010). In addition to this there is significant role played
towards motivating the members of the team. As such through this they are able to work for the
mini-conference with full zeal and enthusiasm. For the purpose of motivating the members of
team it is important to share and make communication of vision to them. With this they feel that
they are part of conference and are being told the essential fact for which the conferences is
being carried out.
Another technique of motivating the personnel is to appreciate them for the work that is
being carried out by them. With this they feel highly motivated as they are being praised. Such
assist in increasing their participation in the conference to a greater extent. It is important to
encourage, support innovation and creativity that is being introduced by the personnel that are
part of the conference (Aloini, Dulmin and Mininno, 2007). This offer them greater motivation
and develop a feeling among them regarding sharing of new ideas with the higher level authority
that are engaged in making the event a successful one. For the purpose of offering motivation to
the members of team it is essential to offer them with sound working environment. As such this
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inspires them to carry out the task with greater efficiency. Along with this there is immense
requirement towards keeping the members of team interested to remain within the task and
productive. This offers greater encouragement to the team in building potential to work with
greater knowledge and skills. This is effective for the purpose of attaining targets of the mini-
conference in an effective manner. Participation of every team member is imperative to the
success of the event. Thus in order to ensure the same it is important to offer each team member
with the opportunity to express their view that can assist in benefiting the conference to a greater
extent. There is presence of certain personnel who gets motivated when they are offered to set of
realistic, clear and challenging tasks (Batini, Viscusi and Cherubini, 2009). Such is effective in
boosting their morale to work with fuller potential. In addition to this it also encourages them to
attain the purpose for which the mini-conference is being carried.
With the aim to keep the conference planning team on track it is important to adopt
suitable style of leadership. The various leadership styles includes democratic, commanding,
affiliative, coaching, visionary as well as pace setting. In order to carry out the present
conference democratic style of leadership would be adopted and it would assist in keep a track
on the activities that are being carried out by the members of team (Collyer, Warren and Stevens,
2010). Along with this it is suitable in carrying out the plan of entire conference with
effectiveness. It also ensure decision making by the means of taking views from the employees
so that they feel that they are part of the event planning.
Financial cost determination
Transport cost £10000
Hotels cost £12000
Conference venue rental cost £25000
Advertising and promotion cost £50000
Printing cost £18000
Conference packs cost £15000
Food and beverages cost £20000
Speakers security cost £2000
PART 2:
Reflection on group discussion on plan
Once the plan is being developed it is important to make group discussion on the
activities included in the plan as well as time duration that is being estimated for the completion
21

of a particular activity. It is significant for the project manager to make discussion of the plan
within the group so that flaws in the performance can be evaluated and corrective measures can
be taken for the purpose of bringing improvement in the plan so that pre-determined targets can
be attained. This can result in attaining success through the plan. Being a project manager I have
taken feedback from every member within the team so that their views regarding the project plan
for organizing mini-conference can be obtained in an effective manner (Tasevska, Damij and
Damij, 2014). In addition to this the scope for improvements can also be asked from them so that
plan can be made effective. There is greater to take feedback from members of team as they are
important part who are engaged in carrying out the mini-conference in an effective manner.
The project planning is important in terms that it covers the detail project plan that can
assist every personnel in knowing the series of activities wherein the project plan has to be
carried out. The evaluation of the plan is necessary before it is being actually implemented. This
is in order to eliminate the risks that are being associated with carrying out of the plan in an
effective manner. It is significant to amend the plan so as to make it in accordance with the
specifications (Yang and Wang, 2009). When developing the plan there is greater need to make
evaluation of the criteria that can result in attainment of success through the project plan. The
alteration needs to be made in the plan by the means of knowing the views of the members of the
team as they know the real factors that can assist in implementation of the plan in an effective
manner. Further this can results in attainment of success through the implementation of the mini-
conference. In addition to this alterations can be made in the plan with the involvement of every
team member as role of each one is significant in carrying out the project plan with greater
effectiveness. In my opinions while making amendments within the plan there were lot of
suggestion provided by the members of that plan can be altered and changes made can lead to
bringing effectiveness in the project plan to a greater extent.
ELEMENT 4: CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Mini-conference schedule
The schedule of Mini-conference to encourage investors about potential investment has
been prepared here as under:
Timing Description
10:00-10:30 AM: Welcome speech of guests
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Invited guests:  Tata Group
 Walmart Stores Inc.
 Samsung
 Woolworths
10:30AM – 12:00AM Session 1: Major attractions of London
12:00AM – 12:30PM Tea and Coffee break
12:30PM - 2:00PM Session 2: London statistical presentation
2:00PM – 3:00PM Lunch
3:00PM – 4:30PM Session 3: Reasons for investment in London and its benefit for
the potential investors.
4:30PM – 5:00PM Tea and Coffee break
5:00PM – 6:00PM Session 4: Fulfilling feedback form by all the seminar attendees.
Session 2: London statistical presentation
London is the most wonderful and dynamic city of the European countries. It covers
major financial centre of global trade and commerce. Moreover, it is fourth largest city across the
globe after Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago and covers a very big market size of
entire EU. Excellent infrastructure, good electric supply, telecommunications, transport
infrastructure, great airways network, railways, waterways are some of the most important
sectors of foreign investment. Furthermore, availability of skilled and talented work force is also
an important characteristics of London.
This session will be conducted from 12:30PM to 2:00PM which pay specific focus to
encourage all the invitees to invest in London. In this session of mini-conference, graphical
presentation of London statistics will be done. It will comprise historical trends of foreign
investment in travel and tourism sector in London over few years. Moreover, the session will
includes the economic contribution of the city of London towards overall economic progress of
UK. Along with this, in the past 10 years, number of tourists are increasing at very faster rate
(Shattuck and et.al., 2011). It is because London is a famous city for number of attractive tourist
destinations. Further, standard quality of services offered by hospitality industry also encourage
23

number of tourist in the UK. Besides this, investment in technological sector also will also be
presented to the potential investors. It is because major part of the total foreign direct investment
(FDI) in London is covered by this sector. In addition to it, investment in innovative and
advanced technology, new markets, online market, products and services also will be presented
so that investors can determine areas or opportunities of potential investment.
Along with this, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), National Domestic Product (NDP), Per
capital income, growth in FDI, success of international trade and investment, employment rate
will be presented. So that, investors will be more able to assess that what areas are making faster
growth as compare to others in which funds can be invested. Moreover, it will help all the
invitees to identify potential opportunities whilst past trend and development of various sectors
will also help to forecast future in various sectors. So that, they can take strategic investment
decisions which can yield greater return to them.
This presentation will be done for both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in
London. In addition, new and upcoming foreign investment projects also will be presented.
Along with this, special incentive programs designed by UK government for the investors also
will be presented to the investors (Yang and Wang, 2009). In this regard, the role of UK trade and
investment agency in international investment will be presented. Policies regarding available tax
incentives and tax benefits to the potential investors will be presented so that investors will be
encourage to invest in London city. Thus, overall session will help investors to identify
investment opportunities in different sectors like telecommunication, technology, infrastructure,
transport and travel and tourism sector. While, past trends about statistical presentation of
London city will make investors able to take effective investment decisions.
Session 3: Reasons for investment in London and its benefit for the potential investors
This particular session would be carried out from 3 pm to 4:30 pm. The major subject of
this session is to reflect the reasons for investment in travel and tourism sector in London and its
benefit for the potential investors. It is another major session of the conference that would be
carried out for the purpose of making investors know about the reasons due to which they can
make investment in London. This session is highly crucial for the point of view of investor as
with this they would be able to gain knowledge regarding benefits of making investment in
London. Being presence of greater diversity in the conference there is presence of different ideas
among the investors for the purpose of investing in London. But with the assistance of such
24

session they can gain knowledge regarding better approach that can assist in attracting the
investors to make investment in London.
The particular session is of greater importance as it is effective in persuading the
investors towards the mini-conference to a significant level. Moreover it is suitable for the
investors in gaining better insight to the major reasons due to which the investment made by
them can be successful in future course of time. The major reasons for investment in London
offers greater scope to the investor in persuading other individuals as well to make investment in
the plan. This has significant role in attainment of success from the mini-conference. This
session is of greater importance thus it has been planned for greater duration of time. It is
important for them to develop the plan and its session in accordance with the requirements of the
investors so that they can attain benefit through this in an effective way. There is greater needs
towards encouraging the prospects to make investment in the plan so that they can attain success
by the means of carrying out the mini-conference in an effective manner. With this session
investors can be motivated towards making investment in the plan that relates with making
investment in travel and tourism sector in London. On the other hand it is beneficial for London
as well. As such with this the economy of London can be enhanced as potential investors show
their intention in making investment within the city. It is essential to include this session in the
mini-conference as it is effective in increasing the knowledge among the investors regarding the
major factors due to which they are required to make investment in the city of London. Thus
with this investors would be attracted to invest that can be fruitful for London as well as them.
ELEMENT 5: CONFERENCE EVALUATION
Evaluation of Mini-Conference
In the present report research aimed at evaluating Mini-Conference which is being
organized in London 2017. The main purpose for conducting the conference is that it will
promote lifetime partnership with conglomerate companies of different parts of the world.
Herein, few selected organisations has been brought together to encourage them for investing in
London so as to expand their business operations and this is one of the aim of the conference
(Aloini, Dulmin and Mininno, 2007). In order to evaluate the defined purpose of the conference
25

manager has used one of the most suitable and reliable method that is often used by researchers
in their large level studies.
According to the nature of conference and the number of participants, survey
methodology has been used in which questionnaire has been developed the various grounds with
the aim of evaluating and assessing the success and significance of the conferences conducted.
There are several ways of conducting research and collect information but one way that really
makes it easy for researcher is survey. There are several methods of carrying out survey such as
questionnaires, interviews and case study etc. Herein, as per the need of study and event,
questionnaire method has been selected. In general, it is a series of written questions a
participants answers. In this method, researcher gathers responses to questions that are essay or
agree, neutral, disagree style. The main purpose of using questionnaire is assist in evaluating
different prospects of the mini-conference in effective and efficient manner. Furthermore, with
the means of this questionnaire project manager aims to ask very basic questions to the
participants that attended the mini-conference so that their experience in the form of responses
can be generated.
Questionnaire:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Organisation:
Ques1: Are you satisfied with the facilities offered during the Conference?
 Yes
 No
Ques2: Were logistic and accommodation facilities satisfied you?
 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neutral
 Dissatisfied
 Highly dissatisfied
Ques3: Is technical aspects appropriate during the whole conference?
 Yes
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 No
Ques4: Are you satisfied with the conference material provided?
 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neutral
 Dissatisfied
 Highly dissatisfied
Ques5: Are you satisfied with the conference speaker and presenter?
 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neutral
 Dissatisfied
 Highly dissatisfied
Ques6: According to you does the conference was well organized?
 Yes
 No
Ques7: The content of conference was informative and appropriate?
 Yes
 No
Ques8: The conference session were not too long and too short?
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
Ques9: Conference staff were helpful and courteous?
 Yes
 No
Ques10: Does food and catering facility satisfied you?
 Highly Satisfied
 Satisfied
 Neutral
 Dissatisfied
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 Highly dissatisfied
Ques11: What you like the most about the conference?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Ques12: What factors were the most disliking one?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Ques13: What recommendation would you like to given for future conferences?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation of data collected form the Questionnaire
The above depicted questionnaire was distributed to the participants of the conference
with the aim of evaluating their pre, during and post experience of attending the mini-conference.
However, with such a generous crowd responses of all respondents have been received which
enhances the validity of outcomes generated.
Expected results has been identified when project manager of mini-conference asked to
the respondents about the satisfaction level of overall facilities that they achieved during the
conference. However, maximum were highly satisfied as they think that considering the concept
and facilities offered it was substantial for them to understand and make any suitable and reliable
decisions. There were very few who faced issues and obstacles due to which they were not happy
with facilities provided to them. Similar to this, participants were highly satisfied with the
logistic and accommodation facilities. It is because of the fact that, considering the level and
designation that foreign delegates holds, project manager provided them 5 star hotel
accommodation and efficient logistic services so that they could not face any kind of issue in
reaching to the destination or staying at the hotel. This indeed satisfied the maximum participants
from different companies and influenced them to visit once again in such conferences.
Furthermore, there were proper technical arrangements made so that speaker and presenter can
showcase their information effectively as well as responses of foreign delegates can be acquired
appropriately. Herein, maximum people stated yes and were in the favor technical aspects and
28

stated that, they were satisfying because during the whole conference every individual having
any queries or wanting to share something was executed easily and appropriately.
Apart from this, the main purpose of conducting mini-conference was satisfying for
almost every participants as because the conference material provided to them was rated highly
satisfying. It was because people were able to understand core concept of investment in travel
and tourism sector in London as well as provided their point of view in effective and efficient
manner. Thereafter, the speaker and presenter appointed were satisfying for the participants
because they were able to communicate with the participants easily. Furthermore, queries and
doubts of the people attended the conference were addressed properly. On the basis of which
varied foreign delegates from different organisations were highly satisfied with the appointed
speaker and presenter. In addition to it, when respondents were asked about the planning and
organizing of conference, maximum people attended the conference stated that mini-conference
was well organized as it was structured and executed properly. It is because of the fact that,
project manager especially focused on the timings of the sessions so that participants does not
feel monotonous about the conference and enjoy the session. Furthermore, project manager
encouraged and motivated speaker and presenter to interact with the participants at constant basis
so that they feel connective and argue on the facts and figures. This was the main reason due to
which respondents agree on the fact that, conference session were planned and organized well as
they were not too long and too short.
Expected results were generated when respondents were asked about the fact that
conference was informative and appropriate in terms of its purpose. More number of people
agreeing to the statement as they gathered varied information about the London as well as about
the corporate culture on the basis of which it is easy for them to make decision regarding
expansion of business operations. Participants were happy with the overall prospects of the
conference because apart from the organizers and speakers or presenters, staff members were
highly supportive and courteous as they were inculcated to be with clients for most of the times
so that their basic needs and amenities can be fulfilled in the most effectual manner. Despite of
being from different parts of world and different ethnic backgrounds participants were happy
with the food and catering facilities. It is because of the fact that, project manager given major
importance to the food and accommodation of the foreign delegates. Thus, their cuisine and
ethnicity was given major priority and on the basis of which food from different cultural and
29

social backgrounds was offered during conference so as to satisfy the taste and preferences of
participants.
Reflection of Conference
Being a project manager I was excited to execute such a challenging task of organizing
the mini-conference of such large companies in London. However, organizing different types of
conference and having adequate amount of experience governmental authority of London offered
me the opportunity to plan and organize this event. Being one of the life time opportunity I
accepted the challenge and started putting efforts on the event. At the initial stage, I understood
the core concept of conference and accordingly focused on defining the theme so that appropriate
and effective base can be developed for the mini-conference. Along with this, I learnt several
things by carrying out this event as I was unknown about the immigration procedures and the
amount of ethicality required. This process helped me to invite people from around the globe as
the main purpose of this conference was invite foreign delegates of companies like Walmart,
Tata group, Samsung, Woolworth etc. On the basis of their designation I was allocated with
adequate amount of budget for food, logistic and accommodation services for the participants.
During the planning process there were several issues that I came across but with the support of
team members and guidelines from the government authority I was able to plan and organize the
mini-conference effectively. Contrary to this, during the event I faced certain issues related to
coordination and timings of the sessions which indeed not major concerns as participants were
adjusting in nature but still from the planning point of view I faced major problems on this part.
Recommendations
On the basis reflection of mini-conference there are certain recommendations that could
help the course of project in conducting such events in effective and appropriate manner.
 It is important to plan on papers and get approved from the client so as to make sure that
each and every aspect is executed according to them.
 Staffing needs to be done properly so as to minimize the issues and problems related to
the coordination between the staff members.
 Food, logistic and accommodation facilities need to be given major priority so as to
enhance the level of participant’s satisfaction.
30

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