Project Management Report: Social Media Strategy for Retail Company

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of project management, specifically within the context of developing a social media marketing strategy for a retail company, using Mark and Spencer as a case study. The introduction outlines the role of a project manager, emphasizing their planning and execution capabilities to achieve project goals. The main body of the report explores the creation of SMART objectives, defining project parameters, and highlighting the crucial role of the project manager in delegation, conducting meetings, directing teams, and cost estimation. It then examines various frameworks and methodologies, including the Waterfall and Agile methodologies, detailing their applications and advantages in project execution. The report further evaluates the composition and management of teams, crucial for achieving project targets, and concludes with a summary of key findings. The report provides a comprehensive understanding of project management principles and their practical application in a retail environment, offering valuable insights into strategic planning, methodology selection, and team dynamics.

Project Management

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Smart Objectives..........................................................................................................................1
Defining the project.....................................................................................................................2
Role of the project manager.........................................................................................................2
Various frameworks and methodologies within the project environment...................................4
Agile Methodology......................................................................................................................5
Critically evaluating the composition and management of teams...............................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
A project manager is an individual which plans and executes various tasks in the
organisation. They use various strategies and approaches to complete a specified project. Mark
and Spencer is a major British multinational retailer. They offer various products to the
consumers which includes clothing, beauty, etc. They had managed to acquire a huge share in the
market by following the ethical practices. The brand has currently 959 stores across UK. The
report aims to analyse about understanding the role of project manager. On the other hand, in this
report there will be brief discussion about various frameworks and methodologies within the
project environment. Along with that, there will be brief discussion about different teams which
helps the company to achieve the overall targets in the market.
MAIN BODY
Social media marketing strategy helps the organisation to achieve various goals and
objectives in an effective meaner. The main focus is to gain a competitive advantage in the
market by using various methodologies and tools. There are various phases while making the
strategy for the organisation. The project manager needs to asses various factors in a systematic
way. This will help the company to become more profitable in the market and achieve the
necessary targets.
Smart Objectives
 Specific – The main aim is to prepare a social media marketing strategy to increase the
sales of Mark and Spencer by 10%
 Measurable – The organisation can measure the performance on the basis of sales and
customer satisfaction in the market.
 Achievable – To achieve more sales the project manager has to implement new strategies
in order to maximize the productivity in the workplace.
 Relevant – This objective is relevant in order to achieve a sustainable performance in the
market and increase the turnover of the company.
 Time bound – The specific time frame to achieve this goals is between 5 to 6 months.
Defining the project
There are various strategies which could used to achieve the sales and growth in the
market. Marks and Spencer needs develop a innovative social medial marketing strategy to
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attract various potential customers in the market. The main focus is to increase the sales and
achieve a sustainable performance in the retail industry. The project manager needs to create
different innovative ideas to achieve various targets and improvise the overall productivity of the
workforce to execute this strategic goal of the company. There are various characteristics of
social media strategy which is described below:
 Knowing the audience – The organisation needs to use an effective social media
strategy to attract various customers in the market. Marks and Spencer project manager
can achieve this goal by segmenting the customers in the market. Through this they can
attract the audience by doing various campaigns in order to increase the overall sales in
the industry.
 Clear Goals – The organisation needs to establish a systematic process in order to
achieve the goals and objectives in the market. The main focus Marks and Spencer is to
improve the efficiency of the workplace. The project needs to execute the plan by
assessing the outcomes in a significant manner. The employees and the manger needs to
develop a cordial relationship in order to achieve the necessary targets which is set by the
management.
 Understanding the platforms better - In this new digital era there are various platforms
to promote the products and services in the market. It includes platforms like Instagram,
Facebook, etc. In order to achieve the objectives Marks and Spencer needs to indulge in
various campaigns. It helps them to promote their products and services in an better way
and attract more potential customers in the market.
Role of the project manager
Project manager are the persons who are responsible completing the task in the
organisations. They should have an effective leadership skills through which they can lead the
actions of all the employees towards the completion of the task (Chofreh, A.G and et.al., (2019)).
They have the ability to motivate the employee through which they can achieve more
productivity at the workplace. In order to formulate the effective effective social media strategy
there are several roles that they have to plat. Roles of the project manager are mentioned below
in relation to the Marks and Spencer:
 Delegation of the work effectively: In order to accomplish the task of the project, there
are various activities has to be performs in order to smoothly carry out the operations. In
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relation to formulate effectively social media strategy the project manager of the Marks
& Spencer should critically analyses the strengths and the weakness of each and every
employees through the work can be distributed effectively and according to the capability
of the employees (Galli, B.J., (2018)) . This enables the company to make effectively
social media plan in a less time.
 Conducting regular meetings: It is one of the most important duty of the project
manager that they should have to be performed at the workplace. By setting up of the
meeting in the organisations project manager becomes able to remind the duties and
motivates them towards the achievement of the goal of the project. Through this the
project manager of the Marks & Spencer will be able to effectively communicate with
each member of the project. This will help them to make changes in the social media
strategy if needed according to the market trends.
 Directing team to achieve the goal: It is the another main duty of the project manager
that they should carry out. They are the main person of the project who act as a leaders
who regularly motivate the employees towards the desired goal and target. Project
manager of the Marks & Spencer wanted to make an effective social media strategy in
order to promote their products in the market. This will put so much pressure on the
employees as finalising the effective channel for the advertising is one of the difficult
task. Through practising this role the project manager of the company will be organising
the team in a effective manner through which each and every individual of the project can
show their full potential.
 Cost Estimation: This is the another duty of the project manager that they have to carry
out while carrying out the specific work. This means that they should estimate the cost
that is to be incurred on carrying out the activities of the project (Hair, J.F. and Sarstedt,
M., (2021)). This will help the project manager of the Marks & Spencer to analyse the
cost in order to formulate the social media plan. This will help the company to analyse
the cost with the budget that has been pre planned.
Various frameworks and methodologies within the project environment
Waterfall Methodology
It is a traditional approach in which the project manager has evaluate various critical
factor while making the social media strategy of the organisation. This approaches tells that
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when implementing the new project there are different phases which needs to be completed in a
linear and sequential manner. The project flows in one direction. The phases will help the project
manager to execute the plan by assessing critical factors in a uniformed way. There are various
stages of this sequence which is mentioned below:
 Requirements – There are various requirements in the project which needs to be
assessed properly. While making the plan the project needs to evaluate various risks
which are associated with the respective plan. In relation to Marks and Spencer the
project manager needs to understand the risks which the company will take in the market.
With the help of various tools like success metrics, risking factors etc. The project
manager can make an effective social media marketing strategy to attract various
customers. This will help the company to increase the turnover in a systematic manner.
 Design – The software developers needs to assess various technical problems which
arises while promoting the products on the social media platforms. This is one of the
most crucial factor to achieve the goals and objectives without facing any severe issues.
Marks and Spencer project manager needs to develop a cordial relationship with the
technical team in order to achieve the the targets. The manager had to integrate various
factor and asses the components which is indulged while making the plan significantly.
 Implementation – In this stage after making the plan by assessing the outcomes and
various risks associated with it. The project manager of Marks and Spencer needs to test
the design phase of the plan. The manager needs to successfully promote the products
while doing the campaigns in a small range of audience to see the response. There are
various changes which might be required in the social media marketing strategy. The
outcomes will impact the company for a longer period of time.
 Verification and Testing – In this stage there needs to testing of the products which the
company wants to offer to the customers. The project manager of Marks and Spencer
needs to do check the quality of the products to attain maximum customers satisfaction in
the market. This will help the company to maintain a positive brand integrity in the retail
industry. Moreover, the company could be also be able to achieve a sustainable
performance in the market. The platforms on which the products is promoted needs to be
evaluated properly by the project manager. There are various new rules and regulations
which the organisation needs to comply in a effective manner.
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 Deployment and Maintenance – In this phase the organisation can sell the products and
services to the customers. This is the decider stage for the company and it will also
impact their future operations. The project manager of Marks and Spencer also needs to
measure the performance while promoting the products and services on the digital
platforms. This will help the company to see the impact on their operations. On the other
hand, they can asses whether they are acquiring the targets and goals in the market. The
organisation needs to offer the greater quality products to the consumers with the
changing preferences.
Agile Methodology
This agile project management methodology helps the organisation can implement
various changes in the plan. It is one of the most traditional approach the company needs to agile
in order to successfully implement a new structure in the workplace. The organisation can adapt
with the new technologies to provide better products and services in the market. There are
various key principles which can followed by the project manager in order to achieve the goals
and objectives is mentioned below:
 It is collaborative – This is one of the most important advantage of this framework. The
project manager can collaborate with different manager in order to achieve the goals and
objectives which is set by the management. In relation to Mark and Spencer the manager
can collaborate with different departments in the workplace. This will help the
organisation to make an effective plan which will create a positive impact on their
performance. The agile methodology is crucial in for the company in every manner. With
the changing trends the brand can improve their strategies and way of making the plans.
The structure of the company needs to be agile in order to generate more profits in the
market.
 It is quick – If the project is liable to change the organisation can improve various
aspects of the plan. The main focus is to increase the overall growth and turnover of the
company. With the changing technology the project manager of Marks and Spencer could
use various tools to make an effective plan. This will help the organisation to achieve the
goals and objectives in the market. The project manager can involve various individuals
to provide better planning and achieve the inherent goals and objectives in the market.
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 It's ocean and data driven change – This particular methodology can change the overall
working of the organisation. The project manager of Marks and Spencer can improve the
overall efficiency of the plan. They can use various strategy to promote the products and
services in an better way. They had to make an engaging content in which they are able to
attract various potential customers in the market. By implementing this methodology in
the workplace the organisation can generate more profits in the market.
Critically evaluating the composition and management of teams
Team composition can be described as the overall mix in which there are various
activities happening in the team. The whole teams works in a uniformed to achieve the same
vision and goals which is set by the management. The main work responsibility of the project
manager is to coordinate with the team to complete the targets and provide better quality
products and services to the customers. The project manager of Marks and Spencer could use the
theory to coordinate with the team in a better way. This will help the company to establish an
effective plan. To manage the teams effectively Tuckman's theory could be used by the project
manager. There are various stages in this theory which is mentioned below:
 Forming – This is the first stage in which the task has been allocated to different
members in the teams. There are various individuals which can work with the team and
they will achieve an overall growth in the future. Marks and Spencer project manager
needs to develop various goals and objectives for making an effective social media
strategy to promote the products and services. The employees can develop new
innovative ideas to attract various customers in the market. This will help the company to
achieve maximum profits in the market. There are various skills of the individual with the
help of this the project manager can achieve greater results in the market.
 Storming – In this stage there is most of the conflicts which starts in the workplace.
There are various individuals which gives different suggestions and ideas while making
an effective plan for the company. This is one of the most crucial factors which needs to
assessed properly to minimize the clash between employees and management. In order to
minimize the conflicts the Project manager of Marks and Spencer can listen to various
ideas of the employees. By Capitalising on the right opportunities the manager can make
an effective plan. This will help the organisation to increase the overall sales and achieve
a sustainable performance in the market.
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 Norming – This is the stage where the employees work together to achieve the
systematic goal which is set by the management. The project manager of Marks and
Spencer needs to divide the duties on the capabilities of the individual. With the changing
market trends the employees can give better suggestions to achieve the uniformed goal.
The main focus is make an effective social media marketing strategy in which the
company can increase the overall profits in the industry. The organisation is able to
achieve a sustainable performance in the market.
 Performing – In this particular stage the employees understand their weakness and
strengths in an effective manner. Most the individuals can become more productive and
achieve the overall targets which is set by the management. Marks and Spencer project
manager needs to asses the strength of various employees effectively top make a strategic
plan. They had to ensure that the employees are working in order to reach out the same
vision as the management. There are various individuals which can perform in a better
way. Through this they can make creative campaigns to attract various potential
consumers in the market. There are different risks which can arise while performing the
actions the project needs to evaluate every factor to make an effective strategy for the
brand.
 Adjourning – In this stage the organisation is able to achieve the goals and teams will be
disband in the workplace. Marks and Spencer project manager needs to improve the
qualities and skills of the team in an effective manner. The manager can use the team
again to make the organisation more profitable in the market. There are various new
opportunities on which the organisation can capitalise in order to achieve the necessary
goals and objectives in the market. The project can use the team again in future. On the
other hand, this methodology will ease the job responsibility of the project manager in a
better way.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has concluded that the organisation needs to use various
strategies to carry out a plan in effective manner. With the changing technology in the market the
organisation needs to offer best quality products to the consumers. This will help the company to
maintain a positive brand integrity in the market. On the other hand, there will be brief
discussion about various theories and methodologies which can help the project manager to
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establish a strategy for the organisation. Along with that, there will be brief discussion about how
the project manager can manage the teams effectively in order to achieve the targets which is set
by the management. For further instance, in this report there will be brief discussion about
various key principles which can help the Project manager to boost the sales of the company.
The business will be able to optimize the resources better and achieve a sustainable performance
in the market.
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REFERENCES
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