Project Management Assessment Report: ABC PLC Acquisition Project

This report analyzes project management principles through a case study of ABC PLC, a UK food and drinks retailer. It explores key project characteristics, the role of work breakdown structure, and quality methods for successful project completion. The report details the project initiation document, project scope, and the use of Gantt charts and the critical path method. It also covers budgeting approaches and risk management strategies. The second part of the report focuses on the activities needed to manage a project successfully, using the ABC PLC acquisition of DEF Ltd as an example. It highlights the required skills and capabilities of a project manager, including strong leadership, effective communication, risk management, and decision-making skills. The report further outlines the project management process, including the initiation, planning, monitoring, and control phases, providing a comprehensive overview of managing projects effectively.

Managing projects
assessment questions

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
Project is a planned set of interrelated tasks which needs to be executed and completed
over a fixed time period. It is a effective method by which scope, vision and the work effort of
the individuals is specified so that project work can be finished at an appropriate specified time.
This project is based on the case study of the large UK food and drinks retailer PLC, which has a
strong brand image and therefore had a well established history of undertaking successful
mergers and acquisitions (Aarseth, Rolstadås and Andersen, 2014). This project will focus on the
key characteristics of the project as well as the role of work break down structure. It also
evaluates the quality methods needed to ensure that project is completed successfully. In addition
to this it outlines the activities required to manage the project in an effective manner.
TASK 1
1) a)
Project is defined as a series of task that ensures that task would be completed so as to
achieve the desired results. Key characteristics of the project includes-
 Project is a single definable purpose which clearly specifies cost, resources and time
intervals.
 Every project is unique and is one time activity for completing the specific project work.
 It is a planned and a managed activity which assist the individuals to work as per the
framed strategies so as to attain the goals and objectives.
b)
Project Initiation document is one of the important attributes in project management
which collects the information that is obtained from the starting of the project I.e. it includes
basic information of the project such as scope, cost, quality, resources and collaboration.
Purpose of Project Initiation document is to collect and record the basic information which is
needed to define the project activities in a proper manner. Moreover it also provides foundation
to the project regarding what will be delivered in project and at what time(Bosch-Sijtsema and
Henriksson, 2014).

2) a
It is mandatory that whether the project is small, easy or complex it will definitely
include a project scope statement. Project scope statement is created before the project work is
executed. Therefore scope statement of the project includes a number of things such as
explaining the scope for the business while undertaking the project as well as determines the
deliverables i.e. what are the products, services that your project will offer towards completion of
its project (vom Brocke and Lippe, 2015).
b.
Work Break down structure in project management states that it is a key deliverable that
divides the whole project into smaller components and therefore manages the team work into
manageable sections. It helps the employees to complete the work within the specific time
frame. In addition to this role of Work break down structure is to organise the project work into
smaller components and thus leads towards completing the project in a proper manner. Its basic
role is to reduce complicated activities so that it can be easily performed within the clearly
defined limits (Caputo and et.al, 2013).
3)
Gantt chart is a horizontal bar graph chart that illustrates a project schedule. It clearly
defines specific project activities needs to be accomplished within the specific time frame.
Therefore in order to complete the specific project, 35 weeks of time is required so that project
can be completed within the proper span of time.
Critical path method is a proper network analysis technique which is concerned with
proper planning and controlling of complex activities so as to manage the routine project
activities in a proper manner. Hence it is the proper method which defines the proper critical and
non critical task that should be completed within the specific time frame.
4)
In order to conduct business activities in a efficient manner, proper budgeting is required
so that all the activities within the project can be managed and completed in a efficient manner.
Their are two approaches for generating a proper budget which is described as follows-
 Top Down Budgeting- This approach helps to create budget by analysing the past
performance of the company by taking into account profit and loss statement. This helps

the project managers within the respective company to frame the budget in a effective
manner.
 Bottom up Budgeting- This approach provides the project manager with ample of time
to go through each of the component in the Profit and Loss statement and therefore
frames the effective budget in a proper manner.
5)
Project risk is an uncertain event or condition that if it occurs it has a major effect on at
least one of its project objectives. Project risk can arise because of the different factors such as
 Risk caused by scheduling the project activities into improper manner.
 Risk can also arise in the project with that of the inadequate amount of resources
allocated to project activity which may create issue while completing the project
activities in a proper manner (Cusworth and Franks, 2013).
Responses to risk that can be taken within the project management
In order to avoid the risk that can be taken within the project management includes-
 Project manager should analyse the project activities so that proper time can be scheduled
to each and every activity and therefore reduces the risk associated with scheduling of the
project activities.
 In order to reduce the risk of inappropriate amount of resources, proper resources such as
human and technological resources as well as proper finance should be allocated so that
project activities can be accomplished within the systematic time frame.
6)
In order to ensure that project is completed within the specific time frame it is necessary
for the project managers to adopt to proper quality methods such as-
 Project evaluation- It is on of the method to ensure that project is completed by meeting
all the requirements as well as completed within the specific time frame.
 Monitoring and Control- It is the another effective method which is concerned to
monitoring and controlling of the project activities in a proper manner so as to determine
that project activities are operating in a functional manner.

Task 2
Highlighting the activities needed to manage project more successfully
This specific case study is about the ABC PLC which is a well established organisation,
provides high quality products to the customer and therefore successfully meets its growth
objectives. Moreover the company has a successful history of mergers and acquisitions, also the
company owns a wide range of foods and drinks manufacturers among the well known UK
brands.
In this case study ABC company is doing the acquisition of DEF Ltd, which is a well
known high street frozen food retailers. It has also major outlets in major towns and cities.
Therefore John is working as a functional manager within the company and has the responsibility
for a group of manufacturing process. Therefore in order to manage this project -
Required skills and capabilities by project manager is given as under-
 Strong Leadership- John as a project manager is not responsible for the proper
acquisition DEF organisation but should have the ability to lead the team in a proper
manner so as to attain the goal in a proper manner. This skill is required by the John as
when the company do the acquisition of DEF ltd, this will lead to change in the working
task of different activities and with the help of effective leadership it influences the
working behaviour of the employees and assist them towards working in a effective
manner and leading towards the success of the project in a proper manner (Ehrler and
et.al, 2012).
 Effective communication- Project manger should have the communication skills so that
necessary information can be communicated to all the employees and make them to work
effectively. As specified in the case study of ABC Ltd, it is doing the acquisition of DEF
Ltd , this information should be communicated to the employees so that they work
according to the recent changes adopted by the organisation and leads towards success of
the project.
 Risk Management- It is necessary for the John to have proper risk management
competencies such as should have the capability to handle the risk that arises while
undertaking the project activities. When the project manager within the respective
company can effectively balances all the risk it can help towards completing the project
activities within a proper time frame. In context to the specific project where ABC Ltd is

doing the acquisition of DEF ltd it should properly analyse the level of risk associated
and measure the extent to which risk can be minimised. Therefore taking proper actions
against the risk identified helps them towards conducting the business activities in a
proper manner (Fellow and Liu, 2012).
 Decision making skills- This is the major skill required by the project managers so as to
take effective actions and decisions regarding scheduling the time and allocating the
resources so that project activities can be operated in a functional manner. Hence it is the
major skill required so as to manage the activities in a efficient manner. This skill should
be properly developed within the project manager of the respective company so as to take
proper actions and decisions regarding the acquisition of the company and therefore
conducts the business activities in an appropriate manner.
Process involved project Management
Project Management is an proper administration process which is majorly responsible for
the planning and control of the activities towards the implementation of the project in a
successful manner. In context to the specific case study of of undertaking the project of
acquisition of DEF company it requires the manager to effectively manage all the stages within
the project in a significant manner. Therefore overall process of managing the project is divided
into five stages which is described as follows-
 Initiation Phase- This is the stage where the project work is actually started. During this
starting phase feasibility study is determined so as to enable whether the project
undertaken will benefit the business or not. Therefore some of the starting activities that
includes defining the project goal, as well as determining the project scope, identifying
the project manager and the key stakeholders. It is also the responsibility of the project
manager to identify the potential risk which is associated with the project that is the risk
of inadequate resources with ABC company may lead the acquisition project towards the
failure. It is the starting phase in which project manager at ABC would think towards the
acquisition of DEF Ltd so that it manage the business operations in a effective manner.
 Planning Phase- It is the phase which acts as a blue print and therefore guides the entire
project towards the starting and the completion phase. This planning phase is necessary
for the project managers to determine the scope, quality, time and the proper amount of
resources required so as to manage the project activities. It also determines the project

manager to adopt to proper communication strategy to ensure that stakeholder are
provided with necessary information and leads towards ongoing the project activities in a
proper manner. This phase requires project to get approved before starting its project
activities in a proper manner. In this phase, John being the project manager of ABC Ltd
would make proper plans related to managing the resources, as well as decides proper
sharing of activities between the employees of both the companies so that both the
enterprises could work in a proper manner, leading to attain goals and objectives of the
respective organisation (Flyvbjerg, 2013).
 Monitoring and Control- During this phase, it becomes the responsibility of the project
managers to monitor the performance of the project in a effective manner and make
necessary changes when any deviations are found towards performing the project
activities. Therefore monitoring and planning is closely related to project planning of
activities , as with the help of monitoring function it helps towards detecting any variable
which is creating any barrier towards conducting the project activities. This helps towards
taking the corrective actions so as to keep project activities on track. Control also takes
as an important measure so as to prevent the deviations in the project activities and helps
the project manager of ABC LTD to conduct its activities in a meaningful manner.
 Closing phase- It is the last step of the project management process which is determined
towards closing down the project activities and therefore attains the result in the positive
manner. It is the phase when the project provides effective deliverables to the customers
and therefore provide proper satisfaction to its stakeholders. Moreover in this phase
project manager closed down the contract with the suppliers, external vendors,
consultants and with the third parties. This will be recorded and documented as a final
project report. In addition to this, it involves another set of processes such as scope to
ensure that project deliverables have been completed as planned and also has to check all
the outstanding contracts and administration work so as to ensure that project is properly
closed as per stated in agreements.
These are all the phases of project management cycle which assist the project manager to
conduct, develop and manage the project related activities in a proper manner. Further more,
following all these stages will lead the project manager to conduct its specific responsibility in a
proper manner and therefore leads towards the proper acquisition of the DEF LTD company. As

in the specified case ABC which is trying to do acquisition of DEF Ltd in order to sell frozen
products along with the food and drink beverage. This will lead the company to enhance its
brand image and therefore attracts larger number of customers , this will ultimately increase the
profitability as well as the productivity of the respective organisation (Matinheikki, Müller and
Jugdev, 2012).
Problems associated with managing the project
While undertaking the project there are certain problems which the project manager faces
while conducting its project activities in a proper manner, these are described as follows-
 Poorly defined goals- It is one of the major challenge or the issue that the project
manager faces because of the unclear goals and objectives, this creates difficulty for the
employees to work in a effective manner towards the goals and objectives of
organisation. This makes the respective business to suffer when there is lack of clarity
and thoughts before starting a project.
 Unrealistic deadlines- Second reason towards the failure of the project is to set
unrealistic timelines for completing the project in a effective manner. It is necessary for
the project manager to analyse the project related work in a proper manner and therefore
sets proper time for completing the project in a effective manner. Therefore in order to
compete in this competitive business environment it is necessary for the project managers
to set proper time towards the completion of the project activities in a proper manner
(Pryke and Smyth, 2012).
 Insufficient Skills- In order to complete the project, team members within the organisation
should work in a effective manner so that project can contribute towards the success. Moreover
when the team members are not skilled or trained they will be not be able to work in a effective
manner and leads towards the failure of the project. This would create a risky task for the project
so as to meet the challenges and demands of the business environment.
 Improper Communication- This is the another problem of administration which creates
problem for the project managers towards completion and fulfilment of the project
activities within the proper time. When there is lack of communication among the
employees related to project activities, it leads them to do incorrect work and causes
towards the failure of the project (Smith, Merna and Jobling, 2014).

 Risk Management- It is the another main issue that the project managers within the
respective company faces because of the certain or the sudden risk arise. In order to avoid
such risk proper control measures should be taken by the project managers as well as
proper prediction of the risk should be done so that mitigation measures can be done at an
appropriate time.
These are the various problems or the issue that the company faces towards which the project
managers should take appropriate action so as to manage all the risks and the problem and
functions project activities within a proper time period (Thamhain, 2013).
CONCLUSION
It has been analysed from the above report that undertaking and managing the project in a
effective manner leads towards the growth and success of the business enterprise. It is the
responsibility of the project managers to allocate proper resources and time towards the
completion of the project activities at a proper time. It is also necessary for the project manager
to pose necessary skills and attitudes towards completing the project activities and also analyses
the various risk and the control measures so that project can attain towards the success and brings
maximum profitability in the organisation.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Aarseth, W., Rolstadås, A. and Andersen, B., 2014. Managing organizational challenges in
global projects. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.
Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M. and Henriksson, L.H., 2014. Managing projects with distributed and
embedded knowledge through interactions. International Journal of Project
Management. 32(8). pp.1432-1444.
Caputo and et.al, 2013. Method of and system for managing projects, programs and portfolios
throughout the project lifecycle. U.S. Patent 8,407,078.
Cusworth, J.W. and Franks, T.R., 2013. Managing projects in developing countries. Routledge.
Ehrler and et.al, 2012. Managing resources for projects. U.S. Patent 8,335,705.
Fellows, R. and Liu, A.M., 2012. Managing organizational interfaces in engineering construction
projects: addressing fragmentation and boundary issues across multiple
interfaces. Construction management and economics, 30(8), pp.653-671.
Flyvbjerg, B., 2013. Over budget, over time, over and over again: Managing major projects.
Matinheikki, J., Artto, K., Peltokorpi, A. and Rajala, R., 2016. Managing inter-organizational
networks for value creation in the front-end of projects. International Journal of Project
Management. 34(7). pp.1226-1241.
Müller, R. and Jugdev, K., 2012. Critical success factors in projects: Pinto, Slevin, and Prescott–
the elucidation of project success. International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business. 5(4). pp.757-775.
Pryke, S. and Smyth, H., 2012. The management of complex projects: A relationship approach.
John Wiley & Sons.
Smith, N.J., Merna, T. and Jobling, P., 2014. Managing risk in construction projects. John Wiley
& Sons.
Thamhain, H., 2013. Managing risks in complex projects. Project management journal. 44(2).
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vom Brocke, J. and Lippe, S., 2015. Managing collaborative research projects: A synthesis of
project management literature and directives for future research. International Journal
of Project Management. 33(5). pp.1022-1039.
Walker, D. and Lloyd-Walker, B., 2016. Rethinking project management: Its influence on papers
published in the international journal of managing projects in business. International
Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 9(4). pp.716-743.
Walker, D. and Lloyd-Walker, B., 2016. Rethinking project management: Its influence on papers
published in the international journal of managing projects in business. International
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