Project Management Analysis: Rio Carnival's Challenges and Successes

This report provides an analysis of project management within the context of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, a globally recognized festival. It highlights the significant challenges faced by project managers, particularly in terms of resource constraints, specifically money, and the immense pressure to achieve high quality. The report examines the importance of quality and creativity as key factors in the judging process of the samba parade. It also explores the benefits of successful project management, including personal satisfaction and the fostering of unity among team members and the wider community. The report further discusses the constraints faced by various samba schools, such as Vila Isabel, and the strategies employed to overcome them, including fundraising and efficient resource allocation. It concludes by emphasizing the critical nature of effective project management for achieving success in the Rio Carnival, underscoring the need for careful planning, execution, and the cultivation of teamwork.

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RIO CARNIVAL’S PROJECT MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The carnival in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most celebrated festivals in the world. The project
management for this celebration can be very challenging for the event administrator due to the
intense pressurethe competition lays on him or her. There are about thirteen teams from different
samba schools and neighbor hoods all putting all they have in the preparation of this festival with
an aim of winning the samba parade champions title, the most sought-after label in Brazil. Due to
the stiff competition, project management for this festival requires a lot of resources (money) and
time for preparation. Preparations for the next samba parade start almost immediately after the
completion of the celebration to create enough time for an excellent festival. Vila Isabel’s project
manager Cid Carvalho works many hours every day to have a chance at winning the title.
Quality and creativity are the two most important aspects that the judges consider in Money is
the biggest constraint experienced by Vila Isabel and other samba schools from different
neighbor hoods. Rio carnival’s benefits include the personal satisfaction that the project
management team derives from successful completion of their work and the fact that it unifies
people from all over the world.
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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
CONSTRAINTS OF THE PROJECT.....................................................................................................4
Quality....................................................................................................................................................4
Money.....................................................................................................................................................5
BENEFITS OF RIO CARNIVAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT..........................................................5
Personal Satisfaction.............................................................................................................................5
Unity.......................................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION
Rio carnival is the biggest festival in the world with about two million attending each day and
therefore there is a lot of pressure during its instigation, controlling, planning and implementing
(Wang et al, 2017). The main objective of carrying out an excellent project management for this
celebration is winning. The samba schools work hard all year long to captivate the attending
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people from all over the world and especially the 4 groups of 10 judges each that scrutinize every
single detail of the dancers, from their costumes to their coordination during dancing.
CONSTRAINTS OF THE PROJECT
Quality
Quality describes the aspect of having a good worth, being made well or being fit for the
intended purpose. It is the most important feature in this festival and therefore it is responsible
for causing incredible pressure to the project management team as it is a major factor in defining
the champion. As huge as the pre-mentioned festival is, it is crucial to have an excellent
outcome. Cid Carvalho, a highly paid project manager and carnivaldesigner, is under extreme
pressure especially in the last weeks to the carnival trying to come up with new and unique
adornments and perfect floats to impress the revelers and the festival judges. He is employed by
Vila Isabel, one of the leading schools in Rio festival. Even with a big team, Cid has been
working 15-hour days for the last eleven months and there still much to be done.
Quality is of great essence in all the undertakings in preparation of the Rio Carnival, and a good
quality outcome requires a lot of time and immense preparation (Izmailov, A., Korneva, D., &
Kozhemiakin, A., 2016). Cid works very closely with Moises’ family to have a chance in
winning Brazil’s most coveted title, samba parade champions. Moises is the school’s newly
elected president and top project manager and therefore has the final say on everything. Being
one of the most spectacular televised celebration in the world, Rio carnival is available to over
190 countries and viewed by about a billion people. The manager of the Global Television has to
do an excellent work in every portion from all the cameras, power light, cables and tracking
devises. He must also be in a position to manage all the broadcasting personnel, about 2 thousand
in number to avoid confusion and mix-up.
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Money
This is the biggest constraint for Vila Isabel samba school. The other samba schools also struggle
to meet their coinage targets. Mangueira school, for example, is situated in one of Rio’s poorest
neighbor hoods and therefore money is a great challenge to them. Most of the people from their
area do not even attend the festival due to lack of money. In Vila Isabel, money is raised via
television rights, merchandize and scholarships. The school’s elected president Moises works
with both his wife, who is in charge of costume production and his son who is the director of
operations probably to save a little bit more money (Ji, X., & Yao, K., 2017).
To make the project better every time, additional money is required. The making of great floats
and costumes all need a huge amount of money. there are about 4 thousand costumes and 8
elaborate floats to be made. Payment made to the team also adds to the school’s expenses
regarding the carnival.
BENEFITS OF RIO CARNIVAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Personal Satisfaction
The project management team derives a lot of satisfaction and pride in completion of their work.
After ensuring that the initiation which involves establishment of a great theme is done
excellently, they head on to the planning and the executing stages. The feeling is prolonged
especially after winning the title (Aga et al, 2016). The competition for the samba parade
champion is incredibly stiff considering how sort after the title is.
Choosing a theme is an activity of great importance because it shows the creativity of a specific
samba school. A theme should encompass a huge sector in human life or shoe the origin of an
historical object, activity or language. Planning includes coming up with an efficient and
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effective strategy to achieve the school’s objectives (Papke-Shields, K. E., & Boyer-Wright, K.
M., 2017). Execution entails capturing all the aspects of the dance preparation, including the
costumes, the flag bearer, the escort the system operations and the floats. In a competition such
as this, every small detail counts because it distinguishes the winner from the loser.
Unity
Working together as a team in the festival’s project management creates unity and togetherness
among the staff members. They become like one big family because they have the same goals,
objectives and desires. They also motivate each other during the process thus this process may
lead to creation of new friendships and relationships.
Rio carnival also bring people together from all over the world as it is one of the biggest
carnivals in the world. The festival therefore unifies people of all ethnicities, races, communities,
diverse culture, beliefs and values as they celebrate together (Kucharska, W., & Kowalczyk, R.,
2016).
CONCLUSION
Rio carnival’s project management is a great responsibility to the team and must therefore be
taken very seriously if there is any chance of winning the samba parade champion title. It brings
people together as they work together and satisfies them personally after completion of the task
whereby they can just relax and enjoy the celebration. It however requires a lot of time and
resources in planning and execution.
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REFERENCES
Wang, J., Yang, K., & Zhao, R. (2017). The impact of decision criteria on deadline-based
incentive contracts in project management. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 28(3), 643-655.
Ji, X., & Yao, K. (2017). Uncertain project scheduling problem with resource
constraints. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 28(3), 575-580.
Izmailov, A., Korneva, D., & Kozhemiakin, A. (2016). Effective Project Management with
Theory of Constraints. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229, 96-103.
Papke-Shields, K. E., & Boyer-Wright, K. M. (2017). Strategic planning characteristics applied
to project management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(2), 169-179.
Kucharska, W., & Kowalczyk, R. (2016). Trust, Collaborative Culture and Tacit Knowledge
Sharing in Project Management–a Relationship Model.
Aga, D. A., Noorderhaven, N., & Vallejo, B. (2016). Transformational leadership and project
success: The mediating role of team-building. International Journal of Project
Management, 34(5), 806-818.
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