Tesco's South Korea Joint Venture: A Project Management Case Study

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This case study details Tesco's successful project management.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROJECT
1

Table of Contents
TASK 1..........................................................................................................................................................3
References.................................................................................................................................................10
2

TASK 1
1. The definition of project management can be depicted as the process of planning and
managing the resources and human efforts for the purpose of accomplishing a project in a
successful and effective manner. Globalization has been trending on a high scale that involves
the initiation of operations on the international level. The strategy of a joint venture for adopting
the globalization trend in the company is significant as it provides assistance in various ways.
Tesco is a multinational retailer of general merchandise and groceries based on the UK. Tesco is
planning for entering into the markets of Asia using joint venture contract with Costco in South
Korea. The company has undertaken a project with Costco with an intention of establishing a
joint venture in order to enter the markets of South Korea.
3

2. The project has been planned with the key aim of establishing a joint venture contract with
Costco for the purpose of capturing the potential consumers of South Korea and operating on an
international level (Lenfle, et. al., 2016). The main objectives for achieving the project aim are as
follows
o Business Expansion by developing new products
o Shared resources, risks, finance and benefits
o Development of new products with innovation and creativity
o Enhancing the customers base by reaching to the potential buyers of South Korea
o Acting responsible towards society and the environment
o Maximizing profitability and sales revenue
4

3. The scope of this project is mainly associated with the joint venture taken place. The project
will work for the customers of South Korea along and involve market research in order to gain
an understanding of the market needs and wants of South Korea. However, there exist some
limitations that would be dealt with by the company during the project accomplishment. These
limitations would definitely be in relation to the scope, resources, and schedule as well. Cost and
resources can be incurred more than the expected project planning. Chances would exist that the
project would take more time and requires the undertaking of additional activities other than the
projected scope.
5

4. Cost constitutes a significant part of the project as it assists in the smooth functioning of the
project by providing adequate resources. It can be forecasted that the company will incur more
than $250 million for undertaking a successful project of the joint venture. The cost is utilized
for organizing different resources required for the project completion (Binder, 2016). Resources
in project refer to the assets that help in undertaking a particular activity or the whole project.
The key resources of this project would be the time, people, technologies, products, and
facilities. These resources are necessary to be allocated before the project initiation during the
project planning phase. Apart from this, there are other considerations that are significant for the
project such as quality, schedule, communication, and risks. Scheduling in the project helps in
ensuring the activity and project completion on time without any delay. Quality refers to the
degree to which the satisfaction if availed from the project. It means that mere project
completion is not adequate but also it should be according to the schedule and with the quality
that can be helpful in depicting benefits to the stakeholders.
6

5. Work Breakdown Structure
Work Breakdown Structure is a technique of planning that involves the division of entire
functions into smaller groups for easy attainment. It clearly shows the primary and secondary
activities to be done from the project initiation to the closeout phase (Jouini, et. al., 2016).
Following is the Work Breakdown Structure of Tesco for undertaking this project:
(Figure: Work Breakdown Structure of Tesco)
(Source: By Author, 2019)
7
Project
Initiation
Developme
nt of
Business
Case
Assignment
of Project
Manager
Conducting
a Market
Research
Project
Planning
Developing
Project aims
and
Objectives
Developing
WBS
Schedule
and
Resource
Planning
Budgeting
Risk
Managemen
t Planning
Planning
Change
Managemen
t and
Control
Project
Execution
Managing
Communica
tion
Process
Managemen
t
Execution
of Project
Activities
Project
Control
Monitoring
of Project
Activities
Change
Managemen
t
Project
Closure
Establishing
the Joint
Venture
Contract
Launching
in South
Korea
Market

Gantt chart is a supportive tool of work breakdown structure that shows the time schedule of
conducting every activity involved in the project completion (Floricel and Piperca, 2016). It
controls the time required for completion of each activity so that the project can be completed on
time. Following is the Gantt chart of Tesco's work breakdown structure:
(Figure: Gantt chart of Tesco’s Work Breakdown Structure)
(Source: By Author, 2019)
8

6. Project Risk Register
ID Risk Description Probability Impact Owner of
Risk
1 Improper communication High High Project
Manager
2 Clashes of Objectives of both the
organizations
Medium High Manager of
the
organizations
3 Delay in Project Completion Medium Low Project
Manager
4 Additional Resources than the planned
budget
High Low Project
finance
manager
5 Clashes of Organizational cultures of both
the organizations
Low Mediu
m
Manager of
the
Organization
s
6 Improper Management of Tasks Medium High Project
Manager
7 Poor Data quality High Low Market
Research
9

References Binder, J., 2016. Global project management: communication, collaboration and
management across borders. Routledge.
 Floricel, S. and Piperca, S., 2016. Project management between will and representation.
Project Management Journal. 47(3). pp 124-138.
 Jouini, S., Midler, C. and Silberzahn, P., 2016. Contributions of design thinking to project
management in an innovation context. Project Management Journal. 47(2). pp 144-156.
 Lenfle, S., Le Masson, P. and Weil, B., 2016. When project management meets design
theory: revisiting the Manhattan and Polaris projects to characterize ‘radical
innovation’and its managerial implications. Creativity and Innovation Management.
25(3). pp 378-395.
10