Umbro: Strategies for a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce Environment

This project delves into the initiatives and strategies employed by the British sportswear company Umbro to cultivate a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. The research begins with establishing clear aims, objectives, and timeframes, followed by a comprehensive project management plan encompassing costs, scope, time, quality, communication, risk, and resources. The project utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather and analyze data, including a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart for effective time management. The research explores Umbro's current practices, the rationale for an inclusive workforce, and potential future strategies. The project concludes with recommendations for sustaining a diverse and inclusive work environment, reflecting on the value of the research and its usefulness for organizational performance. The project also provides a detailed cost breakdown and project timeline for implementation.

MANAGING SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
PROJECT

CONTENTS
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................4
LO1 Establishing project aims, objectives and timeframes based on the chosen theme..............................................5
P1 Devising clear aims and objectives for the project...............................................................................................5
P2 Producing a project management plan incorporating: costs, scope, time, quality, communication, risk and
resources....................................................................................................................................................................7
M1 Producing a comprehensive project management plan, milestone schedule and project schedule for
monitoring and completing the aims and objectives of the project....................................................................7
P3 Producing a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide timeframes and stages for completion 10
M2 Evaluating the accuracy and reliability of different research methods applied...........................................13
LO2 Conducting a small-scale research, information gathering and data collection to generate knowledge to
support the project.......................................................................................................................................................15
P4 Carrying out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods appropriate for
meeting project aims and objectives.......................................................................................................................15
LO3 Presenting the project and communicating appropriate recommendations based on meaningful conclusions
draw from the evidence findings and/or analysis........................................................................................................20
P5 Analyzing the research and data using appropriate tools and techniques........................................................20
P6 Communicating appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis to draw valid and
meaningful conclusions............................................................................................................................................27
LO4 reflecting on the value gained from conducting the project and its usefulness to support sustainable
organizational performance.........................................................................................................................................38
P7 Reflecting on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives and own learning and
performance.............................................................................................................................................................38
References....................................................................................................................................................................40
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INTRODUCTION
Business projects are referred to the processes of workflows by which the
organizations can get the properly concised result in a limited timeframe
effectively. For the research and evaluation projects devised and performed
in the business organizations, they are necessry for investigating and
prioritizing different interest factors of the organizations. These projects take
necessary strategical move such as assessing the opinions to form the
necessary direction the organizations should take to meet the requirements
of the customer bases and to increase the brand value for better profitability.
The projects, especiallly the research projects done within a multinational
organizational structure are very complex in nature according to the various
systematic and structural rules along with other playing factors. The equality
and diversity in a workplace is well required in this age. The organizations in
their journey of having a diverse and inclusive workkplace where equality is
established amongst the workforce can face many different kinds of
challenges. These challenges are dealt with the overall understanding of the
standard solution and researching of other factors such as cultural and
association in play. In this business research project the whole initiatives and
strategies along with analysis according to the importance of building a
diverse and equal inclusive workforce will be discussed. The British
sportswear and sports equipment supplier multinational company Umbro has
taken into consideratio for discussing and analyzing.
LO1 ESTABLISHING PROJECT AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND TIMEFRAMES BASED ON THE
CHOSEN THEME
P1 DEVISING CLEAR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE PROJECT.
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Company Profile: Umbro
Founded in 1924, Umbro is one of the oldest and renowned sports equipment
company in UK. They are based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England
and they provide the products by designing, sourcing and marketing. They
also serve as the supplier for different international football equipment
companies and individual clubs. The company produces several forms of
apparels, kit uniforms including the jerseys and shorts, footwear and sports
equipment which is then sold over 80 countries in the world. The company
also has the continuous production of gloves and balls. More than 1500
employees work for the company and they are famous for their workplace
ethics and diversified workforce. The employees are from different
backgrounds and cultures which create a single environment for sharing
ideas and thoughts. The company also deals with the inclusion of their
customers by supporting their needs in every aspect of the operations. The
research on the preferable initiatives and strategies taken for developing a
diverse and equal workplace culture will be based on Umbro as being a
known source of diversified and inclusive environment.
Research Title
The initiatives and strategies observed by the British international company
Umbro for building and managing a diversified and inclusive workforce
environment.
The Research Aim
The aim of the research project is to explore and analyze various taken
initiatives and strategies by the multinational sports supplier company
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Umbro in developing an equal and diversified inclusive workplace
environment.
The Research Objective
The research aim of this business research project will be successful if the
research objectives stated in the below are met:
 To explore the present initiatives and strategies taken by Umbro to
achieve an equal and diverse workplace environment.
 To discover the requirements of having an inclusive workforce
environment in the multinational companies and the approaches taken
by the company Umbro for obtaining the environment.
 To discuss the additional initiatives, planning and strategies taken by
Umbro for having a diversified and equal workforce environment in the
upcoming days.
 To have a satisfying conclusion from the research and analysis
according to the presented case and provide suitable
recommendations considering the initiatives and strategies of
multinational companies such as Umbro to sustain the diverse and
inclusive work environment.
The Research Questions
The research objectives of the business project will be achieved if and when
the questions stated in the following are answered properly:
 What are the present initiatives and strategies are taken by Umbro to
achieve an equal and diverse workplace environment?
 Why an inclusive workforce environment is needed in the multinational
companies and how does Umbro obtain the environment?
 Which additional initiatives, planning and strategies must be taken by
Umbro to have a diversified and equal workforce culture in the
upcoming days?
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 What recommendations are suitable for the multinational companies
such as Umbro to sustain the diverse and inclusive work environment?
P2 PRODUCING A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN INCORPORATING: COSTS, SCOPE, TIME,
QUALITY, COMMUNICATION, RISK AND RESOURCES.
M1 PRODUCING A COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN, MILESTONE SCHEDULE AND PROJECT
SCHEDULE FOR MONITORING AND COMPLETING THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT.
The research projects need a proper project planning process which is done
with a decisive and effective project management plan. Different factors are
involved with a project management planning process and certain matters
are flexible due to the taken relevant considerations (Demeulemeester,
2013). The research project of Umbro also has some influential factors that
can determine the project success and these are discussed in the project
management plan in the following:
Costs: The costs of this research project are the required financial and other
resources to devise an effective research (Gaspareniene, 2014). The
calculation of the costs is very necessary for this kind of research project in
the project management plan for having a smooth running operation of the
whole project. It has been calculated and delivered to the designated
authority that the cost estimation of this research project is £2000 which
must be sanctioned for initiating the project.
Scope and Limitation: The influential areas are discussed in the scopes of
a research project. In contrast the negative impact factors of the research
that can have bad influence over the results of the research are called the
limitations of a research project (Demeulemeester, 2013).
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The main scope of this research is to have a broad idea of evaluating the
necessity of initiatives and strategies taken by the multinational companies
to develop a diverse and inclusive workforce environment. While the
limitations of this research project are limited and variable according to the
business types, different cultural aspects and regional locations of operation
etc.
Time: The time or timeline of a project is referred to the allocated time for a
project in the project planning for the completion of the overall project with
having the required outcomes. The effectiveness of the research project is
maintained by completing the project within the given timeframe
(Gaspareniene, 2014). This research project on the diverse and inclusive
workforce environment in the multinational companies like Umbro has been
allocated 10 weeks of time duration for completion including all of the
research and analysis tasks associated.
Research Quality: The standard quality of the research is to be maintained
for having reliability and successful interpretation of purpose of the projects.
The quality of this research project is maintained by the inclusion of the
proper evidences required, the analytical method of analyzing processes and
executing the research with standards provided by the authority and the
company.
Communication: Communication aspect is considered to be very important
in a research project as the researching and other operation needs the
assembling of people and various tasks and the outcomes gained from them
with different concentrations of views and opinions (Saunders, 2012). In this
research project clear communication strategies are taken amongst the
research team members for elaborating different research needs and
performing elaborately. The members of the team also utilized the various
mediums of communication such as phones, social media, and internet for
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connecting different parties like the respondents of the research into one
platform.
Risk: Even the well organized and thought planned research and execution
may face some risks associated which are basically the uncertainties within
the research and that may impact on the outcomes of the research projects
(Demeulemeester, 2013). Proper risk handlings are necessary for these
projects to have an unbiased and effective result. This research project plan
also has some risks involved which are the lack of financial sources, limited
timeframe for collecting information, miscommunication within parties
involved, the emotional response of the research respondents etc.
Resources: Resources are referred to the tangible things which are utilized
to observe a specific purpose. The needs of the resources of the research are
discussed in the cost section. The resources that are necessary for this
research project are given in below with their relevant costs needed:
Books, Journals and learning materials- £700
Computer hardware, software used- £800
Billing of phones, data connection- £150
Transporting costs- £150
Development of the questionnaires- £120
Miscellaneous- £80
Total Resource Cost £2000
P3 PRODUCING A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE AND A GANTT CHART TO PROVIDE
TIMEFRAMES AND STAGES FOR COMPLETION
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Work Breakdown Structure
Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a project management tool which is
utilized by the project management authority for identifying the milestones
of the projects in a clear manner and understanding needed tasks for
achieving the milestones with various considerations such as time
management for each tasks (Saunders, 2012). The work breakdown
structure of this research project with the required tasks to be completed
along with the time needed for each task and the project milestones is being
given in the following:
Gantt Chart
The Gantt chart is referred to a tool of project management process which is
utilized for the scheduling purposes of the project tasks according to their
allocated timeframe. Usually the whole project is divided into several tasks
which are easily achievable and this characteristic of the chart is necessary
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Generation of
project title, aims
and objectives (1
Week)
Overall planning
operation of the
project (2 Weeks)
Researching
operation by taken
methodology (2
Weeks)
Collecting the data
and analysis
process (3 Weeks)
Conclusion and
recommendations
(2 Weeks)
Reflection of the
research (1 Week)
Report submission
(1 Week)

for concise and effective operation of the projects (Saunders, 2012). The
Gantt chart of this research project with the required tasks to be completed
along with their easy achievable objectives and timeframes are provided in
below:
Tasks W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 W10
Stage I
Generation of project
title, aims and
objectives
√
Overall planning
operation of the
project
√ √
Stage II
Researching
operation by taken
methodology
√ √
Collecting the data
and analysis process
Data collection &
analysis
√ √ √
Stage III
Conclusion
&recommendation
√ √
Stage IV
Reflection of the
research
√
Report submission √
M2 EVALUATING THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF DIFFERENT RESEARCH METHODS APPLIED.
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Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods
Qualitative research method is the form of research where collections of data
and analysis process take the qualitative aspects which is the information
that are the perceptions, opinions, assumptions and views regarding the
situation and conclusion made from analyzing these data which are not facts
(Gaspareniene, 2014). On the other hand, the quantitative research method
refers to the data collection and analysis process by taking the mathematical
or numerical forms of data that are found in the research or projects done
previously along with other sources of statistical information (Lippe, 2016).
The quantitative research method has been taken in account for utilizing in
this research purpose where a bunch of survey questionnaires would be
provided to have the numerical numbers of opinions regards to the survey.
Justification
The ease of the quantitative method of researching and the inherent ability
of this strategy to have an in depth outlook of the situation is this research
project requires. Along with that, this form of researching also helps in
having a simpler presentation of the results which can be used for later
purposes. The effective measurements of the numerical numbers obtained
will be taken concrete forms which will be relatively effective than the
abstract forms of information gathered from qualitative research method.
Primary & Secondary Research Strategy
Primary research is known as the first done research method which utilizes
the first and fresh collection of data for the analysis and obtaining of the
results purposes. These kinds of data are naturally found in the sources
which are directly related to the theme of the research project like the
various observations, opinions, and direct reports etc (Lippe, 2016). In
contrast, Secondary research is known as the research method where the
other used data from somewhere else is utilized for the research purposes.
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This is also named as the second hand data. In this research project the
primary research strategy will be taken mainly for consideration and
conclusion.
Justification
Primary data collection is very effective in utilizing the information that are
fresh and mostly relevant to the project topic which is very much necessary
in this research project as this project need data which are current and
relevant. The project also discovers the various issues of diverse and equal
workforce environment in multinational companies which is also why the
primary research strategy is mostly accurate for using.
Population & Sampling
Research population are referred to the overall population sources that can
provide the necessary information regarding the questions of the research.
The sampling is the process by which selection of the participants are carried
who are selected from the population and will be responsible for the sharing
of information for the research project. The process of sampling is either
done with selecting in beforehand or in a random manner. The whole
population of this research project is 1678 employees of the multinational
company Umbro and the sampling number is taken from this population
which is 200 randomly selected employees for as the respondents of the
research.
Data Collection and Analysis
As this research project will be collecting data utilizing the quantitative
method from the primary sources, the method of data collection should be
focused on methods such as interviews, observations, surveys, discussions
among groups etc (Lippe, 2016).
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