Project_Management

Introduction This paper discusses the project management for Riordan Manufacturing that handles each step of electric fans from inception to production. Riordan Manufacturing’s largest plant is in Hangzhou, China where 251 employees work. This is Riordan’s largest joint venture and is where the plastic fans are manufactured. Riordan has plans to move the Hangzhou plant to another location within the next five years. The new location is in the city of Shanghai, closer to the shipping port. By moving the Hangzhou plant to Shanghai, Riordan will save money on the costs that are incurred by trucking their products to Shanghai where they need to go to be shipped out of the country (UOP, 2010) Steps to assemble, develop, and manage the project team Project managers play a key role in developing their project teams. Each project manager will recruit members, conduct meetings, establish team identity, and create a common sense of purpose or a shared vision. These managers will also manage a type of reward system that will encourage teamwork, decision making, resolve conflict within the team, and rejuvenate the team members when their energy is low. To assemble and develop an effective team, a project manager needs to implement the five-stages of team development; forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. These stages are important to any project. The cooperation and completion of these steps ultimately will determine the success or failure rate of the project. Gray & Larson states that “project managers have found it useful to share the model with their teams. It helps members accept the tension of the storming phase, and it directs their focus to moving towards the more productive phases. Another implication is that it stresses the importance of the norming phase, which contributes significantly to the level of productivity experienced during the performing phase.” Managing the execution of the Riordan Project “The process of directing and managing project execution takes place at various phases in the life cycle of a given project. Specifically, the direct and manage project execution process refers to the actual process of executing the individual work components that are required to advance the process of the project’s development.”(Project Management Knowledge, 2010) Managing the execution of the Riordan Project would be difficult if all assigned tasks are not completed in a timely or successful manner. As project manager I will need to figure out ways to solve technical problems, serve as the peacemaker when issues arises, and make appropriate decisions regarding cost, time, and the scope of the project. It will be my responsibility to assign resources for the completion of the project according to the plan. At the same time I would need to implement any changes to the schedule or plan as needed. The importance of Project Sponsorship and Project Leadership Sponsorship is crucial to the project success. With strong sponsorship, large, risky projects can succeed. Without sponsorship, or with ineffective sponsorship, even small projects can fail. The project sponsor develops a relationship with the project stakeholders and the project manager. The project sponsor will perform different roles during the project life cycle. The project sponsor can be seller, coach and mentor, filter, business judge, motivator, negotiator, protector, and upper management link. As a Seller the project sponsor will sell the project to the project stakeholders. The project sponsor will have the ability to provide a sense of confidence to the project manager as a coach and mentor. During the course of the project, the sponsor communicates to senior management and to other stakeholders. Project leadership is an ability to get things done well through others. Project leadership requires the following four requirements: • A vision of the destination • A compelling reason to get there • A realistic timetable • A capacity to attract a willing team Leadership is important to the success of a project because leadership is essentially about motivating people. “Strong leaders can compensate for their managerial weakness by having trusted assistants who oversee and manage the details of the project” (Gray & Larson, 2008). In my opinion, project leadership is also about communicating and developing a social network with the project team members. This allows for open communication between team members, sponsors, and management. Most importantly, it allows the manager/leader to become actively involved in the hands on approach to the project. This process will enable the project leader to know what is happening if an issue comes about. The project leader would also be able to provide actuate information to sponsors or other essential stakeholders. Project progress and performance evaluation The first part of the project required the project team to define the “specifications of the project” (Gray & Larsen, 2008). This was done by determining the objectives of the project and then assigning responsibilities for each team member. A name for the project was chosen and the defining stage was complete. This puts the project team into the planning stage where “plans are developed to determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit…” (Gray & Larson, 2008). An outlined of the project stages, an overview of the project, goal of the project, the objectives and the scope statement was developed. The scope statement was finalized so the team could “define as clearly as possible the deliverable(s) for the end user and to focus project plans” (Gray & Larson, 2008). Phase two of the Riordan Manufacturing project incorporates the executing and delivering stages. The Riordan Project is now entering the executing stage. The project schedule is complete and the project budget has been determined and approved by all members. Risks have been identified and a change control process has been put into place. “The preferred approach in defining the project is to make a rough top-down estimates, develop the WBS/OBS, make bottom-up estimates, develop schedules and budgets, and reconcile differences between top-down and bottom-up estimates” (Gray & Larson, 2008). “Top-down estimates usually are derived from someone who uses experience and/or information to determine the project duration and total cost” (Gray & Larson, 2008). The top-down approach method was used in the Riordan Project. This method allowed senior management to evaluate the project proposal especially when most of the information was limited in the initial phase of the project. Another method used is the ratio method. This method us used to estimate the project times or costs. The ratio method can help determine the cost in moving Riordan Manufacturing from one location in Hangzhou, China to the city of Shanghai. Where the top-down approach will provide a total estimate of the whole project, it also provides an opportunity to increase an estimate in case of an unforeseen risk or issues. Reference Gray, C., Larson, E. (2008). Modern Product Management (4th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. http://www.project-management-knowledge.com/definitions/d/direct-and-manage- project-execution/