Project Management Essay: Exploring Selection Methods And Procedures For Maxima

Question

Task: Write a project management essay examining the project selection methods that can be applied on project management procedures for Maxima.

Answer

Introduction
This project management essay will offer certain insights on project management procedures for Maxima, a retail store in the Baltic States. In 2006, the turnover of the organization was EUR 1.85billion, 21% better than the previous year. In different locations, it has several outlets. The noticeable and appreciable strength of the organization is its efficient workforce who is much loyal to the organization. The further organization offers training to make them better and make them engaged with the work culture of Maxima. Having all the insights of the organization, the paper will try to identify better project management procedures to increase the profit margin to a larger extent. In order to address the major aspects of the case scenario outlined in the project management essay, the study will identify different methods to sustain the existing challenges of the work culture, which is mainly evolved around time and communication factors, and target customer group. The study examined in the project management essay will offer a finding over the selection process of the methods, which can address all the challenging factors.

Body
The main idea of the case study explored in the project management essay offers the understanding of challenges in the organization, which can be, addressed through certain methodologies followed by better profit for the part of the company. As per the goal of the organization, the project can be chosen by benefit measurement methods where project can be selected depending on the estimated inflow and outflow of the present value. For Maxima present value is known thereby the decision for the project can be taken by calculating the cost benefits and comparing the value by other projects. The method facilitates different types of processes to achieve the goal. However, the three major possibilities can be cost/benefit ratio, economic model and scoring model. For Maxima cost/benefit ratio is a better option for selecting the project as present cost and benefit is clear and thus can be put for extracting the ratio to judge the feasibility o the project. Economic model being the EVA model can offer the insight for Maxima where the performance metric can help the project to be properly evaluated with feasibility by a compare between worth creation and returned profit. The model offers best insight regarding the feasibility of the project. Scoring model can help the Maxima in choosing their project by judging the relevant weighs and criteria and extract the best score for the project which facilitates the feasibility of the project (Lau et al., 2016).

The case study used to develop this project management essay mentions the challenging factors in the organization including time, communication and targeted customer group. The methods need to be selected for the project, which can be surely a better approach to sustain those challenges. In order to address the challenging factor time, different processes can be referred like exercising employee efficiency, increasing productivity, or exercising efficiency of the supply chain. Among all the processes, increasing efficiency of the supply chain needs to be taken on a serious note. As per the work culture of Maxima, it has been identified in the project management essay that efficiency and productivity are already exercised in the work culture (Janaki et al., 2018). Thereby efficiency of the supply chain needs to be addressed for Maxima to address timely factors. Velocity matters a lot for the organization as the referred aspect can take care of turnaround time; rather, it can fasten the procedure taking care from order to delivery. Further, it is also noted in the context of this project management essay it can reduce the production cost, which is a better strategy to initiate profit. In the process, the waste steps can be eliminated to save time. Better connection between customer and department can further save time. Thereby, Maxima by opting the velocity procedure can remove the unnecessary steps. The strategy would save time, and initiate profit in two ways as elimination of step saves money and save time through the elimination can be used for generating more productivity followed by better profit margin (Kim et al., 2016).

Targeted customers can be selected through different ways like doing a survey, purchasing behavior of customers, research on social media etc. However, for the case of Maxima, it can be better if the obtained process or method can address both time and customer factor. Thereby the process which is being chosen is reducing the number of unimportant customers, service or products. The referring signifies the fact that to decide the target group remembering the profit factor, the organization can, rather needs to offer priority to the prior customers (Lau et al., 2016). Production of required products can have the scope of saving time and money from the low margin product or clients. It can be said that supposedly, Maxima is experiencing two types of notion where one is offering lower profit, and other is providing better. Then Maxima can stop production of those products which are being used by a less customer group. The use of excess time and production cost can initiate the production which is being used by a larger customer group (Nejad et al., 2016). Thus better profit can be accessed by Maxima.

As per the readings obtained in the project management essay, it is noted that communication is the key factor for any organization to generate profit, and in this concern, communication of two stakeholders needs to be maintained properly – employee and customers. Maxima share the best communication strategy with its employees, which can be explored by the case study. Thereby, it needs to enhance communication with its customer to know the requirements or criteria properly, which can help them to practice productive work culture. Advertisement can be the best option for the organization to engage or attract more customers towards the organization. Newspaper, television, leaflets and most importantly, social media can be used as the media of advertisement. Social media is new though engaging and useful media for advertisement (Parveen et al., 2015). The most important feature of it is the international engagement as it does not facilitate any location boundary. Optimization of social media can help the organization to expand its business globally, and customers of any and every location would easily be aware of it. Thereby, to initiate a profit margin for the organization, social media can be the best option as it is the best media to engage the targeted customer group (Jiang et al., 2016).

How Initial Process Group is impactful for the case outlined in the project management essay?
The foundation of project management can be called as an initial process group. It is indeed a sophisticated word for a comparatively simple concept. (Brioso, 2015) Hence it can be said that the process groups are five simple phases through which the project continues. Five stages can be listed accordingly in the study obtained in this project management essay-

1. Project Initiation
2. Project Planning
3. Project Execution
4. Controlling and Monitoring
5. Project Closing
6. Project Beginning or Initiation-

This stage consists of the outline plan, which is needed to start a project and the criteria under which it can be forwarded. In this stage, it requires the authorization from the performing organization and proper funding to execute the project. Any primary project limitations are determined along with the marking of the stakeholders.

The above information is documented and can be known as a Project Charter. The significance of the Project Charter is to commission the project and to authorize the project manager to go with the project properly.

Maxima to initiate the project for better revenue need to make the project charter where the authorization would be done for the part of the organization. The offering signifies the fact that responsibility for the individual part of the projected would be entrusted on the managers.

2. Project Preparation or planning-

The phase can be referred to as the creation of another document which can be called as the Project supervision Plan. The document of master planning for Maxima clarifies stakeholder’s expectations, which justifies a clear picture for managing the task. As per PMBOK, ten knowledge areas can be accessed during the planning stage as the knowledge areas are closely accustomed to the planning stage. From the knowledge area, an outline can be drawn for the project for Maxima where communication needs, milestones, deadlines, cost and scope for the project would be addressed.

Project Execution or Implementation-
In this stage, the task’s technical part is performed as Maxima can obtain different technical support to implement the planning properly. It needs the coordination of human assets, supervision of stakeholder expectations, and dealing with project changes. The project manager of Maxima will help the project to be flawlessly executed. (Karaman, 2015)

In the case of Maxima, portions where it was struggling, such as timeliness of involvement and communication upon project activity might be overcome by executing a healthy project plan.

3. Monitoring and Scheming or Controlling-

Throughout the project, the project manager‘s task is to monitor and control the project to make sure that it becomes deliverable within the right time, the right quantity and a proper budget plan. Continuous monitoring may result in a change of the project as per requirement at any time. (Varajão, 2017)

As an organization, Maxima can opt for the proper monitoring and controlling of a project in order to get a successful result.

4. Project Closing-

There is always a tremendous amount of task accumulated during the closing time of a project and to move on further, they become high in visibility scale to executives and project sponsors.

Maxima need continuous improvement in managing strategic projects. By following a particular method as discussed, the company can come out of its significant challenges like managing timely involvement and communication on project activities.

Conclusion
The paper on project management essay offers its findings over Maxima, where it identifies certain challenging factors in the organization to address better profitability for the organization. The paper, considering the case study obtains relevant processes to address respective challenging factors, which can be best suited for the organization. The study developed in the project management essay even justified the process with much evaluation having a concern over the organizational work culture. Further, the paper even presents an initial process group where documentation for the project is facilitated as per the guidelines of PMBOK. The referring even covers the span of project planning and project charter and the process Maxima obtains to acquire those aspects.

Referencess
Brioso, X. (2015). Integrating ISO 21500 guidance on project management, lean construction and PMBOK. Project management essay Procedia Engineering, 123, 76-84.

Janaki, D., Izadbakhsh, H., & Hatefi, S. (2018). The evaluation of supply chain performance in the Oil Products Distribution Company, using information technology indicators and fuzzy TOPSIS technique. Management Science Letters, 8(8), 835-848.

Jiang, P., Ding, K., & Leng, J. (2016). Towards a cyber-physical-social-connected and service-oriented manufacturing paradigm: Social Manufacturing. Manufacturing Letters, 7, 15-21.

Karaman, E., & Kurt, M. (2015). Comparison of project management methodologies: prince 2 versus PMBOK for it projects. Int. Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering Research, 4(4).

Kim, H. J., Son, J., & Kim, S. W. (2016). Strategy for improving efficiency of supply chain quality management in buyer-supplier dyads: the suppliers’ perspective. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2016.

Lau, H., Nakandala, D., Samaranayake, P., & Shum, P. K. (2016). BPM for supporting customer relationship and profit decision. Business Process Management Journal, 22(1), 231-255.

Nejad, M. G., Amini, M., & Sherrell, D. L. (2016). The profit impact of revenue heterogeneity and assortativity in the presence of negative word-of-mouth. Project management essay International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33(3), 656-673.

Parveen, F., Jaafar, N. I., & Ainin, S. (2015). Social media usage and organizational performance: Reflections of Malaysian social media managers. Telematics and Informatics, 32(1), 67-78.

Varajão, J., Colomo-Palacios, R., & Silva, H. (2017). ISO 21500: 2012 and PMBoK 5 processes in information systems project management. Project management essay Computer Standards & Interfaces, 50, 216-222.