International Project Management, Project Feasibility and Justification - Coursework Example

International Project Management, Project Feasibility and Justification Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Developing countries consider world bank a vital source and an assistant in all corners of the world. The World Bank is aimed at fighting poverty at all tactfully so as to achieve permanent results. They are also focused by providing the needy with resources so that they can continuously finance themselves. Other that finances, the source knowledge to their clients so that strong partnerships is built either within the private or public sector. The world Banks is an umbrella of two institutions which basically owned by 187 countries which are all members. They comprise of International Bank for Reconstruction and development and International Development Association. The two institutions are accorded with roles that are aimed at promoting the global vision. Although they seem to play different roles, they are both aimed at the long term vision of the world. For instance, International Bank for Reconstruction and development is focused on the poverty among the low earners and the creditworthy poorer nations in turn, it is trying to fight it by ensuring that it is totally reduced. On the other hand, International Development Association has much interest on poor countries of the world. The world Bank provide services such loans with low interest, credits with zero interests and grants to developing nations which aimed at improving health, education, public administration, infrastructure development of both public and private financial development managing both agricultural and environmental resources including management of natural resources. The Bank came into operation in the year 1944 and its headquarters located in Washington, D.C. to date, the World Banks has at least 10, 000 workers distributed to the scattered offices of the world. The Bank is currently reviewing its programs, as they are driven by the need, to provide the best expertise in trying to handle the needs of the poor, in addition, they are majorly maximize on finances in order to first handle those development which have been prioritize. Moreover, its effort has been divided into three pillars. Measurable results are expected to be achieved by the developing countries after they are supported. The World Bank Group has an objective of improving their day to day work at the World Bank through reforms. Through the capital increase in the year 2010, the World Bank has concentrated its concern on the fact all its members get access to its resources with a lot of ease. It is mainly through these strategies that the World Bank finance project all over the world. In a situation where a given country is in need of a project, the World Bank is comprised of a number of processes which one has to follow before a project is approved. Identification The chart below is illustrated by numbers to represent a given component as would be defined by the key below it. Identification It must be reasonable and should contribute economically to the project Preparation Evaluating borrower capacity Implementing procurement agency capacity Measures to mitigate risks Technical assistance that will help to build procurement reforms Planning of procurement Showcasing advertising opportunities Building documents Methods used for procurement Issues of transportation in procurement Bidder qualifications Bid evaluation and comparison Bank review for procurement tasks Appraisal Project appraisal document Elements of the project and estimation criteria Agencies of implementation Procedures for borrower procurement Timetable for procurement Supervision for procurement Procurement documentation Presentation in the PAD Plan for project implementation Negotiation and board presentation Plan for procurement organization Project components cofinancing Procurement methods to be used Document types Arrangement for monitoring and reporting Implementation and supervision Workshop done by procurement for borrower’s staff in charge of procurement Plan procurement execution Specific procurement notices Cost performance and procurement reviews review of contracts Procurement process monitored for quality Evaluating Evaluation of the entire project where the original projects are reviewed Final project review and recommendation The entire project is reviewed and any recommendation taken. 1. Assessing procurement capacity 2. Assessing the capacity of implementing agency 3. Risk mitigation through project design 4. Technical assistance for capacity building and procurement reforms 5. Procurement planning 6. Procurement opportunities advertisement 7. Documents for bidding 8. Procurement methods 9. Issues of transporting and insuring in procurement 10. Bidders qualification 11. Evaluating and comparing that exist between goods and services 12. Project appraisal documents 13. Project elements estimation costs and procurement methods 14. Agencies for implementation 15. Procedures and regulations for borrower’s procurement 16. Timetable for procurement 17. Supervising procurement 18. Information recording concerning procurement 19. Presentation in the PAD 20. Plan on project implementation 21. Action plan taken by procuring organization 22. Components on project co-financing 23. Procurement methods employed 24. Document types to be used 25. Justification criteria Before a project is funded, the World Bank has a numbers of criteria that has to be justified. The procurement manual of the World Bank outlines how criteria justification is made before it is funded. On the first note, the Articles of Agreement of World Bank must be satisfied before a project is approved. The agreement clearly states the only beneficiaries of the Bank’s resources are mainly meant for the member countries. For a country therefore to be counted a member, it must have acquired membership with the International Monetary Fund. Membership may also be regarded for those who accepted membership as per the Article Agreement or any other term set by the Bank. It is conditioned that the member countries should produce and supply either goods or services from the disbursed funds with the member countries. This means that contracts that bided will only be awarded to member countries in Bank financed procurement. The rule that has been formulated in regard to bidders has been made in such a way that the member countries are favored in some way in the provision of goods and services in Bank financed projects. On the contrary, a borrower may not involve suppliers, consultants and contactors into the tendering issue as in the procurement opportunities of the bank basing on the following; the borrowing country is not allowed to set regulations to the bidder, the borrowing country should abide by the decisions made by the United Nations Security Council as stated in the UN Charter that goods should not be imported made to persons of the bidder country. The affiliate partner of the bidder country is stopped from providing goods and services for the project, those firms or individual who in one way or another may have taken part in unethical practices, such cases are well taken care of by the Bank. In some instances, the World Bank do organize for special funding contributed by identified members which takes place through both the Trust funds as well as interim trust funds. The use of such funds in procurement is mainly conducted by World Bank adhering to the set policies and standards which has guidelines which is totally different from the ones used to administer regular World Bank funds. In a case where the World Bank has set a up a special trust fund in a given area, the funds will be aimed at achieving objectives that had been stated for that particular funds. Procurement manual for World Bank had defined the eligibility of such funds in such away as; firms that are eligible must be registered as an eligible source country. On the other hand, service providers’ personnel in the borrowing country must be people from eligible source country. Those individual consultants which ought to be hired for payments using the funds should belong to the eligible source country. Any joint venture or subcontractors between eligible source countries and those that come from ineligible source countries shall all be regarded ineligible in their provision of goods and services. Basing on manufactured products such machinery, materials and industrial plant which are offered by eligible countries, if the products originate from ineligible countries and its offered total price is less by 20%, the World Bank will automatically disregard. On another instance, if the total cost of products from eligible countries is at least 20%, the bid that offers such goods will be regarded as not eligible and will be considered for award as under TF financing. In a case where a contractor seem to directly or involving in purchases of products from ineligible source countries for the purpose of construction, the World Bank will not disburse any funds to them. This include a situation whereby a borrowing country had mad purchases from ineligible source countries and import them so as to supply themselves later. Transportation services that will be made by firms which originate from ineligible source countries or where such firms hold a larger proportion of shares, the World Bank shall not disburse funds to them. An exception shall be guaranteed to a case where eligible source country has majority of the shares on the pooling arrangements of shipping lines by them. The World Bank is generally aimed at minimizing conflict of interest by promoting on competition in the World Bank financed procurement. Under bank financing, enterprises which are owned by the government within the borrower’s country will not be eligible to bid or awarded any contract. On the other hand, companies which are owned by the public are encouraged to engage in the World Bank financed procurement so long as the bidding process is maintain with high integrity and fair. The World Bank has also state criteria for such companies or enterprise. They include; it must an entity the is commercially oriented and legal from the borrower and in some way from the executing agency, able to finance its projects through the sale of its products, its management should be autonomous which is to be seen in their way of decision making authority and lastly, it should meet all other conditions pertaining bidding and contracts as evidenced by their previous performance. The World Bank do not tolerate any case of corruption whatsoever in the activities attached to contracts and procurement in the World Bank financed procurement. It therefore embraces ethical values from both the staff and the firm as a whole who want those bided contracts of World Bank be approved. In the procurement manual it clearly states the consequences of engaging in unethical behaviors. A supplier who is found out to have gotten involved in any corrupt activities after a thorough investigation, the World Bank will regard such suppliers as ineligible and will never participate in any project in future. Learning project justification In this section, I will apply what I have studied in the international project management and apply to my own experience. I will use the approaches that have been employed by World Bank to justify my undergraduate degree. A table will be used to present the comparison between criteria used by World Bank and my undergraduate degree. World Bank criteria My Undergraduate Degree Requirement met (No or Yes) Eligibility Country eligibility Trust funds and special funds Enterprises of public sector ineligibility Being a specialized area to be funded, my undergraduate degree will be funded by Trust and special funds because the funding is conducted by a selected group of persons Yes Identification any bank opting to assist in the project must meet the stipulated objectives and also be both stable in terms of finances and technical know-how The undergraduate degree that I am undertaking will have a great impact to my education, it will strengthen my career, and my rewards will be increased and will help me move with my skills in the job. Yes Preparation assessing the capacity of the borrower in procurement assessing the degree of procurement agency risk mitigation assisting procurement to reform technically planning on procurement opportunity advertisement on procurement bidding documents procurement methods transporting and insuring in procurement bidders qualifications bids and work comparison bank action on procurement Am able to complete my undergraduate because I earlier did Advanced Diploma in Structural Engineering after which I identified a relevant university for my undergraduate degree There is a great difference in the mode of preparation as the World Bank entails money procurement, but hope to meet this requirement Appraisal document for project appraisal PAD presentation Plan for implementing the project UNSW accepted me to undertake Civic Engineering after they had completed reviewing my record and other relevant documents Yes Negotiation and presentation by board Action plan to be taken by procurement organization The components of financing a project Procurement methods to be used Document type to be employed Arrangements made in monitoring and reporting Not applicable to my undergraduate degree yes Evaluation Reviewing the actual project in comparison to the original plan It will be applicable after I have finished all my subjects and be awarded my undergraduate degree. This will determine my success in my course Yet to be done Implementing and supervising Engaging in workshop so as to train borrowers Execution of procurement plan Notices on procurement specifications Reviewing of contracts Contact performance and ex-post review of procurement Monitoring of quality through procurement processes Am currently at this stage as I have completed all other subjects am therefore optimistic to finish as planned Recommendation of the final project-cycle. Resisting post-approval letdown General recommendation of the final project in respect to the future projects All the areas that I have learned will be put into practice after getting an Engineering job Yet to be completed Am hopeful to complete my degree in Civil Engineering from the University of South Wales successfully, this will enable me to get a good job in the engineering industry therefore time and money will have been considered in investment. This will clearly states the investment was justified and was successful. Sensitivity Introduction With the upcoming technology, construction industry has been recorded to be among those that are fact in development and updating its ideas and techniques. Its developments have improved to large scale and some have been categorized under Mega trends which influences the way projects are constructed. Through this therefore the mode of managing these projects has been affected. As a student who is expecting to join the industry as a project manager and more so an international project manager, I have taken part by researching and analyzing two of the Mega Trends that are currently under development, this will greatly influence my future career. Green Building or Green construction is one of my selected mega trends and the other one is Personal Development and Training. Green Building It is a practice of structure creation where processes efficient to time, environment and resources in all through its cycle. It comprise of designing, constructing, maintenance, renovation and destruction. Through the expansion of green building, economy, utility, durability and comfort will be complemented. Despite the emergence of new technologies that are friendly to the environment, green building is aimed at reducing the general consequences that man made built environment impact on to the natural environment. Areas of concern are sitting and structure design efficiency, energy efficiency, materials efficiency, operations and optimization and reduce waste. Achievement is made though; using energy and other resources efficiency to construct by employing a phase of the structure. Putting concern on the welfare of employees and their productivity, minimizing environmental pollution during and after construction is over. The energy crisis of 1970 gave birth to green building. People thought of practices that would be friendly to environment and was efficient in its usage. It brought about new techniques and practices that would be a solution to their problems. The different in regions also contributed into the emergence of green building Cost is now the pressing issue as far as this project is concerned. It is estimated to have rise by 2% but nearly ten times more since the project came into existence. There are international agencies which have come up with assessment tools for green buildings. They include; GHG Indicator, FIDIC’s PSM, ISO/21931-1:2006 sustainability in building construction, the United Nations Environment Programme and Agenda 21. Green building is moving with the world in trying to work on those constructions that are friendly to the health of the users and to the overall environment. Personal development and Training The being the second highlighted issue is concerned with shortage of skilled workers in the global market. In the construction industry labor shortage has been encountered. For instance, craft men have been recorded to be insufficient. Competition is rampant in construction industry due to the fact that there few specialists. One of the reasons that contribute to this shortage is the perceived nature of construction being hard, unclean, seasonal and dangerous. Future successes in construction will depend on that company that; employ enough workers through superior wages, embrace on independence, offer training programs to its workers and employ permanent employees so as to reduce turnover. Conclusion Development of construction industry is expected to improve with time calling for project managers to evolve too. As evidenced in the two highlighted mega trends, it is recommended that upcoming personnel like me should be able to accommodate these mega trends as it will greatly affects our future careers. Bibliography Grisham, T. W. (2009). International Project Management: Leadership in Compex Environments. John Wiley and Sons. Koster, K. (2009). International Project Management. Berlin: SAGE Publications. Lientz, B. P., & Rea, K. P. (2003). International project management. Academic Press. Murphy, O. J. (2005). International project management. London: Thomson. Oduwole, O. A. (2003). international project management: international trade relationship and unique organizational structures. Washington: Washington Unversity. Read More