Organisational Objectives: Project Management for Kitchen Renovation - Business Plan Example

Insert Name Course Institution Instructor Date of Submission Project Management: Kitchen Renovation Introduction Planning as a management function involves the acquisition and allocation of resources towards the achievement of preset objectives that are channelled towards the realisation of an individual’s or organisation’s goals (Gray & Larson, p21). Specific time frames are allocated towards the achievement of these objectives and hence the importance of planning and organisation. This report seeks to discuss on project management by analysing and considering the various management functions and constraints, stakeholder’s interests as well as preparing the project’s risk profile. After completion, the report will be presented to the organisation’s executive management team for approval on the commencement of the project. 1.0 Project Background With the on-going emergence from the economic recession, the nation’s economic performance has improved tremendously where there has been increased activity in several economic sectors. One such sector is the tourism and hospitality industry in which the organisation plays a major role. Industrial boom has seen an increase in the number of tourists both domestic and international increase. This has further been compounded by the quality of services provided by the various players within the industry as well as the nation’s natural scenes. Owing to this trend, the executive management is considering to increase the organisation’s bed capacity and expand its operations. This expansion will require increased dining and accommodation facilities to handle the large number of visitors to the hotel. This report focuses on kitchen renovation whereby the management seeks to increase its size to accommodate more personnel, a decision that is vital for the hotel’s expansion programme. By increasing the number of personnel and kitchen facilities, the hotel will be able to handle the increased number of tourists checking in into the hotel. By analysing the project life cycle, it is evident that the kitchen renovation project qualifies as a project since it commences with the determination of the scope (Cleland & Ireland, p12). The scope of this project is limited to only the renovation of the kitchen that was deemed important by a feasibility study. Secondly, Heerkens (p23) defines project management as a carefully crafted and organised effort to accomplish a one-time objective. The kitchen renovation exercise is a one-time exercise that will seek to enhance the organisation’s performance and capabilities by handing it the competitive edge in terms of quality service. Lastly, to ensure the successful completion of the kitchen renovation exercise, a project plan has to be developed that defines the project’s achievable and time constraints, the segregation of tasks, the acquisition and utilisation of the resources as well as the budget constraints (Heerkens, p31). All these elements of the project plan are put into consideration in the kitchen renovation exercise hence its qualification as a project. 2.0 Relation of the Project to the Organisational Business Objectives As earlier noted, the kitchen renovation project seeks to improve the service quality offered to the organisation’s clients. By improving the quality of service, the organisation will be able to attract more clients and hence increase its market share which is one of its short-term objectives (IJPMR, p13). Increased market share will require an expansion of the hotel’s capacity to accommodate the clients without facing any facility constraints. Through the kitchen renovation project, the management enhance service delivery by providing the clients with adequate dining facilities. With this, the organisation will increase its dominance in the tourism and hospitality industry which forms its long-term objective. The organisation is involved in the service industry where location ambience plays a huge role in attracting customers. Notably, customer experience within the facility is important as they will always want to visit again (IJPMR, p13). Owing to this, the renovation of the kitchen will seek to improve the hotel’s ambience and ensure the comfort of the clients. Client satisfaction hands the organisation a competitive edge over and above other industry players. It is for this reason that the kitchen’s layout and interior design should ensure the achievement of this business objective to enhance the sustainability of the business. Lastly, the renovation project seeks to enhance the hotel’s kitchen capacity to handle the large number of clients. The kitchen capacity can be increased through creating a large space for new technological equipment that enhances service delivery and reduces operational costs. In turn, the organisation has the capacity to provide reliable inside and outside catering services. Sustainable catering operations will improve the organisation’s performance by increasing its client base hence increasing its revenues (Wysocki, p67). 3.0 Stakeholder’s Perspectives 1. Clients The organisation’s clientele have the basic interest in the kitchen renovation project as it seeks to enhance service delivery. Improved service delivery will increase the service satisfaction derived by the clients hence increased business activity. However, the project should not reduce the quality of service in terms of reliability, timeliness and packaging. This is because these are the basic elements that the client seeks to derive from the organisation’s kitchen service (Wysocki, p91). 2. Project Manager and Team The project manager is mandated with the overall authority to oversee the utilisation of the acquired resources for the achievement of the project objectives. The manager’s interest is to ensure that the project is completed within the stipulated time frame and that the available resources are efficiently utilised. Additionally, the manager ought to ensure harmonious operations among the interdependent project units established to undertake distinctive tasks by ensuring effective communication between the units (Harrison & Lock, p68). On the other hand, the project team’s interest involves being provided with adequate information and resources to enable them to effectively perform their duties. 3. Suppliers These stakeholders are interested in establishing a mutual relationship with the project managers in terms of timely delivery of supplies and prompt payments upon the agreed terms. Suppliers are to provide the requested materials in their right quality and quantity whilst the project managers are to facilitate prompt payments to avoid unnecessary delays within the supply chain process. 4. Local Authorities The local authority’s interest involves ensuring adherence to the building regulations as stipulated by the law (Kerzner, p41). All renovation exercises should be conducted as provided for in the law and it is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure personnel safety during the exercise. 4.0 Project Schedule and Constraints The project schedule seeks to establish the complete duration of the project’s life as well as the activities that should be complete by the end of the time period. Through the project schedule, the project manager is able to estimate the total project costs (Cleland & Ireland, p127). Additionally, the manager is able to identify several control points that minimise deviations during the project’s lifetime. Basically, the project schedule provides a benchmark upon which the project can be evaluated, monitored or controlled. To start with, the project scheduled is prepared after the identification of the scope and objectives of the project (Heerkens, p37). For the kitchen renovation project, the improvement of the kitchen capacity and efficiency serves as the objective. Therefore, the project schedule will commence with the evaluation of the kitchen layout and appliances. This activity will take the first week of the project. During the second week, financial and material resources are to be transported to the renovation site in preparation of the project underway. Financial resources will necessitate the acquisition of the necessary replacement and renovation materials whereas the material resources will facilitate the renovation exercise (Heerkens, p52). Actual work on the kitchen renovation project will commence on the third week whereby the construction personnel will replace the kitchen appliances as well as change the kitchen’s layout. At this stage, the project manager through the accounts clerk will review the project’s budget to minimise expenditures. The utilised materials should also be accounted for to minimise expenditure as well as wastage. Lastly, the project manager will evaluate the project upon completion and evaluate it against the preset objectives (Gray & Larson, p78). At this stage, the manager should concentrate on establish whether the kitchen has the capability to meet the extra demand for meals within and outside the hotel. The time constraint faces the project manager since the hotel remains operational during the project’s lifetime. This will highly inconvenience the kitchen personnel and the project manager should strive to enhance the completion of the project. Additionally, the organisation’s management seeks to ensure minimum costs are incurred in undertaking the project. Therefore the project faces financial constraints that require the project manager to ensure useful utilisation of the available funds. Lastly, the project manager is limited in improving the kitchen’s efficiency since it cannot be remodelled. Remodelling will require tearing the kitchen apart and building it all over again. 5.0 Risk Assessment In project management, risk refers to elements that have the capacity to influence the project’s success and the project has little or no control over (Harrison & Lock, p136). The kitchen renovation project poses a number of risks to the organisation as it is integrated into the normal operations of the hotel. 1. Firstly, the project poses operational risks to the organisational since it could negatively impact on the service quality hence resulting into the loss of clients. This will result into a halt in the execution of the project as it will contradict its primary objective. 2. Secondly, the project faces the planning risk that arises as a result of poor planning or service inefficiencies. The project manager has to ensure that adequate measures are in place at the start of the project to avoid time wastage and increased costs. Unreliable supplies could result into a switch in suppliers and this will negatively impact on the project’s budget estimates. However, this can be considered as a low risk areas where qualified project managers are mandated with overseeing the project tasks. 3. Lastly, external dependencies pose a risk to the successful completion of the project. External dependencies such as the local authority inspection team may fail to inspect the project duly and the project manager may not be able to go ahead without approval from the local authority. This results into delays and inefficiencies in the operations of the organisation that could negatively impact on the organisation (Kerzner, p88). External dependencies should be considered as medium risk areas and should be duly addressed. Conclusion Successful project management requires careful planning and organisation through the development of a project plan. The project plan identifies the project’s objectives, resource requirements and allocated time within which the project should be complete. Additionally, the project plan enables the project manager to assess the various risks that the project is exposed to and facilitate adequate precautionary measures (Wysocki, p17). To ensure the success of a project, the manager has to put in place adequate checks and controls to minimise deviations from the initial plan as well as conduct necessary amendments to the plan in response to changes in the basic project structure. Recommendations To ensure the success of the project, bearing in mind the available resources, constraints and risk areas, the project manager should:- 1. Ensure adequate personnel to avoid delays in the execution of the project plan as well as enhance the completion of the tasks within a minimum time frame. 2. Distribute the tasks over a week’s period to ensure minimal interference with the normal operations of the kitchen hence maintain the quality of the kitchen services. 3. Conduct regular evaluations on the execution process to ensure conformity to the original plan as well as make inclusions or exclusions to the plan. 4. Focus on the control areas that enable the project manager to evaluate the project’s progress whilst comparing it to the initial project plan. 5. Brief the stakeholders on the project underway to enhance their cooperation as well as avoid some of the identified risks. Works Cited Cleland, L David & Ireland, R Lewis. Project Management: Strategic Design & Implementation, 5th Ed. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill Proff, 2006. Gray, F Clifford & Larson, W Erik. Project Mgmt: The Managerial Process, 2nd Ed. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2002. Harrison, L Francis & Lock, Dennis. Adv. Project Mgmt: A Structured Approach, 4th Ed. Michigan: Gower Pub. Ltd, 2004 Heerkens, Gary. Project Mgmt: 24 Steps to Help You Master any Project. New Jersey: Mc Graw-Hill, 2007. IJPMR. Project Overload: Enterprise Project Mgmt Sol, PM Solution pp13-15, Accessed from < http://www.ipma.ch/SiteCollectionDocuments/PM%20Research3-08.pdf > on March 7, 2010 Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Sys. Approach to Planning, Scheduling & Controlling, 10th Ed. California: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Wysocki, Robert. Project Mgmt Process Improvement. Carolina: Artech House, 2004. Appendix Kitchen Renovation Project Budget Estimates Item Amount (AUD) Pre-feasibility study 1,000 Removing and Fixing New Kitchen Equipment and Appliances 3,000 Repainting the Kitchen Area 760 Wages and Salaries 8,790 Transportation Costs 2,850 Supply of Renovation Material 1,520 Renovation Fee 70 Read More