Project Management Practices : Corwin Corporation Failed

592 Week 1 DQ 1 WBS Construction PROJ 592 Week 1 DQ 2 Project Cost Estimates and Assumptions PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 1 Cost Components PROJ 592 Week 2 DQ 2 Estimating Processes PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 1 Project Schedules PROJ 592 Week 3 DQ 2 Sensitivity Analysis PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 1 Resource Allocation and Leveling PROJ 592 Week 4 DQ 2 Advanced Schedule Techniques PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 1 Earned Value Calculation PROJ 592 Week 5 DQ 2 Project Monitoring and Control & EV PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 1 Forecasting Project Completion Cost PROJ 592 Week 6 DQ 2 Project Control PROJ 592

The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which will establish a timeline of events. This project background will serve as a case study for the analysis in the following section that will be structured such that each of the previously mentioned facets will be independently analyzed and contrasted with project management principles. Finally the paper will conclude with a summary of the analysis and recommendations based on

Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2010). Project management, the managerial process. (5th ed., p. 158).

With the exceptional growth in technology, the present day projects are often large and complex involving a significant risk. So, a Project Management Methodology enables the delivery organization to handle these projects comprehensively, systematically and in an integrated manner, which results in strategic, tactical and operational benefits.

Successful organizations are always looking for ways to improve process and procedures, increase revenues and profits, while staying relevant in today’s business world. Strong leadership is the backbone of any organization and is the catalyst for driving a culture of innovation and change. Organizations looking to make small or large-scale changes typically do so through the implementation of work projects. Projects are collaborative efforts carefully planned and designed to achieve a specific goal. According to Young (2010), “projects take careful planning, and a successful project is one that is done on time and within budget” (p.344). Project management is the activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources, while monitoring procedures and timelines, and usually has an assigned project manager (PM). Organizations such as Apple are known to have many projects in motion at any given time. This many projects happening simultaneously can be extremely complex, expensive, and taxing on resources, but somehow Apple has managed to implement project after project with huge success.

Projects are used today as a way of achieving a variety of outcomes in local or international locations for new constructions, new product development, product improvement, process design, process improvement, utility installation, theory and technology development, and many more. Bringing a project to a successful conclusion requires the integration of numerous management functions like controlling, directing, team building, communication and others. It also requires cost and schedule management, technical and risk management, conflict and stakeholder 's management, and life cycle management.

Gray, C. F. & Larson, E. W. (2008). _Project Management: The Managerial Process_. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hills Companies, Inc.

2. Recommendations: Every budget and project needs a budget. The budget will help with planning and ensure that the team is keeping expenditures under control and also will give the team a target of what needs to be accomplished. The first question the team should ask before undertaking a project is “how much is this going to cost and what the value is to the company? The company needs to have a cost benefit analysis to find out if the cost of the project is justified by the value and benefit it brings into the organization. The projects are supposed to be approved by the finance department before they are undertaken to ensure that there are funds to fund the project.

Capital budgeting is very important in decision making for the financial manager of any firm. Most new projects take time in developing because of the research analysis required in opening a new addition to the company. The cash flow is a huge factor in making the decision of a project. For instance, capital expenditures require firms to outlay large sums of funds to initialize the project. Second, firms will need to formulate ways of generating and repaying these funds once they are initiate. Third, there must be a good since of timing and critical finance decision to make it all happen.

Read the Case Study titled "Hyten Corporation" that begins on page 38 (in Part 2) in the Kerzner text. There is some reluctance within the firm to adopt formal project management processes. Suppose that you were hired as a consultant to help the management at Hyten to accept this change. Write a short report (2–3 pages, 500–800 words) that encapsulates answers to the following questions at the end of the case study: 1–7, 10–11, and 14.

A company performs a lot of operations in a daily basis. These operations are categorized into different categories and departments. This is because all these operations cannot all be under one roof due to the complexity, skills and expertise needed in carrying out these operations. In these processes, high level of technology is employed, high quality instruments are used, and manly skills, experience are also utilized. This therefore calls for the need of good project management for the achievement of expected overall performance of a company. This paper focuses on the relationship between project management and the overall performance of company.

In “Response of IT Project Management: Infamous Failures, Classic Mistakes, and Best Practices”, R.Ryan Nelson (2007) argued that the best way to avoid classical mistakes and finally stay away from infamous failure is to use best practices proactively and knowledgeably. He also suggested that project managers focus on people and process, institute their own best practices, and improve best practices by identifying the problems most occurs in specific project and using the matrix.

It is clear to see that throughout the project the tasks and progress were monitored very closely. The project is heavily dependent on the resources provided by its shareholders and in turn they rely on regular updates to reassure them on their investment. In the construction and building industry the methods and application of project management tools are very reliable and well tested. Therefore, it could benefit the project if the it was managed with detailed and defined practises and also follow standards set and agreed upon on a international level.

In the process of going from a non-project driven firm to a project-driven one, the greatest resistance might come from the executives including the board members, company owners and the vice president. The strong and rigid culture has been instilled in the company since 50 years and as a result, the president's preaching fell on deaf ears. Authoritative support is necessary to execute such strategies and it seems that for Macon Inc., that will be the most difficult one.

In order to achieve their business objective, project management and the used methodology are key factor which will be responsible for the success or failure of this project.