First, select two projects of your choice.* One should be a smaller project, and
ID: 3817688 • Letter: F
Question
First, select two projects of your choice.* One should be a smaller project, and the other should be more large-scale.
Describe the small-scale project:
Describe the large-scale project:
2) In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the Project Management Institute (PMI) identifies ten Knowledge Areas.
- Name these ten Knowledge Areas. (Note: I filled in #10, as it’s not obvious in your reading.)
10 points
- For each Knowledge Area, explain what project tasks are necessary and which tools can be utilized for project success within this Knowledge Area. 100 points
How might these processes and strategies differ for the two projects you chose?
If a chart, table, or diagram is necessary for tasks within a Knowledge Area, create and display them for each project. Again, explain how and why they are different for the two projects. (Not every Area will require a chart/table/diagram.)
Assume at least 5 major tasks for the large project, and at least 3 for the small project. For simplicity, no need to go to the sub-task level.
Feel free to make any other assumptions about your projects, but please explain them.
You will be graded based on your understanding of the project management process, as well as your demonstrated knowledge of project variety.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 1:Integration Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 2:Scope Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 3:Time Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 4:Cost Managment
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 5: Quality Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 6:Human Resources Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 7:Communications Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 8:Risk Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 9:Procurement Management
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
KNOWLEDGE AREA 10: STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
List and describe tasks, and discuss differences between projects. Include charts, tables, or diagrams for both projects if necessary.
Explanation / Answer
Summary
This paper is an extensive project that involves the operations of Chevron, the leading dealer in oil and gas exploration across the world. The project involves the development of fresh air detector to be adopted by Chevron Employees to boost their safety. The detector will detect smoke from the oil stores/fields as well as low oxygen concentration in underground mines. This will be relayed via Wi-Fi and automatically retrieved with Bluetooth on real time bases. Its employees in oil drilling are exposed to high risk of fire while those in mining are at risk of suffocation due to lack of sufficient oxygen underground. This will increase profitability of the organization, but more so helps in reducing over exploitation of non-renewable resources of energy. The project’s success will be enhanced by the increasing economic recovery, advancement in technology and political stability in the United States. Additionally, the product will enjoy low threat of new entry and moderate buyer bargaining power. The project will cost $2.029 billion and it is expected to increase sales in the organization by 30%. Chevron has over $ 200 billion in its capitalization and hence, it will easily afford the project. The project will be completed in one year as provided in the critical path. The flow of events is summarized in the Gannt chart and work breakdown. It is expected that the project will generate 12% in return on equity, hence playing an important role in maximizing shareholders’ wealth.
1.0 Introduction
Chevron Corporation is one of the leading dealers in the oil and mineral industry. The organization engages in chemicals, petroleum, and energy production around the world, and has its operations in both the upstream and downstream. The upstream is mainly involved in the development and exploration of oil and natural gas. It is also involved in the re-gasification, liquefaction and transportation of petrol and petroleum products (Falola & Genova, 2005). The organization’s downstream segment mainly focuses on refining of the crude oil. Furthermore, the organization is involved in debt financing operations, insurance and real estate. Having been founded in 1879, the organization has its operations in San Ramon, California. The focus of this paper is on the analysis of the organization and its operating environment while at the same time identifies a product that the organization can introduce to exploit opportunities in the wearable technologies. The presentation will focus on the benefits of such wearable technology (fresh air/smoke detector) to employees in boosting their safety at work place. Such a project is to be implemented within 12 months and its main goal will be to boost the organization’s sales volume and competitiveness in the industry.
2.0 Knowledge areas
2.1 project integration management
This project focuses on the development of clean air detector. The devices will be developed by the Chevron Company through financing external experts who will deliver the product. The organization is one of the leading players in the oil and gas industry. The organization is further involved in the minerals industry. The project will be critical in ensuring that firms and individuals do not operate in areas where risk of fire or suffocation is high
SMART objectives
This indicates a set of simple activities whose implementation will eventually result to the completion of the project. It provides a simple description of the tasks that are to be undertaken in the project management process. This is based on the understanding that for individuals to implement projects successfully, they need to view such projects in form of simple tasks as compared to a single complex task which they may not be able to start implementing. The tasks that will be carried out will be as summarized in the table below
production
Operations
marketing
Contracting production of clean air machines
Acquiring of the clean air detectors
Televised communication
Securing contracts with suppliers
Acquiring of licensing
Radio communication
Start production
Hiring of employees to implement these gadgets
Assessing impact of marketing communication on sales
packing
Engaging employees in training
distribution
Project time management
The Gannt chart indicates the activities that an organization intends to undertake and the period taken. The production of clean air detectors will be based on a systematic process that the organization is likely to be undertaken for a year. The summary of such allocation of time resources for this project is as summarized below
production
operations
marketing
Research
May 10, 2016
Acquiring of machines
July 30, 2016
Televised communication
November 1, 2016
Securing contracts e
May 15, 2016
Acquiring of licensing
August 1,2016
Radio communication
November 10, 2016
Start production
June 2016
Hiring of employees
September 2016
Assessing impact of marketing communication on sales
November 20, 2016
packing
July 2016
Engaging employees in training
October 2015
distribution
July 2016
The above Gannt chart indicates that the implementation of the project will be complete within a year. This is based on the understanding that the activities will take many days before completion. In the oil production industry implementation of these gadgets will be time consuming. At the same time, the organization will take two months in the effort to identify the most viable ways of production. Thus, the organization will require ample time before the first clean air detector oil is produced. The organization will also require sufficient time in order to promote the organization’s products. This will be important in boosting the overall performance of the organization.
Project cost management
The budget below will be used by the organization
Activity
Amount in $ millions
Research
4
Contracting for clean air detector production
600
Construction of stores
200
Packaging materials
100
Raw materials of clean air detectors
400
Transport costs
20
Budgetary provision for unexpected needs
200
The above table is a static budget with $ 200 million being set aside for the purpose of meeting unforeseen financial needs in the future. A budget mainly indicates a plan that is to be executed in the future. Budgets are thus prepared prior to the beginning of the period when they are budgeted. Comparing the budget and expected outcomes indicates the efficacy of such budgets in meeting the goals. One of the key elements of a budget is such budget’s expected output. It indicates the expected level of production or service. In the above budget, it is expected that the implementation of the project will boost the revenues generated by the organization. If the budget fails to meet this requirement, it would be evident that such a budget won’t be viable. There are differences expected from the final results as compared to allocations in the budget. This has led to the keeping aside of $200 million by Chevron.
Project quality management
The organization will adopt total quality management. This will be important in ensuring that the project is effectively implemented with least cost and wastage. It will also ensure that the set aside timelines are met during the strategy implementation process.
The organization has over 64,700 employees around the world, and this will be important in ensuring that the organization has adequate human capital to execute the project. This will be important in ensuring that the project is fully executed as per the timeline (Harrison & ST. John, 2014).
The organization will need a full year to fully put to operation the project. This is based on the understanding that setting up of machineries, mobilizing the work force and marketing of the product will take some time. This will be a sufficient period during which the organization will have sufficient time for setting up equipments and commencing production. During this period, two months will be invested in research in identifying the most effective way of managing the operations of the organization.
The oil and mineral industry is capital and technology extensive. It requires that players invest in modern technology in exploiting the prevailing opportunity. In spite of this, Chevron has been one of the leading investors around the world as far as oil production technology is concerned. The organization has billions of dollars in production assets. As a result, it is clear that chances are minimal that the organization may fail to meet these costs as a result of failing to have the adequate machinery.
The organization has over 60000 employees. This implies that it may find it challenging to produce the clean air detectors at large scale. It will require committed suppliers to do it. Thus, there will be a need for the organization to identify suppliers before it fully engages in the production of such a product.
Chevron is one of the most financially stable players in the oil and mineral industry. It has over 200 billion in terms of market capitalization. This implies that the organization will have adequate capitalization necessary for boosting its operations in the industry. It is thus unlikely that the organization may fail to succeed as a result of lack of financial resources.
The organization requires employees to implement the project. In particular, it will require experts in production of clean air detectors. The organizations have thousands of employees and hence personnel resource capacity is high. The employees will be responsible and accountable to the overall implementation of the project
The organization will employ highly trained personnel. Moreover, its current employees are often engaged in training and development, providing reliable human capital to the organization. Such competence increases the ability of employees to operate and contribute towards the organization’s mission and vision.
The need for highly qualified employees within the organization is high. This is based on the understanding that the organization must have qualified personnel if the project, which requires high level of expertise, is to come into force.
Project communication management
The organization will adopt integrated marketing communication, and this will encompass the use of diverse media in communicating the new product in the market. More so, the organization will play an important role in passing such communication not only to the potential customers, but also to other players within the industry. This will be critical in ensuring that the merits of the new product do not go unnoticed by stakeholders such as shareholders and regulators. The organization will thus develop advertisements of the new product which will be presented on radio and via televisions. The advertisement will be co-branded with a celebrity who is vocal on climate change and the need to preserve the environment. The organization will focus on this aspect as the key selling point, communicating to stakeholders how the development of the new product will boost sustainability in the energy sector (Dess, Lumpkin, & Eisner, 2014).
Project risk management
There are a number of risks that the organization will face in the development of the new products. This includes the potential loss of demand of the new product if employees find it to be less effective as compared to other gadgets already in the industry. Other risks that the organization is facing are the potential loss of financial resources if the technology proves to be ineffective (Laurea-Ammattikorkeakoulu, & Dang, Hien, 2014). The organization will adopt a number of measures in reducing the impact of the above risks. It will engage the suppliers in long term supply contracts. This will ensure that the organization has access to raw materials. This will ensure that it has access to the safety gadgets. The organization will at the same time ensure that it has sufficient financial resources. This will provide assurance that the project is not terminated before closure as a result of such resources. Finally, the organization will also invest heavily safety measures to be adopted in refinement of fuel. This will ensure that chances of fuel catching fire are also minimized. This will play an important role in ensuring that the overall performance of the organization has been sustained (Harrison, & ST. John, 2014).
Project procurement management
The organization will rely on procurement of materials from firms that have reputation in delivery of quality supplies. It will engage in long term relationship with the suppliers to ensure that it has adequate access to supplies. This will be important in boosting the success of the project and in ensuring that its goals have been met
Project stakeholder management
There are a number of important stakeholders that the organization will need to put into consideration when developing the new product. One of the key stakeholders is the shareholders to the organization. It is the traditional goal of such an organization to maximize its shareholders wealth. The organization has the duty to ensure that the rights and goals of such shareholders have been met. Another key stakeholder that the organization needs to consider is the customers. The organization will be expected to launch a fresh air/smoke detector to be worn on wrist by its employees to provide them warning on smoke or low oxygen concentration at oil drilling and mining locations. Such a hybrid product will boost the overall viability of the organization in the industry while at the same time providing its employees with a safer work environment. This will be critical in boosting the overall performance of the organization. The environment will also be a key stakeholder to the organization. The innovation will play an important role in boosting occupational safety. This will be an important step in ensuring sustainability of operations in the organization.
Conclusion
From the above presentation, it is evident that project management is a systematic process. There is a need to identify a viable idea for the project, and identify potential resources that are important in execution of such projects. Moreover, it is important to assess the factors that may affect the performance of the project from the organization’s external environment. In this particular case, it is evident that the idea of a clean air detector will be of significant importance to the organization in terms of profitability and promotion of occupational safety. At the same time the organization will attract support from regulators as a result of adopting such an innovative products that promotes ecological sustainability. Today, there is an increasing call for firms within the US to adopt sustainable solutions in their operations. As more and more customers become conscious of sustainability, organizations focusing on developing products that appeal to such customers who are conscious of organizations that take care of its stakeholders including employees. The development of the new product will thus be critical to the overall success of the organization (Wilson, & Hill, 2014).
Technology is one of the key drivers of air transport industry. Continued automation of services in Chevron has enabled the organization to cut its cost significantly, thus gaining a competitive edge in the market. Many firms operating in the oil and minerals industry have also invested heavily in information communication and technology infrastructure (Rue & Byars, 2010). Chevron has improved its boarding process through increased automation. For instance, the organization has replaced traditional boarding card with an automated one. This in line with what other competitors in the industry are doing. Oil industry in the United States and globally is characterized with increased application of eCommerce as the players in the industry use the internet platform in the promotion of their products and in sourcing for raw materials and payments.
From this information gathered and presented in this section, it is evident that the organization needs to establish ways of exploiting various opportunities available in its operating environment and at the same time mitigate potential threats. The organization needs to exploit fully its low cost position in the industry. This will enable it to extend its market share by taking advantage of the current low economic performance in the country where individual’s purchasing power is low. Another opportunity present in the oil industry is information, communication and technology infrastructure. The organization needs to take advantage of the current high internet and mobile phone connectivity in the country. It can employ this to extend its online marketing, booking and payment for its services. The organization can also invest in technology based customer relationship management. This will enable the organization to gather industry and consumer information and thus enable it to adapt to changes in the market.
As indicated above, Chevron is operating in an environment characterized with various threats. The cost of aviation fuel has gone up and labor costs. This implies that the organization needs to enhance growth of its returns if it is to continue operating profitably in an environment where costs are on the rise. The current economic decline globally as a result of the 2007/2008 global financial crises, the organization has to devise ways of improving its profits amidst reducing global spending. The organization will; further need to counter the effect of its rival’s wide distribution network. Through increasing its global presence by opening new channels, the organization will be able to grow and maintain its market share (White, 2004). It is clear from the above study that, the organization operates in an environment where that is less conducive for investment. Nevertheless, the industry potential is likely to go up significantly, once United States of America recover fully from the recent recession.
The project has been based on in-depth research, both primary and secondary data has been employed in gathering information regarding the market trends and the macroeconomic factors. The primary data is mainly collected from agents in the economic outlook agency where information is gathered on the economic and technological advancement of the United States of America. At the same time, secondary data has been collected from websites and books on Michael Porters five forces and the macroeconomic environment that the organization is operating in. The changes in the country’s economic growth have also been obtained with a graph being provided on the same. Quantitative information regarding economic performance has also been employed. There are merits associated with both quantitative and qualitative information regarding the organization. Quantitative information ensures that the research findings are based on facts as opposed to mere opinions. At the same time, the use of qualitative information implies that information that cannot be quantitatively presented is also presented. Not all information that can be presented in terms of numbers. The approach also plays an important role in providing meaning to the collected data. This is critical in ensuring that the real meaning of data is arrived at. Based on this, it is evident that the application of such mixed research methods plays an important role in ensuring that the research objectives are met.
Nevertheless, the organization needs to establish measures to counter this threat in the market. For instance, the organization needs to cultivate consumer loyalty while at the same time widening its distribution network. This will enable the organization to serve the market fully, reducing the chances of survival of a new entrant into the market. Moreover, the oil industry is technology and capital extensive. As a result of this, not many players who may seek to join the market who may afford it.With the still low economic performance of the United States of America economy, buyers are going for the organization offering its services at the lowest cost. This has led to increase in competition by oils to win buyers which have on the other hand led to high buyer bargaining power. This has made the oil industry in the United States of America less attractive. To manage such buyer bargaining power, the organization needs to differentiate its services in the market through increased quality and customization. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Chevron has not managed to fully serve the demand of oil in US as in other countries.
production
Operations
marketing
Contracting production of clean air machines
Acquiring of the clean air detectors
Televised communication
Securing contracts with suppliers
Acquiring of licensing
Radio communication
Start production
Hiring of employees to implement these gadgets
Assessing impact of marketing communication on sales
packing
Engaging employees in training
distribution
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.