The Study Of Heublein's Project Management Control System (Essay Sample)

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The study of Heublein’s Project Management Control System
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Introduction
Project management is one of the core components of the business structure used to formulate strategies of the company’s functional units and the internal work flow. For an organization to survive in the current era, which is characterized by stiff market completion, changing social demands and transforming economic dynamics, it must build and establish an effective project management systems; the systems with a capacity to influence and company’s production outcome. Mantel and Meredith (2012) define project management as every activity and effort employed by the organizational top management in attempt to produce a unique competitive strategy. Additionally, the organization’s project aims to help the company achieve short term and long term goals through execution of the formulated objectives. In other words, project management system is used by enterprises to manage the company’s projects at departmental levels basing on time, resources, and the projected budget.
Project management activities also fall into five sequential stages: planning, scheduling, executing, monitoring and managing a specific project (Vanhoucke, M. (2016). Project management and control system is one of the tools used by the managers to align the company’s objectives to what was initially strategized (Khatri, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to explore project management and control systems (PM&CS) within an organization. For more understanding the paper uses Hueblein International Company as the case study.
Overview of Heublein’s Project Management Control Systems
Heublein is an international firm specializing in manufacturing, developing, and marketing consumer food and beverage products in the global markets. In the recent years, the management of the company has realized that the production process which was initially implemented has not favoured the company’s operations. In response, the company’s top management has decided to develop an integrated project management with control systems (PM&CS) for survival purposes and to enhance the applicability. However, the company’s executive had initially opposed the implementation of the PM&CS for it’s prone to imitability by close competitors, and it is very common among the industries. Also, the firm had unqualified personnel to introduce the control system across the departments, and hence, the company must source an external expert. Thereby, lack of experienced members of the staff and the nature of the control systems remains to be the main inhibitors of the full implementation of the PM&C systems at Heublein.
In connection, the company decides to hire an external expert with ability to integrate the company’s project management tools and the control systems; the control system expert must knowledgeable and compatible enough to align the systems to the organizational objectives and goals (Vanhoucke, 2016). On the same note, the company’s production culture is to remain diversified in which the firm have been using as the main source of the competitive advantage in multiple markets (Mantel & Meredith, 2012). After the consultant was selected, the program manager was selected from inside the organization. After the establishment of the control systems, both departmental and top managers are required to formulate rules related to established control system in which every person will follow during the implementation process.
According to Vanhoucke (2016) the project management and control systems should be based on the functional units in an organization. In this case, the control system consultant should come up with a unique project management and control system that entails all departments and specific working groups. The corporate managers has strong grounds in monitoring the systems, and in turn, the company will be able develop project management systems basing on departmental needs (Mantel & Meredith, 2012). In support, Mantel and Meredith (2012) state that the purpose of developing and implementing project management and control systems is to help the company to identify gaps and mistakes in each department which can ruin the entire project, before they occur. .
However, there are underpinning factors that could have masked the consultant from designing an effective project management control system. Hueblein is an international company operating in multiple industries. Therefore, designing a project is challenging to the consultant due to the nature of production and industrial diversity as well as the literacy level of the workers. Additionally, full implementation of the entire project will take time due to the organization complexity. At some point the consultant tried to establish a unified and standard PM&C system which was rejected by the executives. Another underpinning factor is the cost. The company requires additional capital to boost the implementation of the project management control system.
Implementation of the Project Management Control Systems
PM&C systems support the managers to identify issues in advance which can lead to loss or failure. As mentioned above, the project management has five sequential stages: planning, scheduling, executing, monitoring and managing a specific project. In this case, technology is used condensing these phases into four namely educating, developing PM&CS design, project plan development and finally the implementation of the PM&CS. In the first stage, the executives educate the line managers and departmental engineers concerning the control systems. The training takes at least two days where the senior managers train the junior employees concerning the importance of the control systems. The phase two is the most important phase for it pools together managers from different departments to design the PM &C systems, and the impact the system will have on the company’s production outcome. This phase might take several weeks depending on the response and views presented by the managers. Stage three is also an important phase for it involves the development of the entire project using new technologies; the development of the project basis on the design presented by the project manager (s). Finally, stage four entails the implementation of the project management control system; each department has a customized PM&C system depending on the nature of the project and the company’s tracking requirements (Mantel & Meredith, 2012).
Project plan
Project plan entails multiple options offering multiple options and guidelines to managers in the establishment of the project management control system. The project plan system contains ten options in which managers can choose basing on the company’s situation and tracking requirement. The first option is the introduction of the project plan which primary aim is to bring an understanding to the managers concerning the importance of the project. The introduction also allows gives the participants to participate by analysing and documenting resources as well as the work breakdown structure (WBS) needed to complete the project (Mantel and Meredith, 2012). Therefore, it is important for managers to go through the introduction to capture the importance of the project and contained value to the organization.
The second option is formulation of the project plan objectives. It is important for managers to understand reasons for establishing the project management and control system within the organization. According to Malone (2012) the project plan objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant and time based (SMART). Basing on this theoretical approach, the objectives must be specific explaining each component clearly; the objectives must also be measurable basing on the progress. In connection, the objectives must be achievable using the identified and available resources, and relevant to each task executed. Also, the objectives must align to specified time line, for each task should start at specific time and also end at specified time.
Program structure is the third option that entails project management control system components. These components allow the project to give desirable outcome by inter-intra connecting them. Work breakdown structure (WBS) is a common tool used to identify each component and the role it plays in the entire project, as well as how multiple components connect to each other. According to Malone (2012) WBS is essential in the project plan for it illuminates functionality of each manager and the input employed by every department (Malone, 2012). After initiating the project structure it is important to select project costs which deals with both estimate and actual cost of the entire project. The budget should contain alternate route such that when the budget is disapproved by the management, the managers will chose the alternating budget. Also, budget allows the project managers to identify and allocate resources effectively and efficiently. Mantel & Meredith (2012) state that, budget is a facet plan us...