Project Commercial Identity (Essay Sample)

PROJECT COMMERCIAL IDENTITY
By [Name]
The Name of the Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
The Name of the School (University)
City and State where it is Located
The Date
Project Commercial Identity
Ascertain the feasibility or viability of business projects is a very challenging task for most organizations. The process involves examining many different facets within an organization’s environment before making final decisions on the commercial identity of any project. A carefully conducted business environment appraisal can benefit a company immensely through reduced project costs and increased benefits (Van Weele, 2014). Nevertheless, regardless of the significance of business environment appraisal, some major and mega projects still encounter challenges during their implementation stages. These difficulties emanate from the project's failure to meet its short-term, medium-term, and long-term projections (Waters, 2008). There are several reasons for project failures despite some projects going through efficient planning phases.
For example, Professor Bent Flyvbjerg’s study on the failure of some major infrastructural projects exposes massive discrepancies in the planning stages. These differences eventually account for the failure of the project to achieve its intended objectives. According to Professor Flyvbjerg, most significant projects fail due to misrepresentation of facts during the planning stage. The discrepancies between projections for demand and benefits expected with the actual data range between 20%-70% (Waters, 2008). Transport infrastructural projects are the most affected in this regard. The professor identifies three possible factors that account for the mishaps in project planning. These are technical errors, psychological errors, and economic and political reasons. Technical errors relate to insufficient data during the planning stages, while psychological errors emanate from bias. Conversely, economic and political issues occur due to deliberate misrepresentation of facts to get approval for the project. For example, one may underestimate costs while overstating the benefits to make the project look worthwhile.
Based on the research finding by Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, the role of business environment appraisal in project planning is brought to the fore. While it is evident that business is a crucial aspect of project planning, how it is carried out raises plenty of questions about the viability and commercial integrity of projects. Business environment appraisal seems to be a process marred in political and economic agenda rather than focusing on the actual data to make reliable projections. The commercial integrity of major and mega infrastructural projects such as the one currently underway in Brazil to prepare for the 2016 Olympics is questionable.
Therefore, several issues need to be considered to improve the commercial integrity of such significant projects. One way of strengthening the application of business environment appraisal data in project planning is through focusing on the science rather than the business, politics or economics (Lysons and Farrington, 2012). With a scientific approach, the data