You are now ready to present to management a final report on  establishing a project team and project phases needed to initiate the  changes for a more centralized model of delivering HR services. Once the  management team receives the report and is thoroughly briefed on the  direction the project will take, you and your project team will begin  work on the project.

The management team report will be a consolidation of the  previous assignment papers you have written in this course plus a report  overview (sort of like an executive summary) and final conclusion  (offering importance of topics and recommendations for next steps). You  may make up a fictitious company name (do not use a real company) and  create your own HR project team name.

Instructions

Prepare a 25–30 page paper in which you:

1. Create a full 2-page (minimum) report overview (executive  summary) summarizing and emphasizing the key points of the report’s  contents, which are the topics from previous papers in the course. Hint:
   • What Is an Executive Summary?
   • How to Write an Executive Summary for Your Proposal.
   • 12+ Best Executive Summary Templates & Samples.
2. Copy and paste all content with headings from the previous  course assignments minus any cover pages, running heads, introduction  and conclusion sections, and reference pages.
3. Prepare and include an original conclusion section to be  placed immediately after the paper content. Note: Do not use any  previous conclusion sections from past papers in the course. The  conclusion section must take all previous papers into account.
4. Create the reference page(s) by copying and pasting  all references from the previous four assignments and any new references  as a result of this report. Remember, the reference page should be  separate from the other text.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards  (SWS).For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer  Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Review the elements of project planning and management.

Running head: PROGRESS, RESULTS, AND FINALIZING THE HR PROJECT 1

PROGRESS, RESULTS, AND FINALIZING THE HR PROJECT 3

Progress, Results, and Finalizing the HR Project

8/25/2020

Professor Jennifer Young

Progress, Results, and Finalizing the HR Project

Directing and managing a project or project work refers to project managers’ actions to ensure the various methods of execution of the processes in projects are produced, directed, and well-managed to meet the desired expectations set forth before the project commences. Directing and managing project work is successful when project managers ensure that all the project departments work closely and towards a common goal. Commonly, a team is regarded as well-structured if they work together regardless of the differences in departments (Meredith et al. 2017). Therefore, project managers will be successful in managing and directing the project work if they have a project plan. In every project, a plan is essential because it is the primary tool in directing and managing the execution processes. All the project plan’s subsidiary plans are contained in the project plan, and hence, it acts as a tool to guide the project manager in propelling the project towards success.

Project management can be a slippery slope task, especially when the organization does not have all the required resources to propel the project through to completion. That makes it a complex discipline to navigate through. Managing and sustaining progress when leading a project in an organization is essential. Here are some of the strategies projects managers can use to ensure their projects are sustainable and well-managed as they progress towards completion.

Creation of a flow of communication: in each phase of a project, project managers and the team members should understand that communication is necessary. Establishing a flow of communication between project members is vital. More so, the stakeholders for the project are also important people in the project. Hence, project managers should create a constant flow of information to and from stakeholders as well. Effective communication fosters transparency between the team members of the project. It reduces the chances of receiving numerous emails of phone calls in case of an emergency problem (Meredith et al. 2017). Having a working execution platform is paramount in ensuring the flow of communication. Project managers can sync comments regarding the progress of the project, photos, documents, and calendars when monitoring the updates and budgets and scheduling for the changes in case they occur. Change cannot be executed if there is a lack of a reliable flow of information; therefore, PMs should strategically lay a medium to ensure effective communication flow (Kerzner, 2017).

Habitual planning: project management has five phases. Project managers do plan before starting the project. But they have to continuously plan, revise the plans, and design other plans during the project’s progress and till the end of the project thereof. Some projects require extensive planning and hence, should be revised as the project enters the next stage. Risks and uncertainties occur as the project progress; therefore, planning for changes in such emergencies is a strategy that every project manager should use to maintain and sustain the progress of the project.

Budgeting the projects with work execution platforms is another vital strategy in ensuring the maintenance and sustainability of projects. In projects, material, wages, permits, and other equipment undergoes an exchange of financial sources as well as vendors. From the start of a project to the end, project managers should track and manage all the expenses related to the initial budget of the project. Project managers can remain effective in budgetary terms of the project by using software that is crucial and effective in managing costs as the project moves through the key phases. Using project management templates such as the best-in-class work execution is vital in enabling project managers and stakeholders to make the input of the costs, make a budget for the changes and calculate the associated costs to keep track of the finances needed to bring the project to completion (Meredith et al. 2017). Therefore, integrating designs such as DocuSign helps to reduce the time needed in collecting signatures for each invoice and hence, creates time for the project managers and their team members to attend to the project at hand.

There are four basic strategies used in addressing and resolving risks in a project. Risk avoidance, transference, mitigation, and acceptance are the basic risk control measures every project manager should be aware of. Risk avoidance refers to how project managers apply safeguards to eliminate or reduce the uncontrolled risks that might cause vulnerability to the project. Project managers can achieve risk avoidance through training, educating, and implementing security controls to safeguard the project. Avoidance is paramount in identifying threats and vulnerabilities and then implementing strategies to mitigate the threats and reduce their attack as much as possible.

Risk transference helps project risk managers to transfer or shift the threats to other areas. It means that the responsibility to accept the risk is delegated to another department or person. Therefore, in achieving transference, project risk managers should hire outside organizations to offer services. Hence, in the process of risk occurrence, the hired organization will take responsibility in case of risk emergence. Risk mitigation is another strategy in addressing and resolving risks in control of projects. Project risk managers use this strategy to reduce the impacts of vulnerability. It considers when something happened and not whether it happened. Through this strategy, project risk managers tend to have strategic risk management plans such as the disaster recovery plan, incidence response plan, and business continuity plans in place to address the threat and resolve it before it affects the project (Kerzner, 2017).

Risk acceptance is the last strategy to use when controlling risks. In this strategy, project risk managers will understand the consequences of the project’s risks and accept them without controlling or having mitigation measures. It is a strategy that goes with the notion that there will always be risks in projects. Therefore, there are impossibilities of eliminating risks, and hence, risk analysis is essential in this case. Through the determination of the risk levels from the risk information, evaluating the probabilities of risk occurrence and the controls in place is essential since it ensures that acceptance is strong and justified. Risk avoidance and risk mitigation are vital strategies in controlling risks as compared to transference and acceptance. Risk avoidance involves safeguarding the project from risk vulnerability, while mitigation involves helps in reducing the impacts of the risks to the projects. They are vital in ensuring that the projects run smoothly without interferences from vulnerability (Meredith et al. 2017).

In project management, much attention is often given towards planning on how to start and run the project. Many project managers forget that closing projects are equally important in ensuring the success of the entire project. A lot of work is involved in the completion of the project. Many tasks need completion even after the project is over. Things such as approvals, signatures, and payments are essential during project closures. Closing a project is a process, and one of the phases of a project and hence requires project managers to take some actions before starting to close down the project and arranging a post mortem of the processes of the project and how everything has been done (Kerzner, 2017). That involves gathering the core team members and receiving feedback from them regarding what worked and what failed. Good project managers will document this information and use them for future references. Another action is to complete the project’s paperwork by having approvals and relevant signatures and outstanding payments. With automated software such as ProjectManager.com, managers can create reports through a single click. Timesheet reports will help them know the hours worked by a given team member during the project and how much they should be paid.

In conclusion, it is a slippery slope, especially when the organization lacks proper project managers and resources to propel the project through to completion. Project managers lead the team members towards the achievement of common goals, the success of the project. Directing and managing the project towards the set goals and success is vital in projects. Hence, project managers need to use various strategies to ensure that they direct and manage the project successfully. More so, projects face risks during their execution. Project risk managers have to explore the best strategies in addressing and resolving the risks during the control phase. Closing of a project is an important phase in projects; project managers should adhere to various actions before beginning to close down to ensure viability.

References

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., & Mantel Jr, S. J. (2017). Project Management: A Strategic Managerial Approach. John Wiley & Sons.

Running head: PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS 1

PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE HUMAN RESOURCE PROJECT 7

Planning Considerations for the Human Resource Project

8/15/2020

Professor Jennifer Young

Planning Considerations for the Human Resource Project

Introduction

The first step teams need to make when starting a project is to ensure that there is a project’s planning note. The note is essential in the sense that it acts as a guide and backbone of the project requirements. Due to the numerous issues and details that come with project planning, the statement is crucial in ensuring that everything goes according to plan. Additionally, any project requires significant preparation if it is to succeed, and without a note or statement of planning, then the project may stall. According to Falkner and Hiebl (2015), project preparation may involve the evaluation of things such as management personnel, risks, budget, and the team responsible for the project. In this sense, this paper seeks to analyze the scope and scheduling of a project, associated project behavioral skills, determination of project budget, and how a project manager can identify project risks.

Project Scope and Scheduling

Scope

One of the most significant aspects of a project includes the scope and scheduling of that particular project. Sunindijo (2015) points out that the project scope entails the details that must be part of the project to ensure that it is completed successfully and meets the set standards. A project’s scope offers the management party a chance to design an outline or a draft of the project requirements. For this reason, it is of the essence to comprehend the needs of a project’s initial plan before the team starts working on the project. Additionally, the project scope is significant because it can help the project managers carry out budget estimations. In most cases, it can be a hard task to estimate a project’s budget without fully comprehending the resources required to complete the project (Kloppenborg, 2019). In this sense, establishing the scope of the project is an essential step in the process of project evaluation.

Scheduling

On the other hand, project scheduling involves the preparation of specific activities in the order in which they will occur as the project progresses. Project scheduling is another vital aspect that must be taken into consideration before a project kicks off. Demeulemeester & Herroelen (2006) present that project scheduling makes an essential part of the project management process, thus proving it to be a necessary procedure. There are several ways through which the project team can undertake the project schedule. For example, project charts or Gant charts can be utilized in project scheduling. Scheduling is beneficial to the project task in the sense that it offers a precise estimation of the time that the project will take until it is completed. The project schedule indicates the time a project will start and the tie at which the project will be expected to be complete. The schedule acts as a guide for the project managers to determine whether they will complete the project in the given time, or it needs to be added some more time. Moreover, project scheduling helps with the planning of resources and deliverables timing required in the project.

Statement if importance

Just like an organization has a mission and vision statement, all projects come with a statement that provides the need and reasoning behind starting the projects. Projects do not just start; instead, the projects are formulated due to the given reasons and requirements. In most instances, the statement of the essence just offers a picture of why the project is taking place. In other words, statements explain why an organization needs an individual project and its significance to the company. For this reason, a project’s statement of importance is considered an integral part of the project. The statement also prompts the project managers to stick to the initial plan of the project without deviating and risking the success of that project (Rautiainen et al., 2017). Therefore, every project requires a statement of essence that guides the project team by reminding them of what is needed from them. The statement of significance for this Human Resource Project states that “The human resource department requires this project as a guide and aspect of enhancing the services provided by this department.”

Project Resourcing and Relevant Behavioural Skills

According to Sasu (2018), most projects are completed successfully when the responsible team has the right capabilities of handling a project. In other words, certain behavioural skills are contemplated to be significant in carrying out projects. For instance, one essential behavioral skill includes the capability to choose competent people as the team to undertake a particular project. Even if a project manager has all the funds that are required to push the project to completion, he or she cannot succeed without a competent team. For this reason, project managers need the ability to select a competent tea that can propel the project to the expected standards. In this sense, a project needs a manager who knows how human resources work and their potential to contribute to the success of a project.

Secondly, another crucial behavior skill involves the ability of a project manager to understand the art of specialization. In projects, not many people understand that it is essential for project teams to be put in areas where they can work efficiently and faster. Specialization involves a situation where project embers are put in areas where they can work best. Undertaking projects can be a complicated process if people are placed in stations where they do not comprehend what needs to be done. However, putting the team members in areas where they can work without challenges can boost their motivation and help contribute to the success of the given project.

Another crucial behavioral skill involves conflict resolution skills. Conflicts are unavoidable when it comes to project tasks, as people may disagree sometimes. For this reason, a competent manager of a project must display the skills of a problem solver if the project is to succeed. Additionally, the fourth behavioral skill that a project resourcing process requires is oral communication skills. Communication is one of the most vital factors that can lead to a project’s success. When managers are good at communicating, the rest of the project team will find it easy to voice concerns and even make critical suggestions. Thus, oral communication is an essential behavioral skill in project resourcing as it may make or break the success of a project.

Project Cost, Aggregation of Cost, and Cash Flow Evaluation

Budget determination involving projects usually depends on the various phases that a project is intended to take before completion. It also relies on the resources that are required for the successful completion of that project. When a budget is established, it becomes easier for the project team to track the in-progress costs of the project, making it easier to account for all project areas and phases, including materials, personnel, hardware, and software activities. Furthermore, cost evaluation in a project is carried out by focusing on the costs associated with the project, and the total costs needed to complete the project at hand. In some cases, the costs might be fewer or higher than expected if the project managers do not plan and execute the estimated budget carefully. Cost aggregation involves the categorization of costs, a process that differentiates much-needed costs from those that can be used sparingly. For example, project costs may be divided into two, including indirect and direct project costs. Such costs are categorized to ensure that the costs are utilized in catering for facilities, hardware, software, services, equipment, materials, and labor, among other associated costs. Moreover, the cash flow activities in a project are associated with the expansion of human resource procedures. The sales and purchases that come up after the project can be used to estimate the project’s cash flow activities (Kloppenborg, 2019). Additionally, the acquired fixed assets can also act as a base of estimating the cash outflow and inflow activities.

Recognition of Project Perils

There is no project that does not face significant risks that threaten its success. For this reason, it is of the essence to identify risks linked to the project and how to address those risks to ensure completion of that project (Carvalho & Rabechini Junior, 2015). Identifying risks involves the use of checklists that asses all project areas and the evaluation of the firm and weak points of that project. Additionally, document reviews are also crucial in recognizing the risks that a project faces. Moreover, project managers can obtain information by focusing on brainstorming, which involves discussions between managers to come up with solutions founded on identified risks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, several issues are essential when it comes to project planning and consideration. The success of a project entirely depends on how factors such as funds and other resources are incorporated into the project plan. The scope and scheduling of a project are also crucial as they act as a guide to the successful completion of the project. Furthermore, cost estimation and budget establishment are essential when it comes to project planning. Risk identification is also vital in project planning as it helps with ensuring that all perils are addressed, and all obstacles are taken care of before the project starts, which ensures that the project will be successful.

References

Carvalho, M. M. D., & Rabechini Junior, R. (2015). Impact of risk management on project performance: the importance of soft skills. International Journal of Production Research, 53(2), 321-340.

Demeulemeester, E. L., & Herroelen, W. S. (2006). Project scheduling: a research handbook (Vol. 49). Springer Science & Business Media.

Falkner, E. M., & Hiebl, M. R. (2015). Risk management in SMEs: a systematic review of available evidence. The Journal of Risk Finance, 16(2), 122-144.

Kloppenborg, T. (2019). Contemporary Project Management. (4th Ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Rautiainen, A., Sippola, K., & Mättö, T. (2017). Perspectives on relevance: The relevance test in the constructive research approach. Management Accounting Research, 34, 19-29.

Sasu, E. D. (2018). Leadership Autonomy: A Self-Motivated Competency for Monitoring & Evaluating International Development Projects.

Sunindijo, R. Y. (2015). Project manager skills for improving project performance. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 16(1), 67-83.