Project Management Regency Plaza

circuit board of ContentsPage 1. Executive Summary (207 words) 2. Introduction (280 words) 3. picture Definition Phase (949 words) 3. 1Problems Encountered during the objectify 4. The run into Manager (790 words) 4. 1Assessment of crimp Hodgkins 5. Risk caution (938 words) 5. 1Evaluating Risk guidance 6. Millers Dilemma (821 words) 7. Final Discussion (398 words) 8. Conclusion (142 words) 9. supplement 10. References 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Being a successful hotel operator, the Regency Hotel Group (RHG) has the experience, the resources as well as the capability of managing the Regency Plaza swan.So the question is, wherefore has the find out been dogged by respective(a) problems? From slow gross sales growth, in a bad way(p) customers to increasing damages, internal conflict as well as micturate delays, the list is blanket(a). One study(ip) sympathy for this appears to be worthless schemening. With comme il faut cookery and count on instruction in place, sc heduling and coordination is do such(prenominal) easier. Any arising problems could be identified and resolved which would lead to less clip and money spent on rectification. This would in turn enable much(prenominal) time and resources to be spent on the refinement of the attains which would direct in the apogee and success of the assure.The RHG has established a re seatation and a brand name associated with good service, luxury and an extensive range of amenities. reverse or even foster delays on this befuddle would be unhealthful to their reputation. This goes to show the importance of swan commission in relation to the organic laws strategic mission. This report give assess how the Regency Plaza pouch was managed and implications for future throw off music directors to replete none of. 2. Introduction Lewis (2005 P23) mentioned that haste makes pine and it is very true.But in the hurry up and get it do world, on that point is little patience with wasting time on all that planning. The result? Re croak and rectification, which is 100 percent waste. Experts estimated that one-third of the equal of the average throw up goes to correcting errors through with(predicate) re kit and boodle. Having said the higher up, on that point is s gutter no flawless project sour. Why is that so? This is be manage we atomic number 18 all benignant beings, and human beings tend to make mi empales. In situations where time, salute and resources argon of supernumerary concern, project anagers tend to make more(prenominal) than irrational decisions, resulting in more re-work. The Regency Plaza case study is a observe example. So how tush these errors be minimized? What projects theater directors quarter do to minimize these errors is to ensure that in that location is proper planning, project purport and project guidance. Projects argon stepping stones of corporate system and its success is the actionblood of every organization RHG i s well known for her luxurious fittings and spicy service role in the hotel industry. The Regency Plaza project was formulated culture this strategy in the challenging merchandise environment.The role of the project theatre director (which in this case is Hodgkins), is to take responsibility for the boilers suit success of the project. However, this is non seen in the Regency Plaza project. As indicated, this project has been racked with many uncertainties. This essay get outing evaluate the following 1) The Project Definition Phase of Regency Plaza, 2) The Role of the Project Manager, 3) The Overall Risk Assessment, and lastly 4) The Implications for the Project Manager facilitating the pace of the project. 3. Project Definition PhaseThe overall project definition phrase goes check to the following cycle diagram which shows the inter blood between the 3 stages of project definition. Goals RHG had a polish make goal in mind of what they wanted to secure in this project development that is, to develop Regency Plaza. This is their first attempt venturing into edifice luxury condominiums building blocks together with hotel rooms. The financial aim was to earn intercommunicate plebeian profits of $134. 4 million and net profits of $26 million. In the development of Regency Plaza Project, luxury condominium units ar alike included.The worry failed to take into account the fact that they atomic number 18 venturing into a bracing byplay territory involving long-term residential condominium units. Hotel guests and condominium residents sire polar levels of expectations non to mention the fact that the Regency Plaza is a luxury development. magic spell being established and successful in their master(prenominal) business is good, peradventure this has similarly contributed to the over-confidence of the management and their failure to set appropriate realistic goals.A project priority matrix was first demonstrable to identify the confuse d levels of project priorities in terms of time, performance and cost which interelate to the goals set. Project precedency Matrix This would signify the following for the Regency Plaza Project ? If the project is assembleation schedule, there will be a reduction in the mop up time in order to successfully trade the product ?If the project is behind schedule, cost budget will be increased to rush along up work ? The original specifications touch on can non be compromised Specifications When the project management aggroup under the leadership of project conductor Hodgkins was set-up by RHG management, sizable amounts of training/data/specifications was provided. It was a pugnacious period for Hodgkins as she essential to undertake many decisions of deciding on the projects main specifications. For instance she had to decide on the number of units that would be offered when the project was completed.From RHGs perspective, obtaining the maximum profit from the 9 6 units would be deemed as a politic decision, whereas considering the duration and deadline of the project, choosing to shew more units would be tedious non b atomic number 18ly in terms of planning and meeting deadlines but withal with regards to cost in terms of materials. At the same time, one of the key strategies of the development was tolerateing buyers the pickax of customising their units. As such, the decision to opt for more units is a union decision which would greatly affect the projects main specifications whereby the take a breather of the specifications that follow would be touch as well.Tasks and Responsibilities As ambitious as RHG may be, following the concept development, they not lonesome(prenominal)(prenominal) left key decisions but also the legal age of the project responsibilities and decision-making power to Hodgkins. However, this fact was not evanesced to the rest of the project participants, resulting in many individuals influencing the pr oject managers decision. RHG management had failed to organize the task and responsibilities in a dogmatic way where there is proper training dissemination and a tight r for each one of command.The management also failed to supervise and maintain a series of checks and discover for the stainless project. It was also noted that the management had a different project team working on the hotel but the same contractor. It is essential that both(prenominal) teams work closely as any delay by each party would impact on the other(a)(a) as could be seen when braid slowed down on the hotel nearing the conclusion date due to bulge outs with the condominium units. skirmish and unhappiness with the contractor and vice-versa also impacted the other. Decision making process hindered by excessively many parties pic 1. Problems Encountered during the Regency Plaza Project Unable To consummate(a) Before Scheduled beat In the case of the Regency Plaza Project, the breathe encountere d by the project manager was behind schedule If a clear and sufficient time frame was pre-planned in the project definition phrase, the accident of such a problem occurring would be greatly bring lowd. The project manager had failed to allocate and include an amount of time/duration into the entire project duration as a contingency plan to rely on in the event of phrase failure or delays..In the initial tender stage with the contractor, the lowest bid selected and the selected contractor was persuaded to cut off 3 months from their target date. This was agreed with the representing that the timeline was tight but with minimum changes and disruptions, the time line could whitewash be met. With this in mind, the project manager should note that no disruptions or delays could be tolerated. There also appears to be a lack of proper checks and progress updates, as if this was present, the problem would be flagged earlier on and measures to resolve this could be established.Decision making hindered by multiple stake holders The decision-making process, right from the conceptualisation stage had to go through tedious discussions with the stakeholders. The nature of the project itself, with two separate project teams (hotel and condo) as well as the customisation element, meant that while the responsibility laid with Hodgkins and she was tasked to make major decisions, she had difficulty doing so as she contended to accommodate and take the various stakeholders into consideration while trying to obtain the optimum profit/benefits.If the major decision maker has been determined during the project definition phrase, a systematic flow utilising the decision making matrix should be used to stay off the problem of too many decision-makers. 4. the Project Manager The role of the project manager involves integrating, planning, organizing, check up onling and leading. Hodgkins needs to be able to properly communicate and combine the crossing points of functional plan e sections, the subcontractors and other stakeholders. In the initial planning stage, Hodgkins needs to identify the task each stakeholder is involved in and the targeted apogee deadline.This will provide a better picture of the resources availabile at each stage of the project. Hodgkins is required to manage and organize the project team that was put together for her by Regency. This controlling role requires the project manager to plan out the objectives and processes required to reach the end goal. Following which, the assigned processes need to be implemented and at various stages, the results need to be introduce and tallied to ensure that the expected outcomes argon reached. Lastly, project manager must be flexible and react decisively. There is a eed to constantly keep running game and analyze the cause of any differences and re-evaluate the whole process and make the requisite changes. A project manager should lead by example as it is a highly visible management style th at will build and sustain cooperative relationships. The skills required as a project manager would be as follow 1. Good communication ensures that valuable information related to the project status is provided in a timely and strong manner. 2. Ability to work as a team will allow team members to understand their roles and responsibilities on the project and work collaboratively. 3.Listening skills is authorised because good listening skills is needed to truly hear and try to understand what others on the project are trying to say 4. homework skills will help the project manager provide each functional department a clearing schedule of their work. 5. Persuasion techniques influencing without direct authority and obtaining win-win situations 4. 1Assessment of Kris Hodgkins Hodgkins dismissed Farleys, a renowned condominium marketing consultant, suggestion on building larger but less units. Her focus was to hit the projected sales targets and failed to consider the merits of Frale ys suggestion.She also realized that customization had disrupted the completion of the project, but did not try to persuade the management on cock-a-hoop up the idea. If she had make so with the evidence of the increase in cost, wastage of materials and electric potential complaints from customers that may likely lead to damages to the companys reputation, the management may bewilder reconsidered their commitment. Hodgkins choose not to discuss with the buyers active the survival on customizing individual units, as she felt that most of the customizing could only be done after the building was completed.This resulted in the wasting of materials and resources as the behind design that was constructed had to be ripped out and rebuilt harmonise to the buyers changes. This has also resulted in a delay in the work flow because with incomplete drawings the main contractors are not able to get accurate quotes from the subcontractors. By not bear upon and disseminating snappy info rmation promptly, miscommunication occurs, the work process is lengthened and the pressure is laid on the final recipient. A key example of this is the situation where Hodgkins only delivers sketches from the interior designer to OBrian and Sinclair when she had the time.An instance where miscommunication results is when Hodgkins never explains to Helen Miller that the reason why the bills she received are so expensive is because of the complexity of the work and the incomplete design provided by Susan Randolph. Incomplete control and bad planning where there is no proper task breakdown structure in place resulted in continual changes to design even while the spring date is closing in. This causes the already tight timeline to be stretched even further, not to mention the fluctuation in manpower, increasing costs and subsequent further delay to the project.As mentioned earlier, the two project managers from Regency are working as different entities although the main objective is f or the building to be completed sooner. moreover when Hodgkins realize that sales was not doing very well, she did not discuss with Farley and the sales staff on ways to improve sales figure. It can be concluded that Hodgkins is not a good project manager. She failed to communicate vital information to the stakeholders. She was precondition a team to help on the sales but did not make good use of it. It was only till things were getting out of hand that she called for a meeting.If she had done so earlier, this would put one across reduced the amount of time and resources wasted. There is also evidence of brusk control and checks, bad planning and a refusal to address issues and update management of problems. 5. Risk Management The Risk Management litigate consists of four stages which are elaborated below 5. 1Stage 1 Identify Risk acknowledgment Identification ensures that actions and contingencies are focused upon specific guesss. Actions may then be developed to specificall y target this risk and attempt to reduce its impact.Risk sectionalization Structure i. Complexity The strategy of customisation of condominium units resulted in the delay of the projects completion. Hodgkins did not identify and assess such risks when she took on this project. If she had done so, it would assume allowed her to factor this in when assessing the contractors and costs and would also have given her ample time to develop choices of strategy to fishing gear the problem. ii. Subcontractors Time was an issue during the designing process when making alterations to the condominium.This would have been acceptable if the issue had been communicate at the beginning and contingency plans were make. But Hodgkins preferred to take the determine of hoping customers would settle for what was given instead. This was a curious decision that she made in view of the fact that customisation was a selling point for the condos and the target market consisted of wealthy couples who we re likely to have high expectations and would want something personalised and unique. It would not be surprising and would in fact be expected that they would opt for customisation despite the surplus cost to them.This judgement error by Hodgkins resulted in problems with regards to work schedules and budgets. Once alterations were required, the process of designing these changes would take weeks. This placed a lot of pressure on the contractors. iii. Construction Management Due to the customization option available to the buyers, Hodgkins was required to ensure proper management of the overall look of the project. Any delay on any aspect of the project, eg the delay in completing homes would have a chain effect and cause delays to other parts of the project (i. . the Millers case) and result in additional costs. While the buyers are willing to pay for the cost of alterations that they have made, the extra costs associated with the delaying of the entire project would not be t heir responsibility. Due to the fact that the contract between RHG and the contractors was a fixed sum contract, as such the contractors would be extremely cautious of committing to anything. 2. Stage 2 Analyse Risk Assessments Rank risks according to the likelihood that the risk will occur and also the severity of its occurrence.The be is usually done using words such as relentless or Highly/Likely which are then linked to quantitative values that can be multiplied together. The results can then be ranked, with the highest number the one which most requires attention. For Regency Plaza Project, the major potential risks are plotted below Risk Management Assessment Matrix Contractors- Time Length Complexity Construction Management 5 4 likelihood 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 ImpactRed zoneMajor Risk discolour zone-Moderate risk Green zoneMinor risk 5. 3Stage 3 formulation Risk Response Development Risks cannot be ignored. They may be tolerated, treated, transfer red to some other party or terminated. Below are some plans that can be used to tackle the major risks i. Complexity Solutions of strategy to reduce contingent risk damage will be accepting the recommendation offered by Farley on building larger units. If Farleys recommendation had been taken up, the risk of complexity will be reduced due as there will be lesser buyers and conversely less complications and liaison required.This will result in lesser probability of alterations and the progress of the project can be increased tremendously, while additional cost due to delays is avoided. In terms of the consideration of revenue, bigger units can be damaged higher thereby making up for the lesser units. Another alternative will be as mentioned originally, if Hodgkins had identified the risk of complexity upon taking up this project, she will then have the necessary time to plan out and tackle the source of this risk.Other than factoring in sufficient contingency time, she would al so be able to appeal to management and stakeholder to lengthen the time plan for completion. This additional time would enable additional marketing of the units and possible recommendations from quelled buyers which would assist in the slow sales. ii. Subcontractors If the issue had been tackled earlier then a visible framework could have been set up with adequate and fixed deadlines that would cause little or no problems to the contractors and allow the changes to be made before critical areas of the condominiums were constructed.This difference would also help avoid the majority of complaints from customers regarding delays and slow service. iii. Construction Management This again could have been planned more effectively if the scope of change had been correctly outlined and agreed at an earlier date, allowing for more efficient use of resources and better planning. 5. 4Step 4 Management Risk Response lock Hodgkins should monitor the project progression, do an extensive risk assessment, anticipate possible risks and handle unforeseen new risks. on the whole these should be updated to project team members and stakeholders during regular meetings. Problems should be emb passd and resolved and not concealed and denied. All the team members should be encouraged to identify problems, mistakes and new risks, and ensure that constant communication and information flow amongst the project members. Hodgkins should also make an effort to communicate and highlight issues specifically to the hotel project team who will be directly affected by any problems on the condominium project. 6. Millers DilemmaIn view of the Millers predicament, Hodgkins was found to be trapped in a tight spot with only five options to consider. excerpt 1 The first option of telling the Millers that it was too late to customize the unit would have a disastrous impact. The buyer-seller relationship and reputation of Regency Plaza and its management would be put at stake if the Millers, who are active and influential members of the Boston social circles, were to spread the information amongst their social circle (who are the potential target market of this project). nonetheless if the Millers decide to undertake this option, extra time and coordination would be required as changes to the unit force involve shutting down the entire floor, prevent construction on other units and causing further delay to work schedules. At the same time, the positive effect of this option might not be beneficial to Hodgkins either as it may make no significant impact on the already delayed work schedule. pick 2 The second option would involve pushing through the changes. This would reduce the amount of demolition work required and keep the Millers satisfied.However, on a macro view, putting the unit on hold would delay schedules and have impact on both direct and indirect costs, eg delaying the hotel project and thereby the loss of possible income from occupancy. Should the Millers dec ide to draw out this option and the changes take a longer time, the cost liability during the holding anatomy would be a grey area which would add on to the complexity of the problem. Option 3 The third option to hire a small popular contractor to finish the unit before closing may not resolve the Millers problems.Extra overhead expenses would be extremely expensive and it would be tedious for Hodgkins to handle two general contractors. The possibility of conflicts and disagreements on roles and responsibilities might arise between the different groups of contractors, adding complexity and delay to the project. This may also impact the morale of worker in Kelly Construction thereby impacting quality of work. But the advantage of hiring small contractors could be beneficial looking at it from a microscopic view. Changes to the Millers unit could be accomplished while works on other units could be carried out concurrently.This would allow works to be completed and costs would not be borne by Kelly Construction which would background any other in restroom. On hindsight, this option might be openhearted to the Millers as well as they could get their unit on time. But, the price of satisfying the Millers by increasing management expenses significantly may be too great for Hodgkins to justify paying for. Option 4 The tail option involves s put acrossping work and handing over an empty unit. The advantage of this start out will be that the Millers could finish the unit at their own convenience while works on other units could be done concurrently.However, Hodgkins could still be trapped in the dilemma if she were to execute this approach. On top of the fact that the costs have already been incurred and work would need to be undone, the banks unwillingness to lend money could add on to the Millers frustration, which could be extremely unfavorable to the reputation of RHG. Regency would also lose control over the project and may be forced to deal with other occup ants who want this option. In a construction sense, there may be future issues with works to units done by external contractors. Option 5In general, the last option of moving the Millers to a different unit on a higher floor would be a more feasible and win-win alternative. It would generate the least negative impact on both time and cost. Most importantly, all parties the Millers, Kelly Construction, Susan Randolph, Hodgkins and even the RHG, could benefit from this approach. A higher floor unit is of a higher value. Offering to instigate the Millers there (it is of course recommended that RHG absorbs the price difference), would help to compensate the Millers for any inconvenience caused.This bring would be a positive long-term investment in commutation for the satisfaction of the Millers and sustainability of the positive impression for RHG. Likewise, moving the Millers to a higher floor in which interior work had not yet started would buy additional time for the contractors as no demolition work is required. There would be no wastage of materials and significant cost savings would be anticipated. Susan Randolph would also have a larger time frame to make changes to the designs while cost assessment and approval could be done concurrently without affecting the schedule.In view of the fact that sales figures are not high, there would not be any significant inconvenience caused to RHG and in fact this move may assist in sales if the Millers are positive about the Regency Plaza Project and this is circulated in their social circle. 7. Final discussion The above evaluation has revealed that the Regency Plaza was not very well managed. A major factor contributing to the failure is poor planning. The project seems to be in a mess as roles and responsibilities are not properly defined and allocated, the decision- making process is muddled and is not well communicated. there are no proper checks. These problems could be tardily overcome if delegation of roles and responsibilities was communicated all the way (refer to appendix on RAM). Every modification introduced within the project phase can have certain impact on the level of operation of the project (Lock 1992). Each modification could take several weeks so that quotes could be gathered and reviewed. In the case of the modification of the Millers unit, this caused the delay of the scheduled completion of the twelfth floor and has also affected the safety and infrastructure of the building.As such the risk management aspect was not well taken care of. If the issues had been turn to earlier through constructing a project network, this would cause little or no problems to the contractor as it allows changes to be made before critical areas of the condominium were constructed Newell (2002) suggested that assumptions must be made for the intent of project planning. However in Hodgkins case, her assumptions are flawed and not vox populi through properly. She assumed that most buyers w ould not customize their units and would settle easily for what was given.By assuming such scenarios, she had overlooked the target market for the project, ie the wealthy. This error in judgement disrupted the completion of the project, raised overall budgets and caused much dissatisfaction among the project group. To make matters worst, the marketing strategy adopted by Hodgkins was that of word of mouth. With complaints of delay, cted the sales performance of the project was affected and a poor image of Regency was projected. Hodgkins would have done better to have done enquiry on the buying patterns of her target market or spoken to her contacts, market specialists or even to have discussed with her team.If the above problem was to be addressed or realized earlier, the impact would have been minimized. While assumptions may not be a bad thing and in fact are encouraged, they must be made with a contingency plan and for Hodgkins case, she does not seem to have any. 8. conclusion T he Regency Plaza project was a race against time and time means money. This situation put Hodgkins in a tight spot and many decisions needed to be made instanter to avoid any delays. Many irrational decisions were thus made which affected the overall progress of the project.As a project manager, success of the project should be the first priority. Coming up with possible alternatives to tackle the tough situation is critical. Although many possible solutions were provided, however Hogkins did not appear to have used many of them to resolve the current issues related to the project. Lock (1992) mentioned that to achieve the project objectives, People, Communication, Jobs and Resources must be properly organized. Planning and coordination is essential. To summarise, Project Managers are key to the success of any project and are worth their metric weight unit in gold. . Appendix Responsibility Assignment Matrix(RAM) Task/Resource PM Hodgkins KDS OBrian and Sinclair Kelly Constructio n Millers Designer Randolph Consultant Farley gross sales Team Sales and Marketing R C R Building Architectural A R R C C Customization I C R Managing the subcontractors I I R Millers interior design I I C C R Construction invoices R R R R = Responsible (People who do the work) A = accountable (People who make sure the work gets done)C = Consulted (People who provide input before and during the work) I = Informed (People who are kept informed of progress) Blue boxes refers to the stakeholders 10. REFERENCES 1. Ballard G & Whelton M, 2002, Wicked Problems in Project Definition, Retrieved on 1 fourth kinfolk 2009, from http//www. leanconstruction. org/pdf/WickedProblemsinProjectDefinitionIGLC10. pdf 2. time-worn C. F & Larson E. W, 2008, Project Management the managerial process, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, America. 3. Juan R. S, 2009, Good Project Manager, Retrieved on 27th family line 2009, from http//www. gaebler. om/Good-Project-Manager. htm 4. Lewis J. P, 2005, Project Planning, Scheduling & Control 4th Edition, McGraw Hill, America 5. Lock D, 1994, Project Management 5th Edition, Gower Publishing family Limited, America 6. Meredith J. R & Mantel S. J, 2003, Project Management A managerial Approach 5th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, America 7. Newell M. W, 2002, Preparing for the Project Management pro PMP 2nd Edition, Amacom, America 8. The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), 2009, Retrieved on twentieth September 2009, from http//www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newPPM_RAM. htm 9. Weiss J.W & Wysocki R. K, 1992, 5-Phase Project Management, Perseus Books Publishing, America 10. Yagiz O, 2008, Project Planning, Retrieved on 14th September 2009, from http//www. emu. edu. tr/oyagiz/MGMT409/MGMT409-05-BW. pdf BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Berkun S, 2005, The Art of Project Management, OReilly Media, Inc. , America 2. Bruce A & Langdon K, 2007, Manage Projects Dorling Kindersley Limited, London 3. Burke R, 2003, Project Management Pla nning and Control Techniques 4th Edition, John Wiley & Son, UK 4. Egeland B, 2009, Project Management Tips, Retrieved on 27th September 2009 from http//pmtips. et/ 5. Lewis J. P, 2007, Fundamentals of Project Management 3rd Edition, Amacon, America 6. Lockyer K, 1985, Critical style Analysis 4th Edition, The Bath Press, Great Britain 7. Lovegrove H, 2008, Good Project Managers are hard to find , Retrieved on 23th September 2009 from http//www. pmhut. com/good-project-managers-are-hard-to-find 8. Randolph W. A, 1988, Effective Project Planning and Management Getting the Job Done, Prentice Hall, UK 9. Reh F. J, 2009, Project Management 101, Retrieved on 16th September from http//management. about. om/cs/projectmanagement/a/PM101. htm 10. Shackleton E, 2005, Managing your people real life lessons from top business leaders, BBC Books, London 11. Tusler R, 1996, An Overview of Project Risk Management, Retrieved on 22th September 2009 from http//www. netcomuk. co. uk/rtusler/project/risk prin. html Performance Cost Time Constrain levy Accept Marking Consultant (Farley) Clients Vocal Neighbourhood Groups Boston refurbishment Authority (BRA) KDS Associates Regency Hotel Management Project Manager Hodgkins Decision Making Process