Project Goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project Goals - Essay Example One of the simplest concepts from project management that I learned that is very important for the functionality of a project is the fact that projects are tracked based on deliverables. The sequence of deliverables determines the project map. In the first round of the simulation I had to create a sequence of deliverables needed to transport the elephants from Zaminaka National Park to Ungoba National Park. The exercise of creating a sequence of activities was an example of a work breakdown structure. I learned from the simulation that project managers have to adapt to the situations based on circumstances and that minimizing risks is important in order to improve the possibilities of successfully completing a project. Project managers must make decisions based on tradeoffs between time, cost, and performance. The simulation shows that despite all the planning unforeseen circumstances occur. A reality about the business world is that a lot of projects are going to fail. In the pharma ceutical industry it takes approximately $800 million dollar to develop a new drug due to the cost of all the failed new drug projects the company has to absorb. The expenses that a company incurs in a failed project are considered sunk costs (Economist). The use of work breakdown structures is an advantage of the application of project management. WBS enables the project manager to accurately track the time of completion of many deliverables. Even if a project has over 100 deliverables to be completed the correct implementation of a work breakdown structure will ensure that the project manager can manage time and cost of the project effectively. A major limitation that was illustrated throughout the simulation was time. When a project gets delays it causes a ripple effect that affects all future deliverables of a project. Time becomes more sensitive when dealing with the health of live creatures. It is the responsibility of mankind to protect the animal kingdom and the endangered s pecies. Another advantage of the use of project management is that it provides a flexible leadership structure that employees understand. The project manager is the person responsible of the project, but he depends on the self-discipline and leadership skills of all the team members. Project management also offers advantages to a corporation such as the ability to separate special projects away from the normal operations of the firm. A project manager can focus on the performance of a specific project without worrying about the implication the project has on the corporation as a whole. A way to minimize the effects of bottlenecks on an operation is by performing adequate preparation. It is important to categorize the different types of bottlenecks. Seven types of bottlenecks are staffing, budget, people issues, client dependencies, vendor dependencies, task completion, and process dependencies (Sisco). Once bottlenecks are identified the project manager can develop contingency plans to deal with different scenarios based on each bottleneck category. All the alternative solutions to deal with different types of bottlenecks must be documented by the project manager. As a project manager if I was required to crunch a project and I had to select between sacrificing risks or time I would sacrifice the risk variable. Once a risk is identified even if a company incur in the risky behavior there are ways to minimize the e

Marketing plan for Milk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing plan for Milk - Essay Example A marketing plan is prepared for assisting the business in integrating the total marketing efforts. The planning process begins with an attempt by the company to size up its present market situation and the factors responsible for it. Such a plan ensures a systematic approach to developing products and services to meet and satisfy the consumer's needs. An established milk beverage manufacturer is introducing a completely new product - flavored milk beverages for the segment 6-12 years old. The marketing plan for this product will be as follows;Current marketing situation: Flavoured milk also known as value added milk is being placed by British companies for different segments of the market. are increasingly targeting the value-added milk for growth opportunities as they re-align their businesses and move away from commodity products. Current competing cost/profit ratio: In view of the stiff competition and presence of big players in the market place, the cost/profit ratio is likely to remain high with higher cost inputs and lower returns. We cannot put a higher price tag to recover all the costs involved.Opportunity and issue analysis: So far in particular the flavoured milk market has managed to compete as some sectors of the milk and cream market still suffer from a lack of innovation and marketing support. Healthy eating trends are having an impact on the market which has started favouring semi-skimmed and skimmed milk.Entry/exit barriers: White milk accounts for 96% of the market share. Well established branded products are also in the market. ... Flavoured milk is facing increased competion in the chilled segment from functional yogurt drink. Benefiting from current Milk campaign: An increased awareness amongst the consumers about the benefits of flavoured milk. Objectives: To create a niche for itself in the existing market and mainly amongst the targeted segment. Money Goals: To start with the company is ready to bear some losses for the initial period but the efforts will continue with renewed vigour for attaining the breakeven point as soon as possible. Sales goals: In the first year of operation, company can target to lure away at least 2-3% of the existing market. The company will try to gain as many new customers as possible. Profit goals: Company is not looking for profits from the word go. It plans to go ahead with a longer perspective. But at the same time it is worth pondering that business needs to payback to financers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. Market Goals: The market will be 6-12 yrs old kids. That means we'll have to target the schools, schools administrators and other faculty so that they inform the students about the arrival of a new quality flavoured milk in the market. Market Share: Since we are a new entrant, that means we'll have to be realistic in our approach. We must understand that we'll be able to create the marketing space for our product only when we take good care of the consumer needs and quality. Consumer loyalty: Let us not expect the tiny tots to be our loyal consumers overnight, as they are the one's who are very difficult to divert enblock towards a new product. Their consumption pattern will be affected with the influence of their parents and teachers. Marketing communication and promotional strategies are