The Five Stages of Project Management

Discussion
The five stages of the project management include project initiation, project planning, project execution, project monitoring and control, and project closure. Project integration takes into account making certain that the different components of the projects are coordinated in a proper manner. It includes making compromises amongst competing objectives and alternative in order to guarantee meeting the needs and expectations of the stakeholder (Amado et al., 2011). The focus on the integration of project management will be from a law enforcement point of view and in particular will lay emphasis on the procurement of firearms. Project initiation includes the acknowledgement of the need for firearms within the department, perhaps due to increased crime or the assimilation of new police officers into the workforce. Project planning includes making a determination of the cost of the procurement and whether such expenses can be catered for into the budget of the financial year. Project execution includes the approval of the procurement and the actual purchase of the firearms from the supplier. Monitoring and control includes making certain that the precise order made is obtained and purchase entries made to the inventory of the department, which is thereafter followed by closure of the project.
In the course of project management integration, the basis of budget management and preparation are affected. The project manager is accountable for coming up with a project quality plan that delineates the quality expectations and guarantees that the specifications and expectations are met, which necessitates initial budget management and preparation. The developments for guaranteeing that the expectations and specifications are fulfilled are incorporated within the project implementation plan. However, changes are bound to incur not only in terms of resources but also expenses incurred and quality necessitated. In the same manner that the project completion dates and budget might alter and fluctuate in the project lifecycle, the project conditions may additionally change. In particular, variations in quality conditions are characteristically prepared for and handled in the similar manner as cost or schedule modifications. The influence of the changes is examined for influence on cost and schedule, and with suitable endorsements, changes are made to the project implementation plan (Amado et al., 2011).
Technical aspects of budgeting and finance have to be integrated into the various phases of project management for your organization. In particular, the cost of the project is assessed in relation to the progress of the work and the approximation for completing that work. On the basis of the cost approximations, the cost of the work implemented is matched against the cost accounted for that work. If the cost is considerably greater or lesser, the project team explores technical aspects of budgeting and finance to comprehend and make up for the variance between anticipated costs and actual costs. When the project starts, budgets are outlined through estimations of what the agency is bound to incur. However, more often than not, these estimations change either through increases or decreases and therefore have to be assessed (Amado et al., 2011).
There are financial constraints that can come about during integration of project management. The precision of the project budget is associated to the amount of information acknowledged by the project team. In the initial stages of the project, the quantity of information necessary to develop a comprehensive budget is every so often absent. Therefore, financial constraints emanate when such estimations become smaller than the actual costs incurred and also the scope of work that was initially anticipated. In addition, project costs might diverge from the budget for the reason that the charges in the marketplace were dissimilar from what was anticipated. For instance, the estimated costs for purchasing firearms and bullets may be higher than budgeted (Amado et al., 2011).
Assignment
Introduction
Strategic, operations, and quality management play an important role in making certain that any agency and organization runs smoothly and accomplishes its objectives. The focus is not only to ensure that the objectives are accomplished in the allocated budget and on the quality of the products or services rendered but also on the different approaches undertaken to accomplish such quality. As the chief operating office of the San Diego, California Police Department, my main duty and task is to ensure that the agency operates in an efficient manner in rendering services to the general public. The purpose of this assignment is to create a budget plan that will allow the California Police Department to function in an adequate manner and also provide the necessary public service required of its mission statement. The agency is expected to decrease its operating costs by 25 percent and still ensure that every day and long-term operations are accomplished.
Literature Review
Quality management ascertains that there is consistence in an entity, product or service. The key elements of quality management include quality planning, quality assurance, quality control, and quality improvement. It lays emphasis not just on the quality of the products or services rendered but also on the different approaches undertaken to accomplish such quality. For that reason, quality management utilizes quality assurance together with control of procedures in addition to products to accomplish increased reliable and steady quality (Rose, 2014). Strategic management is delineated as the devising and execution of the fundamental objectives and initiatives taken by an organization’s topmost management in the best interests of owners, on the basis of taking into account resources available and an examination of the internal and external environments in which the entity competes. Strategic management offers general direction to the organization and encompasses identifying the organization’s objectives, growing policies and plans purposed to accomplish these goals, and subsequently apportioning resources to carry out the plans (Nag et al., 2007).
Operations management takes into account the running of business practices to generate the greatest level of efficacy conceivable within an entity. It encompasses the transformation of labor and materials into goods and services as efficaciously as possible to make the most of the profit of an entity. The different teams and groups in operations management endeavor to attain a balance between costs and revenue to accomplish the greatest net operating profit conceivable. Basically, operations management includes utilization of resources (Jones and Robinson, 2012). In accordance to the Project Management Institute (2017), project management comprises of the application of competencies, knowledge, tools, and practices to project activities in order to meet the project needs and requirements.
The categorization and therefore choice of decision making with numerous objectives takes into consideration different criteria. With regard to qualitative and quantitative decision-making, what is taken into account is qualitative and quantitative criteria. On the one hand, qualitative decision-making encompasses aspects and criteria that cannot and ought not to be quantified. On the other hand, quantitative decision-making encompasses aspects that necessitate and ought to be measured and counted (Hansen, 2012). Both of these styles of decision-making play a significant role in a criminal justice organization. These kinds of decisions consist of assessments of strategic, tactical, and operational decisions that impact the strategic direction of law enforcement organizations. Such decisions necessitate understanding and familiarity between the criminal justice organization and the society. Some of the decisions include financial capital budgeting, which are quantitative, whereas others include quality management, which are qualitative in nature (Doss et al., 2011).
The management philosophy of Henry Fayol outlines six key functions of management, which consist of forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Based on this philosophy, by laying emphasis on managerial practices, it is conceivable to diminish misunderstandings and augment efficiency within organizations. It accentuates the significance and practice of forecasting together with planning so as to apply these notions and approaches in order to espouse any form of situation. Fayol’s philosophy also outlines that in addition to planning, it is imperative for management to make sure that all of the essential resources are assembled and employed at the suitable time of production. There is also the commanding aspect that posits that management ought to ascertain that personnel work in tandem in a collaborative manner. Moreover, it is the culpability of the manager to assess and ascertain that personnel adhere to the commandments of the management (Parker and Ritson, 2005). Planning, organizing, leading, controlling and coordinating have an impact on an agency’s budgetary deliberations and concerns. With regard to planning, it is imperative for the agency to plan and schedule every part of the operational processes to determine the resources required. On the organization phase, this includes making certain that all of the resources including raw materials such as forearms, patrol cars and also personnel, in the form of policemen are accessible at the suitable time of implementation. Third, with respect to controlling, it is imperative for management to directly ensure that personnel adhere to the financial and budgetary decisions being made and in coordination, management ascertains that all departments within the agency work in tandem in a cooperative manner to utilize the available resources.
Budgetary Line Items
Strategic, quality, and operations management play a significant role in law enforcement institutions. They make certain that all of the strategies put in place at the beginning of a financial year are accomplished in good quality and within the budgets that have been allocated. Notably, San Diego Police is presently experiencing problems that can be linked back to the prevailing financial problems within the city as well as insufficient supervision and poor communication between different levels of command (Perry, 2015). In addition, in recent periods, states have been constantly faced with financial constraints owing to budget cuts and therefore proper budgeting and allocation is necessitated to survive. In addition, the aspect of demand and supply bring into play the financial limitations perceived in the department. Notably, the police department are constantly faced with increasing demand for policing work and law enforcement from the general public. The inference of this is that there is an increase in the need for supply of more police. Therefore, from a financial perspective, there is a need for a greater number of police recruitment and hiring to be assimilated into the workforce. This encompasses increased financial pressures for the agency.
The following is an explanation on how the available funds for the agency for the upcoming financial year will be utilized and apportioned subsequent to the 25 percent budget cut and the manner in which the money will be reapportioned amongst budgetary line items:
Budget Line Item
FY 2017
FY 2018

New Officers
40
20

Pre-Academy, Academy and Field Training
$4,650,000
$2,200,000

Acquisition of Equipment
$6,425,000
$4,070,000

Costs and Salaries
$8,400,000
$8,600,000

Police, Fire, Emergency Services Integration
$600,000
$750,000

Total
20075040
15620020







Notably, the San Diego, California Police Department is facing a 25 percent budget cut. This implies that there will be a considerable decline in the accessible resources and funds for operation in the forthcoming year. As the operations manager in the agency, the illustration above indicates the different line items that will experience cuts in funding and also the different allocations of funding. My main objective in the face of this 25 percent reduction in the budget is to ensure that no police officer is laid off in the upcoming fiscal year. One of the key line items that will experience a budget in the 2018 fiscal year is the number of new police officers recruited by the department. In the forthcoming fiscal year, there will be a reduction in the number of police officers that are brought in to the department as compared to the 2017 financial year. The current workforce in the department is adequate and it is imperative to ascertain that the finances available are able to sustain their wages, salaries and pensions. This is a sensible reduction as the department will obtain considerable cost savings with respect to funds utilized for pre-academy, academy, and field training expenditures. Another line item that will considerably be reduced in terms of financial allocations is the acquisition and procurement of equipment. Notably, with a decline in the number of new police officers being recruited and included in the department, there is also a decreased need for purchasing new equipment that facilitate their services. The agency will also considerably reduce the amount of rifles and bullets acquired. It is imperative to note that the main mission statement of the department is to protect and serve. Despite these budget cuts, the main endeavor is to ensure all objectives are accomplished. Therefore, the budget will increase allocations to the integration of the police, fire and emergency departments. By working in tandem with one another, it will become possible to attain increased efficacy and in reduced resources.
Discussion and Conclusion
The proposed budget changes will have a positive impact on the fiscal health and human resources management of the agency. One of the key changes made to the department’s operating budgets includes the decrease in recruitment and training in the next fiscal year. In the present moment, the department has sufficient policemen who are able to conduct the policing jobs and duties in an efficacious manner. In addition, more retirements are expected to be experienced in 2019. Therefore, it makes sense to decrease the extent of training and recruitment. In addition, it is sensible in that no personnel will be forced to be laid off or lose their jobs due to the budget cuts. Secondly, another change made to the operation budget is a 10 percent decrease in the procurement of tools and equipment. Taking into consideration that various parts of the city and state at large have experienced a decline in crime activity, it is sensible to decrease the funds apportioned in the purchase of firearms, bullets and also rifles. Most of all, there is the recommendation for the integration of the police, fire, and emergency departments. With the assimilation of these three departments, it will become possible to properly utilize the resources being used in everyday operations and services and therefore adhere to the funding that is allocated.



References
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Doss, D. A., Guo, C., & Lee, J. Y. (2011). The business of criminal justice: A guide for theory and practice. CRC Press.
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Jones, P., & Robinson, P. (2012). Operations management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Parker, L. D., & Ritson, P. A. (2005). Revisiting Fayol: anticipating contemporary management. British Journal of Management, 16(3), 175-194.
Perry, T. (2015). U.S. issues recommendations for San Diego police. Los Angeles Times.
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Rose, K. (2014). Project quality management: why, what and how. New York: J Ross Publications.