Strategic change planning and implementation in project-based organizations

¶ … New Product, Service or Process

Produce a specification for an agreed project to implement a new product, service or process

Be able to plan for the launch of a project to implement a new product, service or process

Produce a project plan for an agreed project

Match appropriate resources to a Project

Cost all resources required for implementing a project

Agree timescales for the management and implementation of a project

Plan an appropriate strategy for the implementation of a project

Be able to implement a project

Implement a project in accordance with an agreed specification

Develop appropriate measures to monitor and evaluate progress and outcomes

Monitor the implementation of a project

Task 4: Be able to evaluate the outcomes of a project

Analyze the outcomes of a project in terms of the original project specification

Evaluate the outcomes of a project

Make justified recommendations for improvements to the project

Task 5: Be able to present the outcomes of a project

5.1 Produce a report of all project procedures used

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5.2 Present the outcomes of the project to an audience using an agreed format and appropriate media

Reference

Task 1: Be able to develop a project Specification

1.1 Analyse the factors that contribute to the process of project selection

In this section, we provide an elaborate analysis of the factors that contribute to the process of selecting the concerned change (CRM development and implementation at McDonalds).McDonald's is the world's leading foodservice retailer having over 34,000 local restaurants that serve close to 69 million people in a total of 119 countries every single day (McDonalds,2013). An estimated 80% of the franchise's restaurants globally are owned and operated by several independent men, women and families. The main factor that has led to the selecting the concerned change is the apparent loss of profits/income. Last year, it was reported that the global chain's net income fell by 3.5% for the very first time in 9 years;from $1.51 billion to close to $1.46 billion. This took place as its total sales fell by 0.2% to about $7.15 billion (Grimes,2012).The other factor for adopting or selecting the concerned change is the need to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. CRM has been noted by Ballantyne (2005) to be an important tool for the creation as well as gaining of a competitive advantage in an environment marked with stiff competition such as the one in which McDonalds operates in.

Project selection is noted by Mantel et al. (2010) to be the process of choosing a specific project or a set of critical projects that are to be implemented by a given organization. Due to the fact that projects generally demand a substantial amount of investment in regard to the money and other resources and coupled with the fact that both are usually limited, it is necessary that projects that are selected by an organization provide an excellent return on investment on both the capital and resources invested.

The high level of uncertainty that characterizes the modern business environment has made project selection to be a critical aspect of project management. This is because it makes the difference between operational life and the ultimate operational death of an organization.

The decisions arrived at during project selection are high-stake due to their strategic implications and are highly. That is why it is critical that the best tool or framework be adopted when arriving at this step. A successful model must be able to accurately capture all the critical elements of the decision. The factors that led to the process of selecting the concerned change can be subdivided into three main subcategories:

Mission factors

McDonald's brand mission is to be their customers' favorite place as well as way to eat. Its worldwide operations are perfectly aligned around a global strategy referred to as the Plan to Win, which effectively center on an exceptional level of customer experience of People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. The company is also committed to continuously improving its operations as well as enhancing its customers' experience. CRM is a tool for realizing such an objective and mission.

Process factors

The selection of CRM was guided by the resource-based view of McDonalds that revealed that it has the resources and competencies needed to implement the project fully.

Implementation factors

The company has in the past implemented IT-based solutions such as e-SCM system for the management of its supply chain. The ability to implement these projects depends on the company's ability to pull together all the resources and competencies needed to implement the project fully.

Decision process for CRM implementation

The implementation path

1.2 Develop outline project specificationsfor the implementation of a new product, service or process

Costs

Time scales

Scale of operation

Standards

Legislation

Ethics

Sustainability

Quality

Fitness-for-purpose

Business data

Resource implications

According to Burke (2003) the steps involved in the development of project specification are; the setting the project goals, setting of the project deliverables, setting of the project schedule as well as setting of the supporting plans. In order to introduce a new product in the market, the project will focus on a number of factors and stages in the market. These stages include:

Identification if the need in the market

Estimation of the degree of the product quantity needed in the market

Establishment of the budgetary terms and conditions toward the production of the product in the market

Implementing the set objectives and goals towards creation of the product

Rolling out the product to the people in the market

Getting feedback on the required amounts of products and services offered by the product

1.3 Produce a specification for anagreed project to implement a new product, service or process

The development as well as implementation of an enterprise-wide CRM system at McDonalds will be carried out according to the following systems specification:

Costs:

It is important that the development and implementation costs be maintained at a minimum. Equally important is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). To ensure that the costs are maintained at a minimum level, McDonalds would have to implement a cloud-based enterprise-wide CRM system. The cost of any type of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution should be considered in terms of hard costs (such as software licensing, implementation consulting fees, hardware fulfillment, IT labor) as well as soft costs (integration, employee downtime, training) Even though it still comes as a surprise too many people, the soft costs would normally exceed the hard costs by a solid factor of two or more. Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM implementation costs are considered to be lower than traditional licensing as well as on-premise software installations. Internal costs however continue to apply. McDonalds must be ready to invest at least $5,000 in the initial hard costs. The project cost should however be close to $50M.

Time scales:

CRM project implementation takes time. Bigger CRM projects, which affect several areas a given business normally, entered into without enough time, human resource as well as money being allocated to both the planning as well as management of the roll out across the business. Consequently, two things usually happen: the loss of the original business objectives, and as the main project advances forward, the realization that the value from the investment hasn't made clear to project stakeholders. Consequently, they get frustrated and the entire project becomes regarded as a cost as opposed to a business initiative that should deliver a return on investment ("ROI"). The project should be fully implemented within a year with a consideration of the timescale as well as time for staff raining.

Scale of operation:

The operation will be enterprise-wide covering all the McDonald franchises. A parallel application will also be deployed as a free download to mobile devices from the mobile Internet portals.

Standards:

The CRM will be built and deployed according to the approved industry standards as envisioned in the standard UML standard for use in the analysis and design of the CRM system. The CRM must also meet the standards dictated by ISO 27001,Safe harbor as well as SSAE16 SOC1 Type II

Legislation:

The fact that McDonalds is a multinational franchise means that there are serious legal issues to be considered when deploying the CRM solution. For any business to legally transfer any data from the European Union to the U.S., the company or other firm must publicly certify that it would comply with the EU Safe Harbor principles, which perfectly aligns to the EU's privacy rules.

Ethics:

The CRM solution will not reveal any private and confidential customer or company data without consent. Confidentiality of information must be at the highest level.

Sustainability:

The system must be operated from terminals that are socially and environmentally friendly. All the equipment must confirm to the FCC rules and regulations and must have the lowest level of carbon footprint.

Quality:

The quality of the CRM solution must be the highest possible due to the sensitivity and value of information contained and exchanged within the framework.

Fitness-for-purpose:

To ensure that the project is "fit for purpose," a parallel project dubbed "optimize" will be deployed.

Business data:

Business data will have to be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Resource implications:

The CRM implementation shall not take up more than 4% of McDonalds 'resources. If need be the company would have to outsource the service in order to ensure that it concentrates in its key competencies.

Project Life Cycle

The project life-cycle is noted by Westland (2006) to be a framework for dividing the project up into several more manageable phases:

1. Concept and initiation

2. Design and development

3. Implement or construction

4. Commissioning and handing over

Burke (2003)

Task 2: Be able to plan for the launch of a project to implement a new product, service or process

2.1 Produce a project plan for an agreed project

Project planning is an important component of project management. For key areas must be covered. These are:

Step 1 - Setting of Project goals

Step 2 - Setting of Project deliverables

Step 3 - Setting of Project schedules

Step 4 - Setting of Supporting plans

Project goals:

The project aims at being the best and international producer of its products and services in the market. The intention of the project lies within the innate capabilities of influencing a positive change that is directed at reflecting a positive approach from the world market. Moreover, the project endeavors to explore all the details and avenue of eliciting success in the field of production in the market.

Deliverables

The project is directed at achieving a number of deliverables in the market. Part of the deliverables will be within the establishment and maintenance of franchise supplies in the market. Supplies are important in the maintenance and sustainability of the project in the market. The products that are manufactured from the project activities will be used within the available markets and extended to other markets in the globe.

Schedules

The project is scheduled to perform within the set project timeline. After manufacturing the products, the project is scheduled to make adequate deliverables that are directed at reflecting the innate desires and characteristics within the project managerial skills. All the customers in the market must be put at a safe position to receive and make use of the franchise products in the market. This is subject to the available deliverables and their adjectives in the market.

Supporting plans

In order to foster equitable management of the available plans in the market, it makes it possible to have a schedule that surrenders and makes the entire project a success in the field. The supporting plans include the following approaches:

Assessment parameters

Examination and maintenance parameters

Risk management departments and tools

Remedy measures

Diversity plans and parameters

A project can only be defined as a success if the needs of stakeholders are met at the level of their expectations.That means that anyone involved in the project (either directly or indirectly) will be able to see what they set out to achieve. The stakeholders need to be identified, and includesthe following:

The project sponsor

A senior executive in McDonalds corporation who must be committed to the project, stay informed, clears all roadblocks, allocate various resources, manage all types of saboteurs (individuals invested and interested in maintaining the status quo), and well as acts as the cheerleader for the project. Without a dedicated executive sponsor, the process of implementing CRM would fail.

The end-user of the project outputs

McDonalds Corporation franchisees and the top executives

The project manager and the project team

A key member of project management team would be the Project Manager. Even thought it may be necessary for McDonalds to employ a thirdparty consulting firm and/or the software vendor to help with the implementation, it is necessary to have a Project Manager from McDonalds who is to be designated as the official leader of the implementation team and effort. This individual should be in a position in the corporation that will enable him/her to effectively assemble and mobilize the internal resources necessary to complete this project. The project management experience is an added advantage since his experience within the primary areas where the CRM software is to be used. The project team must also contain representatives from the various areas or departments who will be using the software. They will need to communicate their group's needs as well as champion the product to their various groups. Finally, McDonalds must also include a specially designated CRM software administrator. The Project team will therefore be involved in the process of designing how users will carry out their work on the CRM system. Finally, the entire team will take part in the Model Office Review in order to validate that all is in order for subsequent rollout.

2.2 Match appropriate resources to a Project

The resources to be used are:

Resources refer to the various items that would be needed for the completion of the CRM implementation process. In this case, McDonalds would need people/manpower, financial resources, vehicles, buildings and technology. The concept of resource scheduling would have to be taken into account for the process to be a success. The idea would be to allocate the limited resources on the basis of the priority that is given to the various project activities.

The basic resources and materials can be divided into a number of stages or categories as follows:

Man-made features

These are resources like transportation equipment, production equipment in the factories and plants, technological applications that are directed at influencing a growth of the project, and the general measurement and assessment apparatus in the market.

Natural resources

The natural resources will start with the environment in which the company is located. Within the environment, there must be other provisions like ample environment, good drainage, ease of transport and communication, and ease to access of the materials or other resources that are used within the magnitudes of production in the field. The environmental resources will offer a huge boost to the general growth and development of the available measures of productivity within the field.

2.3 Cost all resources required forimplementing a project

It is important that the development and implementation costs be maintained at a minimum. Equally important is the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). To ensure that the costs are maintained at a minimum level, McDonalds would have to implement a cloud-based enterprise-wide CRM system .The cost of any type of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution should be considered in terms of hard costs (such as software licensing, implementation consulting fees, hardware fulfillment, IT labor) as well as soft costs (integration, employee downtime, training) Even though it still comes as a surprise too many people, the soft costs would normally exceed the hard costs by a solid factor of two or more. Software as a Service (SaaS) CRM implementation costs are considered to be lower than traditional licensing as well as on-premise software installations. Internal costs however continue to apply. McDonalds must be ready to invest at least $5,000 in the initial hard costs.The project cost should however be close to $50M.

Further estimates

Direct cost

The direct costs will go hand in hand with productivity and daily activities within the project. The estimate within this category lies at a figure of close to $45,000 within a week.

Overhead costs

Overhead costs are good for the future strength and ability of the project to cointained its changing avenues of productivity in the market. The overhead costs will be estimated at $20,000 within a period of one week in the production timeline.

Miscellaneous

There is a category of the miscellaneous costs. This is also estimated to be at a close value of $20,000 monthly.

2.4 Agree timescales for the management and implementation of a project

CRM project implementation takes time. Bigger CRM projects, which affect several areas a given business normally, entered into without enough time, human resource, as well as money being allocated to both the planning as well as management of the roll out across the business. Therefore, two things usually happen: the loss of the original business objectives, and as the main project advances forward, the realization that the value from the investment has not made clear to project stakeholders. Consequently, they get frustrated and the entire project becomes regarded as a cost as opposed to a business initiative that should deliver a return on investment ("ROI"). The project should be fully implemented within a year with a consideration of the timescale as well as time for staff training.

The timescales will be established as follows:

Week 1

Setting up of change strategies

Week 2

Settling and welcoming of attendants to the change strategies

Week 3

Issuing theoretical change avenues to the organization and the public

Week 4

Implementing the change

Week 5

Assessment and evaluation of the change

2.5 Plan an appropriate strategy for the implementation of a project

The strategy to be used for project implementation will be a generic one derived from the work of Burke (2003). The project life-cycle is noted by Westland (2006) to be a framework for dividing the project up into several more manageable phases

1. Concept and initiation

2. Design and development

3. Implement or construction

4. Commissioning and handing over

Burke (2003)

Further changes in the implementation process

The structure that has been implemented will be used in accordance to the available parameters of service. Productivity comes hand in hand with the available time and resources. All the resources available will be available for service and performance with consideration of the goals and objectives set by the project managers. The table below reiterates on how performance will be measured and performed.

Changes in the marketing strategies are another critical entity that was considered by the project. This facet entails letting known or making famous the nature, intention, and time of happening of the event. Apart from letting it known within the supermarket, equitable measures were undertaken to ensure that many people got involved in making the event a success. The marketing strategies to be changed were demonstrated on posters, internet channels as Twitter, Facebook, and mails, radio broadcasts, together with the university newspapers and daily magazines. The university magazine was widely used to reach a number of consumers who pursued trading in the organization's products and other business courses. Apart from this group of individuals, the university ensured that non-project management consumers were also invited (Waller, 2003, p. 74).

Task 3: Be able to implement a project

3.1 Implement a project in accordance with an agreed specification

Because the complexity of implementing a cloud-based enterprise-wide CRM project, it would be necessary to contract a competent vendor such as SAP (will be evaluated and chosen competitively). This vendor however work hand in hand with a project manager and sponsor derived from McDonalds. In regard to the timescale needed to implement the project, CRM project implementation takes time. Bigger CRM projects which affect several areas a given business normally entered into without enough time, human resource as well as money being allocated to both the planning as well as management of the roll out across the business. Consequently, two things usually happen: the loss of the original business objectives, and as the main project advances forward, the realization that the value from the investment hasn't made clear to project stakeholders. Consequently, they get frustrated and the entire project becomes regarded as a cost as opposed to a business initiative that should deliver a return on investment ("ROI"). The project should be fully implemented within a year with a consideration of the timescale as well as time for staff training. In regard to the project leadership, a key member of project management team would be the Project Manager. Even though it may be necessary for McDonalds to employ a third party consulting firm and/or the software vendor to help with the implementation, it is necessary to have a Project Manager from McDonalds who is to be designated as the official leader of the implementation team and effort. This individual should be in a position in the corporation that will enable him/her to effectively assemble and mobilize the internal resources necessary to complete this project. The project management experience is an added advantage since his experience within the primary areas where the CRM software is to be used. The project team must also contain representatives from the various areas or departments who will be using the software. They will need to communicate their group's needs as well as champion the product to their various groups. Finally, McDonalds must also include a specially designated CRM software administrator. The Project team will therefore be involved in the process of designing how users will carry out their work on the CRM system. Finally, the entire team will take part in the Model Office Review in order to validate that all is in order for subsequent rollout. As indicated earlier on, the strategy to be used for project implementation will be a generic one derived from the work of Burke (2003). The project life-cycle is noted by Westland (2006) to be a framework for dividing the project up into several more manageable phases:

1. Concept and initiation

2. Design and development

3. Implement or construction

4. Commissioning and handing over

Project review office

The project will be undertaken under immense contribution from the available avenues of performance in the market. The review office will be available within a set procedure in the market. The leadership of the project will be directed at establishing the best avenues of growth and development in the market. Other categories of growth and development will be instrumental in maintaining a peaceful and considerate management of the materials, procedures, and the personnel within the project.

3.2 Develop appropriate measures to monitor and evaluate progress and outcomes

Monitoring and evaluation is a key component of project management implementation. In this case, several measures will be used to monitor and evaluate progress and outcomes of the project. They include the following;

The level of expenditure on CRM implementation,

The amount of customer service activities reduced or replaced

Number of businesses showing some signs of improvement as a result of an CRM implementation

Net value added to the corporation, the increase in profitability noted

Qualitative data on information on levels of satisfaction

Moreover, employee and customer motivation; customer attitudes as well as behaviours

Assessment and evaluation team

3.3 Monitor the implementation of a project

Monitoring is the entire process involved in the process of recording inputs, the activities as well as the outputs of a given project.

Evaluation however, is a retrospective analysis of a given project in order to establish whether its main objectives as well as targets have been successfully achieved, what the project impacts have been as well as if it has provided the much expected value for money. It also establishes what can be learnt in order to support future project as well as and policy development.

The process of monitoring and evaluation is the main idea to the understanding, the developing an as well a the process of improving effectiveness in the process of meeting the project objectives as well as the needs of partners and project stakeholders.

A monitoring framework must be able to collect information on the following:

Management information on the various project inputs and activities

The Information that would enable progress towards the attainment of target

Information to be used to assess the extent to which the project is contributing to the profitability of the company.

Information that will attempt allows the project's unique contribution/successes to be assessed.

Assessment and evaluation teams for all the available sectors in the location

Stable environment for productivity and continuation in the society and the market as a whole

The purpose of a monitoring framework in this case is to collect, albeit on an ongoing basis, the information (both quantitative and qualitative) that can inform the delivery as well as assess the progress towards the attainment of the target or project goals. Collection of information about the project's performance on a more regular basis will provide a much more 'real time' evidence performance as well as inform on the progress against the set objectives. It would also provide an early indication of any pertinent issues in the project implementation process.

As noted earlier, monitoring and evaluation is a key component of project management implementation. In this case, several measures will be used to monitor and evaluate progress and outcomes of the project. They include the following; the level of expenditure on CRM implementation, the amount of customer service activities reduced or replaced, number of businesses showing some signs of improvement as a result of an CRM implementation, net value added to the corporation, the increase in profitability noted, qualitative data on information on levels of satisfaction, employee and customer motivation; customer attitudes as well as behaviours.

Task 4: Be able to evaluate the outcomes of a project

4.1 Analyse the outcomes of a project in terms of the original project specification

The original project specifications and the analysis of the project outcomes in terns of these project specifications are as follows:

Costs:

In regard to cost, the project will be analyzed if it was over or under budgeted. It will be important to calculate the various costs involved in the project implementation and then compare them against the originally budgeted amount. The analysis revealed that the project cost $4M less that the projected amount due to various factors such as foreign currency fluctuations, inflation and reduced material and technology cost.

Time scales:

According to the original specification, the project should have been fully implemented within a year with a consideration of the timescale as well as time for staff raining. However, the project took 8 months to develop and implement instead of one year.

Scale of operation:

The original specification indicated that the operation would be enterprise-wide covering all the McDonald franchises. A parallel application would also be deployed as a free download to mobile devices from the mobile Internet portals. As earlier predicted or set, the scale of operation is enterprise-wide and the mobile application was also developed accordingly.

Standards:

The CRM met the standards dictated by ISO 27001,Safe harbor as well as SSAE16 SOC1 Type II.

Legislation:

The developed and implemented CRM system conforms to all the EU Safe Harbor principles, and perfectly aligns to the EU's privacy rules legislations.

Ethics:

The CRM solution has not at the moment revealed any private and confidential customer or company data without consent. Confidentiality of information has been and will continue to be at the highest level.

Sustainability:

All the CRM equipment conforms to the FCC rules and regulations and have the lowest level of carbon footprint. The system conforms to all the sustainability requirements/specifications.