Project Management and Activities Samples for Students †MyAssignmenth

Question: Discuss about the Project Management and Activities. Answer: Introduction Project Managementinvolves different activities such as planning, designing, risk management, controlling and implementation of the project. Project managers have to ensure that all the activities are completed in the stipulated time and budget (Alotaibi and Mafimisebi, 2016). But most of them fail to consider the importance of stakeholders management and communication. An effective communication plan includes methods to improve relations with target audiences, creating goals and objectives, setting priorities and managing communication tools. The aim of this paper is to understand the existing communication process in CHD (Community Health Department) and methods which can be adopted to improve their stakeholder communication. The different stakeholders include customers, employees, government, suppliers, sponsors, team members, media, community etc. Current project communication plan CHD has adopted a collaborative methodology in their project. It will allow them to understand their existing procedures and the requirements of the business. Their methodology process has three parts which consists of business process analysis, redesigning and defining the requirements (Heagney, 2016). It has helped CHD to understand the requirements of the business and where they stand. But they have failed to incorporate the needs and expectations of different stakeholders group. Apart from this, there communication plan is incomplete. The project manager has identified all the stakeholders and grouped them together. The communication tactics and tools have also been included in the plan. The methods of communication include telephonic conversation, meeting, emails and teleconferencing. Apart from this, the description of communication has been included in the plan which includes detailed communication, formal and informal communication. The existing plan lacks two main objectives which are measurement and setting priorities. The earlier project of CHD failed because their employees were resistant towards new technology. Furthermore, the management did not prioritize them. They should have been included in the decision making process and they should be allowed to put forth their opinions. It will help in employee engagement which reduces resistance from the employees. Apart from this, their communication plan does not have any measurement method. There should be a tool which can be used to assess the results of each stakeholder group and communication with them. Measurement of success can be used to understand the quality of relations between different members. CHD can employ internal expert which can help them to identify this aspect of communication process. There are many methods to ensures success of communication such as positive feedback, support from stakeholders, buy in, endorsements, financing etc. On the other hand, negative feedbacks and criticism shows absence of communication. CHD has to understand that they have to customize their communication plan according to their needs. They have to consider many aspects such as culture, funding, political environment, leadership etc. All these things are interconnected to each other and they should be considered in the communication plan. It will improve their information system and they will have better coordination with other entities. Comparison CHD has developed a communication plan which requires many changes. A soundproject management practices involves stakeholder communication plan. They can adopt this plan according to their financial and human resources. Communication planning framework involves sequential steps which will allow CHD to design and implement strategies in their project (Richard, Sorooshian and Shariman, 2016). The main steps of the communication plan are: Creating communication objectives and goals Designing key messages Setting priorities for the target audience or stakeholders Creating specific messages for each stakeholder group after identifying their needs Development of communication tools and tactics for each group Creating budgets and assigning responsibilities Creation of communication calendar (monthly or quarterly basis) Assessing the results and measurement The above mentioned steps take care of needs and expectations of each stakeholder group. The strategies and tactics for communication can be designed for each group specifically (Drouin, Sankaran and Muller, 2016). The main difference between the plan of CHD and sound communication planning is assessing the results. CHD has not been able to assess their results and they failed to understand the quality of relations they maintain with each member of the company. Recommendations They can change their existing plan which includes priority and measurement methods. It has been made with the help of SMART (Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timing) process (Badewi, 2016). Stakeholders Priority Issues or concerns Key messages Communication methods Description of specific communication Measurement Employees (including unions) 1 Proving information at regular intervals Progress of the project, roles, responsibilities and expectations from them. Emails, telephone, meetings. Detailed, formal feedback Contractors 3 Details about project About contracts Emails, telephone, meetings. Feedback support Client 1 Progress and other issues Progress Emails, telephone, meetings. Detailed, formal Feedback support Management 2 Progress, status and other issues Progress, status and other issues Emails, telephone, meetings. Detailed, formal Support Sponsor 1 Development of project and activities related to it Progress Meetings. Detailed, formal Support Team members 2 Proving information at regular intervals Roles responsibilities Emails, telephone, meetings. Detailed, formal Support Suppliers 3 Materials required About materials required Emails, telephone, meetings. Feedback support Govt 3 Benefits of the project Emails, telephone, meetings. Detailed, formal Feedback support Society 2 Benefits of the project Conferences and advertisements Less details Feedback support Media 4 Public safety and improvements Conferences and advertisements Less details Feedback support The above table consists of all the details as well as priorities. CHD can use priorities in their decision making process. Apart from this, they can also measure the quality of relation they have with each group of stakeholders. They can use it to make changes in existing strategies which will help them to establish better relations with all the members of the company (Banihashemi, Hosseini, Golizadeh and Sankaran, 2017). Conclusion It can be concluded from the above report that communication plan is essential for the success of the project. CHD has adopted an effective stakeholder management plan but they failed to identify their needs and priorities in the business. The strategies and tactics for communication can be designed for each group specifically. Effective communication plan involves assessing the results which can be included in the plan. References Alotaibi, A.B. and Mafimisebi, O.P., 2016.Project Management Practice: Redefining Theoretical Challenges in the 21st Century. Project Management, 7(1). Badewi, A., 2016. The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM) practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance framework. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.761-778. Banihashemi, S., Hosseini, M.R., Golizadeh, H. and Sankaran, S., 2017. Critical success factors (CSFs) for integration of sustainability into construction project management practices in developing countries. International Journal of Project Management. Drouin, N., Sankaran, S. and Muller, R., 2016. The nature of organizational project management and its role as an organizational capability. Manageable Cooperation?. Heagney, J., 2016. Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Richard, H.A., Sorooshian, S. and Shariman, M., 2016. Lean Construction: An Effective Approach for Project Management.