CONTROL

1. INTRODUCTION

Project controls are systems used to plan, schedule, budget, and measure the

performance of a project/program. The cost estimation package is one of the documents

that is used to establish the baseline for project controls. This chapter gives a brief

description of project controls and the role the cost estimation package plays. Additional

information can be found in the Project Control System Guide.

 

2. COST ESTIMATION PACKAGE USAGE BY PROJECT

CONTROLS

 

The cost estimation package is developed primarily for establishing the project budget

and for providing the appropriate documentation and justification for a funding request.

Once the project is funded, this package is not filed away. It becomes the baseline or

target against which the performance of the project/program can be controlled and

compared. By comparing the baseline with the actual performance, deviations from the

baseline can be identified and corrected before they cause an impact on the

project/program.

 

A. Technical Scope

As a project develops, some portion of the technical scope may be revised. If there

is a deviation from the original technical scope, a change order is initiated and a

revision to the original estimated cost usually occurs. Project control can use the

detailed technical scope as well as the assumptions made by the estimator when

assessing the cost impact of a change in scope. The detailed scope is used as a

baseline, and all changes to it are documented by project controls.

 

B. Schedule

The schedule in the cost estimation package represents the same timeframe as the

estimate. Therefore, any change in this schedule could affect the cost of the

project/program. Thus, management can compare the baseline schedule to the

actual schedule to identify scheduling problems or changes and any associated cost

updates.

 

C. Work Breakdown Structure

The WBS and the organization of the budget cost estimate included in the cost

estimation package set the precedence for all estimates throughout the life of the

project. The same organization will be used by project controls so any cost changes

may be easily tracked against the baseline WBS element.

Marketing Planning

Marketing Planning

 

Part 1: Using a product of your choice, undertake both the internal and external Audit of a product using the categories for both Audits discusses in Class.

 

In this report, I will be carrying out a marketing plan for a Telecommunication Organization called MTN Nigeria. MTN Nigeria is a part of the MTN Group, Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company. On May 16, 2001, MTN became the first GSM network to make a call following the globally lauded Nigerian GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year. (http://www.mtnonline.com).

 

MTN Nigeria is a South African company that invested in Nigerian after the Nigerian government raised the ban on international investors investing in Nigeria. This was favorable for the organization because Nigeria being the giant of Africa had a good target audience and was a good market with an estimation of over 140 million populations (http://www.bbc.co.uk) and as at then, Nigeria had no mobile phone facilities in the country. Since it’s venturing into the Nigerian market, MTN has further expanded into other African countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Cameroun and Swaziland. Some of its products are:

 

E-Care

Blackberry from MTN

Prepaid Roaming

Midnight calls

Music online

Connect 4life etc.

 

In order to clearly analyze the business using the SWOT analysis, I will be focusing on MTN business as a whole as this will give a clear overview of its strengths, weakness and will help identify its threats in relation to its competitors.

In order for business to make successful strategic decisions, it needs to first understand both the internal and external factors governing the environment in which they operate. These factors include identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) also the political, economical, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors (PESTLE). By taking into account these environmental factors, the business can take advantage of maximising the relevant opportunities available and also minimise the threats within its market.

 

 

These factors based on the SWOT and PESTLE analysis will be grouped into two parts (internal and external) as shown below Internal factors been the factors in which the business has some form of control on and the external been factors beyond the control of the business.

 

S	w
O	T

(Internal Factors)

 

(External Factors)

The strength and the weaknesses as the Internal factor and the Opportunities and strength as the External factor

                                           Internal Factors

Strength: Being the first company in Mobile communication in Nigeria they have a strong hold of dominance in the Nigeria market. A recent survey by the Nigerian Telecommunications Union (NTU) showed that MTN dominated approximately 60% of the market and are further expanding compared to rival company like Econet who started few months after MTN Nigeria but was later acquired by Vmoblie and has recently been re-acquired by Zane due to them (Econet) not being able to cope in the market. (Nigerian Telecommunications Union Journal 2008 2^nd edn) The fact that MTN Nigeria was the first mobile telecommunication in Nigeria, they were able to dominate the market. In other words, their market share is really high, with a market share of about 60% (http://www.huawei.com/publications/view.do?cid=5266&id=2872&pid=127), compared to the other telecommunication industries that started after them. This also gives them a very high turnover in regards to subscribers and the sales I.e. the profit margin between MTN Nigeria and other telecommunication companies in Nigeria Is really wide. In terms of Market Mix (Samples, Exhibition, Advertising etc) MTN was able to dominate the TV to advertise their product, they were able to go places to carry out exhibition, had their posters in every hooks and corner of the city. This really gave them a very good market share because they had a sense of direction as to where they needed to target.

MTN Nigeria has been able to form some kind of partnership with T-Mobile, so that their services can be used in the UK. It was the first amongst telecommunication companies to have a toll free number “181” where customers can reach the customer services department for free.

Weaknesses: MTN Nigeria is still lagging behind, in terms of technology compared to international mobile companies because they only started operating in Nigeria in 2001.

Very poor mobile reception in some parts of Nigeria

Telephone calls clashing with other telephone calls.

                                           External Factors

Opportunities: After the military regime was taken over by democracy, the Nigerian economy has since grown and is still growing; the demand for mobile telecommunication is really high. This means that MTN has the opportunity to still remain in the market for a long time so as to meet the needs of the people.

 

Due to the fact that there are still some developing villages in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria still have the opportunities of installing their mass in such developing area

There are 53 African countries in the world; MTN Nigeria has the opportunity of investing in the remaining 48 countries since they have only been able to invest in only 5 of the 53 African countries.

 

Threats: There are now four other mobile telecommunication industries in Nigeria (Globacom, Zane, MTN, Multilink), who pose has a threat to MTN, because they are also growing and installing their masses in the same area as MTN, and offering their call rates at a cheaper price compared to MTN.

Although the Credit crunch poses as a threat to the world economy it s affecting most companies one of this is MTN because people in general, not only the MTN customers are mindful of their spending.

 

MTN faces competition with the other industries because have invested in the countries where MTN has invested and they are also targeting the countries MTN is yet to invest in.

Demographic changes: Due to the decline in the Nigerian Economy, people who do not have a mobile phone will be discouraged to purchase one and those who have will be conscious on their spending on top ups.

Political Threat is that the Nigerian Government owns 30% shares of any international organization that invests in Nigeria.

Because technology improves and changes by the day, this can pose a threat if the company (MTN) cannot meet up to standard.

 

Part 2:

Following the audit, you will be required to develop a marketing plan aimed at improving the ways in which your chosen product will be marketed

To develop, my marketing plan for MTN, I have to Set an objective

 

Objective:

The objectives are the goals the company will like to accomplish

·         Installation of more masses in suburb areas where they (MTN) currently have not been able to reach.

·         Produce more Mobile functions.

·         investing in other countries where their competitors have invested

·         To improve more on their Network stability. E.g. Network telephone calls clashing with each other.

·         Achieving more profit on sales.

 

To achieve these objectives, the MTN will need to focus more on these strategic marketing tools.

·         Time frame

·         Segmentation

·         Four marketing P’s

·         Budget or Cost

 

TIME: To meet my set objectives, I need to consider the time I have got to do my marketing plan. Because I have little or no time, I will be focusing on the main objectives rather than focusing on a broad objective, because MTN as a mobile telecommunication organization have so many plans and objectives

 

Segmentation:

Because MTN Nigeria is telecommunication organization, they do not exactly have a segment they are focusing on because phone has become a necessity for most house hold so basically the segmentation will be for the entire coverage i.e. no segment in particular.

 

Four Marketing P’s are Product, Price, Place and Promotion

 

Product: In the Nigerian Telecommunication industries, there is no such thing as video calling even though due to past research (Nigerian Telecommunications Union Journal 2008 2^nd edn), majority of people will like to have such functions (Video Calling) on there phone so that they can not only get to talk to their friends and family over the phone but they can also see them over the phone even if they are miles away from each other, if MTN introduces a video calling into the market, it gives them more market share, and because that product has no competitors whatsoever, it gives them the opportunity to introduce a skimming price strategy because products like this tend to be profitable and there will be stability in the market before competition arises.

 

Price: In Theory, there are many ways to price a product, some of which are Premium pricing, penetration pricing, Economy pricing and the price skimming. (Cutler and Wong 2008 p. 347)

Premium price strategy is a strategy that is introduced if there is distinctiveness about a particular product.

 

Penetration pricing is setting a low charging rate so as to gain market share.

 

Economy pricing is when a cost is set at a minimum price.

 

Skimming Price is a strategy used when organizations charge at a higher price because they have a competitive advantage e.g. introducing a touch screen mobile phone, though the price will drop when other organisations start to produce the same thing.

In the case of MTN, the best pricing strategy to follow is the SKIMMING PRICE strategy. The competitions in the telecommunication industries are really high, so MTN cannot embark on producing such product with the aim at using a premium price. Though the product is unique but it will take competitors little or no time at all to produce such brand, but if they use the Skimming price, they will not only gain the market share for having a popular demanded product, they will also make profit before the competition is high.

 

Place:  There are many locations in Nigeria and outside Nigeria where MTN can provide and promote their services. E.g since MTN has only been able to cover 5 African countries, they can concentrate on the areas where they have not covered and also make their services distributed and easily available in the areas they have been able to cover and these can be done by the company building a very good relationship with the customers and suppliers etc. This will improve the profit of the business.

 

Promotion: To achieve more profit on sales, installation of masses in suburb areas, production of a new mobile function, the communication mix will have to be considered for the promotion to take place. I have grouped my communication mix as shown below.

Seminars

Newspapers

Radio

Internet

Advertising

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Internet

Major Target Audience: International Customers and Potential Customers:

The reason for this choice is due to its flexibility, convenience and reliability. Information available on an Internet website will include easy getting to details like choice of products available, contacting us details, about us and sometimes tariffing price list. It sometimes shows a virtual view of what the organisation looks like which could be a method of attracting potential audiences. This medium of promotion targets a very big audience as a third of our target audience are international users also there is the ease of potential targets to access the internet anywhere in the world at any given time. The information being accessed is always consistent regardless of where it is been accessed, because of its consistency, same information is passed on to all target audience. Though the cost of advertising on the internet is not as cheap as a referral or word of mouth technique, it is relatively cheap when compared to an advert on television as a television advert is not always cheap, also advertising International Business on a local television is not advisable as this advert will target only a little fraction of our audience which is not worth it due to the Cost of advertising via this medium.

Newspapers

Major Target Audience: Local Customer:

Local newspapers like the Punch, Thisday; Sun etc. are very good promotional tools for advertising GSM. These newspapers are cheap to buy, affordable by targets audience and accessible (sometimes free). Using this medium does not only attract known targets (i.e. Local customers). Compared to other marketing mediums like television, newspaper is relatively cheap and a one-off advert in a local press could have a lasting effect and there may not be the need to advertise for a very long time.

People often cut out adverts seen in newspaper so that way they have got the hard copy and can chase on the advert at their own time. If the response to the advert is not very high, then they could be a need for use of other mediums like seminars etc

Radio

Major Target Audience: Suburb Areas:

A skilful radio advert will be remembered and offers several advantages like flexibility and a short lead time. This advertising method targets a narrower target market, which could include people leaving in villages, suburb and urban areas. Because of the poor power supply in Nigeria, majority of the people have radios using batteries at home so that they can be updated on news and adverts from the radio. Due to the success of technology, most mobile phones have got a radio which makes it easier to attract a larger audience as people can listen to radio whilst driving, on the move, etc.

Seminars:

As part of our Integrated Marketing Plan, We shall organize seminars both nationally and internationally. In these seminars, we will talk about the organizations Core Values, purpose and benefit of subscribing with MTN. Through the aid of multimedia i.e. sound, graphics, text, animation, video and visual aids via Microsoft PowerPoint slide, we will show videos showing a a message about the organisation so potential customers can have a feel of what it is like to be a customer. In these seminars, we shall also talk about our competitive prices, the good attributes of the organisation, at this stage; we shall show and compare MTN to other Network Providers etc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Budget and Cost: The budget for my plan is shown below (Naira)

 

 

The total cost available to spend is N110,000

We expect to spend approximately N110000 on all of our advertising communication media on a yearly basis. This advertisement will be done through some advertising agents like Saatchi and Saatchi press, the Punch Newspaper, Ray Power FM

 

 

 

Radio

My research indicates that the costs of Radio advertisements are very much cheaper than other forms of advertisements. According to Ray Power Fm the average price for Radio commercial per half a minute including production cost is approximately N7,500 per week multiply by four weeks.

 

Newspaper

My projection is that i spend on average £15,000.00 on newspaper advertisements, this is a cost effective way of reaching our target audience using 24cm 4column page type.

Seminar

With This approach, i use abroad to interact with the target audience. The huge cost is because i have to send our representatives from Nigeris to those countries in other parts of Africa, pay for flight tickets and Hotel bills, total amount required N60,000.00

Internet Advertisement

This will only cost me N5,000.00 because the internet advertisement can be done internally by MTN using their house system with the help of IT professionals.

TIME: To meet my set objectives, I need to consider the time I have got to do my marketing plan. Because I have little or no time, I will be focusing on the main objectives rather than focusing on a broad objective, because MTN as a mobile telecommunication organization have so many plans and objectives

 

In conclusion, I will recommend that MTN should focus on the objectives mentioned above and follow the communication mix discussed above for the promotion on their product. If they can resolve the issues with their network services e.g. poor reception, telephone calls clashing into each other and installing more masses in the areas they have not been able to cover, they will a tremendous improve in their sales turn over and revenue.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Trevor McDonald, Marketing Plan

Fill, C. Marketing Communication Concept Strategies and application (2002) 3^rd edition London: FT/Prentice Hall

Yeshin, C. T Integrated Communication Plan (2001-2004) Butter-Heinemann

Giles, G. B. (1990). Marketing, London: Longman.

Hughes .G,  Fill, C. (2004) Marketing Communication Plan. London: Butter –Heinemann

Kotler, P. Wong, V. Saunders, J. Armstrong, G. (2005) Principles of Marketing. London: Pearson. 

Philip Kotler Principles of Marketing, Fourth European Edition (2005)

References:

http://marketingteacher.com

 

http://strategy-business.com

 

http://marketingterms.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fundermental Principle of Project Management

Fundamental Principles of Project Management By R. Max Wideman Introduction From time to time, various attempts have been made to enunciate ‘Principles and Practices’ of project management. However, there appears to be no consensus on either the principles or the practices of ‘acceptable’ project management, nor does there appear to be much documentation of any ‘theories’ of project management either supporting these principles and practices or derived from them. Thus, the foundation of the project management discipline appears to be somewhat weak. On the other hand, there is a wealth of literature researching projects to determine what people do in project management, followed by conclusions drawn, as well as a wealth of advice on ‘How to do it better’ (practices). However, since few projects appear to predefine their product success criteria, the results of these projects may be good, bad, or indifferent. Hence, some of the conclusions drawn may be questionable. What appears to missing is a set of fundamental project management principles as a basis for comparison. This paper is an attempt to address this gap. Issue: What are the Fundamental Principles of Project Management and how do these differ from Project Management Practices Definitions Webster (1) defines a ‘Principle’ as “a general truth, a law on which others are founded or from which others are derived…” Cleland and Kerzner (2) go further in defining ‘Principle’ as follows: 1. A fundamental rule or law of action based upon desirable ends or objectives. A principle is more basic than a policy or a procedure and generally governs both. 2. A fundamental truth, or what is believed to be truth at a given time, explaining relationships between two or more sets of variables, usually an independent variable and a dependent variable; may be descriptive, explaining what will happen, or prescriptive (or normative), indicating what a person should do. In the latter case, principles reflect some scale of values, such as efficiency, and therefore imply value judgments. From the above it would appear that the use of the qualifier ‘Fundamental’ with ‘principle’ is redundant. However, since there appears to be much indiscriminate use of the term ‘Principle’ in the marketplace, we will retain its usage to imply that it applies to all examples or aspects of project management and is distinct from the use of the word ‘practice’. Webster defines ‘Practice’, on the other hand, as “customary use, method or art of doing anything…” Cleland and Kerzner do not include this term. In other words, a ‘Practice’ is a way of doing things. From these definitions it would appear that ‘Principles’ and ‘Practices’ may be distinguished by the difference between ‘What’ and ‘How’. It would also appear that in Cleland and Kerzner’s second definition there is some overlap between principles and practices, perhaps reflecting the confusion evident in the marketplace. Criteria for Establishing a Principle Possible criteria for differentiating those principles of project management that are truly fundamental may be enunciated as follows: A Project Management Principle should 1. Express a basic concept or idea. 2. Be universally applicable if a successful project result is to be achieved. 3. Be capable of straight forward expression in one or two sentences. 4. Be self-evident to project management personnel with considerable experienced of practical project work . 5. Be capable of self-evident naming with one or two words. 6. Provide the basis for research, practical testing as to value, and the development of supporting ‘Practices’. Previous Works Few authors appear to have addressed the issue of project management principles, although many use the term ‘principles‘ to describe ‘practices’ all as defined above. One exception, however, is an article by Bing (3) in which he describes eight “Principles of Successful Projects” based on his extensive practical experience in the field. This article appears to have received remarkably little attention. In it, Bing presents his eight principles as follows: 1. There must be a project as defined in the PMBOK, and not just a task or an ongoing activity. 2. There must be a single leader (project manager), who is experienced and willing to take the responsibility for the work. 3. There must be an informed and supportive management that delegates appropriate authority to the project manager. 4. There must be a dedicated team of qualified people to do the work of the project. 5. The project goal must be clearly defined along with priorities of the “shareholders.” 6. There must be an integrated plan that outlines the action required in order to reach the goal. 7. There must be a schedule establishing the time goals of the project. 8. There must be a budget of costs and/or resources required for the project. In the original article, each principle is followed by clarifying text. To this list, Bing subsequently added a ninth principle: 9. There must be a system to accommodate changes. Proposed ‘Fundamental Principles’ How do Bing’s ‘principles’ measure up to the ‘criteria’ suggested earlier? And, are they all-encompassing? This author proposes the following consolidation of these ‘principles’ together with other ‘fundamentals’ consistent with the criteria and format presented earlier. 1. The Success Principle The goal of project management is to produce a successful product. Without achieving a successful product there is no merit in incurring the project management overhead cost. Contrary to conventional wisdom, there have been many projects that have been “On time and within budget” but the product has not been successful, and similarly many that have not been “On time and within budget” yet the product has been very successful. 2. The Commitment Principle A mutually acceptable commitment between a project sponsor and a project team must exist before a viable project exists. A project sponsor is a knowledgeable person representing the eventual owner of the product of the project and who is responsible for providing the necessary resources (money, goods, services, and general direction, as appropriate.) A project team is a knowledgeable and qualified group able and willing to undertake the work of the project. A mutually acceptable commitment is one in which there is agreement on the goals and objectives of the project in terms of the product’s scope, quality grade, time to completion and final cost. 3. The Tetrad-Tradeoff Principle The core variables of the project management process, namely: product scope, quality grade, time-to-produce and cost-to-complete must all be mutually consistent. The core variables of scope, quality, time and cost are interrelated somewhat similar to a four-cornered frame with flexible joints. One corner can be anchored and another moved, but not without affecting the other two. 4. The Primary Communication Channel (or Unity-of-Command) Principle A single channel of communication must exist between the project sponsor and the project team leader for all decisions affecting the product of the project. This principle is necessary for the effective and efficient administration of the project commitment. The owner of the eventual product, if represented by more than one person, must nevertheless speak with one voice. Similarly, at any given time, the project’s team must have a single point of responsibility, a project manager, for the work of the project. Such person must have the skills, experience, dedication, commitment, authority and tenacity to lead the project to success. 5. The Cultural Environment (or Suitability) Principle An informed management must provide a supportive cultural environment to enable the project team to produce its best work. An informed management is one which understands the project management process. A supportive cultural environment is one in which the project is clearly backed by management, and project team members are enabled to produce their best work without unnecessary bureaucratic hindrance. This principle includes the need for management to ensure that the leadership profile and management style are suited to both the type of project and its phase in the project life-cycle. 6. The Process Principle Effective and efficient policies and procedures must be in place for the conduct of the project commitment. Such policies and procedures must cover, at a minimum, clear roles and responsibilities, delegation of authority, and processes for managing the scope of work, including changes, maintenance of quality, and schedule and cost control. 7. The Life-Cycle Principle Plan first, then do. A successful project management process relies on two activities – planning first, and then doing. These two sequential activities form the basis of every project life-cycle, and can be expanded to suit the control requirements of every type of project in every area of project management application. The project life-cycle, characterized by a series of ‘milestones’ determines when the project starts, the ‘control gates’ through which it must pass, and when the project is finished. R. Max Wideman Vancouver, BC, Canada max_wideman@sfu.ca Tel & FAX 604-736-7025 1.The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language 2.Cleland, David, & H. Kerzner, A Project Management Dictionary of Terms, Van Nostrand, New York, 1985, p187. 3.Bing, John, A. Principles of Project Management, PMNETwork, PMI, January 1994, p40