1. Introduction
This paper discusses a project undertaken by Pioneer Corporation in organizing and planning of a one-day seminar of a foreign guest to the company. The event has been organized based on the fundamental strategies of project management. The paper is a comprehensive report covering all the primary elements of the project, which include the project scope statement, project priorities, work breakdown structure and cost estimation.
Company background
Pioneer Corporation, popularly known as Pioneerwas founded in 1938 by Nozomu Matsumoto and has its headquarters in Bunkyo, Tokyo. It is a multinational group of public companies specializing in both consumer and commercial electronics. The company sells car stereos, speakers to retailers as well as DVD players, stereo systems to consumers (Kashiwazaki, 2001). Besides, itsells factory automation systems to business consumers and leads in the production of DJ equipment through its over thirty-five manufacturing facilities worldwide.
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1.2 Project chosen
The project entails a one-day seminar with a foreign guest from Torrance and the company’s branch headquarters in the USA. The basis of the occasion is to convince him to become a Pioneer distributor in Uganda, one of the African countries located in the eastern part of the continent. This event is significant since it aims to expand the company’s business activities to another continent.
2. Project Scope Statement
2.1 Project Objective
The objective of this project is to organize a one-day seminar with a foreign guest at Pioneer, Torrance branch, the USA within a month at a cost not exceeding $3000.
2.2 Deliverables
• A conference hall for about 10 – 15 people.
• AC power plugs and sockets, a HD projector, a whiteboard and a surround sound system
• A conference table enough to accommodate around 20 chairs.
• Catering Service Company to offer breakfast and lunch to about 15 people.
• An empty room of about 1500 – 1800 square feet with good fluorescent lighting.
• Electronic display stands to hold around two hundred medium sized equipment.
2.3 Milestone
The essence of the meeting debated - November 27th
Consent to orchestrate the meeting with the foreign guest – November 30th
Agreeing on the guest to be invited – December 1st
Invitation sent to the guest – December 4th
Equipping the conference hall to meet all the requirements – December 7th
Ordering the electronic displays and other needed equipment – December 8th
Fitting the empty room with the electronic displays and the different pieces of equipment – December 13th
Setting up the display with the products to be displayed – December 16th
Final scrutiny of both the conference hall and showroom – December 18th
Meeting the catering service company to discuss on the budget and paying the deposit – December 19th
2.4 Technical Requirements
Foreign guest must confirm invitation.
All other guests must approve requests.
Conference hall must have enough electrical outlets.
An HD projector must be fitted and tested.
Showroom must be well displayed and lit.
2.5 Limits and exclusions
Accommodation will only be offered to the foreign guest.
Guest reserves the right to interact with anyone from the company during the exhibition.
The display at the showroom will be done precisely as it is the primary outlet.
Dinner is not included for other guests apart from the foreign guest.
Only dedicated staff will be required at the showroom during the exhibition.
No customers or unauthorized personnel will be allowed in the showroom.
Allowances will just be for the members participating fully in the conference hall meeting.
The guest is allowed to tag along two counterparts only.
The company will only be liable to the guests' transport to and from the airport, around the meeting halls and the hotel room.
3.0 Project Priorities
The figure below shows the project priority matrix for a meeting with the guestwho wants to invest with the company. The date of the project is a significant factor to both Pioneer Corporation and the guest. The budget is acceptable recommendable and minimum alterations are expected.
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Time/Schedule |
Scope/Performance |
Cost/Budget |
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Constrain |
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Enhance |
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Accept |
Causes of Project Trade-offs
3.1 Scope
In this context, the scope refers to the components and aspects to be achieved from the meeting. This can be heightened through allowing any related kind of objectives to be discussed in the meeting by the guests. The scope shall also signify the goals of the meeting (Rose, 2003).
3.2 Time
On this project, time means the exact date on which the meeting is intended to be carried out for an exact duration. Time is a constraint in this context because the foreign guest has proven to have a tight schedule. Changes on the date and durationcan jeopardize the entire event and might confuse the guests (Frigenti and Comninos, 2001).
3.3 Cost
Cost refers to all the expenses incurred in the project, and it reflects the total cost involved in the planning and organizing of the meeting. This cost can overreach the initial budget. Delays or extension of the program can result to overtime allowances for the organizing teams.
Managing the priorities of Project Trade-Offs
Time
Time is fixed as there is no possibility of extending the duration or changing the date set for the meeting. Maximizing on covering the scope of the meeting within the stipulated time will help in saving on extra costs.
Scope
Given the scope of the project, main components and aspects scheduled for the meeting will remain fixed. The number of products to be displayed at the showroom can also be reduced in the case where the guest agrees to consider the deal.
Cost
The original budget will remain constant with no major expectations of exceeding it. Placing orders for the electric displays earlier or on the same day as covered on the milestone will help in cutting down the budget. Delivery of all the necessary products or equipment should be in time to avoid extra expenditure, which may result from delays (Rad, 2002). However, there are unforeseeable chances of extra costs that the organizing team should prepare to incur
4.0 Work Breakdown Structure
The first thing to be done on this project is to come up with the design of the invitation cards then provide it to the chosen supplier. After that, the printed invitations are scrutinized for any mistakes or shortages.
Replies to the guests who have confirmed their attendance to the meeting are sent, then replies for the guests who are not interested in attending the meeting as well as reminding the guests who did not respond to the invitations.
Booking of the conference hall and the room to be used as the showroom is done while confirming the furniture.
Orders for the electronic devices to be externally acquired are placed, and then after, installation is done on delivery as inspection of the job so far done, takes place.
Meeting the catering company to issue them with our proposed budget is done afterward as the menu is generated.
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4.2
| S. NO | DESCRIPTION | UNIT COST ($) | QUANTITY | TOTAL COST ($) |
| 1. | Making payment for the invitations | 6 | 15 | 90 |
| 2. | Mailing the invitation to the guests | 2 | 15 | 30 |
| A. | Guests | 120 | ||
| 4. | Renting a conference hall | 150 | 1 | 150 |
| 5. | Renting an empty room of about 1500 – 1800 square feet | 420 | 1 | 420 |
| 6. | Ordering a conference table and chairs for the meeting (Package) | 510 | 1 | 510 |
| B. | Conference hall/ Showroom | 1,080 | ||
| 7. | Making payments for the devices out-sourced (Package) | 450 | 1 | 450 |
| 8. | Ordering electrical display stands (Package) | 650 | 1 | 650 |
| C. | Technology | 1,100 | ||
| 9. | Menu for breakfast and lunch. | 15 | 20 | 300 |
| 10. | Transport and other charges (Package) | 100 | 1 | 100 |
| D. | Catering | 400 |
GRAND TOTAL (Overall Cost of the Meeting): $2700
4.3 Work Packages
WP-1-INVITATIONS: Choose the guests to be invited and the number of invitations to be printed.
WP-2-INVITATIONS: Choose a design for the invitations.
WP-3-INVITATIONS: Choose a supplier to print basing on the rates offered.
WP-4-INVITATIONS: Provide the design chosen to the picked supplier
WP-5-INVITATIONS: Check printed invitations for errors
WP-6-INVITATIONS: Send invitations to guests.
WP-1-RSVP’s: Reply guests who are interested in attending the meeting.
WP-2-RSVP’s:Reply guests who are not interested in attending.
WP-3-RSVP’s:remind guests who did not respond to the invitations.
WP-1-CONFERENCE/SHOWROOM: Hire the conference hall.
WP-2-CONFERENCE/SHOWROOM: Renting an empty room to be used as the showroom
WP-3-CONFERENCE/SHOWROOM: Confirm furniture ordered.
WP-1-DEVICES: Place orders for the devices to be outsourced from a chosen supplier.
WP-2-DEVICES: Install devices in the desired locations of the room.
WP-3-DEVICES: Confirm Installation of the devices and if they are working.
WP-1-ELECTRICALS: Place orders for the electronic displays from a chosen supplier.
WP-2- ELECTRICALS: Install devices in the specific locations of the showroom.
WP-3- ELECTRICALS: Confirm Installation of the devices and if they are working.
WP-1-MENU: Fix the budget for the Menu.
WP-2-MENU: Choose the items of the menu.
5.0 Cost Estimation
This approximates the total possible costs incurred to undertake the project, calculated basing on the available data. Before the evaluation of the cost of the project, this paper will explore two major techniques used for cost estimation. These techniques include top-down estimates and bottom-up approach.
Top-down estimates: Defining a project tasks by calculating cost from the highest or the final level deliverables to the lowest level, breaking it down into single concepts called work packages. In this method, all components required are based on the cost (Mislick and Nussbaum, 2015).
Bottom-up Approach: This technique results into a more detailed element fragmented from each task.Although it consumes more time, it has higher level of accuracy in data provision than top-down technique. In addition, it produces results that are detailed, and handle projects that involves many work packages.
References
Frigenti, E., & Comninos, D. (2001). The practice of project management: A guide to the business-focused approach . London [u.a.: Kogan Page.
Kashiwazaki, T. (2001). U.S. Patent No. 6,249,214 . Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Mislick, G. K., & Nussbaum, D. A. (2015). Cost estimation: Methods and tools . Hoboken : Wiley, 2015.
Rad, P. F. (2002). Project estimating and cost management . Vienna, Va: Management Concepts.
Rose, D. M., Dye Management Group, Inc., Arizona.,& United States. (2003). Best practices in project management . Phoenix: Arizona Dept. of Transportation.
