3 days event at Ecu Essay Example

Contents

Introduction

A three day event has to be organized and executed at ECU for celebrating the culture of Australia which is expected to begin in the month of September this year. The event would be carried out in a grassy area between two buildings. It would involve activities like music, entertainment, and cultural diversity information.

This report presents a project plan including a plan for human resource management, procurement plan, and communication management plan. Human resource plan would include project organization chart, RACI chart, and team management processes. Procurement management plan would identify items, their prices, solicitation plan, evaluation matrix, and battle of forms and a consideration of the type of procurement system to be used. For the current project for event organization and management, a centralized procurement system would be used whose significance is explained in the report. Communication plan includes stakeholder communication plan and social capital.

Human resource management plan

The HR plan for the management of the event would include defined roles and responsibilities of people, their hierarchical levels in the organization, and their performance requirements on the project. The plan would present the organization chart, RACI chart, and team management processes.

Project organisation Chart

Project Sponsor

Given below is the organization chart showing different levels of roles on the project:

Steering Committee

Managing Director

Project Manager

Site Engineer

OH&S supervisor

Safety Advisor

Suppliers

Procurement Officer

Construction Crew

Sub-Contractors

Service Crew

Cleaning Crew

Performers

RACI Chart

A responsibility, accountability, consulted, informed (RACI) chart identifies project tasks and role of responsible people on project which could make them accountable or accountable. It also includes identification of people who are required to be consulted or have to be kept informed.

Project Tasks	Project Sponsor	Project Manager	Procurement Officer	Event Manager		Contractors
Project Planning
Scheduling
Budgeting
Initiation
Procurement
Installation
Decoration
Operations
Project Closure

[ CITATION BIS10 l 16393 ]

Team Management processes

Team management processes are crucial to define as they help ensure that people know what roles they are expected to play and what they need to do in order to execute tasks. There are some key processes that include:

Planning: This would involve identification of roles and responsibilities of the team members as well as of their skill requirements. The skills of the people working on the event project would also have to match the skill requirements of the project if it has to be successful. At this stage, the project manager would identify activities that are required to be completed, assess the resource requirements as per the need for those activities to be completed, and how processes have to be managed and completed[ CITATION Any13 l 16393 ].

Acquisition: This involves formation of a project team which would be on the basis of identified staffing needs, personality requirements, and behavioural styles in team members. An effective communication is possible with collective participation from the project team. In this process, the required equipments and materials needed for event organization and management would be procured using standardized processes.

Development: In this stage, the competencies of staff are developed such that a positive environment can be created on the project and team members are able to perform at their best. In the event project, development would involve making of arrangements for the execution of the event which includes decoration, arrangements for catering, and more[ CITATION Ros15 l 16393 ].

Management: In order to manage a project too well, it is crucial to evaluate their performances in terms of managing conflicts and give suggestions for meeting project requirements. If a team can deal with a conflict effectively, it can lead to improvement in productivity of employees and in working environment. There can be some standard responses that could be:

• Avoiding conflicts between people on the projects such that problems can be minimized or resolved

• Emphasize on the agreement aspects more than to satisfaction of different parties as it would lead to execution of activities as per the project requirement

• pushing ones perspective at the cost of others discomfort may be avoided because on a project, it is essential that people collaborate with each other to achieve collective goals

• It is important to incorporate views from different people to brainstorm and take collective decisions for improvements in the project

• Identify alternatives for solving conflicts by treating it as a problem which can be solved by project teams [ CITATION PMC09 l 16393 ]

The management of the event would involve following activities:

• Maintenance of the equipments and facilities installed to ensure that they work efficiently during the event

• Managing the seating arrangement and catering services in the event for guests and participants

• Cleaning the venue after every day event activities are completed

• Managing the security of the people and help them in case of any security challenges that are faced by the people involved in the event [ CITATION Tea14 l 16393 ]

Project procurement plan

This plan gives details of items needed and processes required for obtaining them. The aim of this plan is to ensure that best suppliers are chosen and best of services are rendered

	Description			Milestone Date
	Seating arrangement for at least 40 people required for the event			6/6/2017
Ticket Booth	1 ticket booth to be installed			7/6/2017
	Staff is required to be hired for performing different work including managing procured [ CITATION EPM17 l 16393 ]materials, ensuring constructions and arrangements are up to market and executing organizing actions			5/6/2017
Performers	During the event there would be 10 performances			7/6/2017
Catering	5 stalls have to be installed to be managed by contractors`			10/6/2017
Stage components	Hire a stage and erect the props required			12/6/2017
Waste Management	8 portable dust bins would be required		$150 per bin	6/6/2017
Medical Facility	Have a first aid room and hire a trained person for catering to medicinal needs of people at the event			5/6/2017
Lightening	Procurement of flood lights for event			3/6/2017
Electrical Wiring	Purchase cables and hire electrician for installation			3/6/2017
Cleaning Facilities	Construct a storage room and housekeeping services for managing cleaning of event venue[ CITATION NHS13 l 16393 ]			6/6/2017
Security Management	Hire security guards for ensuring security at the event			7/6/2017
Audio Video facilities	Hire contractors for managing audio and video facilities and procure required equipments from vendors			8/6/2017
Decoration	The event would require decoration every day after its day activities are over for the next day for which contractors would be hired[ CITATION And03 l 16393 ]			7/6/2017

Solicitation plan

Solicitation plan identifies the needed processes and documentation that is required to achieve the desired quality in the deliverables including products and services. Key process documents include Request for Quote (RFQ), Request for Proposal (RFP), and Request for Bid (RFB)[ CITATION Fra10 l 16393 ].

Facility		Documentation
Stage components		An invitation would be furnished with detailed instructions and technical requirements including stage components specifications
		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
Catering		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
Ticket Booth		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
		An invitation would be furnished with detailed instructions and detailed requirements hiring labour and for contractual arrangements
Waste Management		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
Performers		An invitation would be furnished with detailed requirements of acts and time asking for bid
Medical facility		An invitation would be furnished with detailed instructions and detailed requirements hiring trained medical staff and for contractual conditions
Lightening		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation[ CITATION Roy14 l 16393 ]
Electrical Wiring	RFP (Cables) RFQ (Electrician)	An invitation would be furnished with detailed technical requirements and time asking for price An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
Cleaning		An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation
Security		An invitation would be furnished with detailed requirements for guides and night time patrolling with contractual arrangements included
AV management	RFP (Equipments) RFQ (Installation)	An invitation would be furnished with detailed technical requirements and time asking for price An instruction document stating details of technical requirements and asking for price quotation[ CITATION Pet142 l 16393 ]

Solicitation documents help in outlining the project scope clearly including the deliverables and place of deliveries as well as minimum requirements for performance along with terms and conditions in the contract.

Evaluation matrix

Evaluation matrix is used for assessment of suppliers on a project and it involves assigning of weighted scores to each supplier based on certain criteria. In the current case, supplier who meet the entire requirement can be assigned a weighted score of hundred while others could be given a lower score based on their capacities to satisfy all the needs of the project as follows [ CITATION Tim15 l 16393 ]:

• A supplier meeting most of the criteria but not all can be assigned 90

• A supplier meeting some of the criteria’s can be assigned 80

• A supplier meeting only few of the criteria’s can be assigned 70

• A supplier with capability to meet only the necessary requirements would score 60

• A supplier who is unable to meet any requirements of the project can be given a score of 0

For each supplier, a score could be given for each need such that the score of each supplier are summed up and the supplier getting the highest score is selected [ CITATION Mar131 l 16393 ].

Criteria		Instruments Supplier	Food Supplier	Decorative Supplier
Earlier performance
Cost of products
Financial capability
Management approach
Quality of goods
Resources
Safety potential
Weighted scores

Battle of the forms

“Battle of forms” results from conflict between two parties to contract such that each wants to enforce certain things on the other making it difficult to achieve a mutual agreement. Such a situation can arise when a buyer offers a seller to purchase goods at its own terms such that when the seller responds with its own terms, the contract presented earlier would not be agreed upon and thus, would be returned. This keeps happening back and forth between suppliers and buyers till one party accepts the terms of others and at this point, the agreement are reached.

There can be certain methods that can help win this battle of forms such that conflicts can either be avoided or managed during the project execution such as:

• An underlying agreement can be created with terms and conditions added and the same must be sent to all the important stakeholders of the event project and assistance to be sought by getting their acceptance signature. This would ensure that all the parties know the updated terms and conditions and thus, conflicts are avoided

• Contractual procedures must be provide in the contract or agreement so that in case of an conflicts, people would know how to deal with the situation

• Some standard terms may be added for pre-contract communication which would allow the parties to interact and have discussions on situations event before the actual execution of the contract such that appropriate decisions can be made and conflicts can be avoided as all parties would be in agreement before the execution

• A supplier quotation must clearly mention that only those supplier terms that are intended for the contractual arrangement would be followed

• If contract involves supply of certain goods at the event venue then the order confirmation should state the information on what items are included and how they would be delivered

• All the important contract documents including tax invoice must contain the major terms of the contract so as to not leave any scope for ambiguity or confusion[ CITATION Cal07 l 16393 ].

When it is about deciding which terms to be adhered to from the two parties who try to impose their own terms for the contract, it can be taken on the basis of the study of the underlying agreement which if is effective with the supplier or the client, the precedence would be given accordingly. An effective underlying agreement is the one which prevails over any other terms specified in the invoice or trading document. In case of the absence of underlying agreement, parties would struggle to reach on any agreement into he cases of conflicts. In such a case, a rule of “last submission” can be used such that the last submitted form of the contract between parties is accepted as final[ CITATION NHS13 l 16393 ].

Centralised procurement

When all the purchase decisions about a project are taken within one organization then it can be called as a centralized procurement. In a centralized procurement, a procurement team is structured for planning and managing all the activities related to procurement. For the event project, procurement would be centralized. A staff would be involved in procurement and they would be building good relationships with suppliers as well as buyers so that they can explain the requirements of buyers clearly to the suppliers [ CITATION SPS15 l 16393 ]. For centralized procurement plan to be effective, the organization must have the capabilities to coordinate between policies and procedures. Centralized procurement is chosen for it has certain benefits such as reduced purchasing cost because of better pricing, better control over the procurement, and ability to get agreed to terms and conditions fast[ CITATION Roy14 l 16393 ].

Moreover it also enables teams to share ideas and communicate to make the processes better such that costs can be reduced further. Lessons that are learnt from previous projects managed by the organization can also be applied to the current project or current project lessons could be used as best practices to apply in future. With more knowledge and improvement strategies used, the view of the supply chain can be better such that more control is established. With centralized procurement, a top view from where all suppliers can be overviewed can be seen. With centralized procurement, the supply chain relationships also improve leading to increased specialization.

An organization can create a sustainable competitive advantage with the centralized procurement systems with benefit of supply chain continuity, lowest system costs, leverage on systems, access to innovation, and capability to operate as a corporate citizen [ CITATION Pet142 l 16393 ]. The centralized procurement process begins with establishing a baseline cost and goals for negotiation with suppliers which would be decide by brainstorming between people in the community group of the project. The second stage involves negotiations with the suppliers and lastly the results of negating are communicated to management to initiate the process of procurement for which contracts that validate the demand are developed with terms and conditions that are satisfactory for both suppliers and the client organization.

During the procurement plan execution, some activity levers can be watched for so that improvements can be made in the process from time to time. These include strategic sourcing for demand aggregation, supply base optimization or up streaming, adoption of new technologies for development or increase in reach volume, specification optimization through standardization, and supply chain cost reduction through logistics optimization, demand planning, and forecasting for inventory reduction[ CITATION APU11 l 16393 ].

Communication

Key Roles and Responsibilities

The purpose of building a communication plan is to bring cooperation between individuals as well as groups working on the project or is associated with the project. This would require the project organization to develop norms on how team members should interact with each other as well as with people outside. These norms can be made into procedures and rules that would be followed for developing a framework of collaboration to build desired values and attitudes [ CITATION PDA07 l 16393 ].

This would allow project team members to make relationships between them as well as with the project stakeholders based on their interests and preferences. Developing and maintaining relationships between people can help in achieving success one project as it allows people to interact to brainstorm about problems and come up with improvements to enhance performance of the project or an organization. Strong relationships between suppliers and contractors of a project would increase to accountability in them such that the quality of work is improved thereby improving the quality of the project outcomes.

A communication plan of a project highlights the stakeholder communication requirements that include the purpose of communication, the need for information, method of communication delivery, and the person responsible for initiating or establishing a communication. The communication responsibilities would be taken mainly by project manager, procurement manager, and event Manager.

Project Manager: Project manager is the leader of the event project who would liaison with suppliers and strategic partners to get supplies and all the project requirements fulfilled. He would be responsible for planning, executing, managing, monitoring and controlling all the activities on the event management project. He would be giving guidance to the entire project team to ensure that project activities are carried out smoothly and successfully.

Procurement Manager: Procurement manager would be supervising the activities required for purchase of food, flora, equipments or other materials required for completing the arrangement at the event venue. He would be coordinating with the suppliers and would be responsible for ensuring that the quality of services and products procured are maintained as per the requirement of the event.

Event Manager: The event manager would be conceptualization all the activities that would be planned on the project, would participate in the event planning, and would execute the event as a whole ensuring that all the activities are managed as required and the performances are completed as per the schedule. He would ensure that event attendance as required and would also take care of the expenses that would be incurred on the event.

Communication management plan

There managers would be communicating with the key project stakeholders including project sponsor, steering committee, project tea,, suppliers, local council, performers, musicians, and contractors as per the scheduled communication plan as shown in the table below:

Stakeholder	Communication	Delivery Method	Responsibility	Frequency
Steering Committee	Project Status reports	Meeting and status reports over email	Project Manager
	Project Status reports	Hard copies of minutes of the meeting	Project Manager
Project Manager	Status reports and development updates	Hard copy	Project Manager
Procurement Manager	Project resource management report	Hard Copy	Procurement Manager
Project Team	Team meeting	Meetings and copy of the minutes of the meeting	Project Manager
Event Manager	Event information	Face to face meeting	Project manager and event manager
Suppliers	Progress report on deliverables	Calls and emails	Project Manager Event Manager	Weekly and whenever required
Local Council	Progress update		Project manager	Weekly[ CITATION Roy14 l 16393 ]
Contractors	Project progress	Call and face to face meeting	Project Manager Event Manager
Musicians	Event Plan and Schedule	Emails, calls and face to face meeting	Project Manager Musicians Event Manager	Once before execution of project
Performers	Project Update	Emails, calls and invites	Project Manager Performers Event Manager	Once before execution of project[ CITATION Cal07 l 16393 ]

Promotion on Websites and Social Media

For communicating the information about the event to the potential spectators or event attendees, promotion would also be done using websites and social media. For this, several platforms would be used including the following:

• A fan page would be created on Facebook and it would be shared with all connected Facebook users of the project team including project manager, event manager, procurement manager, and volunteering team. Further, the posts about the event would be shared with those visiting and liking the page

• Tweets about the updates on the event would be posted on the Twitter page of the company

• LInkedin would be used for posting ad about the event and the updates of the same would be posted on the official Linkedin page of the event.

Conclusions

The report covered the project management plan for the even involving set-up, service, cleaning and decommissioning. It was found that in any project, it is important to identify key roles and responsibilities of people in details if the project has to be executed effectively. The project utilized the centralized procurement process for managing supplies of items needed for the event as it had certain benefits such as cost reduction, better coordination and so on. A communication plan is also important to define as it identifies types of communication; modes of communication that should happen as well determine who is responsible to make them accountable for their duties. It was also found that social capital can make an important different in achieving success on a project which is formed by a network of people who communicate with each other to share ideas, solve problems and build relationships on a project.

References