Unit: Understanding Business Organisations Assignment title: SPECIALIST PM SOLUTIONS September 2015

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1 Unit: Understanding Business Organisations Assignment title: SPECIALIST PM SOLUTIONS September 2015 Important notes Please refer to the Assignment Presentation Requirements for advice on how to set out your assignment. These can be found on the NCC Education Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand menu and look under the Advice section. You must read the NCC Education documents What is Academic Misconduct? Guidance for Candidates and Avoiding Plagiarism and Collusion: Guidance for Candidates and ensure that you acknowledge all the sources that you use in your work. These documents are available on Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand menu and look under the Policies section. You must complete the Statement and Confirmation of Own Work. The form is available on Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand menu and look under the Policies section. Please make a note of the recommended word count. You could lose marks if you write 10% more or less than this. You must submit a paper copy and digital copy (on disk or similarly acceptable medium). Media containing viruses, or media that cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade being awarded for this assessment. All electronic media will be checked for plagiarism.

2 Introduction You are a business consultant and have recently been approached by Specialist PM Solutions, an established business in your region that provides a range of project management consultancy services. The service offered by Specialist PM Solutions is targeted at the management of three different types of projects. These are: IT projects Construction projects Business transformation projects Currently, the business organises itself into three specific divisions, each of which focuses upon one of the above niche areas. The overall staffing levels are as follows: Junior Management Consultants Sales and Administrative Partner Consultants Marketing and Finance IT Construction Business Transformation In addition to the above staff (68 in total), there are the following 4 senior partners: Managing Director Chief Finance Officer Chief Technology Officer Head of Business Development The members of staff are based at a single office location, though many of the consultancy staff spend considerable amounts of time on client visits at the client s office. The business was established in a small city located centrally within the region where the original partners met at university. However, the city is some distance from the major centres of finance and technology, which are based in the region s three major cities (one in the North, one in the South and one in the East of the region). The bulk of the constructionrelated work is also undertaken in these cities. The Senior Partners have decided that it is now time to change the way in which the business operates and to set up three regional offices in the major cities, whilst scaling down their head office presence and moving this to a smaller office a short distance away from the current location. The Senior Partners believe that there are a number of benefits to be gained from having a more local presence in the three main cities. However, as part of this reorganisation, they also plan to move away from the current structure and have a mixed discipline team (comprising staff capable of supporting IT, construction and business transformation projects) within each regional office. Page 2 of 6

3 The Senior Partners also plan to introduce a new service that is complementary to their current project management offerings. This new service will offer specialist risk management consultancy and software support to the clients of the business. It is expected that the new service will have 5 staff (job titles to be decided), bringing the total number of employees, including the senior partners, to 77. Currently, Specialist PM Solutions is a partnership that was established by the four senior partners ten years ago. However, the business has grown significantly, particularly over the past two years, so the partners are considering whether it would be appropriate to change to a private limited company. The senior partners have asked you to undertake a review in order to establish an organisational structure that is capable of: Providing the full range of project management services to clients from the three proposed regional offices Incorporating the new risk management services Maintaining a small centralised head office that will continue to oversee all of the activities undertaken by Specialist PM Solutions. This review should take account of their views on how the regional emphasis of their business is likely to change over the next two years. The figures below show the amount of overall work that the three proposed regional offices will be responsible for now AND the projections in two years time: % Now % In Two Years North Region 50% 30% South Region 35% 40% East Region 15% 30% They are also unclear if they should seek to change the business to a private limited company or retain it as a partnership and have asked for your guidance on this matter. The senior partners are aware that the proposed reorganisation of the business will have a significant impact on the staff, not least because many may have to consider moving their family home closer to one of the new regional offices. They have, therefore, requested you to provide some assistance in helping to ensure that the reorganisation takes place as seamlessly as possible. They are also aware that the flow of communications will become an ever-more critical issue for the business, since staff will now be spread between the three regional offices and the head office. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that many consultants will also spend a significant amount of their time on client sites. Finally, they recognise that the IT systems will have a significant role to play, not only in helping to manage and control organisational performance, but also ensuring that there is effective collaboration between employees located in different offices. Page 3 of 6

4 Task 1 3 Marks You need to familiarise yourself with the subject area. You should therefore carry out some research on the Internet to establish the range of services offered by project management consultants to their clients, and how they typically structure their project teams. You should briefly summarise your findings and conclusions. Task 2 2 Marks Produce a project plan for the way you intend to complete the rest of this assignment. For planning, use the timescale you have been allocated for this assignment (i.e. from the date you start to the date you submit your assignment). Submit a copy of your plan to your tutor before you proceed further with the assignment. Task 3 24 Marks Produce a report of no more than 1500 words that describes the key characteristics of the following types of organisation: Partnership Private limited company The report should include THREE (3) advantages and THREE (3) disadvantages for each of type of organisation. The report should also include a recommendation as to whether Specialist PM Solutions should remain as a partnership or become a private limited company, giving the reasons for your choice. Task 4 20 Marks Draw up an organisation chart for Specialist PM Solutions that you believe best reflects their planned reorganisation. The chart should take account of their plans to introduce the new regional offices and should, therefore, clearly indicate which offices the various members of staff will be based in. You should also make the decision as to where the staff providing the new risk management services will be located and how this will be reflected on the new organisation chart. The chart should clearly show the lines of authority, the span of control and how work is to be delegated. You should include a supporting note of no more than 350 words that outlines the main reasons for selecting the organisational structure you have adopted, bearing in mind the current workload of the respective regions and the likely workload in two years time. Task 5 15 Marks Produce a short report of no more than 500 words that briefly explains how the following types of organisational communications are used by managers: Page 4 of 6

5 Upward communication Downward communication Horizontal communication You should also include TWO (2) examples for each type of organisational communication that Specialist PM Solutions might use. Task 6 14 Marks Produce a briefing note of no more than 500 words that summarises the main points of the organisational changes you are proposing from an employee perspective. The note should also include THREE (3) specific problems or concerns that you believe the employees might identify, together with your suggested responses on how each of these concerns could be addressed. Task 7 22 Marks Using PowerPoint, or a similar tool, put together a maximum of TWELVE (12) slides that could be used as the basis of a presentation to the partners of Specialist PM Solutions. The presentation should focus upon the role that IT will play in the reorganised business. In particular, the presentation should cover: How IT can assist in budgetary control How project management software can assist the project management consultants in performing their roles more effectively How members of a project team will be able to collaborate effectively, particularly in terms of contributing to multi-author documents The role of IT in ensuring that members of a project team can communicate effectively with clients How the members of a project team (who may be geographically separated) can access all of the necessary project documentation at any time and be confident that this documentation is up-to-date The role of IT in helping to ensure that all employees, irrespective of where they are located, still feel part of the business and remain committed to its success It is possible that you may have to undertake research in order to fully address some of the above points. Guidance All references and citations must use the Harvard Style. This assignment is wide-ranging and incorporates a range of topics from the syllabus. If you are unsure about any aspect of the assignment, consult with your tutor/lecturer before beginning Task 2 of the assignment. Page 5 of 6

6 Submission requirements 1. A word-processed, printed document containing all the written components of the assignment (Tasks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) signed and dated by your tutor/lecturer. 2. Printed versions of the presentation you have prepared for Task A copy of all the electronic material (Tasks 1-7) on appropriate medium (floppy disk, zip disk, CD-ROM etc.). The total word count for the assignment is 3000 words. Candidate checklist Please use the following checklist to ensure that your work is ready for submission. Have you read the NCC Education documents What is Academic Misconduct? Guidance for Candidates and Avoiding Plagiarism and Collusion: Guidance for Candidates and ensured that you have acknowledged all the sources that you have used in your work? Have you completed the Statement and Confirmation of Own Work form and attached it to your assignment? You must do this. Have you ensured that your work has not gone over or under the recommended word count by more than 10%? Have you ensured that your work does not contain viruses and can be run directly? Page 6 of 6