Resource loading assigns the appropriate resource to the appropriate amount of time needed for each activity. Resource loading gives you a reality check on your project’s original schedule. You may become aware of constraints in your project such as misallocation of people or lack of needed resources. You may find flaws in your WBS and in your schedule.
To address these constraints, you will need to Resource Level, or smooth your project. You may need to shift non-critical tasks to later dates in order to maximize the use of your personnel without disrupting the delivery dates for your project.
Your assignment is to:
Develop a resource loading table using MS Project.
Use the resource leveling feature in MS Project to level your project. Assume that each of your people is devoting 40 hours per week on this project.
Respond in a one-page Word document to these questions:
What was your initial project baseline?
How did resource leveling affect the baseline?
Did you move your completion date out? If so, by how much?
Refer to page 390 for an example of a Resource Loading Table in your textbook: Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage, by Jeffrey Pinto, 3rd Edition.
Category: Business Management
Unit 4 Lab Assignment: Resource Leveling
August 29th, 2017 
Business, Business Communication, Business Management 
Comments Off on Unit 4 Project Management Application Unit 4 Project Management Application
Unit 4 Project Management Application
NOTE: Our Project Management Assignment in this unit is a forum so that we can share our ideas in a collaborative discussion. Your main post to this forum must be entered on or before Thursday evening of this current week.
Every project has limitations or constraints. As our textbook points out, the number one constraint is the “availability of resources, both money and people, at the critical times they are needed” (Pinto, Project Management). We don’t always have the people to perform project tasks, or the materials or equipment to complete a project. Further, money or budgets can limit project performance.
Managing and scheduling resources, which includes making sure resources are readily available, presents a challenge for any project manager.
Conduct some research on the Internet. Look for examples of projects that have suffered or are currently suffering from one of the following:
Time constraints
Resource constraints
Mixed constraints
In your post, describe the project. Include the scope of the project. Cite evidence of the type of constraint you have identified. What evidence is there of how the project is working to minimize or resolve these constraints? If you were the PM, how would you deal with and overcome this constraint?
When you reply to your classmates, evaluate their example used.
Note: You need to reply to only two of your classmates for this forum assignment. These two replies can be posted on the same day/evening.
Grading Criteria
55% Content: Accurate, organized and thorough responses that demonstrate critical thinking and analysis.
30% Written Communication: Clearly and concisely written, proper sentence and paragraph structure, grammar and spelling; proper use of APA format.
15% reply posts (only two replies are required).
BUS 472 Project Termination
Unit 5 Discussion: Project Termination
You may be surprised to hear that 40% of IT application development projects are canceled before they are completed. And, 33% of the remaining IT projects experience cost and schedule overruns and/or changes in scope. IT project failures account for billions of dollars in losses per year (Pinto, Project Management).
Knowing when to terminate a project and how to read the warning signs that a project is at risk is important. Project managers often face difficult decisions about if and when to terminate a project before its completion. Perhaps the costs are higher than expected and there is not enough return on investment. Perhaps the project no longer supports the firm’s strategic plan. Perhaps deadlines are continually missed, or the technology has changed so rapidly that it is now beyond the project’s objectives.
Regardless of the reasons why a project is terminated early, there are emotional and intellectual issues that must be dealt with when shutting down a project.
In your opinion, why is it so difficult to bring IT projects to successful completion?
Identify some reasons why the cancellation for IT projects is so high.
Think of a real world situation where you were a member of a project team that was terminated. Describe this project. Identify the emotional and intellectual issues that arose. If you were the project manager, what steps could you take to offset any negative issues?
When you reply to your classmates, what would you do differently as the PM?
August 29th, 2017 Business, Business Management Comments Off on Unit 5 Lab Assignment: Closeout and Termination Unit 5 Lab Assignment: Closeout and Termination
Unit 5 Lab Assignment: Closeout and Termination
The Final Project Report is the administrative record of the completed project that identifies all its functional and technical components, as well as other important project history.
It includes all the strengths and weaknesses of the project as it progressed and offers a final assessment of what went right (or wrong) throughout the life of the project. It is essentially a “lessons learned” document of the project.
Your assignment is to:
Prepare a final Project Report of your project. Use MS Word for this report.
Your report should include these elements:
Project Performance
This should include a candid assessment of the project’s achievements relative to its plan. Did the project achieve the goals you set out to accomplish? It should also include candid criticism as to the project performance. What caused this poor performance? What recommendations do you have to ensure it doesn’t happen in future projects?
Administrative Performance
What are the standard administrative practices that occur within an organization that were beneficial to the project? What were some drawbacks that could be improved on?
Organizational Structure
How did the organization’s operating structure help or hinder the project team? How could it have been changed to better align the structure with the activities?
Team Performance
How effectively did the team perform this project? Were the proper people picked to perform the project? Were they properly trained? How did the project manager perform? Address team-building techniques and training activities that you think would ensure effective team performance of your project if it actually occurred.
Techniques of Project Management
What organizational methods are effective for project management? These include software, scheduling, rules, procedures, etc.
Benefits to the Organization and the Customer
To what degree did this project provide the benefits and accomplish the goals that it intended? Keep in mind that goals are not always immediate and can occur over time.
Requirements
Your report must meet the following criteria:
Write your report in essay form, using bullet points only where appropriate.
If you use outside resources (and you should!), cite your sources using APA format. This includes information that you use from your textbook as well. Use the double citation reference system: The first is a parenthetical ( ) citation in the text of the report where the research material is used. The second citation is in the References page where full reference details are given.
Use American Psychological Association (APA) style to format your report, regardless of whether you use additional resources or not. You do NOT need an Abstract. Here is a helpful link for information on APA style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
You report should be no more than 4-5 pages in length including any reference page.
MGMT455 DB
Primary Discussion Response is due by Friday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by Tuesday (11:59:59pm Central).
Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas:
Part 1
Having experienced a robust debate discussion on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends (SWOTT) analysis and strategic planning for a particular fast-food franchise, it is time to shift gears a bit and consider the competition in the fast-food industry. Read this article to frame this week’s discussion. Complete the following:
Identify 1 or 2 other major competitors in the fast-food industry, and describe their sources of competitive advantage.
Discuss a current issue that this industry faces. It could be favorable or unfavorable to the industry.
Which of the major competitors has the strongest competitive advantage and ability to overcome the barriers presented by the current issues identified and why?
Part 2: Based on the first initial of your last name:
First initial M-Z: provide an argument ‘FOR’ the success of the fast-food franchise’s competitors. Submit your position by posting in the Unit 2 Debate forum, under the ‘FOR’ topic.
First initial A-L: provide an argument ‘AGAINST’ the ability of the competition to overtake fast-food franchise. Submit your position by posting in the Unit 2 Debate forum, under the ‘AGAINST’ topic.
In both considerations, provide research that supports your assertions.
Responses to Other Students: Review the opposing thread comments. Respond to at least two of your classmates in the opposing thread with at least a 100-word reply about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Reference
Berger, S. (2015, June 30). Best restaurants in USA: Chick-Fil-A trumps competition, McDonald’s falls out of favor. Retrieved from the International Business Times Web site: http://www.ibtimes.com/best-restaurants-usa-chick-fil-trumps-competition-mcdonalds-falls-out-favor-1990232
Assignment 1: LASA 2— Corporate Compliance
You are a corporate compliance officer for a hospital. You are also a feature writer for The Medical Reporter, an online health magazine. The editor asks you to write an 8-10 page feature story about the steps you should take when fraud and abuse cases are reported to a facility. This is very timely as you recently received a call on your “hotline” regarding a potential fraud and abuse issue. The caller indicated that Dr. Greedy was billing for services that had not been provided. You are in danger of losing reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid programs if this behavior is not stopped. Your feature should address the ethical and moral components that healthcare providers and healthcare facilities face with fraud and abuse issues. Your research should include the following aspects:
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- How to conduct an investigation. It should include the following elements:
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- Reviewing the initial complaint: What are the items you should look for in a compliant to determine validity?
- Notifying the appropriate upper management of the complaint unless they are implicated in the complaint: What are the steps to take to determine who is involved?
- Obtaining additional information as necessary and developing a plan for the investigation: What other items are important to the investigation?
- Conducting interviews with staff, residents and/or management: Delineate the types of questions to ask in the interview.
- Determining if the allegations are substantiated or unsubstantiated: Identify criteria to determine if substantiated or unsubstantiated.
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- How to develop a correction action plan. The plan may suggest:
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- A recommendation for a subsequent audit or follow-up to the complaint and determination of when this is necessary.
- A recommendation to refund any overpayments to federal government, insurance company or individual payer and when that may be the best course of action.
Health Promotion Programs
You are the director of patient services for a federally qualified health center. The department of health and human services (HHS) has announced a grant for health centers like yours to run any one of the following three health promotion programs:
Decrease cigarette smoking
Decrease osteoporosis among low-income groups
Decrease childhood respiratory illnesses
Research the above-mentioned health programs for your city, town, or any other region. Based on your research, create a 2- to 3-page report in a Microsoft Word document the includes answers to the following:
Which program would you take up? Why?
What are the critical questions that you need to have answered? Provide at least five such questions. What kind of research you will do to answer these questions?
What are the sources of information that you will use? Why?
Support your responses with examples.
Cite any sources in APA format. (PLEASE USE AT LEAST 3 SOURCES)
August 27th, 2017 Business Management Comments Off on Pay, Benefits, and Terms and Conditions of Employment Pay, Benefits, and Terms and Conditions of Employment
It is your responsibility as the HR Director of the same organization from Assignment 2 to a) create policies regarding pay and benefits for the selected job opportunity, and b) develop methods for both addressing unionization and implementing OSHA regulations. You will present your findings to the Vice President of Human Resources for approval.
In preparation for this assignment, review the following articles on contractors vs. employees and temp workers:
Create a PowerPoint presentation with fifteen to twenty (10-15) slides in which you:
Create a Wage and Hour standard for the job opportunity
and support your standard by using the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Equal Pay Act to prevent any potential discriminatory impact.
Decide on three (3) benefits required for the job opportunity using ERISA. Propose two (2) methods that the employer can use in order to manage the fiduciary duties wisely and with the employees’ best interests in mind. Provide a rationale for your response.
Elaborate on two (2) rights regarding unionization that Section 7 of the NLRA guarantees. Next, examine two (2) unfair labor practices, and argue the importance of your organization refraining from using such practices during any self-organization and collective bargaining activities. Explore two (2) potential repercussions of an organization’s interference with self-organization and collective bargaining practices.
Propose three (3) ways to discourage employees from considering unionization. Then, compose one (1) strategy for championing a supportive and satisfying work environment within the organization.
Select one (1) OSHA violation case, and determine whether the resulting penalties were sufficient to deter the organization in question from repeating the same violative action. Justify your response.
Outline a plan for investigating workplace injuries, and formulate a policy that explains the process for filing a worker’s compensation claim within the selected organization.
Business Ethics
Before you answer the questions below, review the Discussion Board Forum – Thread Grading Rubric, Discussion Board Forum – Replies Grading Rubric, and the specific requirements of Discussion Board posts, including length, at least 3 scholarly sources, and current APA citations.
Thread Prompt:
Rarely does one individual’s decision or action create an ethical crisis entirely by itself. More often, someone’s unethical or illegal idea is adopted by other members of the company, and the problem grows within the organization until it erupts in headlines, bad publicity, and sometimes criminal penalties. After the fact, the questions always arise: How did that happen? Did not anyone know it was going on? Why did not someone stop it?
Recently, Volkswagen found itself in just such a position, when it was discovered that the software in the company’s diesel vehicles had been programmed to provide false data to regulators regarding the level of emissions produced by the cars.
In his article “Volkswagen: Where Were the Lawyers?” Lippe (2015) questions the role that several groups within the company played in the scandal, most notably the company’s lawyers and engineers. See http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers/.
Review this situation from legal, spiritual, and ethical perspectives. Fully explain the following:
1. As an employee or a manager in either the legal office or the engineering department, how would you have prevented this incident?
2. As the CEO of the diesel division of Volkswagen, how would you have responded when the situation became public? How would this response prevent future incidents?
Lippe, P. (2015, October 13). Volkswagen: Where were the lawyers? ABA Journal. Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/volkswagen_where_were_the_lawyers/
August 24th, 2017 Business Communication, Business Management Comments Off on Leading Organizational Change in Business Leading Organizational Change in Business
While change is inevitable in most organizations, there is a difference between change that is superficial and embedded sustaining change. Drawing from this week’s lecture and readings, discuss the processes for successfully implementing and sustaining change. Provide examples that are designed to help make change stick and apply at least one of the examples to an organizational change with which you are familiar.
MIN 200 words
Week Six Lecture
Exploring the concepts of change provided a synopsis of the dynamics involved in designing, communicating, implementing, and committing to change within the organizational structure. The final task for the change process is to understand the principles for sustaining change and learning from the failures associated with change initiatives. Understanding that there are times that a change process may not be quite as successful as expected is part of the overall package. The actions taken post failure or conflict will help determine the sustainability of the intended change movement.
Please listen to the following podcast: Succeeding through unexpected change (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Leadership must have a clear understanding of the behavioral variables associated with change so they do not fall prey to manipulation by the cultural dynamics of the organization. Resistance to change and the desire to keep things as they were is a behavior typically displayed during the change process. Being open to strategic dialog to address the fears will assist in the forward motion of the needed change initiative.
When a change process fails to meet the requirements specified, or totally fails, there is often a tendency to make hasty changes or abandon the initiative for another plan of action that only convolutes the failure into something even more catastrophic. Dealing head-on with a change process that did not meet the needs or failed allows the leader and the participants the opportunity to debrief and discover what went right, what went wrong, and the correct path for future implementation.
Heath and Heath (2008) explore the concepts of why some ideas stick and others never seem to get off of the ground. Is it perhaps the story that goes along with the idea that causes the initiative to stick? Telling a good story becomes a legend and the leader that fails to use the art of persuasive conversation may have a more difficult time of moving the concept along. We are never too important to become part of the story or process. The ground floor leader has a better chance of finding success and finding willing participants.
With open lines of communication regarding the impact for all shareholders, the leader is able to define the parameters for making the change operative sustainable. There are numerous reasons for change to occur within the organization. By developing an understanding of the reasons for the change, the participants are more likely to move forward and support the necessary actions required to make the change stick.
Changing the culture is not something that will happen overnight. The culture of the organization must be given the time and support necessary to allow the new behaviors to become part of the dynamics of the group. Individuals will support the concepts and follow the leader that is willing to make them part of the overall process. Understanding the “why” behind the change process is the catalyst for making the change possible and ultimately sustainable.