Project management course final assignment planning a new project calculation of selected cash flow

VIETNAM GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOUR TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE FINAL ASSIGNMENT PLANNING A NEW PROJECT Instructing Lecturer: PhD Tran Nguyen Chat Class: N3 Group number: G1 Students’ names: Tang Thi Phuong Anh To Vu Minh Chau Dinh Quang Hiep Nguyen Tran Dong Quan Major: International Business Academic Year: 2022 – 2023 HO CHI MINH CITY December 6, 2022 720K0973 720K0935 720K0857 720K0982 EVALUATION Student’s name Student ID Assigned tasks Completed (%) - Chapter 2: 2.5 Chapter Report content approval Chapter Chapter 2: 2.5 720K0857 - Chapter 2: 2.1, 2.3 100% 720K0982 - Chapter 2: 2.2, 2.4 100% Tăng Thị Phương Anh (leader) 720K0973 Tô Vũ Minh Châu 720K0935 Đinh Quang Hiệp Nguyễn Trần Đông Quân 100% 100% TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: CALCULATION OF SELECTED CASH FLOW CHAPTER 2: PLANNING A NEW PROJECT 2.1 Statement of work 2.1.1 Introduction and definitions of needs .8 2.1.2 Project Objectives 2.1.3 General Approach and Methods .9 2.1.4 Initial Project Scope .9 2.1.5 Initial details of the Statement of Work and explanation .10 2.2 Work Breakdown Structure for the Project 13 2.3 The Gantt Chart for the Project 16 2.4 Budget table for estimating Project’s cost 19 2.5 Some techniques and tools to measure performance against objectives of the Project 20 2.6 Organizing phase-out procedures and documentation in the Project 24 CHAPTER 3: SELF-EVALUATION OF OUR OWN PAPER INCLUDING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF OUR REPORT, AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT 26 CONCLUSION 27 REFERENCE 28 INTRODUCTION As the world is changing constantly, human is getting busier and busier with their jobs and workload The tasks even get higher when that person has a high level in the organization, senior managers are a typical example While managing their own tasks is not simple, they sometimes also have to join the organizations’ projects for a defined goal or to enhance the inside activities For a manager, to manage and observe a project requires a lot of knowledge and skills, and some practical experiences since there is not any luck to help everything get through It leads to the reason that the managers need to learn about project management to understand what they have to and to avoid bad outcome or risks that can happen in the process of a project And with our group, we are lucky to have a Project Management Course in Ton Duc Thang University in senior year with much knowledge and many practices that expand our understanding a lot After more than ten sessions with Mr Nguyen Chinh Quang who is our lecturer, we are qualified to finish this course with a Final Assignment in the form of group work and we have founded a group consists of four people For the Final Assignment, there are tasks in total and the main content is planning a completely new project based on the provided materials from the lecturer We also divide tasks into Chapters in our logic thinking and a Conclusion after finishing this assignment In this report, we will use our knowledge and understanding about managing a project without any plagiarism We would like to express our appreciation towards Mr Nguyen Chinh Quang and the team members for working hard for an interesting practice and we are looking forward to receiving comments on our group work for improving ourselves in the future CHAPTER 1: CALCULATION OF SELECTED CASH FLOW This chapter will focus on the work for Task in the Assignment Tasks and Requirements from the lecturer The practice of Task has helped us in calculating financial ratios especially the elements of investment Below is the Cash Flow we selected and the requirements for this task Cash Flow Task 1: Based on the Cash Flow that you select, apply profitability models to evaluate investment opportunities: - If the required rate of return is 10% with an inflation of 5%, calculate NPVs and recommend the best opportunity; - Calculate Payback Period of those alternatives; - Calculate Profitability Index of those opportunities Based on the Cash Flow that our group selected, our group will evaluate investment opportunities the Cash Flow using profitability models: (1) NPV of the projects To calculate the NPV, here is the formula: If the required rate of return is 10% with an inflation rate of 5%, so the NPVs of five projects are as following: Through the NPV of five projects that we calculated, the best opportunity is project which has the highest NPV in five projects (2) Payback Period of the alternatives: To calculate the Payback Period, here is formula: To find out the value of each payback period, first we need to find the cash flow of each project: After that, the Payback period of those projects are: (3) The Profitability Index of those opportunities To calculate the Profitability Index: In general, the above projects have nearly equal results such as payback period and profitability In detail of each section, as mentioned earlier the project with the highest NPV result is project 3, besides, the project with the highest payback period is project because the initial investment of project is zero, so the payback will be longer than other projects Next, the profitability index of all projects is negative except for project 4, which shows that the above projects are not profitable, but only project 4, because there is no initial investment, it can be profitable CHAPTER 2: PLANNING A NEW PROJECT When starting on this project, we discussed a lot on which given Alternative should be chosen As we are students from International Business major, we decided to select Alternative C for conducting the elements of a project: Project C: Launching new consumer goods You find a promising business opportunity and you decide to prepare a business plan to convince the Management Your proposals should reflect the expectation of customers and sales Cost efficiency is the ultimate criterion Due to the reality that this project is for an established company or business, we assume that we are the managers for Castus Limited Liability Company – a company with specialization in producing many kinds of toys Parts from 2.1 to 2.7 is our work on how the project of launching a new product to the market is planned and estimated 2.1 Statement of work 2.1.1 Introduction and definitions of needs Castus Limited Liability Company has been working in the economy as a toy production firm for more than years During this period, many toys from the company have reached the customers, with over 100 different types of products and the number of items produced each day was over 7000 recently As a toy company, the target customers of the business mainly focus on the potential consumers who are children Surveys and direct feedback of customers show that 90% of children are satisfied with their toys from Cactus and even their parents say that they love buying toys for their children and feel safe when the kids use them Currently, the firm has factories in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, providing thousands of products to 65 stores After constant and hard-working performances in the toy market, Castus has been recognized by many people and built a stable reputation for the company itself The opportunities are quite open and basically the company needs to try new things for expanding the scope of business and providing more quality products to customers In this case, it is definitely the production of new toys With this brandnew project, Cactus once again can challenge itself in terms of gaining more customers and profitability for the business from three main cities of Vietnam 2.1.2 Project Objectives This project will improve sales and profits for the company, expand opportunities to compete with rivalries in the same industry while saving costs at the best efficiency level With the statement “Sell from our hearts”, Cactus will try to reach more consumers and sell the best quality toys for children so that they can have fun and enhance their first period of life 2.1.3 General Approach and Methods From the previous projects with the same objectives, Cactus has had many experiences and lessons to be learnt about For this new product, the firm will continue to use the Agile methodology in managing the production as it is flexible and suitable for business activities In the past, there were some products which applied the traditional method of management and the outcome was kind of a failure Since the application of Agile three years ago, toys have been produced in a more efficient and effective way and even brought the big profit for the company Although the cost can be high as Agile is quite expensive, the planning team will try to cut off some irrelevant parts and prepare for a massive production 2.1.4 Initial Project Scope This project will consist of main phases which are: Product Design, Market Research, Production, Deliverables and Run Marketing Program The total duration for the project is estimated to be finished in to months During this period, the managers of Creative team will cooperate directly with the Production Department to observe and work for these goals of the project: - Product: have a completely new type of toy and use safe materials in production - Production: Increase the productivity which includes a greater number of toys produced - Cost Efficiency and Profitability: reduce the cost of production and reach the highest profit ever for the company 2.1.5 Initial details of the Statement of Work and explanation 2.1.5.1 Objectives and research questions This report's objective is to determine the best applicable model and work out the specifics of how to transform it into a process that illuminates the full product production and distribution cycle The objective of the final product is to increase the likelihood that a company's new product will be positively accepted by the market As the introduction and launch of a new product into the market is the most difficult stage in the product development process, focusing on product development orientation is the most crucial step for achieving the greatest outcomes when designing a product The public is marketed merchandise The subsequent investigations were aimed to support the thesis's argument and generate a usable, consumable outcome In summary, the three questions are: - When creating a new product, what are the primary processes involved in the launch process? - How to Maximize the Chances of a Product Launch Success for Your Business? - What changes need to be made to a current product development and launch process so that it may be used to advance the company's business case? By responding to the aforementioned questions, the organization may get a deeper understanding of the product and the product development and launch process In addition, utilize the gathered information to develop a tailored procedure for the commissioner The second question serves to establish a connection between the theory and the company's profile, allowing for more efficient internal operations and providing the company's strategy and the client's objectives with which to evaluate the suggested procedure 2.1.5.2 General method We decided to base our analysis on a small number of instances that are indicative of the toy business due to the restricted access and time necessary for accessing the cases We picked organizations based on the following three parameters, as determined by the available data: - Market Timing: Businesses having at least ten years of market experience - Value and utility: firms have expertise designing and creating toys - Capability to identify interview-willing firms and commence their investigation We narrowed our search down to only three firms when the poll was completed: firms B, C, and D We also picked a firm, business A, for pilot testing and assistance Here's a table that lists the approved businesses: 10 14 15 2.3 The Gantt Chart for the Project The Work Breakdown Structure has helped us defined the tasks, duration, resources and cost for this whole project In the part is the illustration for Gantt Chart of the project, which we divide into five small charts corresponding with five stages of our production of new products We use MS-Excel to create those charts as following:  Product design  Market research 16  Run marketing program  Deliverables 17  Production  18 2.4 Budget table for estimating Project’s cost Based on our Work Breakdown Structure, we again used MS-Excel to create a hypothetical Budget Table for the best-case scenario for the project, which means we have had good interaction between the developers and consumers over the course of the company and the products introduction, advertising and marketing; and the end products are very much appreciated by the end consumers We expect the Work Breakdown Structure to give us the best results considering the given plentiful amount of time to focus on other important factors such as quality, intellectual property, external relations, culture, etc.… to be able to accomplish the ultimate criterion which is cost efficiency 19 2.5 Some techniques and tools to measure performance against objectives of the Project For a project, the managers need to observe and evaluate the performance of resources contributing to the overall production As a 5-year-old firm, Cactus has been acquainted with the track record of each task and measured the quality of completed jobs To get to that professional level, the company has also gone through a lot of mistakes of the past And now the performance of each project has been better and better since the managers have the skills and knowledge to manage a medium project After doing research, our team discovered techniques, tools, and methods for measuring job performance First, it is hard to avoid mentioning KPI, a management tool used to monitor and assess the business's capacity to meet its objectives Key performance measures KPI will aid in monitoring and tracking the enterprise's business plan execution Second, the OKR approach, which is an efficient tool for goal planning and management and is an abbreviation for "Objectives and Key Results," is used by a number of the world's most prominent enterprises OKRs 20 facilitate the communication of a business's objectives and the milestones it must achieve to achieve them In addition, there are other tools such as OGSM and BSC To elaborate, the OGSM tool was created in Japan based on Peter Drucker's concept of goal management OGSM assists corporate executives in managing the complete process necessary to achieve their objectives Objective, Goals, Strategies, and Measurements is the abbreviation for OGSM BSC (Balanced Scorecard) is a management system that assists a business in defining its vision and strategy and then putting them into action Objectives and metrics evaluate the success of a business based on four dimensions: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and development Following are the benefits and limitations of the above techniques, tools and methods: Benefits Limitations KPI ● Progress toward a goal or strategic aim may be rapidly and easily shown ● When there are accurate measures to support a decision, the process is accelerated ● Effective in highlighting to the upper brass the accomplishments of the company as a whole or of a specific department ● If the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are not produced according to the SMART criteria, it will have a negative impact on the company's performance review procedure and management structure ● If the objective does not satisfy the Specific criteria, the employee will be left wondering what they should be doing and how they may enhance their work performance OKR ● Shorter targeting intervals allow for quicker adaptation and adjusting ● Encourage employee autonomy and responsibility ● Inspiring everyone to strive towards ambitious goals ● Expects initiative and ingenuity To be effective, it must be carried out openly and connect the company's many divisions to one another and to the company's overarching goals ● If too many goals are set, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture OGSM ● Be transparent, consistent, and ● Objectives steady so that firms can take the long discussed and 21 need to approved be by view and manage their goals stakeholders efficiently ● Requires focused effort and ● The system's structure, as well rapid movement as its phases and procedures, are simple and basic Executive summary of an overall plan on a single page ● In order to increase the business's capabilities, provide initiative and accountability to the team BSC ● Help convey clear strategic plans by establishing a framework that demonstrates the cause-andeffect link between all of the enterprise's primary strategic drivers ● In order to use as a foundation for planning, learning, and growing enterprises ● Since there is just one yearly review, the organization has little room for improvisation ● An organization-wide emphasis on leadership style has a chilling effect on staff members' initiative and originality Considering the benefits and limitations of the techniques and tools outlined above, our team chose the KPI management tool because it is the tool that we find the most convenient and easy to use KPIs can be used on Excel or using SMART, a fairly common tool of businesses, to help businesses understand, understand and manage the proposed project well Specific examples of KPI charts are as follows: This is a tool to measure KPI through Zoho Analytics software very clearly showing the indicators and beautiful design 22 This is a tool to measure KPI through Excel We can say this is the easiest way because Excel is very popular for everyone However, there are many other software that can help us to create a KPI table for our company, and those above are just a few examples for everyone to understand more easily 2.6 Organizing phase-out procedures and documentation in the Project As the project size is large, the number of procedures and documentation will 23 definitely be at a high level and our team will need many employees to conduct those tasks Workload and documentation will increase as the project develops To make it the most efficient in carrying out procedures and reducing unnecessary paperwork, here is some tools or techniques that we find that they fit well on the proposals: Use the information system to store the information of the project: the technology has helped us a lot in managing multiple tasks at the same time Cactus has been using the information system to archive and transfer important information in the internal environment and we will continue to use it this time The benefits of being easy to access and observe the overall project can decrease the responsibility of managers One point that needs to be noticed is about the accessibility and amount of information when archiving on the computers or cloud We suggest using the Smart Storage method for the need of easy accessibility, which includes the use of clear and easily identifiable keywords Documentation that must be easy to identify and easily accessible is always a criteria for an effective project Also, the amount of information is necessary to be in the right level of detail in the documentation Plan project documentation from the start: the easiest way to manage the documentation is to plan it from the beginning Some documents can be created in advance with the basic forms and information of the project These documents are the basement for the process of producing products and maintenance along with fast updates should be a priority whenever some new activities occur In the case of purchasing from previous suppliers, if they are familiar with the business process of the firm, the company can change the method of procurement to system, with requests for quotation can be sent via email or EDI between the parties Create a new habit of checking documents: for a producing company like Cactus, obviously the firm cannot avoid the occurrence of transactions and there will be some paper invoices to record the purchase order These papers can be archived in good condition while scanned into the system for evidentiary purposes The system is always in the status of updating new documents and this is the reason why the managers should have a behavior of frequently checking new updates, and not only the invoices but also other kinds of documents Plan for risks in advance: Risks are not welcomed in any situation of a project; however, they can occur anytime and anywhere For example, a few employees lost the approval papers from managers, the documents get damaged by fire or water or something like that or even worse, there is no documentation for evidence in urgent situations That is not how a project has its success Our team will try to discuss some common cases and plan the methods of archiving documentation in the best possible way 24 CHAPTER 3: SELF-EVALUATION OF OUR OWN PAPER INCLUDING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF OUR REPORT, AND LESSONS LEARNED FROM THIS ASSIGNMENT After a period of practicing project management works, our group has gained many experiences and skills and the most important thing is the knowledge that we have been taught can be applied in a particular situation To look back on how we finished this Report, four persons of our group have made some self-evaluation and here are what we have found in this final assignment: Strengths - Weakness Set out many detailed and right oriented tasks of the selected case Design tables and charts clearly, showing the items of the project Have a suitable project management method Cooperative activities between members are quite good and supportive for the project - - - The specific work time has not been estimated Some tasks are almost the same but are executed in different phases, leading to duplication Some solutions for handling procedures and documents are still vague and not specific Have not used the tools and methods to complete the proposal of the selected case As our lecturer has said, each project has some lessons to learn from mistakes and weaknesses With our group, we figured out some points that we can improve for the next project or next collaboration with each other, such as: - Learn how to thoroughly understand the objects of the project to provide a suitable foundation for the development of the project - Applying tools and techniques from the subject to individual work and other group projects - Increasing teamwork skills in a project to the highest possible standard - Understand the elements of a project and the work required 25 CONCLUSION From the work presented above, we have a better overview of how to organize tasks and resources for a particular project with useful tools such as Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Chart and we even created a Budget table based on our assumption The implementation of practice during this Final Assignment has increased our theorical knowledge and skills to plan fully a project and the group work also is evidence of our teamwork for the last practice for this course To manage something is not easy and with a project, it is way more difficulties There are some common points that each project can relate such as: not be able to manage the members and may have conflicts in between, the scope of tasks is easily fluctuated, the progress of project is hard to control and there will be risks happen anytime and anywhere From that, we recognize the importance of planning carefully for any projects that can be carried out in the future or right away We found out that each project has a different goal and that goal is not always the same as the initial purpose During the process of practicing, we have improved ourselves with knowledge and skills of Project Management course Once again, we would to thank Mr Nguyen Chinh Quang, the lecturer of our course and the knowledge we gained for our major International Business in general Although we have tried our best, there will be some mistakes from our group and we are looking forward to the comments and evaluation from professional instructors so that we can have a better basement for future career 26 REFERENCE - - - - - - - - - Bernard Marr (2021, July 13) Key tools and techniques for performance management Bernard Marr Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://bernardmarr.com/key-tools-and-techniques-for-performancemanagement/  methods to effectively measure performance management (n.d.) 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Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.g2.com/articles/projectmanagement-approach 28 ... to the reason that the managers need to learn about project management to understand what they have to and to avoid bad outcome or risks that can happen in the process of a project And with our... formula: To find out the value of each payback period, first we need to find the cash flow of each project: After that, the Payback period of those projects are: (3) The Profitability Index of those... To calculate the Profitability Index: In general, the above projects have nearly equal results such as payback period and profitability In detail of each section, as mentioned earlier the project