Selling Project to the Management
Selling Project to the Management
Order Instructions:
This paper will follow order# 114243 Selling a project to the right management is critical to its survival and overall success.
Purpose: From the project from order# 114243, support for this project and the projects standing in the strategy of the business. Elaborate on how you will develop and implement the process to convince management of its promising benefits and operational effectiveness.
Description: Answer the following discussions:
Now that you have identified critical information over the previous weeks do you see any risks in selling this project to your management team? Explain
You have indicated whether this project fits the strategic plan for the business.
IF this project fits the strategic plan, explain how you plan to present this project to your management?
IF this project does NOT fit the strategic plan, explain how you plan to present this project to your management
SAMPLE ANSWER
Selling Project to the Management
Introduction
Management survival and success is to a great extent influenced by the ability to sell the project to the right management. To achieve this, the project must be feasible and present undisputable benefits and demonstrate operational effectiveness. The project should also be aligned with the organization’s strategic plan and hence ensure that it adds value to the organization. This paper details how I will convince the management on the potential benefits and operational effectiveness of the Samsung Galaxy A10 project. This involves the development and implementation of the process of convincing the management.
Risks in selling the project
Selling the project to the management presents various risks, mostly based on how strategic the project is in relation to the organization’s goals and objectives. There is the risk of having the project rejected by the management if it is not considered feasible enough to warrant funding. Such decisions are informed by factors such as return on investment, presence of more promising projects and management judgment among other factors. Shenar & Dvir (2013) note that at any particular time, managers have to make a decision based on numerous project proposals.
The second risk is that the project may not be within the company’s immediate goals and aspirations. Samsung implements numerous projects depending on what is considered most strategic for the company to compete effectively. If the company’s objective is to promote its electronics business for example, the likelihood of a mobile phone project being funded may lower than a project for developing new television technology. The company’s priorities thereby determine the feasibility of the project. Unfortunately, mobile phone technology is phased out quickly and therefore the project cannot be effectively pushed forward to a later date and it would therefore remain fruitless.
The third risk is that the associated cost may limit the company from investing in the project. This would render the project futile, despite the efforts invested towards its development. Hulett (2012) notes that managers are often biased towards costs and the likelihood of judging the project based on costs are high. This means that the presentation must be convincing enough to make managers look beyond costs and instead consider the impact and future potential of the project. In the event that managers are more concerned about the project cost but find the idea worthwhile, the budget may need to be adjusted, which may impact on certain project parameters.
The ability of the plan to communicate the impact and show costs versus benefits is of great importance. In presenting the project plan, this may not come out as effectively as it should and this presents a risk of the management not understanding the process well (Swathi, 2015). This is the fourth risk and which is mostly associated with the presenter’s ability to connect with the audience, such that what is presented is interpreted in the intended manner. If the management for example fails to capture the idea and justification, the project may end up being rejected. This may also be influenced by personal factors such as bias towards certain technology and past experience with similar projects.
Project presentation plan
This project aligns well with Samsung’s strategic plan, which seeks to provide customers with the highest quality products and the latest phone technology. This insinuates that the project plan involving the production of Samsung Galaxy A10 will be well embraced by the management. It is however important to note that managers are presented with numerous projects, all with high potential to positively impact the organization’s bottom line. Accordingly, the presentation must appeal to the management based on its ability to contribute to the organization’s performance and its feasibility (Maley, 2012). In this regard, demonstrating the alignment of the project to the organization’s strategy is imperative. The presenter’s zeal and passion also contributes significantly to the management’s decision on the project. In this relation, I intend to present the project to the management as detailed below.
The first thing is to prepare effectively for the selling meeting. This includes understanding the project concept and processes, identifying the managers who will be present at the meeting and thinking about potential questions and queries that they may have (Duarte, 2012). Swathi (2015) notes that the trick is to be adequately prepared for the presentation by mastering the facts of the project including the project plans and deliverables, budgets, timelines, risk analysis, possible challenges and how these factors influence the organization’s position.
Besides understanding the components of the project, I will ensure that I demonstrate the knowledge on the problem, which is keeping up with competition, meeting customer growing needs and enhancing profitability; and the solution, which is producing a phone with improved capabilities such as the A10. I will ensure that I effectively demonstrate how the benefits associated with the project are likely to impact on the organization’s profitability. It is at this point that I will indicate how the project feeds into the organization’s strategy. As noted by Maley (2012), a project is more likely to be accepted if it contributes to the company’s strategic goals; hence the reason why it is considered an important aspect when selling a project to the management.
An important factor to consider is to ensure that the management fully understands the value addition potential of the project (Shenar & Dvir, 2013). Quality, customer satisfaction and industry leadership are major concerns for Samsung. A project that promises to improve these aspects is therefore likely to receive positive feedback from the management. In this regard, I would make quality and customer satisfaction my focus; indicating how the project would lead to significant growth in the market share based on the high quality and unique smart phone. To further justify the A10 project, I would demonstrate the phone’s superiority to competing brands and how this would ensure that Samsung can compete effectively in the smart phone industry. A comparison of various smart phones in the same category would serve the purpose of demonstrating how the A10 will compete in the market. This approach is considered effective because it makes major strategy objectives and potential value addition the focus of the presentation.
In presenting the project, it is important that I make the management aware of overall project risks and challenges that are likely to affect the timeline. This should also include the mitigation plans to ensure that the project is successfully completed. Being open about the project shortcomings ensures that the management anticipates such challenges, as opposed to where the presentation only shows the perfect side of the project, only for the challenges to emerge when the project is underway (Thamhain, 2013).
Making a presentation and answering questions may not always be enough to provide adequate information regarding the project. Therefore, I plan to come up with reference documents that can be distributed to the panel for further reference. The documents will provide the information presented in details and with additional models and graphical presentations.
It is important that I leave the management convinced about the project and my presentation must therefore end with a reemphasis of the project’s contribution to the company. This will involve repeating the project goals and objectives and how its implementation will influence the company’s ability to compete effectively in the smart phone market.
To ensure that I address the management questions effectively, I intend to familiarize myself with all the project details, including mitigation plans for possible challenges that are likely to be picked from the presentation (Soriano, 2012). This may be anticipated through prior circulation of the project document to the concerned managers and asking them to make comments on possible issues that they would like to be addressed.
Conclusion
It is clear from this discussion that convincing managers to accept a project can be a daunting task and the presentation must be done in such a way that it is highly persuasive. This includes demonstrating the impact of the project to company strategy and future performance. This discussion also establishes that there are various risks that could emerge the presentation of the project; thus limiting the management’s ability to adopt the project.
In developing the presentation, I will ensure that I emphasize on how the project will affect quality, customer service and profitability. I will also ensure that I am well prepared by understanding all aspects of the project and answering all queries and concerns effectively. Finally, reemphasizing the relevance of the project to the company’s strategic objectives will play an important role in ensuring the managers are well convinced.
References
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Harvard Business Review. (2013). HBR Guide to Project Management. HBR Guide Series.
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Hulett, D. (2012). Integrated Cost-Schedule Risk Analysis. Aldershot, UK: Gower Publishing,
Ltd.
Maley, C. H. (2012). Project Management Concepts, Methods, and Techniques. Boca Raton, FL:
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