Movie Noir Film Noir - 1392 Words

Many people from different countries across the world have been coming to United States, including Austrian director Billy Wilder. He directed many film with different genres including Film Noir. Film Noir translates to â€Å"Dark Film,† the name was given by the French after watching Hollywood crime thrillers that began to show after World War II. These films typically had dark lighting style closely related to those in German Expressionist films. However, Film Noir borrows its form from influences of major Hollywood popular genres, using themes that were related to social context and civilian life in the United States. Two films that demonstrate how Film Noir was influenced by Hollywood and the social context in America include Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Ace in the Hole (1951) both directed and written by Billy Wilder. Film Noir came to be because of several aspects in the film industry like low budgets, low key lighting and self-indulgence. Going to the movies during the depression in the late 1920’s, was an escape from reality. Technology advancements like sound on film and Technicolor brought more people to the movies, increasing the number of movie theatres in the United States. Studios like Paramount saw the opportunity to make more money using Block Booking; a system that allows studios to sell â€Å"A-list films† with â€Å"B-list films† to independent theater companies. Studios were able to guarantee a profit from B-list films because they were being charged a flat rate withShow MoreRelatedMovie Noir : Film Noir1841 Words   |  8 Pages#1 Film Noir is a film genre that has a very distinct style and mood. But what exactly this style and mood are seems to vary from scholar to scholar. Like all genres, different people have different feelings about what makes or does not make a film noir. In this essay, I will be analyzing film noir definitions from Naremore, Harvey, and Borde and Chaumeton; to understand how each party views film noir in their own subjective way. In Naremore’s book, he describes film noir as a genre that is veryRead MoreEssay about Film Noir and Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard1099 Words   |  5 PagesFilm Noir, a term coined by the French to describe a style of film characterized by dark themes, storylines, and visuals, has been influencing cinematic industries since the 1940’s. With roots in German expressionistic films and Italian postwar documentaries, film noir has made its way into American film as well, particularly identified in mob and crime pictures. However, such settings are not exclusive to American film noir. One noteworthy example is Billy Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard, which followsRead MoreBaz Luhrmann s The Great Gatsby934 Words   |  4 Pagesthis semester, we have watched a variety of films. These films have taught us more about certain times of history as well as how the movie’s production has been changing over time and improving. We have watched a variety of movi es in class from the, silent ones to some modern films in which we can see a big the differences between them. Watching these three films I feel like would be entertaining, but as well it would be teaching more about the art of film and expand our learning in class. Baz Luhrmann’sRead MoreComparison of Noir and Neo Noir Themes in the Films Double Indemnity and Chinatown1117 Words   |  5 PagesThe attempt of this overview is to discuss the similarities, differences and influences of Noir Film and Neo Noir Film and analyzed how they have evolved taking Double Indemnity and Chinatown and as generic examples.To achieve this attempt, first of all. It is important to know what it is considered Noir Film, when it began and how this was developed into the Neo-Noir cinema. It is considered Noir Cinema those made between 1940 and almost 1960 in which very inner characteristics were the individualRead MoreL.a Confidential Film Noir Essay978 Words   |  4 PagesThe Key Conventions Of Film Noir In L.A Confidential L.A Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997) is a neo-noir film about a shooting at an all night diner and the three Las Angeles policeman who investigate in their own unique ways. It is based on the book by James Ellroy and after a very well adapted screenplay, won nine academy awards. It starred actors with big names like Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce and Danny Devito, which made it a very high earning film. The Narrative or storyline is muchRead MoreMovie Analysis: M vs. Bicycle Thieves Essay1399 Words   |  6 PagesThieves One thing that both movies, M and Bicycle Thieves, share collectively is the open ending; both movies make audiences interpret their own perception or ending of the movies. Also, both movies contain a sense of tragedy in the final scenes; in the movie M, I felt somewhat sympathetic toward the mentally ill killer even though I knew he was the serial killer and might be pretending to get away. The feeling of sympathy toward the serial killer in the presence of his victim’s families also made me feelRead More film crime Essay1549 Words   |  7 Pages Film genres are categories, classifications or groups of films that have a similar, familiar or instantly recognizable patterns, techniques or conventions that include one or more of the following: setting, content, themes, plot, motifs, styles, structures, situations, characters, and stars (filmsite.org and notes). There are many categories of film genre. These categories can cover practically any film ever made by man, although f ilm categories can never be precise. By isolating the various elementsRead MoreMovie Analysis : Noirs 2620 Words   |  11 PagesFilm noirs are unique because the viewer experiences the film in a special type of way that is different from typical comedy, romantic, or action films where a person actually sympathizes with the character and hopes everything turns out well for the people in the end. Film noirs focus on themes such as doom, darkness, death, and failure. The characters in film noirs are usually flawed and unlikable, as they act hopeless and unexcitable even when things are going well or as planned. AdditionallyRead MoreChinatown: Above The Film Noir Genre Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pageshas all the elements of a film noir: the presence of a beautiful but dangerous woman, otherwise known as the femme fatale, a gritty urban setting, compositional tension (highly contrasting light and dark colors or oblique camera angles), and themes of moral ambiguity and alienation. Chin atown, however, is different. Polanski shot Chinatown with color film, and though his colors do appear especially vivid, color film precludes the contrast intensity that black and white film offers. In addition, EvelynRead MoreFilm Comparison: Battle of Algiers and Culloden968 Words   |  4 PagesMany films based on historical events set out to not only inform the viewer of the details surrounding that event but also provide them with the feeling of being a part of it. Directors often accomplish this by using such techniques as character development and narration; as a result they provide an insight into what many of the characters are personally experiencing. While both films, Battle of Algiers (Igor Film, 1966) and Culloden (BBC, 1964) explore themes of European Colonialism and the resistance

Case Study Questions On Management Accounting - 1670 Words

AAF001-6 Financial Analysis Assessment 2 – Management accounting written assignment NEXT Plc Case Student ID Number: 1423839 May 2016 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Background 3 3. Review of management accounting 4 4. The key management accounting techniques and methods for NEXT Plc 5 4.1 Planning and Budgeting: 5 4.2 Balance scorecard 5 4.3 Cost-volume-analysis 5 5 The analysis’s strengths and weaknesses 6 5.1 Strengths 6 5.2 Weaknesses 6 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 1. Introduction Management accounting in the recent days plays a crucial role in organizations. In other words, innovative developments and the current growth of projected universal values have led management accounting into a huge attention. Therefore, this report is to explain how management accounting can supply information to assist the management of NEXT Plc. In this report, I will firstly talk about the NETX Plc’s background in order to reveal what kind of problems that theyare facing so later on, the decision-making can be made regarding to the key techniques and methods recommended. Also, a review of management accounting will be stated following with the analysis’s strengths and weaknesses. 2. Background As a British multinational clothing and footwear retailer, NEXT Plc has its headquarter in Enderby, Leicestershire. Recently, the numbers of NEXT stores are around 700 with 502 stores located in the UK and Ireland and the rest are located in Asia, Middle East and the Eurozone. NEXT Plc isShow MoreRelatedEthics in Earnings Management Essays1320 Words   |  6 Pages With that goal in mind, management must continually report sustained or improved earnings to stakeholders to ensure constant and new investments in the company’s future (Geiger van der Laan Smith, 2010). The pressure to report positive results can lead management to engage in earnings management activities to alter short-term results to meet the goals set forth (Geiger van der Laan Smith, 2010). In addition to the pressures on company management, broad accounting principles introduce ethicalRead MoreRole Of A Strategic Management Accounting Essay1317 Words   |  6 PagesGoddard 2008) investigating the role of strategic management accounting in an organizational setting? The role of strategic management accounting (SMA) is a relatively new concept especially within organizational settings (Juras, 2014). In addition to being new, it posits as an interesting field of study since existing literature evidences that conducting management accounting in relationship with strategy is problematic (Endraria, 2015). Accounting managers endure challenge of aligning functionalRead MoreAccounting (Managerial) 530 Portfolio Case Study978 Words   |  4 PagesAccounting (Managerial) 530 Portfolio Case Study Imagine you are applying to become a trainee in a management consulting company, Solutions Inc., which claims to deliver innovative solutions. They are looking for innovative employees who engage with their work. The selection process will be rigorous. You know you will be asked to submit reports based on questions regarding your knowledge of management accounting practice and strategic management accounting. To provide a context for the reportsRead MoreCase Study11661 Words   |  7 Pages[pic] Question 1: What information will Fuller need to manage the business? Classify thus information in two categories: accounting information and non-accounting information. The content of financial reports can be divided to accounting and non accounting information. According to Ahmed Belkaoui and Alain Cousineau (1977), accounting information is defined as quantitative, formal, structured, audited, numerical and past oriented material. While non accounting information is defined as qualitativeRead MoreWhy Is Positive Accounting Standards?1162 Words   |  5 Pagesand Jerold L. Zimmerman, titled as â€Å"Towards a Positive Theory of Determination of Accounting Standards† published by American Accounting Association. It explores the factors that have been influencing management’s attitudes in lobbying on accounting standards. It describes an attempt made by two in evolution and development of the Positive Accounting Theory by reasoning, factors like taxes, regulations, management compensation plans, book keeping cots, etc. The results concerned with the theoryRead MoreInternational Accounting1598 Words   |  7 PagesAYB 311 FINANCIAL A CCOUNTING ISSUES Semester 1 2011 Dr Amedeo Pugliese Lecture 1 AYB 311 - Dr Amedeo Pugliese Overview of AYB 311: the Teaching Team Lecturer –†¯ Amedeo Pugliese Tutors –†¯ Amedeo Pugliese –†¯ Julie Greenhalgh –†¯ Kevin Plastow –†¯ Natalee Jennings –†¯ Sharron Genrich –†¯ Tereaze Hubner AYB 311 - Dr Amedeo Pugliese Overview of AYB 311: enrolment and objectives Prerequisite: -†¯AYB340 (formerly AYB220) Company Accounting Please notice: The unit-coordinator will not accept anyRead MoreWhen Do Opportunity Costs Count1014 Words   |  5 PagesIn the study â€Å"When do opportunity costs count? The impact of vagueness, project completion stage, and management accounting experience†, Victoravich asks the research question â€Å"how two situational factors, vagueness of opportunity cost presentation and stage of project completion, affect individuals’ tendency to attend to opportunity costs†? (2010) Opportunity cost is a â€Å"fundamental component of classical economic theory†, and defined as â€Å"the value of the next-highest-valued alternative use of thatRead MoreThe Effect Of Management Control On Family Firms1491 Words   |  6 Pageshave been the talk of various studies across different fields such as accounting, finance, and management. This is most probably due to the fact that family firms account for the majority of business and employment worldwide (Tharawat, 2014). At the same time, most family firms have specific characteristics and practices that studies have yet to dwell on. While these and other considerations have recently led to more research on management accounting and management control in family firms, researchRead MoreThe Ethics Of The Enron Case1407 Words   |  6 PagesThe Enron case is a very popular case to show how the profession of accounting is vital to make the corporate world of business flow reliably. Enron was recognized as one of the world’s major electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper’s company. However Enron was found to record assets and profits at inflated, fraudulent and non-existent amounts. Debts and losses were found to be excluded from financial statements along with other major transactions between Enron and other companiesRead MoreThe Theory Of Constraints Of Lean Thinking1128 Words   |  5 Pagesper unit of production against the value of output or selling price. There have been a number of practices implemented over time that includes statistical process control (SPC), Theory of Constraints (TOC), Just-in-Time inventory management (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma, and Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM). Each of these has made a marginal contribution to the mindset of continuous process improvement. Rather than evaluated as separate initiatives, more recently these techniques

Role of Project Management Free Essays

The Role of the Project Manager A project manager is the person who has the overall responsibility for the successful initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of a project. The job title is used in construction, petrochemical, architecture, information technology and many different industries that produce products and services. The project manager must have a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve conflicts, as well as more general management skills. We will write a custom essay sample on Role of Project Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now Key among his or her duties is the recognition that risk directly impacts the likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured throughout the lifetime of the project. Risks arise from uncertainty, and the successful project manager is the one who focuses on this as the main concern. Most of the issues that impact a project arise in one-way or another from risk. A good project manager can lessen risk significantly, often by adhering to a policy of open communication, ensuring every significant participant has an opportunity to express opinions and concerns. It follows that a project manager is one who is responsible for making decisions both large and small, in such a way that risk is controlled and uncertainty minimized. Every decision taken by the project manager should be taken in such a way that it directly benefits the project. Project managers use project management software, such as Microsoft Project, to organize their tasks and workforce. These software packages allow project managers to produce reports and charts in a few minutes, compared with the several hours it can take if they do it by hand. Roles and Responsibilities The role of the project manager encompasses many activities including: ? Scope Management ? Time Management ? Cost Management ? Risk Management ? Quality Management ? Contract Management ? Communication Management ? Human Resources Management Finally, senior management must give a project manager support and authority if he or she is going to be successful. Scope Management Best Practices for Scope Management The knowledge area of Scope Management is all about making sure that the project includes only the work required to complete the project successfully. To be effective at scope management, project manager must learn to control what is and what is not in the scope of the project. Below are some of the best practices for successful scope management. ? Collect Project Requirements ? Define the Scope ? Create a Work Breakdown Structure ? Verify the Scope and Get Feedback ? Monitor and Control the Scope 1. Collect Project Requirements The ability to define and then effectively control the scope of a project depends a lot on the goals and requirements of the project. For this reason, project manager need to gather the necessary information up front, before you ever start the project. By clearly understanding the needs of the stakeholders and the capabilities and constraints of the resources, project manager have a higher chance to succeed. The easiest way to collect the project requirements is to perform interviews with the key stakeholders. Ask questions about their views of the finished product, the deliverables they expect to receive, and the schedule of the project. Once project manager have the information need, project manager may want to create a Scope Management Plan to define the processes that will be followed in defining scope, documenting scope, verifying and accepting scope, and managing change requests. . Define the Scope The scope of a project typically consists of a set of deliverables, an assigned budget, and an expected closure time. The previously collected project requirements will help project manager define the scope. Be sure to write down exactly what the project will entail and what it will not entail. Any amount of variation in the scope of the project can affect the project schedule, budget, and ultimately the success of the project. Getting a clear and concise definition of the scope will help project manager manage changes as they occur. With a clear scope definition, project manager can simply ask the question, â€Å"Does this change fall within the scope of the project? † If the answer is yes, then approve the change. If the answer is no, then put a pin it and save it for another time or project. Scope Creep: Scope creep is something common with every project. This refers to the incremental expansion of the project scope. Most of the time, the client may come back to the service provider during the project execution and add more requirements. Most of such requirements haven’t been in the initial requirements. As a result, change requests need to be raised in order to cover the increasing costs of the services provider. Due to business scope creep, there can be technological scope creep as well. The project team may require new technologies in order to address some of the new requirements in the scope. In such instances, the services provider may want to work with the client closely and make necessary logistic and financial arrangements. 3. Create a Work Breakdown Structure A work breakdown structure or WBS is a graphical representation of the hierarchy of the project. The WBS forces the project team to think through all levels of the project and identify the major tasks that need to be performed for the project to be completed on time. By starting with the end objective and then successively subdividing it into manageable steps or components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility, the WBS provides a high level view of the entire project. Furthermore, the framework makes planning and controlling the scope of the project much easier since project manager have a graphical chart to reference point for the tasks and subtasks needed for each phase of the project. As a general rule of thumb, no task within the WBS should be less than 8 hours or more than 80 hours. 4. Verify the Scope and Get Feedback Because projects are expected to meet strict deadlines, verifying the scope of the project is critical before and during the project cycle. Scope verification can be done after each major task or phase is completed or if it is a smaller project, after the project has been completed. To verify the scope, meet with the project customer or stakeholder and get him/her to formally accept the project deliverables. This includes getting a written acceptance of the deliverables and requesting feedback on the work performed. Getting feedback from the customer is an excellent way for project manager to improve processes and make sure the customer is happy with the work and the status of the project. The most important thing here is to communicate well and often. Verifying the scope and getting feedback will help you focus on customer acceptance, quality control, and verifying that work performed meets the definition of the scope of the project. 5. Monitor and Control the Scope Now that the Scope has been clearly defined, a work breakdown structure has been organised, and the customer has formally accepted the scope of the project, it is time to actually manage and control the scope to avoid scope creep. Scope creep refers to the incremental expansion of the scope of the project, which may include and introduce more requirements that may not have been a part of the initial planning phases, but add costs and time to the original project. To effectively monitor and control the scope of the project, make sure project manager have an established process for managing change requests. Any and all requests should be vetted and approved before they get introduced into the project. The budget and schedule of the project should also be altered to reflect the new changes. These changes should get a formal sign-off from the customer or key stakeholder before proceeding. It is important that project manager closely monitor and control the scope to avoid disgruntled customers, higher than expected costs, and projects that aren’t completed on time. Time Management Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. Effective time management allows individuals to assign specific time slots to activities as per their importance. Time Management refers to making the best use of time as time is always limited. Know which work should be done earlier and which can be done a little later. Time Management plays a very important role not only in organizations but also in our personal lives. Time Management Includes: ? Effective Planning ? Setting goals and objectives ? Setting deadlines ? Delegation of responsibilities ? Prioritizing activities as per their importance Spending the right time on the right activity Effective Planning Prepare a To Do List or a â€Å"TASK PLAN†. Jot down the important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that should be allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top followed by those which do not need much of our importance at the moment. Complete pending tasks one by one. Do not begin fresh work unless we have finished o ur previous task. Tick the ones we have already completed. Ensure finish the tasks within the stipulated time frame. Setting Goals and Objectives Working without goals and targets in an organization would be similar to a situation where the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Set targets and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable. Setting Deadlines Set deadlines for strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the deadlines. Learn to take ownership of work. One person who can best set the deadlines is project manager. Use a planner to mark the important dates against the set deadlines. Delegation of Responsibilities Learn to say â€Å"NO† at workplace. Don’t do everything alone. There are other people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him. The roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have knowledge about something needs more time than someone who knows the work well. Prioritizing Tasks Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which all should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should be done earlier. Spending the right time on right activity Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the wrong time is not of much use. Don’t waste a complete day on something which can be done in an hour or so. Also keep some time separate for personal calls or checking updates on Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not a machine. For Effective Time Management Project Manager Needs To Be: Organized – Avoid keeping stacks of file and heaps of paper at workstation. Throw what all don’t need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their respective drawers with labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on unnecessary searching. Don’t misuse time – Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on work and finish assignments on time. Remember the organization is not paying for playing games on computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete the work and then do whatever feels like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment. Be Focused – One needs to be focused for effective time management. Ten Essential Time Management Strategies for the Project Manager The following are the best time management practices for project managers: 1. Use the right tools and equipment. In project management, a project manager’s effectiveness will largely depend on the tools at his or her disposal. Even the most talented project manager will be limited if the right software and equipment are not available. Before taking on a project, project managers should thus assess their needs. Some areas to consider include: communications equipment, project tracking software, and collaboration software. . Get to know your project personnel. Social, economic, and cultural differences can often lead to misunderstanding and mis-communication among project team members, especially in situations where a project manager is working with a multi-national project team, and these misunderstandings can be a significant draw on project time. To counteract this affect, project managers should be familiar wit h the social, economic, and cultural differences of the project team members, and then ensure that these differences are taken into account within project communications. . The 20/80 rule. One of the guiding rules in the management of a project is the Pareto Principle which states that roughly 80% of the outputs will be generated by only 20% of the inputs. In other words, a few elements create the most impact. Project managers can capitalize on this principle with the use of a Pareto Chart, a vertical bar graph that identifies in rank order the most important elements or factors in a project, so that attention can be directed to the things that matter the most. 4. The fudge factor. When creating the project budget and setting the project schedule, experienced project managers will always include a cushion in their estimates. These over-estimates of time and money are meant to compensate for any small, unexpected problems that may come up throughout the course of the project, and will ultimately help the project to stay on course. 5. Develop a solid risk management strategy. In addition to budgeting for unexpected draws on time and money, project managers need to have a solid risk management strategy in place so that a project recovery plan can be quickly implemented if problems arise. 6. Effectively delegate tasks. One of the biggest pitfalls in project management is insufficient delegation of responsibilities. Project managers in particular must be available to oversee the various elements of the project and make key decisions. When they are being bogged down by tasks that can be done by others, then it compromises their ability to manage. 7. Conduct productive team meetings. When project personnel are brought together, it is vital that there be a clear and focused agenda to the meeting. Otherwise, the time of the project manager as well as all those attending the meeting will be compromised. Experienced project managers are adept at determining which information must be discussed in a face-to-face meeting and which information can be disseminated via other mediums. 8. Effective communication system for communication. It almost goes without saying that a project will never run smoothly if the right information does not reach the right people at the right time. A system for effective communication of project information among project personnel as well as project clients and senior executives is a must. Not only must the project manager ensure that he or she is presenting information in a clear, logical, and understandable way, but also that the right tools are in place, such as file- sharing programs, networks, and collaboration tools. 9. Daily personal to-do list. A simple, yet highly effective time management technique for the project manager is the daily creation of a personal to-do list. Having such a list on hand will help the project manager stay on track and not get caught up in the project’s myriad details. 10. Stay focused on the big picture. As the old saying goes: don’t sweat the small stuff, that’s the job of the various project personnel hired to bring the project to completion. Putting undue attention on relatively insignificant aspects of the project can also quickly bring the project off schedule. Experienced project managers know where they can â€Å"let go† versus knowing which things demand their attention. By following the time management strategies mentioned above, the project manager can help to ensure that all the elements of the project are indeed brought together in a harmonious path towards project completion. Time Management Tips for Project Managers Summary Time management is a basic skill for project managers. If project manager manage own time, how can project manager expect to manage the teams? Ask each day what project manager did to move the project forward. Plan the next day, what will project manager do to ensure the project continues along the straight and narrow. Plan the time, manage the resources with a light touch and communicate effectively. With a little time management, project success should come easier. Cost Management The following are the costs associated with the projects. Direct costs Any costs that are directly attributable to the work on the project. These can include the salaries paid to the resources, the billing rate of the resources and costs of the software and hardware that are used for building the website Indirect Costs These costs are spread out against many projects and cannot be linked to one project alone. These costs include those incurred in shared services like cost of office space, taxes paid by the organization and other services like secretarial and janitorial staff Variable Costs Costs that change in proportion to the amount of time and material that are spent on produced in the project. Fixed Costs Costs that do not change with the timeline or progress of the project. A cost be either Fixed or Variable; Direct or Indirect The overhead costs for this project are the office setup and shared services. While the costs incurred in setting up the office space can be general overhead cost as it is a one-time cost and is borne by all the projects in the organization. The project overhead costs are the costs incurred in the shared services such as secretarial staff and other services provide to the project and can be directly billable as such. Time phased budget A time phased budget would include the costs incurred at each interval or milestone of the project. The milestones for this project would be requirements, design, coding, testing and implementation. The budget for the same would be the costs at each stage of the project. The budget at completion or BAC should have all the components of the costs included like direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs etc along with the cost at each phase or milestone of the project. The cost variance should be measured using Earned Value technique and this tool allows the manager to assess the completion of the project at each milestone according to the cost incurred and the value accrued till then. Variance between these two measures gives an accurate estimate of the health of the project. Cumulative costs The cumulative costs of the project are the ones that are incurred up to a specific phase or milestone of the project. It can be measured by using a Cost Performance Index or CPI which measures the ratio of the Earned value with regards to the Actual cost incurred on the project. As outlined above, all the costs that accumulate up to a particular phase can be called the cumulative costs of the project. Cost control The cost management plan should include the plan for controlling the costs of the project. There should be a measurement of the costs involved and their variances tracked, if any. Any variance to the budget must be controlled by the controlling the impact of the cost changes. Further, cost control can be done in the area of overhead costs and general and administrative expenses. Estimating Project Costs The Wideman Comparative Glossary of Common Project Management Terms describes estimating cost as â€Å"The process of forecasting a future result in terms of cost, based upon information available at the time. † In his book ‘How to be a Better Project Manager’, Trevor L Young defines estimating as â€Å"A decision about how much time and resource are required to carry out a piece of work to acceptable standards of performance. † Many techniques, books and software packages exist to help with estimating project costs. A few simple rules will also help ensure you create an accurate and realistic estimate. Assume resources will only be productive for 80 percent of their time. ? Resources working on multiple projects take longer to complete tasks because of time lost switching between them. ? People are generally optimistic and often underestimate how long tasks will take. ? Make use of other project manager experiences. ? Get an expert view. ? Include manageme nt time in any estimate. ? Always build in contingency for problem solving, meetings and other unexpected events. ? Cost each task in the Work Breakdown Structure to arrive at a total, rather than trying to cost the project as a whole. Agree a tolerance with the customer for additional work that is not yet defined. ? Communicate any assumptions, exclusions or constraints project manager have to the customer. ? Provide regular budget statements to the customer, copying the team, so they are always aware of the current position. ? Much data exists about the length of time particular items of work take, especially in the construction industry. A useful database of production rates can be found at Planning Planet Common Mistakes ? These are some of the common mistakes that can lead to inaccurate estimates. Not understanding what is involved to complete an item of work. ? Starting with an amount of money and making the project cost fit it. ? Assigning resources at more than 80 percent ut ilization. ? Failing to build in contingency. ? Failing to adjust the estimate following changes in scope. ? Dividing tasks between more than one resource. ? Providing estimates under pressure in project meetings. ? Giving single-data-point estimates rather than range estimates. Three Point Estimating Three point estimating is a technique that helps project managers produce better estimates. Rather than a ballpark estimate, project managers can use three point estimating to gain a greater degree of control over how the end value is calculated. The end value is the weighted average of three estimates. To do three point estimating for a particular task or activity, ask the resource for their best-case, most likely and worst case estimates. Add the best-case estimate to four times the most likely, then the worst case and divide by six. This gives you your estimate (E value) which is a slightly more balanced view of how long the task or activity is likely to take. The formula is expressed as: E = (B + 4 M + W)/6 B = best-case (1/6) M = most likely (4/6) W = worst case (1/6) `Monte Carlo Simulation in MS Excel The Monte Carlo method of estimating project cost is based on the generation of multiple trials to determine the expected value of a random variable. There are several commercial packages that run Monte Carlo simulation; however a basic spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel can be used to run a simulation. Risk Management Literally speaking,  risk management is the process of minimizing or mitigating the risk. It starts with the identification and evaluation of risk followed by optimal use of resources to monitor and minimize the same. Risk generally results from uncertainty. In organizations this risk can come from uncertainty in the market place (demand, supply and Stock market), failure of projects, accidents, natural disasters etc. There are different tools to deal with the same depending upon the kind of risk. Ideally in risk management, a risk prioritization process is followed in which those risks that pose the threat of great loss and have great probability of occurrence are dealt with first. Refer to table below: IMPACT |ACTIONS | |SIGNIFICANT |Considerable Management Required |Must Manage and Monitor Risks |Extensive Management essential | |MODERATE |Risk are bearable to certain extent |Management effort worthwhile |Management effort required | |MINOR |Accept Risks |Accept but monitor Risks |Manage and Monitor Risks | |   |LOW |MEDIUM |HIGH | | |LIKELIHOOD | The above chart ca n be used to strategize in various situations. The two factors that govern the action required are the probability of occurrence and the impact of the risk. For example a condition where the impact is minor and the probability of occurrence is low, it is better to accept the risk without any interventions. A condition where the likelihood is high and the impact is significant, extensive management is required. This is how a certain priority can be established in dealing with the risk. Apart from this, typically most of the organizations follow a risk management cycle. Refer diagram below: [pic] According to this cycle there are four steps in the process of risk management. The first step is the assessment of risk, followed by evaluation and management of the same. The last step is measuring the impact. Risk identification can start at the base or the surface level, in the former case the source of problems is identified. We now have two things to deal with the source and the problem. Risk Source:  The source can be either internal or external to the system. External sources are beyond control whereas internal sources can be controlled to a certain extent. For example, the amount of rainfall, weather over an airport etc! Problem:  A problem at the surface level could be the threat of accident and casualty at the plant, a fire incident etc. When any or both of the above two are known beforehand, certain steps can be taken to deal with the same. After the risk has been identified then it must be assessed on the potential of criticality. Here we arrive upon risk prioritization. In generic terms ‘likelihood of occurrence ? impact’ is equal to risk. This is followed by development of a risk management plan and implementation of the same. It comprises of the effective security controls and control mechanisms for mitigation of risk. A more challenging risk to organizational effectiveness is the risk that is present but cannot be identified. For example a perpetual inefficiency in the production process accumulates over a certain period of time and translates into operational risk. The Principles of Risk Management Every project manager and business leader needs to be aware of the practices and principles of effective risk management. Understanding how to identify and treat risks to an organization, a programmed or a project can save unnecessary difficulties later on, and will prepare managers and team members for any unavoidable incidences or issues. The M_o_R (Management of Risk) framework identifies twelve principles, which are intended â€Å"not to be prescriptive but provide supportive guidance to enable organizations to develop their own policies, processes strategies and plan. Organizational Context A fundamental principle of all generic management methods, including PRINCE2 and MSP as well as M_o_R, is that all organizations are different. Project managers, programmed managers and risk managers need to consider the specific context of the organization in order to ensure thorough identification of risks and appropriate risk treatment procedures. The term ‘organizational context’ encompasses the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental backdrop of an organization. Stakeholder Involvement It is easy for a management team to become internalized and forget that stakeholders are also key participants in everyday business procedures, short-term projects and business-wide change programmed. Understanding the roles of individual stakeholders and managing stakeholder involvement is crucial to successful. Stakeholders should, as far as is appropriate, be made aware of risks to a project or programmed. Within the context and stakeholder involvement, â€Å"appropriate† concerns: the identity and role of the stakeholder, the level of influence that the stakeholder has over and outside of the organization, the level of investment that the stakeholder has in the organization, and the type, probability and potential impact of the risk. Organizational Objectives Risks exist only in relation to the activities and objectives of an organization. Rain is a negative risk for a picnic, a positive risk for drought-ridden farmland and a non-risk for the occupants of a submarine. It is imperative that the individual responsible for risk management (whether that is the business leader, the project/programmed manager or a specialist risk manager) understands the objectives of the organization, in order to ensure a tailored approach. M_o_R Managing of Risk Approach The processes, policies, strategies and plans within the M_o_R framework provide generic guidelines and templates within a particular organization. These guidelines are based on the experience and research of professional risk managers from a wide range of organizations and management backgrounds. Following best practices ensures that individuals involved in managing the risks associated with an organization’s activity are able to learn from the mistakes, experiments and lessons of others. Reporting Accurately and clearly representing data, and the transmission of this data to the appropriate staff members, managers and stakeholders, is crucial to successful risk management. The M_o_R methodology provides standard templates and tested structures for managing the frequency, content and participants of risk communication. Roles and Responsibilities Fundamental to risk management best practice is the clear definition of risk management roles and responsibilities. Individual functions and accountability must be transparent, both within and outside an organization. This is important both in terms of organizational governance, and to ensure that all the necessary responsibilities are covered by appropriate individuals. Support Structure A support structure is the provision within an organization of standardized guidelines, information, training and funding for individuals managing risks that may arise in any specific area or project. This can include a centralized risk management team, a standard risk management approach and best-practice guidelines for reporting and reviewing organizational risks. Early Warning Indicators Risk identification is an essential first step for removing or alleviating risks. In some cases, however, it is not possible to remove risks in advance. Early warning indicators are pre-defined and quantified triggers that alert individuals responsible for risk management that an identified risk is imminent. This enables the most thorough and prepared approach to handling the situation. Review Cycle Related to the need for early warning indicators is the review cycle. This establishes the regular review of identified risks and ensures that risk managers remain sensitive to new risks, and to the effectiveness of current policies. Overcoming Barriers to M_o_R Any successful strategy requires thoughtful consideration of possible barriers to implementation. Common issues include: ? Established roles, responsibilities, accountabilities and ownership. ? An appropriate budget for embedding approach and carrying out activities. ? Adequate and accessible training, tools and techniques. Risk management orientation, induction and training processes. ? Regular assessment of M_o_R approach (including all of the above issues. Supportive Culture Risk management underpins many different areas and aspects of an organization’s activity. A supportive culture is essential for ensuring that everybody with risk management responsibilities feels confident rising, discussing and managing risks. A supportive risk management culture will also include evaluation and reward of risk management competencies for the appropriate individuals. Continual Improvement In an evolving organization, nothing stands still. An effective risk management policy includes the capacity for re-evaluation and improvement. At a practical level, this will require the nomination of an individual or a group of individuals to the responsibility of ensuring that risk management policies and procedures are up-to-date, as well as the establishment of regular review cycles of the organization’s risk management approach. Quality Management Procurement and Quality Process The art of project management calls for an increased vigil on quality and related processes. The project manager is expected to be aware of the best practices that are used for the project and is supposed to make sure that he or she adapts them to the use of project management. One area of concern nowadays is the absence of processes in procurement and staffing. These are areas of concern not only to the project manager but also to the organizations. There is a need to balance the requirements of the fast procurement and staffing cycle with that of proper processes to be followed. There has been much debate in many organizations about the lack of quality in recruitment and procurement. These twin areas of quality and procurement have the aspect of ruining the chances of a successful project and hence the project manager has a responsibility to steer the course and ensure that quality does not suffer. There are several areas of project management that need quality control and there are several benchmarks of quality that can be used to meet these standards. For instance, many organizations use Six Sigma and SEI CMM level processes to guide them in the art of quality and meeting quality specifications. These are just one instance of how the quality framework is used to differentiate between the processes that are error free and those that need revision and rework. Sampling method prescribed by Kaizen, Six Sigma etc can be used to improve the quality of the processes that are employed by the organizations. Kaizen, in particular relates to continuous improvement, a theme that would find resonance in the uber-competitive world of today. All organizations strive for quality and to find the edge that would differentiate those from others and thus these initiatives are the ones that the project manager must look forward to and implement them diligently in the workplace. To address the issues arising out of poor procurement and staffing practices, the project manager has to be in constant touch with one important stakeholder i. e. , the procurement and staffing teams and this is where the project manager is expected to show their level of competence by managing the procurement and staffing cycle. Quality Management Vs Quality Control Quality is defined as the degree to which the project meets the requirements (PMBOK, 2009). The operative word here is meeting the requirements and hence anything that is done that is not conforming to the requirements is said to be deviating from the norm of quality. In the subsequent paragraphs, I look at the distinction between quality management and the processes of quality control. Quality management is the practice of drawing up plans that determine the standards that need to apply to the project, determining who would be involved in managing quality and their specific duties, meetings to determine if the project is conforming to the quality specifications laid out in the quality management plan and laying out the metrics that are used to measure quality. As defined by the PMBOK, Project Quality Management is the comprehensive plan that includes all the components of the quality planning process (PMBOK, 2009). Quality control, on the other hand, is the set of processes that measure the metrics of quality by assessing the specific project results against standards. Quality control processes are done during project monitoring and controlling functions whereas quality management is done during the initiating and planning phase (PMBOK, 2009). Hence, quality control is the subset of quality management and is the final phase of the project management cycle. Quality management is all encompassing and consists of laying down standards against which the project quality metrics are defined and need to be measured against. Quality management takes into account the lower level details of how the output of the project is to be tracked and measured. Quality control is the process of ensuring that the quality metrics are met. Hence, while quality management is the process of planning and managing the requirements of the project from the perspective of quality, quality control is the process of measuring the level of output and the quality of the output and typically consists of measuring the output against the quality metrics that were decided upon in the quality management plan. The reason that quality management and quality control are used interchangeably is due to the perception that quality control encompasses the planning aspect as well. This is certainly true in organizations that do not have a separate quality department and quality planning and quality control is the domain of the project management processes. In organizations that have separate quality departments and where there is a well thought out quality plan, quality management and quality control are separate and are handled by different people. In conclusion, quality management typically produces as its deliverables a comprehensive quality management plan that includes the quality control aspect of it. Quality control in this case is handled by a different set of people who do the tracking and measuring of metrics in a dedicated manner. Typically, the process of quality management includes the representatives from the quality department and the quality control processes are the reverse with the quality department handling the tracking of metrics and reporting to the project management team. Quality control is an independent audit of the quality of deliverables and is necessary for the sign off of the project. Deming’s 14 Points and Quality Project Manager Quality is misunderstood by many who think of it only as it relates to the final deliverable, but a quality product is itself achieved only through quality processes focused on efficiency, innovation, and continual improvement, and these require a quality management culture not only in our projects, but within our organizations. In chapter two of his 1986 book, Out of the Crisis, Edward Deming presented 14 principles that he believed could make industry more competitive by increasing quality. Organizational improvements can begin with anyone. While it’s true that our professional domain as project managers is bounded by the project life cycle, our influence is often much greater than that, and quality management is one of those areas where skilled project managers are best suited to be instrumental change agents – first in the culture of their projects, and second, in the culture of their departments and organizations. As project managers, if we follow Deming’s principles, we can create project environments where quality thrives, not only benefiting our customers and projects, but perhaps serving as a tipping point for effecting a quality management change within our organizations. 1. Create Constancy of Purpose towards Improvement Deming is telling management to stop reacting and plan better for the long-term. For project managers: What has been traditionally thought of as long-term planning is no longer achievable. Business changes too rapidly, and detailed, up-front plans take too long to produce and are always outdated by the time they’re committed to paper. Yet projects must have a plan that establishes activities, milestones, and priorities, so what we should strive for in our projects is thorough planning based on iterative, rolling-wave, or Agile approaches. Thorough planning uses detailed planning for the short-term with a longer-term view emphasizing constant reviews, re-planning, and risk management, especially for opportunities that can be exploited. This results in a project plan that can adapt quickly to abrupt business and deliverable changes without throwing the project into chaos. 2. Adopt the new Philosophy Deming is telling management to stop being hypocritical, awaken itself to the challenge, and become leaders. For project managers: People will always see through anyone who says one thing, but whose actions are entirely different. Lasting, energizing change starts first with us, and only then will it spread outward and excite others into action. As managers, our core values can’t just be expressed through our words, but they must be evident in all our actions with our teams and coworkers. It takes time, but as our message and attitude spread to an ever-broadening base of people, a domino effect takes place and the members themselves become believers and evangelists in quality management themselves. 3. Cease Dependency on Inspection Deming is reminding management that the need for inspection will decrease if quality problems are prevented in the first place. For project managers: We all know that prevention is better than inspection, so our project management and execution processes need continual improvement methods built into them to reduce quality problems. But inspection goes beyond its purely quality connotations. Are we propagating a management style based on inspection? If our team has a tendency to run everything first past us for approval then we may be, and that isn’t good for us, the team, or the project. Our responsibility as a project manager isn’t to be the funnel through which everyone seeks approval. If that’s what is happening then the project will stagnate and become inflexible. Instead, let’s make sure we create a project culture where the team has the skills, information, and experience it needs to make every-day, rapid decisions on its own. 4. End the Practice of Awarding Business on the Basis of Price Tags Deming’s purpose behind this point was to eliminate variations in the manufacturing process by having too many suppliers of component goods. For project managers: Price alone should rarely be the determining factor because most procurement needs go beyond simple commodities. When a project is likely to involve frequent changes, we need vendors who can adapt or offer their own new ideas for responding to those changes, and that isn’t likely to happen when cut-rate suppliers are chosen. This principle also holds true in our role as the vendor for internal or external customers. We are not just collectors of requirements – we need to be engaged with the customer and stakeholders, understanding their business objectives in order for us to provide the deliverable that best meets their changing needs. 5. Improve Constantly and Forever Deming is reminding industry leaders that they have to constantly strive to reduce variation, which leads to quality problems. For project managers: Continuous improvement is a core philosophy of the PMBOK, but it isn’t like a switch that gets turned on or off. It’s a mindset that is nurtured by the right environment. Members of the team need skills, information, and knowledge beyond their core subjects of expertise, and we should encourage experimentation and reward mistakes made in the search for innovation, which means we need to eliminate blame and ingrain the lessons-learned process in every part of the project. Large-scale improvements and innovative approaches often come from â€Å"amateurs† and not specialists because amateurs are driven by their interest in the subject and less wedded to preconceived notions and ideas. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, says, â€Å"I’ll take a passionate amateur over a bored professional any day. † 6. Institute Training on the Job On-the-job training increases efficiency and results in job outputs with fewer errors. For project managers: Continuous improvement extends beyond just processes. It applies to the hard and soft skills, experiences, and knowledge of the entire project team. Professional development, coaching, and mentoring should be encouraged, acknowledged, and rewarded. Training doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be formalised. Some of the best training experiences involve group-led efforts that also serve as team building exercises, such as Webinars, vendor demonstrations, and specific discussions on best practices. 7. Institute Leadership Deming wants management to be leaders not merely supervisors. For project managers: The problem on most projects is not a lack of management but a lack of leadership. Leadership is more about people skills than about project management skills. Few projects have sponsors that view themselves as the leader on the project, and if the leadership charge is not picked up by the project manager then the project is not likely to be successful. A leader translates the project’s vision into actions that excite, inspire, and motivate the project team, and he or she is able to instil a perception that the project isn’t just creating a deliverable; it’s accomplishing something phenomenal for the customer. 8. Drive out Fear Deming tells us that management by fear or punishment is detrimental because it inhibits questions and ideas from the workforce. For project managers: Fear stifles two cornerstones of quality – innovation and continual improvement. A fearful team isn’t going to generate new ideas and it’s going to hide its mistakes, leading to a poor lessons learned process. Deming’s point goes beyond what most of us associate with fear. Fear is also that little voice all of us hear that suppresses us from speaking up or sharing ideas – fear of failing, fear of sounding silly, fear of making a mistake, fear of missing a deadline, fear of stepping on another’s toes, and so on. Yet these fears are just as detrimental to quality as fear of punishment. It’s a lack of trust between team members and in the project’s leadership that drives these fears. If we improve trust, team members will be more willing to share their ideas and question existing processes. 9. Break Down Barriers Between Staff Areas Deming wants everyone to realise that each person is a customer of someone and that everybody is a supplier to somebody. For project managers: Silos and a rigid hierarchy are dangerous not only to the project, but to the organisation. Innovation and continual improvement come about by somebody seeing a connection that is not inherently obvious, and connections can’t be discovered when one is stuck behind artificial barriers. We can help break those barriers by exposing people to diverse situations outside their normal environment and comfort zones. Though there is a short-term productivity loss when people work outside their specialty, there is a longer-term gain for the project and organisation. This strategy helps build a larger pool of â€Å"generalists† in many subjects, and new experiences are a powerful motivator for many people. This approach also improves opportunities for innovative approaches and is a risk management strategy should key personnel leave the project. 10. Eliminate Slogans, Exhortations, and Targets for the Work Force Slogans imply the problem is with the employees, but the real problem is with the process. For project managers: The first point we have to accept is that we are responsible for problems within the project, whatever those issues might be. It isn’t the team’s fault, the customer’s fault, or the organisation’s fault – it’s our fault. The root causes of most project problems are deficiencies in communication, scope, requirements, activity definitions, project planning and re-planning, risk management, and stakeholder involvement. All of these are within our professional domain even if we aren’t the ones personally performing them. It’s our responsibility to make sure the project processes are performed effectively to a level appropriate for the project. 11. Eliminate Management by Objectives Setting production targets only encourages people to meet those targets through whatever means necessary, which causes poor quality. For project managers: On the surface this principle probably sounds like heresy to most of us – how can a project be managed if targets aren’t set? Well, it can’t, but that wasn’t Deming’s point. He’s talking about short-sighted versus thorough planning. Setting targets in response to a problem without first understanding and addressing the root causes in the processes will only lead to more quality problems. Milestones are the predominant targets for projects, and they need to be challenging to motivate the team, but they have to be achievable and flexible. Yet flexibility is one of the most common scheduling failures a project manager makes, especially on projects that are very iterative and involve rolling wave planning. As these projects progress, milestones have to be continually reassessed, and this often means that the original dates get pushed. Too many of us perceive these readjustments as â€Å"missing our target† because we’re too married to dates that were only best-guesses or top-down estimates set early in project planning. We also should be careful to present milestone dates to stakeholders as estimates and help them understand the iterative nature of these kinds of projects – as the project is better understood and the work needed becomes clearer, milestone dates may change. 12. Remove Barriers to Pride of Workmanship Deming tells us that nobody feels good about producing shoddy work. When management creates an environment that fosters poor quality, employees are frustrated. For project managers: Recognising the team and individuals for their contributions and achievements helps instil pride of workmanship. Everyone on the project team should feel that his or her work is recognised and valuable to the project’s success. Sincere appreciation is one of the easiest and cheapest yet most effective motivating agents we can use. Even â€Å"failures† and mistakes are achievements as long as there were valuable lessons learned. 13. Institute Education and Self-Improvement Deming wants everyone, managers and the workforce, to pursue training, education, and self-improvement. For project managers: Ongoing professional development is expected of certified project managers, but we should also expect and encourage it among our team and coworkers. Nearly every profession has its own certification and continuing education requirements, and our team members will appreciate it if we have a general understanding of their profession’s requirements, recognise them for certification efforts, and help them with opportunities for meeting those requirements. 14. The Transformation is Everyone’s Job Deming says that everyone is involved in the fixing the processes. For project managers: This one is easy if we’ve done everything else right because all the other principles will result in quality management culture where everyone is involved in continual improvement and innovation. Having experienced first-hand a quality management experience, the people on our team will in turn spread those ideas to other project teams. Communications Management Having good communication skills is one of the key abilities of a project manager. However, this fact is frequently overlooked when choosing the ideal candidate for that position. Moreover, it is not emphasized as much as it should in most project management training programs. Thus, many times we find project managers with excellent management and technical skills but which are really not-that-good communicators. Why is it so important? First of all, because a good leader should be a great communicator in order to lead and motivate his or her team, as we have discussed before. This is something that not only applies to the members of the team but to all the stakeholders of the project. A project manager has to be aware that all of them have different profiles and interests, and that it requires from him or her great ability to adapt the message to each one. Communication principles Good communication should be based on accuracy, clarity, transparency and interaction. Accuracy has to do with the detail and scope of the information that is being transmitted. The project manager must be able to provide the information that is needed for everyone within and outside the team. Sometimes excessively detailed information may divert attention from the main message and can lead the interlocutor to confusion. Mostly, the communication with the team should focus on the objectives, and the plan to take to achieve them. While, for example, information that is provided to clients will focus on the requirements of the project and its evolution. To ensure information clarity, the language is a crucial thing and the project manager must perfectly handle all its variants. Generally, it will be common to use a more technical and specific language within the team, and a more formal style if the message is addressed to a client or a company directive. Transparency has a direct impact on the project manager’s credibility. A project manager’s honesty should be beyond doubt, and so, he or she has to provide continuous communication about the problems that arise. The last principle, but not a less important one is interaction. Communication cannot be unidirectional. In all situations, with any type of interlocutor, the project manager must be open to dialogue. He or she has to know how to both ask and listen in order to get accurate information that can be relevant in later decisions. It is essential to have continuous communication with all parties involved in the project. To help project manager with this, Doolphy, as an online project management tool, helps project manager to centralize all project information and adjust the access to each kind of user. Top Five Communication Skills for Project Managers 1. Active Listening In first place is project manager ability to listen to and understand others. Listening to the words and the meaning behind their words, not interrupting or letting our minds wander, asking questions to check understanding, observing non-verbal signals. According to Indian project manager Nirav Patel CAPM: â€Å"The benefits include getting people to open up and due to that lots of misunderstandings and conflicts can be resolved. † 2. Building Relationships based on Trust and Respect Trust and respect are the cornerstones of personal relationships. They are earned not a right and come from experience of our honesty, integrity and expertise. Among the characteristics people used to determine project manager credibility are truthfulness, openness, willingness to share ideas and information freely, consistency, reliability, loyalty, capabilities and competence. â€Å"Trust encourages people to propose ideas, suggest ways to enhance work, speak of their concerns and give advice,† says Dubai-based Kareem Shaker PMP. 3. Setting Clear Priorities In third spot is a project manager’s ability to convey the strategy for their team – by setting goals, planning and prioritizing. This is the what, who, when, where, why and how of the project. Team members should understand both the big picture and the lower level technical priorities. â€Å"Essentially this is what a project manager does. If you can’t do it you won’t get everybody working on the same page,† says Australian Paul Ramussen. 4. Enabling Collaboration In a collaborative environment team members support and encourage each other rather than focusing solely on their own tasks and responsibilities. They are willing to co-operate and share information, ideas and assets to help each other. The result can be greater than the sum of its parts. â€Å"When we collaborate we get the 1Ãâ€"1=3 effect. Things happen that might not have if people had remained focused on their own work,† says American Adam Michaelson PMP. 5. Conveying the Organisation’s Vision Contract In Project Management Project Contract Types Explaining the bigger picture helps team members understand where the project fits within the overall aims of your business unit and organization. Senior executives are focused on the triple bottom line – finances, environment, reputation – this is where they expect your project to make a difference. American Jhaymee Wilson PMP says: â€Å"As project managers if we can’t convey the link between our project and the organization how can we show we are delivering value? † This article is based on research among project managers from around the world and was originally published as Five Essential Rules for Project Leaders on the PMI Career Central website. Introduction: In the world of business, contracts are used for establishing business deals and partnerships. The parties involved in the business engagement decide the type of the contract. Usually the type of the contract used for the business engagement varies depending on the type of the work and the nature of the industry. The contract is simply an elaborated agreement between two or more parties. One or more parties may provide products or services in return to something provided by other parties (client). The contract type is the key relationship between the parties engaged in the business and the contract type determines the project risk. Example most widely used contract types: Fixed Price (Lump Sum) This is the simplest type of all contracts. The terms are quite straightforward and easy to understand. To put in simple, the service provider agrees to provide a defined service for a specific period of time and the client agrees to pay a fixed amount of money for the service. This contract type may define various milestones for the deliveries as well as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). In addition, the contractor may have an acceptance criteria defined for the milestones and the final delivery. The main advantage of this type of contract is that the contractor knows the total project cost before the project commences. Unit Price In this model, the project is divided into units and the charge for each unit is defined. This contract type can be introduced as one of the more flexible methods compared to fixed price contract. Usually the owner (contractor/client) of the project decides on the estimates and asks the bidders to bid of each element of the project. After bidding, depending on the bid amounts and the qualifications of bidders, the entire project may be given to the same services provider or different units may be allocated to different services providers. This is a good approach when different project units require different expertise to complete. Cost Plus In this contract model, the services provider is reimbursed for their machinery, labour, and other costs, in addition to contractor paying an agreed fee to the services provider In this method, the services provider should offer a detailed schedule and the resource allocation for the project. Apart from that, all the costs should be properly listed and should be reported to the contractor periodically. The payments maybe paid by the contractor at a certain frequency (such as monthly, quarterly) or by the end of milestones. Incentive Incentive contracts are usually used when there is some level of uncertainty in the project cost. Although there are nearly-accurate estimations, the technological challenges may impact on the overall resources as well as the effort. This type of contracts is common for the projects involving pilot programs or the project that harness new technologies. There are three cost factors in an Incentive contract; target price, target profit, and the maximum cost. The main mechanism of Incentive contract is to divide any target price overrun between the client and the services provider in order to minimize the business risks for both parties. Retainer (Time and Material – TM) This is one of the most beautiful engagements that can get into by two or more parties. This engagement type is the most risk-free type where the time and material used for the project are priced. The contractor only requires knowing the time and material for the project in order to make the payments. This type of contracts has short delivery cycles and for each cycle separate estimates are sent of the contractor. Once the contractor signs off the estimate and Statement of Work (SOW), the services provider can start work. Unlike most of the other contract types, retainer contracts are mostly used for long-term business engagements. Percentage of Construction Fee This type of contracts is used for engineering projects. Based on the resources and material required, the cost for the construction is estimated. Then, the client contracts a service provider and pays a percentage of the cost of the project as the fee for the services provider. As an example, take the scenario of constructing a house. Assume that the estimate comes up to $230,000. When this project is contracted to a services provider, the client may agree to pay 30% of the total cost as the construction fee, which comes up to $69,000. Conclusion Selecting the contract type is the most crucial step of establishing a business agreement with another party. This step determines the possible engagement risks. Therefore, companies should get into contracts where there is a minimum risk for their business. It is always a good idea to engage in fixed bids (fixed priced) whenever the project is short-termed and predictable. If the project nature is exploratory, it is always best to adopt retainer or cost plus contract types. Contract Project Management Services Contracting a project management professional to manage a project offers advantages in leadership, experience and cost savings. Yet How to cite Role of Project Management, Papers

Business for a Beauty and Glamour Saloon †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Explain on Business for a Beauty and Glamour Saloon? Answer: Introducation The aim of this study is to provide a business plan for a startup beauty and glamour saloon, which will start its operation in the city of Cairns of Australia. The saloon will be of Indian and Western style, which will aim to perform its business by targeting the Indian community residing in Cairns. The assignment will provide the marketing plan and the outline of the market research. The operational plan along with the financial plan is also mentioned. Finally, it will highlight the critical risks and threats that are involved with the business along with sufficient risk management techniques. Business Description In the recent years, the beauty and the hair salon industry has evolved to a great extent, which has given wide opportunities of business in this sectors. There are several Indians, who are residing in the Cairns region of Australia. However, at present there is no beauty salon that can offer Indian style of hair cut and beauty service. The people of the Indian community also do not have the opportunity to buy Indian beauty products and cosmetics. The main aim of the Glorious Women Beauty Salon is to provide Indian style of beauty parlor and service to the Indian women living in the society. With all the salons in the region offering only Australian style of beauty salon service, the Indian style of beauty salon will be one of its kinds and it will also be initiated as an experimental basis. The timing of the opening of the business saloon is also perfect as there is a growing demand need among the people about the use of the beauty salon products. The location of the beauty salon will be at the heart of the city which will allow most of the customers to easily access the salon service. The Salon will be built in an area of 400 square feet which will have a relaxing atmosphere for the customers and allowed them to choose the style of their own of hairstyle and other beauty products. The beauticians and hair stylist who will be recruited will have sufficient experience in the respective field. They can provide the customers with valuable assistance needed to make up the hairstyle and also suggest them about the beauty products they need to use to make they look stylish and attractive. The use of HD Makeup has become popular in recent times and in the glorious women beauty salon there will be special professional experts who can provide HD type of makeup. The main specialty of the salon will be to provide Indian and western style of hair style and beauty products. This kind of hairstyle business will be unique in the area as ther e is no beauty salon of Indian category. There also will be wide range of beauty products that will be sold to the customers from the store itself. The customers will also get the opportunity to order the beauty products from online stores as there is a plan to initiate E-Commerce business. Hence it is important for the business to have a well developed website which will help the interested customers to get detailed information about the service and products that are offered by the beauty salon (Fleisher Bensoussan, 2015). The Product or Service The glorious women beauty salon will provide service of Indian and western hairstyle along with other beautician service. All types of beauty products and cosmetics will also be available from the salon that can be used by the customers at their home. The products that will be available from the store will be of exclusive category as there is no Indian beauty salon in the region. The business will also offer online shopping experience to the customers and provide free delivery service of all beauty products and cosmetics. Hair beauty products will also be available which will help to maintain a stylish and healthy hair for the customers (Wagner Hollenbeck, 2014). Company History As it is a startup company presently it has no history of the company. The Industry In the present age the hair and Salon industry is regarded as one of the best opportunity of business. As more people are becoming style conscious about the beauty of the skin and hair the Salon industry in Australia has got the opportunity to expand in new ranges. In Australia the total revenue of the hair and Salon industry is estimated to be almost 5 million dollar which has an annual growth rate of 2% (Jones Anthony, 2016). The industry also provides employment to round 86000 people in Australia. With the emergence of new market and service in the respective industry the beauty and Salon service has seen Rapid expansion in the last 5 years. Both men and women are contributing equally to the success of this industry in the recent times (Martin, 2015). With the advancement of the technology new electronic equipments help the industry to provide new kind of service that are even more attractive to the customers. High valued service such as laser hair removal technique and use of organic cosmetics have helped in the rapid expansion and also improve the business. With the advancement of Technology new kinds of services has also help to attract more number of customers. Competitor Analysis As more number of business organizations is entering the salon and beauty industry there is high level of competition. All the companies are trying to attract the customer with innovative and new kind of beauty products. The glorious women beauty salon will have to face tough competition from the entire reputed and popular sale on brands that are already established in Australia. The lower level of infrastructure of this new salon is one of the main competitive challenges that they have to face in order to survive in the industry. The organization also has to spend significant sum of money in order to match the infrastructure level of other reputed salon. More number of people is making their living and building up the career in beauty and Salon service. There are many professional courses that are introduced in order to provide professional training for providing beauty and salon services. Hence, there is competition at professional level to get the best hair and style expert employed in beauty salon. Industry Trends The main goal of the beauty and Salon industry is to make people feel good about their appearance in public society. It is important for the owner of glorious women beauty salon to know the Trends of the industry that are coming in the recent future. This will help them understand and developed the business plan which is sustainable and also can gain competitive advantage. As the goal of the organization is to provide best and innovative style of Salon service it is essential for them to do research to predict the future trends of the industry and thereby make their business plan accordingly. The growth rate of beauty and Salon industry and the revenue that is earned is expected to rise exponentially at 2.3% per annum. With the introduction of Indian and western style of beauty salon service the glorious women beauty salon is expected to make significant contribution to the rise of revenue within the next few years. Moreover as people are becoming more aware about the style and beauty appearance in the society the chance of business will rise to great extent in the coming years. The introduction of the technology and also its future level of improvement are also expected to be one of the major impacts on the beauty and salon industry. With the application of digital and social media marketing this possible to attract all potential customers and also provide them with detailed information about the price and type of service that are being offered. With the help of the digital media it is also possible to raise the awareness among the people about the importance of maintaining a beautiful style quotient within the society. Competitive Advantage Being one of the new entrants in the market of beauty and Salon industry the glorious salon has the competitive advantage of seeking new customers with their brand new innovative style of business plan. With the introduction of Indian and western style of Salon service which is the first of its kind in the respective area it is possible for the organization to offer unique kind of service and hence attract more number of people. There is high level of awareness about hairstyle and beauty products among the people of Australia which is also one of the major competitive advantages of glorious salon. Market Plan The main objective of a market plan is to provide a blueprint of all advertising and promotional activities that is related with raising the popularity of a business organization. The business target of an organization can be fulfilled with the help of strategies of marketing plan (Hollensen, 2015). It involves all the activities related to raising the brand awareness among the customers. With the help of proper business plan this possible to target all potential customers of an industry. With the help of all the relevant needs it is possible to design an effective market plan for the Glorious Women Beauty salon. Customer Base The customer base is made out of a group of common customers that purchase a particular product or service from a particular type of industry. For all repudiated and big scale industries customer base are the main source of earnings and also raising the brand awareness within the market (McDONALD Brown, 2016,). It also helps to increase the reputation of a business organization within the market and help them to attract new customers. It is important for all startup companies to build a strong customer base and include this element as a major part of marketing plan. For example in the place of glorious women beauty salon it is important for them to form a customer base consisting of all women who highly cautious about their hairstyle and public appearance. The passion among the customers about beauty products and beauty services can be used by the startup company to make up their customer base (Jerath et al., 2016). With the help of strategies of customer base it is possible for a company to decide upon the target group of customers and hence modify the marketing plan accordingly which will help to optimize the sales. In the present days customer base can be found even in virtual world with the rise of social and digital form of marketing. A company can have dedicated web page in all social media platforms where the customers can provide valuable feedback San suggestions for improve the quality of product and service (Satoh Tanaka, 2014). All common type of customers looking for similar service can discuss the pros and cons of a service that is being offered by a company. With the help of policies of customer base it is also possible for a company to establish a healthy relationship with all the clients and thereby ensure that they are able to meet all the needs of the customer with the delivery of high quality service and products. In case of the glorious women beauty salon that customer group can be made from the entire Indian citizen residing in Cairns. With the help of all the Indian and western style of beauty salon service it is possible for them to attract all the Indian residents of the area. With the help of customer base the company can use the technique of word of mouth advertising in order to attract more people in the community of Cairns. It is also important for the company to have an effective customer care service which will help to resolve all issues and also collect valuable feedback from the customers (Jerath et al., 2013). As the hair and beauty salon industry belongs to Commercial sector all the customers in this based group will be in the commercial market category. The company can also try to expand the market by extracting more customers from Australian society and encouraging them to try out a new form of Style. The satisfaction level of the customer can also be predicted with the help of customer base group which can provide valuable feedbacks about the quality of service. The priority and needs of the customer can also be decided with the help of the opinion that are collected from customer base (Tiedemann et al., 2015). Pricing Strategy The pricing strategy is an important component of marketing plan which aims to increase the level of profit for a company. It is also one of the most effective ways that are used by all business organization to attract new customers. The type of pricing strategies that are used by companies depends on the type of the target customers. For example a company which is mainly targeting the economically higher section of the society have premier range of pricing which is a key tool for increasing the reputation and brand value within the market. On the other hand company which are aiming to target the economically middle and weaker section of the society need to use economics pricing strategy which will help to ensure that price of all the products and services are kept at minimum level in order to attract more customers. There is also that type of psychological level of pricing in which companies use attractive looking figures in order to influence the mindset of the customers (Wang et a l., 2016). The pricing technique for market penetration is also one of the effective ways that are used in the marketing plan. This is also one of the effective ways to gain competitive advantage by lowering the price of certain product or service in the market. This kind of marketing strategy is used for companies during the initial period which helps them to increase the level of brand awareness and market reputation (Beracha Seiler, 2014). This price skimming technique is also used by various startup companies in the introductory phase where the lower the price of any particular product or service from all other reputed companies (Hatch Howland, 2015). With the help of this technique all types of small business can make significant impact in the market. However, there is huge risk involved in this type of pricing techniques. The glamour beauty salon for women which is a type of startup can use this kind of pricing technique. However as there is high level of competition using the economic pricing strategy in order to attract the Indian residents Cairns, which can ensure that they are able to target all the middle and weaker section of the society. Moreover, due to limited budget, the economic pricing strategy can be one of the most effective ways to deal with all the customers. As they are introducing new kinds beauty salon service, it is important for them not to make higher level of pricing, which have higher level of risks of facing financial loss. Hence, the use of economic level of pricing strategy will be one of the most effective ways to deal with the customers of the local region of Cairns. Market research It has been identified that in the considered location of Cairns, there is the need for an Indian and Western salon as there no such salon featuring Indian style. After having a thorough market research, it has been identified that currently in the market area of Cairns, there are numerous salons and parlors, most of which feature on cosmetic tattooing, spa, body massage, Eyelash perming, bikini waxing and spray tans (Cooper, 2016). Henceforth, it can be said that the startup business may have the opportunity to flourish in the market with their proposed features. However, it has been also identified that there are three salons are there in the Cairns region, which provides some similar services, which are preferred by the concerned organization Glorious women beauty salon. It is fortunate to denote in this context that, the market of hairdressing and salon service in the entire Australia has been increasing on a fast pace and has expanded vastly in the last five years (Owens, 2016). Therefore, it is easy to assume that the rate of customer demand for the specific service is growing impressively. It has been realized that higher discretionary earning, growing population and rapid emergence of new markets have fueled the growth of the distinct industry in Australia (Owens, 2016). It is to mention in this context that high-priced beauty treatments such as microdermabrasion and increased concern regarding physical beauty have helped the revenue growth of the considered geographical location. In the coming five years, the revenue growth of the chosen industry will supposedly increase by near about $4.8 billion. Nevertheless, it is unexpected that in the current year, the income is projected to be declined by 0.4%. Hence, the present startup company would po ssibly found opportunity as well as threat for their operations (Mzungu et al., 2017). It is a questionable fact that whether the Indian style wedding make up and H.D makeup would be a steady demand for the target market or not. However, it can be said that the organization would probably find demand from the beauty contests shows and western bridal make up as both of them do not included in the conventional industry activities of the particular industry. Operational plan: This section of the business plan proposes the production technique and the way the labor force will be handled and treated in the newly launched beauty salon. Production: For the business of the beauty salon, there will be no need for any kind of production technique and the materials needed for the overall activities of the business could be easily purchased from the major suppliers of beauty products and other necessary equipments. Facilities: For setting up the salon, a shop is required. It should have enough space for different sections of treatment. For instance, there should be separate space foe waxing, facial, hair dressing, spa and other related activities (Ward, 2016). In fact, if the customer wants to have a separate and space for themselves, the same can be given to them as well. Geographic location: The salon is set to be established in Caims, Queensland, Australia. The objective is to target the Indians residing in this region. In addition to this, the salon shall be equally targeting the local residents as well. The salon is for the women only and so the girls and women of age 18 to 50 years and above are the targeted group of consumers for the set business. This includes the college and office goers, socialists and other women of that particular locality. Control system: The quality assurance program is to rely on the products to be used for the customers. The products should all be branded and of the top quality (Magnus et al., 2014). However, the customers could also be given the chance of selecting from a various ranges of products that might differ in some amount, in case if consumers want to use low cost products. Since the major target people are Indian, this would be a good option for the overall business. All kinds of certified products will be used as the beauty products. Labor force: As the aim of this beauty salon is to provide world class facilities to the visitors and give them the best experience. The most important staffs for the salon are the hair dressers. This would include two hair stylists, two barbers and three staffs responsible for the other services like nail, facial and massage technician. In the first year of the inauguration of the Glorious Women Beauty Salon, it would require a receptionist who shall be responsible for greeting the customers and also act as the one who receives payment from the customers. In addition to this, there will be a financial manager as well who shall be responsible for taking care of the overall financial and revenue of the salon. Caims region in Queensland has the availability of these labors easily because there are many existing salons. So there would not be any problem related to hiring and staffing. Staffing: It is expected that the major staffs like the hair stylists and the one responsible for the manicure and pedicure are hired on a full time basis even on contractual forms, but the receptionists and the financial manager would be hired as contract workers. The employees would be paid their salary accordingly (Gully et al., 2014). In addition to this, there should also be the provision for incentives and bonuses as well that would be lucrative enough for the employees to give the best to the organization as per their ability. All the employees can be recruited via recruitment agencies. In the latter stage of the business, employee referral system could also be used as a recruitment policy. Training: When it comes to hiring the financial manager and the receptionists, it is important to hire the experienced people as they would be able to manage the entire business appropriately. When it comes to the other staffs like the hair dressers or stylists, they can be given training before they start their work. For this reason, the plan is to hire a professional expert who shall be responsible for training the staffs (Engel Curran, 2016). The staffs would be hired from professional institutes only. However, in order to train them right and bring out the best in them, it is expected that the staffs would also be trained under the expert for at least 10 days where they would be able to learn on how to handle customers in a professional beauty salon. This training session would be an in-house session only where the trainer would come from a renowned training centre expertise in beauty programs. Financial plan The aim of the following section would be to accomplish a convenient financial plan for the start up organization, named Glorious Women Beauty Salon, which desires to provide satisfaction to customers regarding Bridal make ups in western style, professional H.D make up, make-over and beauty page competitions. Through the following plan, a fruitful assumption regarding the start up cost, profitability, cash reserves, projected income and projected cash flow will be presented. Finally, considering the fact that the concerned organization is a start up one, it is essential to form a harvest strategy; the following section would end up with a convenient harvest strategy. Start up cost It has been identified that the entrepreneurs need to have at least an amount worth of AUS$15,000. It has been realized that, presently the entrepreneurs only have AUS$8,000. Therefore, it is indicative of the fact that the entrepreneur will need to manage the rest from other sources. The entrepreneurs have decided that they will manage near about $7,000 from a commercial bank, which provide loans for start up businesses. It is important to mention in this respect that the entrepreneur has thought about taking loan from the commonwealth bank of Australia, which provides commercial loans for start up businesses. Most importantly, the entrepreneurs have decided to bet the car he/she owns in terms of mortgage. An elaboration of the estimated start up cost is given below Particulars Amount Space (Rented) $3,000 Equipments $2,000 Employees $5,000 Interior decoration $5,000 Total AUS$15,000 Profitability Prior to estimate, whether the present entrepreneur endeavor would be successful or not, it is significant to mention here that the entrepreneur has decided to open up the business, considering the fact that in the considered geographical area, there is no Indian beauty parlor. Henceforth, it can be anticipated that the business may prove fruitful and profitable. However, it should be also considered that the target market of the place might not be looking for offers like the ones, which will be provided by the start up business. The following will give a hint about the profit that is being expected by the present entrepreneur Investment Profit/sales growth Year 1 Profit/sales growth Year 2 Profit/sales growth Year 3 AUS$50,000 0.00% (Break even) 15% - 2,250 AUS$ 25% - AUS$ 3,7500 The above table is indicative of the fact that in the first year, the start up business organization considers having no profit and no loss as the organization is penetrating into the market for the first time. Therefore, it would be appropriate to expect neither loss nor profit. Thereafter, in the second year the entrepreneur is expecting to have a sales growth worth/profitability of 15% and in the third year 25%. Cash reserves It is essential to keep in mind for the entrepreneur that within six month the amount of cash reserve may exceed due to varied emergency circumstances. Therefore, estimation is required in order to understand how much money the entrepreneur should keep in hand to combat with any emergency funding needs. The probable short-term emergency funding needs may be found in areas like technical equipments, employee ground, customer demand and external market environment. The following will give a hint of the estimation Short term emergency situations/Possible liabilities Asset Change in customer demand AUS$1,000 Increased rate of bargaining of the suppliers AUS$3,000 Technical hazards AUS$2,000 Employee issues AUS$1,500 Sudden change in bank interest AUS$2,000 Projected Income Referred to Appendix Projected cash flow Pro forma cash flow 2017 2018 2019 Cash Received Cash from Operations Cash Sales $5000 $6000 $7000 Subtotal Cash From Operations $5000 $6000 $7000 Additional Cash Received Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Received $0 $0 $0 New Current Borrowing $0 $0 New Other Liabilities (interest-free) $0 $0 $0 New Long-term Liabilities $0 $0 $0 Sales of Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 Sales of Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 New Investment Received $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Received $5000 $6000 $7000 Expenditures 2017 2018 2019 Expenditures from Operations $2500 $3000 $3500 Cash Spending $4000 $5000 $6000 Bill Payments $2000 $2500 $3000 Subtotal Spent On Operations $6000 $7500 $9000 Additional Cash Spent Sales Tax, VAT, HST/GST Paid Out $0 $0 $0 Principal Repayment of Current Borrowing $0 $0 $0 Other Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Long-term Liabilities Principal Repayment $0 $0 $0 Purchase Other Current Assets $0 $0 $0 Purchase Long-term Assets $0 $0 $0 Dividends $0 $0 $0 Subtotal Cash Spent $6000 $7500 $9000 Net Cash Flow $1000 $1500 $2000 As it has been assumed that the net profit would be $2500 (As per the appendix below), the cash burn rate will be possibly $15000 - $2500 = $12500 Then, the rate will be 83.33% Exit or Harvest strategies As the entrepreneur has decided take loan from a commercial bank, then the harvest strategy would be give interest from the annual net profit. As it has been anticipated that the probable net profit would be $2500, then the harvest strategy of the entrepreneur is to give $1000 in terms of interest to the bank. Critical risks and assumptions As per the reason the concerned organization is a start up enterprise and will penetrate in the business market of beauty and salon for the first time, the organization probably would have to face varied of issues lately. As signified in the financial section, some of the emergency issues, which can take place any time, are market uncertainty, employee issues, and change in customer demand, supplier issue and technical hazards (Valle, 2016). Technical issues In the contemporary era of technology, one of the key success factors has become technology. The customers of Australia has become beauty conscious since they have come to know about the use of high-tech technologies and their positive outcome on beauty and hair treatment activities (Pine, 2016). However, it should be considered that with the implementation of varied technologies, there stay the possibilities of numerous technical hazards such as slip and fall injuries, electrical hazard and inappropriate use of sharp objects (Milich et al., 2017). On the other hand, chemical exposures are another issue that can take place anytime in a beauty salon. Bad customer review It is a possibility that the organization cannot manage to hire professional employee due to lack of financial investment. Without properly trained and experienced employees, the aforementioned chemical exposure or other technical hazards may occur. In terms of consequence, both employees and customers may experience fatal accidents, which would finally bring bad reviews and reputation for the considered organization. Threat of new entrants As per the reason that the organization is penetrating into a market that has high growth potentials, the present organization would possibly face strong rivalry (NGUKU, 2014). Most significantly, the startup organization would have high threat from other start up organizations who want to penetrate into the same market. Low profit As per the reason that the organization is a startup organization, there will be always the risk of having less or zero profit. There is both the possibility to have steady demand or no demand from the target market. Economical crisis Instead of the fact that Australia, the economic growth of the country is 2.4% and cash rate 1.5%, the present organization in future may face economic crisis. Therefore, in that circumstance, the organization may face issues with to provide interest to the commercial bank and could experience huge loss. Conclusion The present paper has designed a business plan for a start up organization that will feature on the Indiana and western style beauty and salon activities. According to the above plan, as per the reason that the organization will penetrate into the market for the first time, therefore the entrepreneur has decided to invest $15000 and has estimated that they would get a net profit of $2500. However, as the entrepreneur has to take a commercial loan from a bank, it has been decided that the organization would provide $1000 to the bank annually in terms of interest. On the other hand, it has been understood that the organization can both find success or failure as currently in the chosen geographic location, there are no such salon that features the attributes those are proposed by the startup organization. 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