How to maintain effective accountability in project management Essay

How to maintain effective accountability in project management - Essay Example Hence, since most projects are implemented by teams whose heart is performance delivery, project managers need to be accountable to their teams and other project shareholders by ensuring they are empowered and dynamic. Accountability is undoubtedly one of the most important factors involved in the critical path of ensuring project managers account for the efforts of his or her team. The need for accountability in project management is to make sure that all finances and project resources are well utilized throughout a project life cycle (Barron & Barron, 2011). Hence, the ability of project managers to easily avail project data to the clients is important for ensuring good client relationships are maintained as well as establishing trust in the used methodologies. Therefore, accountability is very important to the involved teams because it ensures accountability is kept amongst project team members, a situation which prevents resentment in the project as well as helping to maintain mo rale (Gunlach, 2009). However, in order to make sure that accountability is maintained in project management there are issues which must be focused on throughout the project period. Firstly, one of such things involves maintaining effective communication within the project team and other stakeholders such as the sponsors or clients (Barron & Barron, 2011). Thus, since project management is usually a team effort, emphasis should always be placed on collaboration and communication in order to make sure everyone involved in the project can appropriately account for the allocated resources such as funds, labour, time, and so on. The significance of communication on maintaining effective accountability in management of projects is because it allows fast and easy process of making enquiries where some issues are not well understood. In addition, it also facilitates easy way of responding to concerns raised by colleagues in the project team as well as sponsors of the project or clients. Th erefore, in order to ensure accountability throughout the life cycle of a project, effective communication should be emphasized on because it is the only most important tool for the manager of the project and his or her team members (Gunlach, 2009). This is due to the fact that apart from helping in addressing concerns by team members and clients it also facilitates an easy way of addressing other obstacles to the project such as overlapping responsibilities, changes in project scope, complex integration as well as decentralization of the decision-making processes all of which pose potential conflicts in the project (Ten Step, n.d.). Secondly, maintaining effective accountability in management of any project requires establishment of the necessary project controls whereby planning plays the most significant role (Barron & Barron, 2011). This is mainly because it has been ascertained through experience, that planning for a project long before it commences lays the groundwork for acco untability from the project managers and project team as well as ensuring successful completion of the project. Thus, maintaining effective accountability in management of any project and its successful implementation and performance are highly depended on appropriate planning (Gunlach, 2009). In addition, execution of a project is

Zaras Retailer Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Zaras Retailer Company - Essay Example This paper looks at various operational and expansion strategies that Zara uses in its quest to boost its economic status as well as expand to other parts of the world. These strategies include advertising and marketing, cost of production and strategic partnerships among others. It also looks at the operational management challenges, effects of manufacturing in China on the company’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility and effect of opening a major warehouse outside Spain on its distribution model and local manufacturers. How should Zara’s operation strategy support its expansion strategy? Zara make use of a business model that is vertically integrated retailer in apparel industry, linking customer demand to manufacturing, and linking manufacturing to distribution and to retailing business. It aims at responding to market demands in a quick manner since they are always changing. It can be broken down into three components that include concept, value drivers and capabilities. Its fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that help it to respond to shifts in consumer demands in a quick manner. Similarly, this company has necessary resources or capabilities to exploit any opportunity that arise. It has tight control over its production processes while at the same time keeping manufacturing and design in-house or sometimes with some strategic partnerships that are located near its headquarters. In addition, it as strategic agreements with various local manufactures; this ensures timely service and delivery. Zara maintains the expansi on and flexibility required to design and produce more than twelve new items each year, thanks to the strategic partnerships and benefits brought forward by the proximity of operational and manufacturing processes (Slack, 2012, p.12). This capability help Zara achieve its expansion strategies as well as its expedited response to consumer demand. Value drivers ensure huge returns of benefits to all stakeholders. Zara has outstanding financial performance, which is a clear indication of its success. For instance, it tripled its corporate profit between 1996 and 2000. Likewise, the company has high level of brad recognition and customer loyalty; hence, increasing the number of customer that buys its products in an enormous manner (Mihm, 2010, p.15). This has further boosted its expansion strategy in most parts of the world. Operational strategies Speed It quickly responds to the demands of its target customers, who are mostly the young city dwellers who are always conscious of fashion. According to Cunningham & Harney (2012, p.67), this strategy helps Zara to time fashion trends and strike whenever a trend is hot; hence, it is never stuck with inventory when it dies off. Its ability to market in product is far is better than that of its competitors; hence, it is able to expand to other locations at a high rate. Its speed provides additional value to customers, stores, and stakeholders in the process of producing affordable fashions at affordable prices (Cunningham et al., 2012, p.89). Decentralized decision making and product development Zara is centralized by a group of commercials that are chiefly