The two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco whose 2017 Financial statement links are provided below: WALMART https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ wmt/financials?query=income- statement COSTCO https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ cost/financials?query=income- statement Both organizations are well known brands and position themselves well with their customer base. Walmart’s value proposition is “We save people money so they can live better”. On the other hand, Costco’s value proposition is “All-in-one convenience and everyday affordability”. Both retailers focus on cost saving for their customers. Looking at their financial statements and by analyzing them a few key areas are evident when comparing the two organization. Looking at the current ratio and quick ratio we can determine the short-term solvency of each organization. The current ratio can be determined by dividing the assets by the liabilities. Walmart’s current ratio sits at 0.86 while Costco’s sits at 0.99. The quick ratio is c...
Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne see that hurdles facing a manager who embark to change are cognitive, limited resources, motivation, and institutional policy (Cited in How to Change Your Organization’s Culture, n.d.). But the question is whether the project manager will face the same hurdles?
First of all, change within the context of project management is anything that transforms or impacts the project or any of its components. So, change management refers to the tools and processes a project manager uses to manage change within a project and its project team (“What is Change Management in Project Management?” n.d.).
Within this context, the answer to the question above is both yes and no, that means the project manager, as his team is a form of organization, will face these hurdles but at a lower level of intensity. The reason is that the project team members have a lot of similarities, and they are usually heading for the same common goal. These similarities and unity of goals make them closer to each other, so when there is a need for a change they will accept the change initiative, especially if it is led by their manager, understand it, support it, and actively participate in it.
This idea is supported by several articles like the one published by Metafuse (n.d.) which stated that Successful project managers effectively manage changes through the use of change control boards (Metafuse, n.d.). By using it the priorities of changes will be set i.e. resources distribution will depend on this prioritization system. Also, Baldauf (n.d.) cited that the project manager’s challenges lie in making the organization members aware of the project. This will be done by:
1. Explaining “how” project manager plans to implement the project.
2. Explaining convincingly, “why” the project was initiated and “what” it is aimed to achieve with it (Baldauf, n.d.).
Moreover, the professor John Kotter has designed a model for change management, put communicating the vision and goal of the project to the team members as one of his 8-step model (cited in Baldauf, n.d.).
All these articles mentioned directly or indirectly that the project manager will face the same hurdles as any other manager. Hence, the project manager and change manager roles “must be linked more closely in future project management tasks in order to realize the benefits of the project.” (Andersen, 2015).
It goes without saying that a skilled, motivated, and cohesive team, championed by top management is bound to succeed. While an inexpert, unenthusiastic, and disjointed team, without any top-level sponsors will fail (Sirkin, Kennan, & Jackson, 2005).
Smart executive sponsors, according to Sirkin, Kennan and Jackson (2005), are very inclusive when picking teams. They define the criteria of team members selection and circulating it. Additionally, they ask the human resources department for information about the best performers. They conduct interviews with candidates personally. So they make sure that the team has the required knowledge, skills and network (Sirkin, Kennan, & Jackson, 2005).
On the other hand, having team members with different knowledge and skills will enhance the performance of the team by having a variety of ideas and work methods, and by having the diversity of abilities required to perform different tasks.
The above discussion leads to the conclusion that the best team to perform and cope with change is the one that consists of the required collection of expertise.
References
How to Change Your Organization’s Culture. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://guides.wsj.com/
Andersen, H. (2015). Project manager of the future. Retrieved from https://implementconsultinggroup.com/project-manager-of-the-future/
Baldauf, K. (n.d.). Why project managers need to be change managers as well. Retrieved from https://www.theprojectgroup.com/blog/en/change-management-in-projects/#prettyPhoto
Kotter, J. (n.d.) cited in Baldauf, K. (n.d.). Why project managers need to be change managers as well. Retrieved from https://www.theprojectgroup.com/blog/en/change-management-in-projects/#prettyPhoto
Metafuse. (n.d.). Managing Project Changes. Retrieved from https://www.projectinsight.net/project-management-basics/managing-changes
Sirkin, H., Kennan, P., & Jackson, A. (2005). The Hard Side of Change Management. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2005/10/the-hard-side-of-change-management
What is Change Management in Project Management? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-change-management-in-project-management/
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