Introduction
This research paper and analysis provides an in-depth study into a project implementation, its design, phases and success. The truth of the matter is that Able Corporation is a local company. Going global may mean perhaps the Company is doing extremely well and has positioned itself strategically in the domestic market. Several reasons may be advanced to explain this including: expansion of market share, competitive strategy, or growth in client base. Many firms are now finding it strategically important to go overseas in order to tap new market niches that are still undiscovered by their arch business rival. (Kramer, 2008)
Able Corporation is looking for an international market for its domestically manufactured goods. Any project’s success will always depend on the managers, however the following should be appropriate in this case study. (Kramer, 2008)
Feasibility study
This is a process which involves a careful evaluation of the project’s single steps and procedures identified as being critical to its success, whether they are viable. (Sharkawy, 2008)
There are different types of feasibility studies available to the project managers including economical, social, legal, and operational feasibility. (Sharkawy, 2008)
Economic feasibility study
The decision to expand into overseas market is already made by this company, when making such decisions attention should be paid to the viability of the project through its expenditure outlay. This process will require large amount of money to implement and successfully complete. Any economic shortfall will be a big a hiccup to the entire success of the project. Economic feasibility will ensure that adequate finances are set for the project completion. (Baharudin, 2004)
Environmental feasibility
Environmental feasibility here would mean evaluating the viability of this project through different regions. International market could be sought in different continents. The managers may have identified the region, but it is also strategic to evaluate how possible the company can be able to achieve its functional objectives in the environment without any physical or technical interference. A good environment may boost the project implementation by offering favorable business factors. (Bosshard, 2008)
Able Corporation is a manufacturing firm that specializes in local domestic appliances, it’s only important to look for markets in continents like Asia and Europe where there is good market. (Bosshard, 2008)
Operational feasibility
The managers of Able Corporation should ensure that their current systems and operations are potentially capable enough to sustain the implementation process of the whole project. Inadequately operating systems will be a let down to the project and hence may only discourage the personnel. Because this is a sensitive decision requiring full participation of managers it will be a big risk to the company if at any time this project fails. (Baharudin, 2004)
Social feasibility
Project development and initiation are carried out by social beings and for people. It’s important that during the first phase of project implementation people are given priority. Since organizations depend on the environment for raw material in put and physical operation it should be important to strike a balance. Able Corporation is a manufacturing firm. Any manufacturing firm must affect the environment either directly or indirectly. In this case the management should be able to have a good system of rewarding the environment for the resources they draw from it. On the other hand they should be able to take care of people from their refuse disposal strategy. If people welcome the move, then the project could be implemented without any eyebrows. (Bosshard, 2008)
Culture is another issue. The management should be able to understand the people’s dynamic cultural backgrounds. Different individuals are governed by different traditional and cultural practices, the belief and values of a particular group of people could easily influence the manner in which they chose to buy certain products and not the other. Individuals may also be unhappy with certain policies of the company that they perceive to be unethical to them like employment, whether to employ from within or outside. Certain communities will always demand that a company situated in their locality must give priority to their own individuals on employment issues. While this may sound illogical it’s important that the management properly considers this in their project proposal. (Sharkawy, 2008)
Legal feasibility
Able Corporation should be able to analyze the legal viability of their project. Is the project possible considering the different legal environment?
In each and every country there must be laws and statutes governing the actions and behavior of individuals as well as corporate bodies. Since Able Corporation is a corporate body there must be certain preset statutes governing its operations and activities. It’s already considering going overseas, the management should put in mind that there are several specific regulations to be complied with especially in foreign countries. Failure to comply might render its operations and activities illegal and thus a total project failure. (Baharudin, 2004)
Cost Benefit Analysis
Most successful managers are people who make good choices in life. The quality of good management is determined by the manner in which they achieve the organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently. Whatever kind of managerial decision chosen should be one that brings benefits to the organization either to day or in the long run. Able Corporation is considering investing in the international markets; this is a big investment requiring colossal funds. Strategic financial analysis of the whole project is fundamental, this will ensure that costs and overheads associated with the project are calculated and benefits forecasted. (Sharkawy, 2008)
If this is not done in prior managers might implicate themselves in to conflicts with the key stakeholders including institutional shareholders. The responsibility is therefore for the managers to carry out a cost benefit analysis to ensure that the project is actually a worthwhile investment yielding the best return for the shareholders. When this is achieved it will form a big hallmark on the managers of this company and help build their confidence in project handling and development. The strategic financial issues must be thoroughly dealt with to ensure that regrets are not made. In most cases project development is about taking risks, as they say the higher the risk the higher the return. It can be costly if the capital together with the human resources, and time invested go waste. (Baharudin, 2004)
Project design
The project itself is about entering the global market. The activities here will specifically involve the marketing strategies, how the firm intends to capture the attention of new foreign customers. Remember that for an organization to survive in the global market competitive strategy must be a sharp tool. What procedures and competition weapons are in place to tap the undiscovered potential in a given market niche? What marketing strategy is the company using? These are some of the key questions that Able Corporation should be asking itself. (Baharudin, 2004)
There are three optional competitive strategies that could be available for Able Corporation to capture and survive in the global marketplace. These include:
- cost-leadership
- product differentiation
- focus strategy
Cost-leadership
This is about pricing. Able Corporation can be able to manufacture top quality products than her competitors and the same time sell them at the lowest price possible. This can make her enter a new market and perhaps attract new customers including others from her rival companies. While this is highly possible it is also important to study the moves of her competitor on a daily basis. (Bosshard, 2008)
Product differentiation
This is a process where the company decides to lock in its customers through making its products to appear completely different from that of its competitors. This can be achieved through product presentation, high quality, packing, branding, grading and variety. The products will be identical with the company and remain more distinguishable as compared to the competitors. (Bosshard, 2008)
Focus strategy
This refers to using the two strategies one by one to detect the best. One can be applied in a different market niche. Able Corporation can decide on which market strategy suits a given situation since the reason behind all these is about capturing new foreign customers and ensuring that they locked in completely. The marketing personnel should be technically equipped to handle marketing problem professionally and where possible an evaluation is done regularly to check the progress. (Kramer, 2008)
The identity of Able Corporation
The identity of any organization and its Mission statement is defined by looking at its activities and structure in nature. For instance Able Corporation is expanding into the global market. The reason being growth, it would be wise to say that its mission statement is to be a global leader in manufacturing domestic appliances. At the same time it’s not wrong describe Able Corporation as Vibrant, flexible and aggressive manufacturing firm. This evidenced by the manner in which it has achieved its growth in the domestic market. And hence is looking for a global market. Since they also have their adverts in the Wednesday and Sunday Papers all information could as well be gotten from these papers. (Kotelnikov, 2001)
Risk management procedures
Any successful project development must go along way with a strategic risk management and disaster recovery procedures. In the course of the project development so many unfavorable events can take place, there should be procedures put in place to ensure that in the event of uncertainty no loss is incurred. Risk management constitute to an important part of project management. It will incorporate the uncertainty arising before, during and after the project completion. These are basically the implementation issues including data processing and handling during the initial and final phases of the project. Able Corporation should ensure that there adequate and necessary risk management procedures in place to enable them successfully complete the entire project development. There are so many risks associated with going overseas to look for markets. (Kramer, 2008)
Review mechanisms
For any project development to succeed the process must be subjected to scrutiny by the review team. A review team comprising of professional experts is formed to take charge of the entire project phases. The responsibility of this team will be to ensure that the activities are in accordance with standards. For example the marketing and research department in Able must have carried out enough research to ensure that successful completion of the project is guaranteed. A team of auditors may also be hired to provide an assurance that the financial activities are accurate and that there are no negative variances (Kotelnikov, 2001)
Conclusion
This is an investment that is going to materialize in six months time. In order for the project to succeed the viability of the entire project should be looked at in relation to its economical, legal, social, and environmental aspects. Most project managers often find themselves in impossible situations due to inability to carefully analyze the above factors. In addition, the main objective of any investment is to gain in the future. Cost benefit analysis will be able to provide managers with an opportunity to decide on whether an investment is worthwhile or not. If all these factors are considered then there is no doubt that Able Corporation will succeed in capturing international market as well as being a world class manufacturing firm in domestic appliances thank you. (Kotelnikov, 2001)
References
Baharudin, K. (2004) Construction Management Skills For The Global Market. Web.
Bosshard, P. (2008) Chinas Environmental Footprint in Africa. Web.
Kotelnikov, V. (2001) Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). Web.
Kramer, H. (2008) Business case Development Project plan. Web.
Sharkawy, (2008). Economic Feasibility Studies. Web.