Project Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project Management - Research Paper Example Project management could be defined as a process where individuals apply their knowledge, skills and techniques in order to project activities to meet the project requirement. In other words, project management involves activities such as planning, scheduling and controlling of activities to achieve the desired objectives of the project. As defined by Cleland and Gareis (2006), project management is successful when it follows the process which includes initiating, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing of a project to meet the project requirement. The Project Management Institute defines project management as application of skills and knowledge along with tools and techniques to meet the project requirement (Barkley, 2006). Hamilton (2004) divided project management into 5 components, i.e., initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, control and lastly, closure of a project. Project life cycle indicates all the project phases that a project has to go through in order to be completed. In other words, it is a collection of project phases that are divided so that the project can be controlled and managed accordingly. According to Kerzner (2009) project life-cycle is divided into four phases that indicates the beginning and ending point of a project. Furthermore, according to Kerzner (2009), the first phase of a project life cycle is the initiation phase followed by project planning, project execution and project closure. Each of the phases mentioned by Kerzner (2009) is further divided into activities which need to be done to accomplish the goal of project management. In order to further elaborate the project life cycle, each of the phases is separately presented along with the activities involved within the particular phase. Phase 1: Project Initiation The aim of this phase is to identify the problems along with the opportunities that the business could focus upon. This phase also includes solutions to the problems that a business may face. In this phase, the project manager defines the project and the opportunities that the organization could achieve by undertaking the project (Lewis, 2006). The activities within this phase are as follows: a) Developing a business case b) Undertaking a feasibility study c) Establishing terms o f reference d) Appointment of project team e) Setting up office f) Performing review of this phase (Lewis, 2006). Phase 2: Project Planning The second step in the project life cycle is project planning. In this phase, the manager indicates all the activities and tasks that need to be performed. In this phase, each task is linked and the manager ties the tasks with deadlines to get the task completed within the timeframe. Within this phase, the project manager identifies the number of people required for the completion of tasks along with the identification of expenses that might incur during the completion of the project undertaken. The crucial activities that are involved in this phase are as follows: a) Creation of plan b) Creation of resource plan c) Creation of financial plan d) Creation of quality plan e) Creation of risk plan f) Creation of acceptance plan g) Creation of communication plan h) Creation of procurement plan i) Contracts with the suppliers j) Reviewing the success of this phase (Meredith & Mantel, 2012) Phase 3:

Transcontinental Railroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Transcontinental Railroad - Essay Example â€Å"The California Legislature took a hand in the issue in 1855-6, fearing that Congress might relax its energies, and urged a speedy construction of a railroad, but the jealousy of politicians delayed the initiative† (San Francisco News Letter, 1925). During this period, short line railroads were being made in the Mid West. The credit of starting the enterprise goes to Leland Stanford. One day, as he was passing the Collis P. Huntington store in Sacramento, Leland Stanford saw the wagons being loaded. With the development of traffic, Leland Stanford realized the need of a quicker and improved carrier service, so he discussed the matter with Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. All of them mutually consented that a railroad connection with the East was needed. â€Å"Charles Crocker was a leading direction, and the spirit of dominant energy in pressing construction through and over all obstruction† (San Francisco News Letter, 1925). The water transp ortation met the needs of America in the pre-Civil War period. In the early 1830s, locomotives arrived in America from the Great Britain, and greatly inspired the local people of America, who were already eagerly waiting for the year-round transportation service that would be punctual unlike the riverboats and the canal barges. The railroad was just about to become the mode of transportation of the industrial America by 1860, when a tracks’ network ran across the eastern half of America. The great concern at that time was of its payment. There were two main options for payment; either the private investors would finance the railroads, or the railroads could be the enterprises of the state. America selected the free enterprise unlike most of the European countries. The government played a great role in it. Railroads were lured by a lot of states and localities with financial aid’s offers. The federal government promoted the interregional rail construction by means of la nd grants. However, the most significant boost was a legal corporation which assisted in the collection of private capital in prodigious amounts. In this way, people who had invested in the railroads were saved as they bore only the risk of the invested money rather than being personally liable for the debts of the railroad. The responsibility of making the railroad was given to the construction companies. A vast majority of those companies were financial structures. â€Å"Hiring contractors and suppliers often involved persuading them to accept the railroad’s bonds as payment and, when that failed, wheeling and dealing to raise cash by selling or borrowing on the bonds† (Henretta, 2009, p. 498). Most of the construction companies were very corrupt. The promoters tried to pocket a significant percentage of the total funds reserved for construction of the railroads. Factories were rapidly established in America during the 1870s. The products of these factories including paper, textile, and fabrics replaced the home-made articles. With the economical surge of America, a new kind of demand arose. â€Å"Railroads needed locomotives; new factories needed machinery; cities needed trolley lines, sanitation systems, and commercial Structures†