Project planning and control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project planning and control - Essay Example Planning and control is constituted by four main activities that include scheduling, loading, sequencing and monitoring, and control. Whereas scheduling is about the timing of operations, loading involves the quantity of work to be done according to available capacity. Sequencing, in turn, involves the order in which the work is to be done (Johnston, Chambers and Slack, 2007). Consequently, monitoring and control involves ensuring that all the other components are going according to plan. Organizations are frequently involved with processes, movement of materials, finished goods and services that need proper planning and control. It is, therefore, important to any firm that wants to effectively perform and compete in today’s highly sophisticated operational business environment (Kerzner, 2009). To successfully coordinate all functions in line with an organization’s goals and objectives, management is increasingly being faced with the need for proper planning and control . Managers, therefore, need to properly understand the basic components of proper planning and analysis of projects. ... All these day-to-day activities of a project coordinator therefore need proper planning and control techniques, and hence my interest in this area. As a project coordinator, I therefore feel most aligned to the selected topic. Effects / Benefits Having pointed out my work as a project coordinator as the main reason for identifying the topic, it is important also to point out the effects or benefits it has on my personal objectives in line with my career. First is the issue of scheduling as discussed in the overview of the selected topic. My work as a project coordinator usually involves a lot of allocations and timing for various events, processes and individuals involved. A critical and comprehensive overview of the component that forms an important element of my daily operations is therefore of great benefit to my work as a project coordinator because it further equips me with the technical as well as the theoretical knowhow on the subject. The success of any project relies on prop er planning, and no project coordinator can ignore planning (Carmichael, 2006). Planning, in turn, depends on appropriate scheduling and control measures that have been put in place to ensure that it succeeds. Another area of project coordination is that of preventing risks associated with failures or uncertainties that are associated with unrecognized future drawbacks in the course of planning. Proper control measures learnt in this topic such as demand forecasting and push or pull control mechanisms will go a long way in ensuring that my work is based on an enlightened point of view rather than working towards a failure. Moreover, managing the staff for a