Friar Tucker Galleria Implementation Plan

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR FRIAR TUCKER GALLERIA PROJECT

Implementation Plan for Friar Tucker Galleria Project

Student Name

University of Phoenix

Implementation Plan for Friar Tucker Galleria

Friar Tucker International (FTI) has decided to use Atoll Solutions as the builder for its Galleria project. Galleria will be an entertainment hub with a multi-screen theater, sports facilities (bowling alley, pool tables, and fitness center), shopping mall, cafй, showrooms, and facility rentals. Implementing such a plan can be a very daunting challenge to even the most experienced project teams. This is especially magnified on the Galleria project since Friar Tucker is entering this segment for the very first time and do not possess the needed expertise for handling this type of project. This is the reason that most of the work on this project will be outsourced to Atoll solutions. Table 1 outlines the optimal solution implementation plan for the project along with action item deliverables, timelines, and who is responsible for implementing them. What follows is Friar Tucker's current organizational strategy, the unique implementation plan developed for completing the Galleria project, the implementation planning process at FTI, and conclusion.

Friar Tucker's Strategy

Friar Tucker International is a hospitality services chain. Its 1200 employees live the vision of being among the top 10 providers in their industry by offering innovative marketing and superior service levels (University of Phoenix, 2007). FTI's current goals are to establish their presence in the entertainment hospitality segment and expand into the corporate entertainment segment. Per Diane Vickers, VP of Sales, entertainment space is a good business venture. Dennis McGee, VP of Hospitality, agrees that they are likely to be a big hit in the future, (University of Phoenix, 2007).

Although not ideal, Friar Tucker will have to outsource most of the operations to a construction vendor on its Galleria project since FTI does not currently possess the experience needed to handle such projects. This could erode at initial profits and create schedule and cost challenges. Nonetheless, the Galleria project will serve the very important purpose of building new competencies to address FTI's current focus areas. Further, this new project will enhance the brand image of FTI and attract different kinds of patrons who will enhance FTI's customer base. Upon project completion, revenues should begin to flow in quickly and continue to increase with time. The Galleria project will enable FTI to drive growth and thus coincide with its vision of becoming a top 10 hospitality services provider. What makes this project even more lucrative and attractive at this time is that it will produce multiple revenue streams because of the diverse scope of the project.

Unique Implementation Plan for Completing the Galleria Project

The implementation plan for the Galleria project will begin with selection of the specific design and construction process for the facility. Together with Friar Tucker's Project Selection Committee, Atoll Solutions' design team will create a concept that suits the diverse needs of a hospitality services provider while attempting to appeal to a broad customer base. Although the services that the Galleria project will offer are clear, the overall layout and architectural design has not yet been chosen. This is an important first step so that the Atoll team will know exactly what building materials to procure, how much they will costs, and in what order to begin the construction activities. Design has the added importance of determining what scale facility will fit on the Galleria property. Ambitious to get started, the design team will work to complete this before March 15th.

While the design team is at work, Ricardo Bellini will begin the task of selecting an overall project manager for the Galleria site work. The most important function this Friar Tucker employee will carry-out will be to oversee the contract work that is being done on the project. "While contractors' reputations rest with doing good work, they must balance their contributions with their own profit margins and their commitments to other clients," (Gray & Lawson, 2005, p. 315). The project manager overseeing the Galleria project will be an especially coveted position due to future career potential it may provide if the project outcome proves to be highly successful. The assignment to lead a project of this magnitude will be the opportunity for someone to prove his capabilities and present himself as a contender for future advancement (Kamali, 2007). "More often than not, successful completion of a project will leave a positive impression and be remembered by upper management when deciding on promotions," (Kamali, 2007, para. 1). This important preliminary step will also be completed before March 15th.

After the design has been finalized, Alan Tanaka, FTI Business Development Manager, and the Atoll Solutions Project Supervisor will work together to construct a project network and a time-phased budget. The project network and a time-phased budget are needed to control schedule and costs as the project is being implemented (Gray & Lawson, 2005). Together they must take into account necessary actions, tasks, financial issues and success factors when developing the implementation plan. Team responsibilities must be identified and may need to be further subdivided. Using forecasting guidelines "will help eliminate many of the common mistakes made by those unacquainted with estimating times and costs for project control," (Gray & Lawson, 2005, p. 144). Although Atoll Solutions has provided an overall bid, a breakdown of cost analysis should be created to allow sufficient monitoring of the budget throughout the project implementation process. It is important that this be a collaboration effort between Friar Tucker and Atoll Solutions and not simply a solo creation by the vendor because organizational culture, structure, and team climate can strongly influence the importance attached to cost and time estimates and how they are used in managing projects (Gray & Lawson, 2005). Tanaka will ensure that this action item is completed before March 31st.

The Project Selection Committee will review and sign-off on the proposed project costs and implementation plan before April 10th so that work can begin on the project as soon as possible. This system of checks

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