Global Books Publishing: Business Problems and Project Management

Issues Facing Global Green Books Publishing

Jim King and Brad Mount, two friends who met in college in Philadelphia, United States, founded Global Green Books Publishing two years ago. Jim was in charge of the company’s editing and sales, while Brad Mount was in charge of the company’s electronic assembly and book production. It has taken longer than expected to publish Global Green Books because of additional difficulties, unpleasant “surprises,” decreased income as a result of hiring more employees, and incorrect estimation of the scope of specific projects (Crawford, 2021). A formal complaint was filed by the local university because their eBooks were delivered late to campus for lecturers and students. The books were frequently delivered past their due date by more than a week. There was a problem with the new college client’s schedule because classes must start on time, and students need their textbooks at the start of their courses.

The number of problems at Global Green Books increased significantly, and some unpleasant “surprises” occurred as a result of the increased use of resources and the underestimated scope of certain initiatives. Global Green Books. Teachers and students with strong interpersonal and attention-to-detail skills expressed their displeasure with the late delivery of eBooks from the local university. Three months after starting her new job, she was promoted to a higher position, that of manager. Proactive risk assessment and reaction planning, as well as formal risk management procedures, are all essential components of good project management that must be incorporated into every endeavor.

To ensure the project’s success, she was tasked with implementing formal project management procedures and drafting a project management manual. In just nine months, Samantha was able to completely transform her life. As a result of proactive risk analysis and risk response planning, there are fewer surprises and difficulties. The goal of making it easier for stakeholders to communicate was met.

While the college’s purchasing department had anticipated a spike in printing orders, none of the teachers’ orders arrived at the same time, nor did they all require the same number of print jobs. It was imperative for a few academics to order as soon as possible. Once they received the orders, Global Green Books realized some of the tasks were more difficult than they had anticipated. Due to the time and money, they would lose if their printed output was of poor quality, producing high-quality texts was a top priority for the company (Bond-Barnard et al., 2018). Since January, customers have been complaining about delays in receiving their ordered goods. They could not get their eBooks from Global Green Books on time. A formal complaint was filed by the local university because their eBooks were delivered late to campus for lecturers and students. The books were frequently delivered past their due date by more than a week.

Samantha, as a Project Manager

Samantha learned of the college’s dissatisfaction after starting her investigation into the company, and she set out to make things right by speaking with the company’s founders and employees. In the process of doing this, she began to see both potential and actual dangers. She became more proactive in her risk assessments as she progressed through the process, which reduced the number of surprises and concerns.

No project management software was used, nor were any tools or processes used for estimating, budgeting, or communicating with the various parties involved in the project. A formal project management methodology was developed, a project management handbook was produced, and people were trained on how to complete the assignment properly (Temel et al., 2019). She discovered that no mechanisms were in place to regulate project risks and quality. In the first nine months of the program, Samantha had made a dramatic improvement in her life. In part, this was due to proactive risk assessments and preparedness. As a result of the improved communication, everyone involved had a more positive experience.

Prior to the event, proactive risk analysis and response planning are required for effective stakeholder communication. There must be a standard set of procedures in place for project management to be successful. Project management assistant Samantha was brought in to assist. In her new position as a project manager, she was attempting to implement risk management procedures as one of her primary goals. She took a tour of the company and spoke with the owners and other employees to learn more about their personal situations. It was not long before Samantha began to notice dangers and potential problems she had not previously considered. A decrease in unpleasant shocks and issues occurred as her risk analysis and response preparedness improved over time. Stakeholders were better able to communicate with each other when they were able to address their concerns. Mistakes in the current work orders’ estimates of how long each task would take were keeping workers from moving on to new tasks. Because of erroneous time estimates in the previous job orders, this happened instead (Armenia et al., 2019). Equipment or assistance from other groups affiliated with the Global Green Books initiative may be required for some projects.

Work Breakdown Structure Hierarchy Analysis and Insight

A lack of project management best practices is likely to blame for Global Green Books Publishing’s current difficulties. As a result of Jim King and Brad Mount’s focus on editing, sales, and marketing, the company’s other departments suffered. A clear sign of this was the fact that they did not utilize the full potential of all of their new hires. As a result, the company struggled to meet customer expectations and was frequently late in delivering its goods. Some of the books were released by the publisher just two weeks after the start of the course, which disappointed customers. The book’s quality was also a problem, requiring additional time and effort to resolve. Global Green Books Publishing’s cost structure was the most difficult aspect of the company’s operations because it did not allow for good budgeting control.

As a result of the tragedy, Samantha provided the organization with a number of specific solutions. Using these tools, the company was able to recover from project failures and improve the quality of its output. However, the firm tried to be creative, but it was unable to handle projects with complex and multi-structured requirements without a clear and disciplined process, and she realized that this was the case (Mizuno & Bodek, 2020). When the company’s owners realized that their project management plan was lacking in structure, she had to bring it to their attention. In her opinion, a project management tool for timeline management is essential for the proactive and integrative enhancement of human capacity to plan, organize and manage resources. No amount of emphasis could be placed on just how significant her recommendation was. Samantha proposed the use of technologies to improve stakeholder communication while investigating the company’s organizational structure. The founders selected her because they felt she was the best candidate for the project management role.

A project manager would have dealt with all aspects of managing complex and multifaceted projects while being in charge of the company. Global Green Books Publishing’s acquisition of a project management utility tool as a result of the extensive implementation at different levels would have enabled them to discover and monitor numerous connections between some of their activities. It would have been crucial in dealing with the issue of distributing resources. Planned software could have been used to sequence project operations to avoid the difficulties in product delivery that have an adverse effect on customer perceptions of the company. As a result of making critical data more readily available to all participants, the use of project management software would have improved the company’s ability to meet its goals. Aside from that, Jim and Brad should have implemented a system to track the progress of individual projects and keep tabs on their completion dates. Their team could have ensured that everyone worked at the same pace as the project manager if they had had it.

A system to ensure the long-term stability of the company’s cost structure was another suggestion I made. When it comes to business, risk management is as important as having a competitive advantage or allocating resources in an efficient manner. If I could have helped, I would have recommended utilizing the risk assessment program. More time and resources would have been better spent removing the most serious threats rather than prioritizing the negative consequences of numerous threats. Since the publisher was able to make the product available in physical stores by selling cards for electronic books on their website, it was a novel way to engage with customers. The company was able to gain significant traction in the market thanks to a well-thought-out strategy. A large number of English-speaking customers were made available to Enthrill through the sale of cards at more than 300 Walmart locations across Canada (Gorod et al., 2018). Samantha’s lack of technological expertise may lead some to believe that she will have a difficult time managing her work if she does not have the necessary skills. She should be familiar with a variety of tools and solutions, including those data backup, quick communication, deadline management, budget tracking, and time stamping.

References

Armenia, S., Dangelico, R. M., Nonino, F., & Pompei, A. (2019). Sustainable project management: A conceptualization-oriented review and a framework proposal for future studies. Sustainability, 11(9), 2664. Web.

Bond-Barnard, T. J., Fletcher, L., & Steyn, H. (2018). Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. Web.

Crawford, J. K. (2021). Project management maturity model. Auerbach Publications. Web.

Gorod, A., Hallo, L., & Nguyen, T. (2018). A systemic approach to complex project management: Integration of command‐and‐control and network governance. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 35(6), 811-837. Web.

Mizuno, S., & Bodek, N. (2020). Management for quality improvement: The seven new QC tools. Productivity press. Web.

Temel, B. A. Y. R. A. M., Başağa, H. A. S. A. N., Uluçay Temel, M., Kamber Yılmaz, G. O. N. C. A., & Nasery, M. (2019). Big Room concept in project management and control. Journal of Construction Engineering, Management & Innovation, 2(4). Web.

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